Stan Carscallen grew up on a ranch just south of Priddis, and as a young man rode across, and admired, the White Moose Ranch.

Easement creates ‘massive block’ of protected land

Preserved area of White Moose and OH ranches 10 kilometres long and nearly as wide

Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s the fulfilment of a long-term dream for rancher Stan Carscallen. “From the day our White Moose Ranch first acquired this breathtaking property in 1992, I knew that we needed to find a way to preserve it in its natural state,” said Carscallen. “We share a three-mile boundary on our south side with the OH […] Read more



Native grass prairies and sunset

Grants preserve grasslands and wildlife habitats

Provincial funding funds conservation easements to protect 13,000 acres from development

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Land Trust Grant Program is giving more than $7 million to support 24 different projects that will conserve 13,000 acres of private land containing watersheds, grasslands and wildlife habitats. The grants will support projects by the Alberta Conservation Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Legacy Land Trust Society, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the […] Read more

rainfall simulator

Rain, rain don’t go away: How to capture more moisture on your land

When it comes to retaining rainfall, seeing is believing — and new infiltration tool does just that

Reading Time: 3 minutes Drought is a four-letter word in Alberta right now — but also proof that it’s critical to make the most of any moisture we get. “If we’re getting the types of rain we normally get, water infiltration probably isn’t that big of a deal,” said Ken Lewis, conservation co-ordinator with Red Deer County. “But in […] Read more


These goats at Frank Lake are owned by Baah’d Plant Management 
& Reclamation, based in Calgary.

Goats and beetles used to fight invasive species

Leafy spurge is found across Alberta and its creeping root system makes it very difficult to control

Reading Time: < 1 minute Pull, mow, burn, and spray. These are common ways that Ducks Unlimited Canada manages invasive plant species on projects located on agricultural land. But there’s a new management tool in the mix now being used by the organization. It has started using goats and flea beetles to help combat leafy spurge at its Frank Lake […] Read more

Sylvia and John Walters at the 1,500-acre Ferrier property donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Donation preserves central Alberta wetlands and grasslands

Reading Time: 2 minutes A central Alberta farm family has gifted 1,467 acres on the northwest shore of Gough Lake to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The Ferrier property, located 125 kilometres east of Red Deer, has 256 acres of wetlands and shoreline habitat that is home to deer, grassland birds, shorebirds, and waterfowl. Several species considered at risk […] Read more


One-stop shop for eco-services programs

Reading Time: < 1 minute Looking for an ecosystem services program that fits your operation? Alberta Beef Producers has created a seven-page fact sheet of several dozen programs. These include programs focused on conservation; wetland protection and management; and offsets. The fact sheet also breaks out several programs from Ducks Unlimited Canada, projects funded under Growing Forward 2, and Alternative […] Read more

Trade lawyer Peter Clark has studied the level of subsidies available to U.S. dairy farmers. (John Greig photo)

Report pegs U.S. dairy support levels

U.S. dairy farmers continue to benefit from broad agriculture supports, a study shows. Dairy Farmers of Canada has had Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates regularly study the effect of U.S. government policy on dairy farms in that country. The latest version of the project was released at the Dairy Farmers of Canada policy conference held […] Read more


Ducks Unlimited Canada conservation specialist Bryon Wolters points out the benefits of conservation easements to provincial policy specialist Warren Robb (right) and farmer Shawn Jacula (centre) at a real estate workshop this fall.

This ain’t your grandad’s conservation easement

Easements are changing with the times, making it less restrictive for producers to protect their wetlands

Reading Time: 3 minutes Producers can find the right buyers for their marginal lands — if they know where to look. “There is a market out there now for some of these parcels of land that producers might have a hard time off-loading because they’re wet,” said Warren Robb, provincial policy specialist at Ducks Unlimited Canada. And his organization […] Read more

Using your smartphone is now an option for reporting poaching or suspicious incidents.

You can now report poachers online

The 1-800 Report A Poacher hotline is the best option when immediate action is needed

Reading Time: 2 minutes You can now report suspicious hunting or fishing activity online. Until now, the only way to report poaching activity, dangerous wildlife or public land abuse was to phone the Report A Poacher hotline. There is now a Report A Poacher website to fill out a form and submit it online. The report goes to fish […] Read more