Reading Time: 3 minutes After years of planning and fundraising, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has completed a successful campaign to conserve the McIntyre Ranch. Located near the Milk River Ridge 40 miles south of Lethbridge, the 22,500-hectare ranch is the largest conservation easement in Alberta. “It’s the largest piece of fescue grasslands remaining on the planet. It’s a […] Read more
Largest fescue ranch on Earth preserved
Record-setting conservation easement protects McIntyre Ranch in perpetuity
Alberta ranch to be largest Canadian conservation project ever
Going big: McIntyre Ranch south of Lethbridge is one of the biggest tracts of privately owned grassland in North America
Reading Time: 4 minutes A historic southern Alberta ranch is set to become the largest-ever conservation project in Canada. The McIntyre Ranch, south of Lethbridge, is a 54,000-acre (22,000-hectare) ranch started in 1894 and is one of the largest private landholdings in Canada. It’s owned by the Thrall family, who are partnering up with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and […] Read more
Yarrow Project extends grassland preservation
Area will rely on cattle to replace the ecosystem services of bison, Nature Conservancy of Canada says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta has a new area of preserved natural grassland right outside Waterton Lakes National Park. Dubbed the Yarrow project, it comprises 150,000 acres. “It really is one of the most unique and incredible properties I’ve ever personally been to,” said Jeremy Hogan, director of prairie grassland with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. He said the […] Read more
Nature Conservancy adds wildlife corridor
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Nature Conservancy of Canada has purchased two parcels of land next to Waterton Lakes National Park that it says will serve as a key wildlife corridor. Although the 630-acre purchase “may seem like a relatively small addition … it will result in a large benefit for nature,” the organization said. The properties, located just […] Read more
Moving from cows to conservation a natural fit
Stewardship is at the heart of both, says the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s top official in Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Conservation has always been a passion for Tom Lynch-Staunton, and he’s found a new way to pursue that goal — moving from the beef sector to an environmental protection group. “I’m passionate about conservation and stewardship, that’s why I am in this role,” said Lynch-Staunton, who became the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s new Alberta vice-president […] Read more
Conservation groups rally behind beef sector
If pandemic forces ranchers to exit sector, grasslands will suffer, say conservationists
Reading Time: 3 minutes Government needs to step up its support for the cattle sector — not just for ranchers, but to save the country’s most endangered habitat, say a coalition of conservation groups. Very little of Canada’s grasslands remain and the cattle sector is essential to preserving what’s left, conservation organizations told the federal environment minister in a […] Read more
Watch for these invasive plants
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Canadian Council on Invasive Species are urging Albertans to watch for five invasive species and remove them if spotted on their property: Common tansy: Has yellow, button-like flowers and can grow 1.5 metres tall. It impacts stream banks and native grasslands and outcompetes native plants. It also produces […] Read more
New farmland trust aims to preserve good soil
Tax treatment key to saving cropland
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: Nov. 26, 2019] A new and innovative effort to save prime Alberta cropland from being turned into another suburb or industrial site is close to becoming a reality. Grain farmer Kim Good and lawyer-rancher Stan Carscallen say the Alberta Farmland Trust should be a registered charity by early in the coming year. And they’re […] Read more
The behind-the-scenes effort to tell beef’s story
Besieged beef sector aims to fight hyperbole with facts
Reading Time: 4 minutes It can seem like the ‘beef is bad’ crowd is scoring all the points in the battle to influence consumer attitudes. But the beef sector is fighting back — even if its efforts don’t get the same kind of headline-grabbing attention. One of the main initiatives is being conducted by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association that […] Read more
Ducks Unlimited Canada goes all in to support cattle grazing
Conservation group wants public to know that cattle are key to saving grasslands
Reading Time: 2 minutes Even though they don’t walk like a duck or quack like one, the country’s leading duck organization is pretty fond of cows. “For years, the backbone of conservation in Western Canada has been our cattle-producing partners because of the need for them to have good grass and good water,” said Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Mickenzie Plemel-Stronks, […] Read more
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