Alberta Invests $9M in Land and Water Conservation

Working together with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and landowners, the Alberta government has dedicated $9 million to protect ranchlands, river habitats, and watersheds in southern Alberta. Funding from the Alberta Land Trust Grant Program will go towards six projects, including three large ranches to help keep ranchlands intact.

Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks said, “It’s vital that we work together to prevent fragmentation and habitat loss on Alberta’s private land. Land trust organizations partner with landowners to safeguard Alberta’s unique landscape for future generations. By protecting wildlife corridors and biodiversity, we make life better for Albertans.”

The Alberta Land Trust Grant Program supports projects that ensure stewardship of private lands by outright purchase or through legal agreements to safeguard agricultural, environmental and recreational landscapes from most types of development.

Five other land trust organizations will also receive funding this year from the program. In total, the eight organizations will help conserve 14,000 acres (5,600 hectares) of privately owned land.

For every dollar the Alberta government provides to these projects, the applicant must provide two dollars in value. Over the previous six years of grants, $48 million worth of grants have been awarded to nine different land trusts to conserve more than 93,900 acres (38,000 hectares) of land.