Alberta earmarks $9M for protection of ranchlands and watersheds

The province is doling out almost $9 million among several non-profit groups devoted to protecting Alberta ranchlands and watersheds.

The funding from the Alberta Land Trust Grant Program will go toward six projects in southern Alberta, the province announced Monday.

Read the full article on CBC.ca here.

Conservationists have outstanding concerns about Castle provincial parks

From the Calgary Herald, "One year after the province announced two parks in the Castle wilderness area, there are still several unresolved issues around their development."

For the full article, click here.

Moving forward to protect southern Alberta’s headwaters

In this Calgary Herald article, Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks, Shannon Phillips, describes the provincial government's planned approach to protecting the headwaters of southern Alberta.  Phillips writes, "...the province is designing a parks management and a tourism strategy for southwest Alberta. That work will involve months of engagement with local communities, Albertans, land users and First Nations. This kind of broad consultation is a necessity in order to get it right."  "A parks management plan for the Castle will involve input from local towns and counties, tourism authorities, land users, environmental organizations and recreational users. It will also ensure First Nations’ access for traditional land use and preservation of constitutional treaty rights."

For the whole article, click here.

Alberta ranchers to conserve huge tract of native grassland

The 72 members of the Waldron Grazing Co-op have agreed to sign a conservation easement on more than 12,000 hectares of rolling prairie and foothills that their group has owned since 1962.

Read the full story in the Calgary Herald here.