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Earth Day Focus on Land Trust Grants

Apr 22, 2016 | 4:45 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Environment Minister, Shannon Phillips, marked Earth Day by praising the vital work of land trusts in helping preserve Alberta’s landscapes for ecological and recreational purposes.

“It is every Albertan’s responsibility to be an environmental steward,” Phillips said to a crowd of land trust workers, dedicated to doing just that.

Under Budget 2016, money available through the Land Stewardship Fund will roll out $15-million per year over the next five years to support private and public conservation projects.

Phillips said that while the province has seen many landowners persuaded to sell off property for development, she hopes the land trust will convince them otherwise and they will hold on to their land for future generations.

The Land Trust Grant Program assists both the Land Purchase Program, which is used to purchase land of high conservation value, and promotes voluntary conservation easements on high-quality privately owned land.

The grants help land trusts set up easements – a legal agreement between landowners and organizations that protect that plot of land from harmful development.

According to Phillips, “$395,000 will go for conservation projects protecting headwaters and rich bio-diverse lands outside of Waterton and Castle Parks.

“We know that a tremendous amount of our drinking water comes from the Old Man Headwaters. These people [Land Trust Organizations] are working hard to make sure we have protection and that proper resources are there,” she said.

Justin Thompson, Executive Director of the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society, said the Land Trust Grant Program has been a critical tool for private land conservation in Alberta.

“In only four years, it has helped our organization preserve more than 2,000 hectares, or seven square miles, of Alberta’s most ecologically significant privately owned land,” he said.

The funds help land owners pay for legal expenses and appraisal costs, something according to Thompson was a challenge before the grants.

“The grants help provide them [land owners] with financial incentive for easement. They are giving up their development rights, so now they are compensated and given a tax receipt,” he said.