Conservation Conservation Projects Alberta ALUS Demonstration Project in the County of Vermilion River (CVR), Alberta 2009-10

Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) Demonstration Project in the County of Vermilion River (CVR), Alberta 2009-10

ALUS Demonstration Project in the County of Vermilion River (CVR), Alberta Final Project Report 2009-2010 (pdf)

Goals and Objectives

Overall ALUS Project Goal: To establish and test the feasibility of a community-led and producer- delivered incentive program for the provision of environmental goods and services under the Alternative Land Use Services concept in the County of Vermillion River (CVR), Alberta.

Phase 1.  This phase is the first year, a ‘set up’ year prior to the launch of a three-year pilot project and will deliver the project outcomes described below.  In phase 1, the emphasis will be on creating demonstration farms and focusing on wetland retention, restoration and the conservation, enhancement and creation of grassland and other cover, to illustrate the ALUS approach.  Other ecological services will be considered as the opportunities arise.  Demonstration farms will be selected to best reflect the kinds of environmental service results obtained for ALUS in other jurisdictions, notably in Norfolk County, Ontario.  Selected farms will be considered for providing a full range of ecological services, to demonstrate a "whole farm” environmental approach.  ALUS producers will also play a direct role in demonstrating ALUS results on their farms by acting as spokespeople for the ALUS approach.  This role is integral to gaining producer, government and other conservation group interest in the Alberta ALUS project.

 

Objectives:

  1. To work with the producer community and others in CVR to plan, manage and deliver an ecological services project under ALUS;
  2. To establish a number of demonstration farms and watershed project areas (comprising 1,500 acres of wetlands, associated uplands, and where feasible other environmental services), to illustrate the ALUS concept in CVR;
  3. To engage the Alberta government, producer organizations, conservation groups and others in the Alberta ALUS project;
  4. To promote the benefits of the ALUS approach as an environmental services delivery option in Alberta and across the country.

Phase 2.  This phase will build on the accomplishments of the first year that is Phase 1. This will see a broadening of partnerships that will provide additional funding to further demonstrate how ALUS can line up willing sellers (producers) with willing buyers (those interested in ecological goods and services). Phase 2 will be a three year effort that will see an expansion of demonstration farms and variety of services provided.There will be an emphasis on communicating the benefits of ALUS to all Albertans through tours, website, media, conferences, etc.

 

Phase 3.  This phase will be activated at the time the Province of Alberta becomes a full partner in the Alberta ALUS project in CVR.  Participation by the provincial government will increase the scope of the project, and may entail additional objectives to those in phase 1.  Flood control and mitigation of wetlands lost in other parts of the province may be of interest to the provincial government.  Wetland mitigation would occur in CVR and be used for the purpose of flood control.  This use would be integrated with the ALUS approach on selected watersheds in CVR.

 

Objectives for phase 3 will be established pending the participation of the Province of Alberta.  In the meanwhile, phase 1 objectives will be delivered in this initial stage of the work.

 

Activities

Delta Waterfowl Foundation (DWF), Wildlife Habitat Canada and CVR propose to implement the following in three phases, the first of which is described below:

Set up of ALUS in CVR

  • Delta will gain partnership buy in from the Country of Vermilion River (CVR). This partnership will be the basis of the ALUS effort, with staff from both the CVR and Delta working together to deliver the demonstration project.
  • Delta will work with the CVR and other key partners to secure funding for demonstrating, communicating and developing ALUS in CVR to all of Alberta.
  • A Project Management Team (PMT) will be created to work with County of Vermilion River (CVR) staff to develop and implement a plan for launching the demonstration farms focusing on wetland, upland and riparian conservation and enhancement. This PMT will be made up of key landowners (along with staff from CVR) that will demonstrate ALUS on their farms but also act as spokespeople, showcasing their efforts in order to promote ALUS to an array of audiences.
  • These key producers will provide parts of their farms to demonstrate ALUS. These farms will include an array of activities that will benefit waterfowl, and provide a variety of other ecological goods and services. This will include wetland, grassland and riparian restoration efforts. It will also protect existing wetland, grassland and riparian areas.
  • Annual incentive payments will be based on a percentage of local land rental rates and vary depending on a mix of what’s been given up and what has been provided. This will also include cost sharing/ labour from participating landowners. Payments will include up-front one-time payments for multi-year agreements with producers. This is in order to avoid long-term liabilities associated with such agreements and annual funding sources.
  • The ALUS team (made up of representatives from the PMT, CVR, Delta and other key groups) will host stakeholder meetings to solicit partners into the ALUS effort. These partners will provide direction and funds that can be leveraged to further develop and demonstrate new and innovative ALUS efforts with participating and willing producers.
  • The ALUS team will meet with key groups throughout Alberta to get buy in, partnership and funding to further expand the collective ALUS effort.
  • The ALUS team will set up tours of demonstration farms to communicate how it works and the benefits to producers and buyers of ecological services.

Specific Habitat Products/Results to be Supported by WHC’s Contributions

We anticipate working with up to a dozen producers to demonstrate the principles of ALUS. In so doing, we expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,250 acres to be enrolled in the project. This will include wetland, grassland and riparian land being protected, restored or created. In addition we hope to involve some of the participating producers with our Hen House project that has received funding through Wildlife Habitat Canada. We will also investigate a number of other means to enhance the demonstration farms.

 

Benefits to Waterfowl, Wetlands-Associated Species, and/or Other Wildlife

As was detailed in the 2006 Waterfowl Report (Lungle, 2006), this region is an important waterfowl breeding area and provides habitat for many other species as well.  The following is extracted from Lunge, 2006:

Stratum 26 (Vegreville to Red Deer) "* stratum 26 includes the Big Gully area”

  • Mallards up 8% from last year, down 14% from 10-year, down 40% from long term
  • Pintails up 17% from last year, up 173% from 10-year, down 18% from long term
  • Dabbling ducks up 18% from last year, up 35% from 10-year, down 3% from long term
  • Diving ducks up 85% from last year, up 16% from 10-year, down 3% from long term
  • Total ducks up 27% from last year, up 30% from 10-year, down 3% from long term
  • Ponds same as last year, up 34% from 10-year, up 25% from long term
  • Canada geese down 12% from last year, down 12% from 10-year, up 184% from long term.

 

The initial Phase 1 portion of this effort will have some immediate benefits on the acres enrolled but the real impact will be observed as ALUS expands to a larger scale in Phases 2 and 3. Ultimately our goal will be to see ALUS adopted province-wide at which time the wetland and all associated wildlife in the agricultural zones of Alberta will benefit immensely.

 

Relevance to Habitat Planning, Decision Making and/or Management

The demonstration farms that will make up this ALUS project will show a new way of doing business on private lands. ALUS provides unique links between producers of ecological goods and services (farmers and ranchers) and groups interested in seeing environmental conservation on their land. This is a flexible program that is community-led and farmer-driven. It works with existing local government to deliver new environmental products to those interested in purchasing them. ALUS will provide new sources of funding as well as work with existing programs (eg. federal/provincial programs through Growing Forward, shelterbelt programs through PFRA, etc.) to provide new options to producers to sustain their livelihoods from the farm.

 

An ecological goods and services project for conserving /enhancing environmental benefits such as water quality and supply, habitat for wetland and associated upland species among others, provides a unique opportunity to test and demonstrate an ecological services delivery model (ALUS) in an area of intensive and competing land use.  The convergence of increasing agricultural, industrial and municipal land uses in the County of Vermillion River is representative of the greater land use challenges throughout Alberta and in other jurisdictions, which would make the demonstration of the ALUS concept of ecological services delivery in farm country, an important and timely landscape conservation solution for the Province of Alberta.  Added to this mix is a growing public awareness and demand for sustainable environmental solutions for landscapes in the face of increasing development pressures.

 

 

The results of this project will be of direct interest to land use planning in Alberta and other jurisdictions seeking environmental solutions that are also sustainable from a social and economic perspective. Municipalities in Alberta and beyond will watch carefully as the project is implemented, as will provincial and federal governments with obligations to achieve land use policy solutions in complex social, economic and environmental circumstances. The results of this study will inform habitat planning and decision- making by all levels of government and conservation organizations with wildlife/ biodiversity conservation mandates. The results will also inform the ongoing development of ecological goods and services policy at provincial and federal levels of government, and provide insights to those who seek new solutions for conserving natural capital and enhancing environmental benefits from private farmland.

Project Location

 

Originally Delta was focused on wetland restoration efforts in association with a drainage area within the Country of Vermilion River known as "Big Gully”. However we have broadened our focus to the whole county in order to include a variety of ecological services to more accurately demonstrate the principals of ALUS. This broader approach allows the project to bring in all partners interested in seeing a more diverse landscape.

 

The area is rich in wetlands and is located in a region known for its importance to waterfowl production.  At the same time, this area is predominantly agricultural i.e. mainly crop and livestock production on private land. The county also has a lot of oil wells on it reflecting other challenges and opportunities. The county’s eastern edge is along the province of Saskatchewan and the Yellowhead highway #16 bisects the county. Please see below for a map of the county.

 

Project Contact

For more information on this project, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , President, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Winnipeg, Manitoba.