A large block of native Prairie grasslands in southern Alberta is being conserved thanks to a new agreement. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has signed a deal with Boundary Creek couple Colleen and Dale Adams.
The agreement means their 128-hectare cattle ranch will continue to be a working landscape and will be spared from any future subdivisions, drainage or cultivation.
The Adams Ranch is about six kilometres north of the Alberta-United States border. The property faces the Rocky Mountains.
“Working on the lands is the only thing I know! There are a lot of recreational pressures on lands in this area,” says Dale Adams in a news release from the NCC.
“At this rate, there won’t be many of the wild grasslands left so it makes us feel real good knowing that it will stay a ranch forever. Having it preserved and never cut up into acreage or subdivision was our goal. This is a place where you can relax. The view is incredible and makes this area very special. This whole project with NCC has been great”.
The site has been operated as a cattle ranch for almost 100 years, with Adams having worked on the ranch lands for more than four decades. He manages the property with his wife Colleen, who recently retired as a registered nurse.
The couple has 70 cattle on the site, which help maintain the health of the grasslands through grazing. The NCC says it serves as a crucial link to other nearby lands that, together, create a connected corridor for wildlife. The Adams Ranch is home to elk, moose, deer, grizzly bears, black bears and coyotes. Boundary Creek and other creeks run through the property, which provides a habitat for many waterfowl and aquatic species.
“The Nature Conservancy of Canada applauds Dale and Colleen Adams for their vision and collaboration along with our funding partners who helped make this project happen. It reinforces how cattle ranching and conservation can and does co-exist,” says Tom Lynch-Staunton, Alberta Vice President for the NCC.
“By working together, we can support working landscapes and local livelihoods for today and future generations of ranchers while protecting endangered, temperate Prairie grasslands and the species at risk that rely on them.”
The NCC says more than 80 per cent of the original, native Prairie grasslands in the Prairie provinces have been lost to other uses, so the conservancy, along with partners, are working to protect any lands they can.
In addition to Dale and Colleen Adams, this latest conservation project was made possible thanks to various private donors, the federal government through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, part of Canada’s Nature Fund, and the Weston Family Foundation.
This initiative marks the second conservation agreement involving the Adams family and NCC. Another 64-hectare site is being protected south of Magrath, on Shanks Lake.
