Objectives:  Support Red Deer County and Lacombe County landowners in enhancing and stewarding riparian and/or native range habitat on their land, by providing financial and technical resources for their on-the-ground projects.  Enhance riparian and native range habitat in Red Deer County and Lacombe County.  This will come about through various types of on-the-ground environmental projects, completed by landowners.  Assist landowners in developing an informal “Management Plan” for each of the completed projects.  Activities: 

Step One: “Call for Participants”: promote the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) initiative, asking interested landowners to contact the Counties’ Conservation Coordinator.  Project Plans developed for each project. 

Step Two: “On-the-Ground Action”: ALUS Partnership Advisory Committee (PAC) reviews project plans; funding allocated to projects; landowners do projects, with technical support as required from the County and others. 

Step Three: “Monitoring/Evaluation”: County (or Cows and Fish) does Riparian or Range Health Assessments, and/or establishes formal Photo Monitoring Points, at the beginning of each applicable on-the-ground project. County works with the landowners, to develop and implement the landowners’ informal project management plans over time. 

Results:  362 ALUS projects were initiated by 35 landowners, throughout Red Deer County and Lacombe County. Impacts of these 362 projects: 957 acres of riparian and range habitat, 3.9 miles of river and stream, and 213 acres of water body will be conserved and/or enhanced through sustainable management.

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