Nature Conservancy of Canada completes landmark Waldron Ranch project

Waldron Shareholders with horses
 Photos by Kyle Marquardt

Nature Conservancy of Canada press release

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in Alberta has announced the completion of the largest conservation easement in the province's history and the largest in Canadian history.

The iconic Waldron Ranch project is 30,535 acres of privately owned property located along the Cowboy Trail (Highway 22), south of Longview and northwest of Lethbridge. It is a conservation agreement involving the largest intact native fescue grassland remaining on the eastern slopes of the Alberta Rocky Mountains.

Agreement sets the stage for conservation of Waldron Ranch

Nature Conservancy of Canada press release

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) announces a historic agreement that will conserve the 30,535-acre (12,357 hectare) Waldron Ranch on Alberta's Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

This agreement, once finalized, will allow NCC to purchase a conservation easement from the Waldron Grazing Cooperative Ltd., which represents 72 cattle ranchers in southern Alberta.

The conservation easement means that while the Co-op will continue to own and ranch the land, NCC will work with shareholders to ensure the property's natural values are conserved for the benefit of wildlife and future generations. Waldron's critical lands and waters will remain intact and the area will be protected forever against development, subdivision, cultivation or drainage.