Plans to allow Alberta ranchers to be granted extended leases on public land to a maximum of 20 years will help reward and encourage good resource stewardship, says Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon.
Also the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Nixon announced plans to allow the extensions to ranchers who show exemplary care for water, air and land resources starting in the fall of 2019.
“There are a couple reasons we are doing this,” Nixon told the Gazette. “First, we want to make sure we are working with our partners in the ranching community who are helping us maintain the environment on these leases. This will give them stability for their operations when they are dealing with banks and loans for their operations.
“Second, we are working on speeding up the flow of lease renewals through our system in the government. By making it 20 years there will be less lease renewals happening all the time, which will help to deal with that more efficiently.”
Ranchers can currently lease public lands for grazing to a maximum of 10 years, he said.
The government will be releasing guidelines in the coming months outlining what comprises exemplary stewardship, he said.
He explained that those guidelines would focus on four specific areas.
“First is making sure leaseholders are caring for their cows,” he said. “Second is water and fish and taking care of the streams and the water that is on these grazing leases, making sure they are being maintained and that the cows are not in side streams that they are not supposed to be in.
“Third is dealing with grass and weeds and making sure that they maintain the lease for what it is supposed to be. And fourth, giving appropriate access to Albertans to public land lease to be able to recreate appropriately.”
The detailed guidelines should be released in September, he said.
“We are working on giving details of what those four things are so everyone will be on the same page,” he said. “People who are doing well at those four things would meet that exemplary status.”
Department officials already inspect grazing leases for leaseholder compliance, he said.
“I would say that the vast majority of our leaseholders in the province already meet exemplary performance,” he said. “Now we have the opportunity to be able to extend that for people who are doing their jobs right on grazing leases.”
Agriculture Minister and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake MLA Devin Dreeshen echoed Nixon’s comments, saying extending the leases will encourage good care of public resources.
“We understand that Alberta ranchers are the best and most responsible stewards of the land,” Dreeshen said in a press release. “This government is listening to ranchers and will cut red tape and let them do what they do best.”
Granting extension of grazing leases to 20 years will not require new legislation, said Nixon.
“We’ve announced it and the signing of the orders is all done,” said Nixon. “As far as taking effect, that would be late fall this year.
“Alberta ranchers play an important role in our province. Not only do they have a large impact on our economy but also they are responsible for protecting some of the province’s important grassland and wetland habitats.
“Extending grazing tenures for ranchers who go above and beyond our environmental standards recognizes their good behaviour and encourages other to do the same.”
