MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY — Convenience consumerism and the economy’s endless pursuit of ever-growing profits that tend to value land only so far as its resources can be extracted and exploited, cannot end well for humanity’s collective future, a local property owner says.
“I have a fundamental belief that change needs to happen in our world,” Bob Griebel, who owns land south of Sundre with partner Sandy Easterbrook, said during an interview.
“The way we treat the earth is kind of something that is just there to be extracted, exploited, profited from and disposed,” he said.
“Sooner or later, this will catch up with us,” he said, expressing his conviction that the current direction of culture and society has to re-evaluate as well as readjust its priorities and act accordingly.
“We have to think of future generations and what we’re doing,” he said.
Tossing in the towel and throwing one’s hands up in the air in defeat won’t help improve the situation. The only way forward, Griebel says, is to work together toward building a greater consensus about the need to drastically and collectively change our approach toward every facet of modern life, from the economy, food production and consumption habits to just about everything in between.
For their part, the couple raises Jersey cows and pigs as well as chickens and ducks and has tapped into the sun’s energy to help heat their home, along the way avoiding the purchase of needless consumer commodities and replacing items only when absolutely necessary.
It started with a meeting
While Griebel had previously heard about and was aware of the Legacy Land Trust Society’s efforts to work with property owners who want to establish conservation easements to protect their land in its natural state for the sake of future posterity, he decided about a year ago to sit in on a board meeting and since joined as a volunteer director.
“It basically sort of felt that it was a personal way of doing something,” he said.
With the society’s guidance, the couple recently signed paperwork officially designating as a conservation easement a quarter section of their land, which features a stretch of the Fallen Timber creek tributary to the Red Deer River running through.
While the not-for-profit registered charity primarily focuses its efforts in Mountain View County, which provided seed money to help the society get off the ground, there are instances when it reaches beyond regional borders.
The couple also placed an easement on another parcel of grassland near Sullivan Lake in Paintearth County, southeast of Red Deer.
Once an owner has decided to place a conservation easement on all or a portion of their property, the society continues to follow up on the land with regular visits. But it’s the owner who, in conjunction with the society, outlines conditions such as barring resource extraction or subdivision in the future.
“You set the terms that you would like to have,” he said, adding anyone who either inherits or buys the property must abide by the conditions.
In many instances, those terms can devalue the land commercially, he said.
To offset that, the current value of the land is assessed, followed by another estimate as to how much the property stands to be devalued as a result of the conditions, he said, adding a tax rebate for that approximate amount is then provided.
Conditions at owner's wishes
The provincial government cooperates with the process by putting the conditions on the lands as per the owners’ wishes, he said.
Originally registered in 2013 as a non-profit society in Alberta, the Legacy Land Trust Society officially received its charitable status in 2015, paving the path forward to begin working on conservation projects with property owners who sought to protect their land in its natural state, said Kim Good, volunteer director and board chair.
During a presentation to county council earlier this fall, Good said the society has over the years raised more than $2 million.
“That $2.1 million has also gone on to protect 3,500 acres,” she said during an interview, adding that breaks down to $600 per acre to protect in perpetuity.
As the society does not receive any core funding, efforts to find funds remain ongoing, with a year-end campaign currently underway, she said.
“We’re trying to raise $10,000 towards upping our game on our wetland management and stewardship on the properties that we have conservation easements on.”
Since her presentation to county council in October, Good said the society has signed on three more projects, including the Griebels.
With prior experience working in private land conservation since 1996 on projects in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Mountain View County resident saw the chance to join the society as an opportunity to focus her passion closer to home.
“To have the opportunity to do this kind of work in my backyard just seemed like a perfect fit,” she said.
With a degree in agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan, she majored in plant ecology.
“So, range management is my technical expertise,” she said.
But she also obtained a degree in psychology, which she tongue-in-cheek said is probably the specialty she’s used the most in land conservation.
“The technical side of land management is one thing. But no matter what you do, you’re always dealing with people,” she said. “One of the greatest gifts with doing private land conservation, is helping people achieve their goals and their visions.”
The society itself does not decide where or when private land conservation happens; rather, the process begins at the invitation of an interested property owner who is seeking help to make their vision a reality.
“The most important thing that Legacy offers to our community, is an option for landowners,” she said.
“We’re not anti-development. That’s not the situation at all. It’s just having another option for people.”
Although the clock cannot be turned back to undo damage that has already been done by the steady march of progress, a forward-thinking approach might yet prevent or at least reduce further needless environmental degradation.
“We can’t go back in time. But we can at least try and fit conservation into our landscape formally, now,” she said.
Echoing Griebel’s comments, she said untapped lands tend to be seen as just land with no value beyond its potential for resource extraction or development. But land left in its natural state should also be understood to have inherent value, she said, adding properties with conservation easements offer a refuge for wildlife.
“What a land trust offers, is hope. People can make decisions today to protect it into the future so we’re not going to cut the last tree,” she said.
Editor's note: This article has been updated from the original version to accurately reflect Griebel and Easterbrook’s relationship status as well as the kinds of animals the couple raises.
