“The long-term plan is ensuring the health of the land, plain and simple,” says ALUS Red Deer County participant Aron Lutz. By establishing a dozen ALUS projects on 41 acres of his land, his goal is “to pass on to my son good, productive land that’s been well looked after.”
To that end, ALUS has helped Lutz enhance wetlands on Lennor Farms Ltd., an 880-acre cattle and grain operation between Innisfail and Pine Lake, Alberta.
Other ALUS projects serve to protect the banks of creeks and waterways on the farm, with riparian fencing and alternative watering systems in place so that his cattle don’t need to directly access creeks for their water.
“It’s a native pasture, so we have to be very gentle with it,” he says.
These important ALUS projects are already helping to improve the riparian area around the farm’s waterways, producing cleaner water and more biodiversity, which benefits the entire community.
And, as Lutz remarks, it’s also better for the cows: “Cleaner water means healthier animals, less sickness and healthier food.”
