PRESS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | REGINA, July 5, 2019
Lake Winnipeg Basin Program announces nearly $140,000 for ALUS Canada in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
ALUS Canada is thrilled to receive $139,850 in new funding from the Government of Canada’s Lake Winnipeg Basin Program, supporting important natural infrastructure work in the Canadian Prairies.
ALUS Canada is thrilled to receive $139,850 in new funding from the Government of Canada’s Lake Winnipeg Basin Program, supporting important natural infrastructure work in the Canadian Prairies.
The funding was announced today at the Forks National Historic Site in Winnipeg, Manitoba, by Terry Duguid, MP for Winnipeg South and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Women and Gender Equality, on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna.
“We commend the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program and MP Duguid for their leadership and for their collaborative approach in working with ALUS to support land stewards in the Prairies,” said Lara Ellis, ALUS Canada’s Vice-President, Policy and Partnerships.
“This investment recognizes the important role farmers and ranchers play in providing environmental solutions through natural infrastructure projects on their land.”
ALUS Canada will disburse this new funding to two ALUS Communities in the Prairies—the ALUS Little Saskatchewan River program, located in Manitoba, and ALUS ASAP program, located in the Assiniboine River watershed in Saskatchewan.
ALUS will establish more than 825 acres (334 hectares) of new projects and help 21 ALUS participants maintain these projects for two years.
Specifically, these ALUS projects include enhancing wetlands, seeding buffer strips alongside lakes and creeks to filter surface water before it flows into these waterways, and establishing offsite watering systems and wildlife-friendly fencing to prevent livestock from damaging these enhanced wetland ecosystems.
“I am excited to get all these new ALUS projects on the ground in our Prairie communities,” said Paige Englot, ALUS Canada’s Prairie Hub Manager, speaking from Regina.
“One of the best ways to improve water quality downstream is by restoring and enhancing wetlands upstream, through the ALUS program. This is an exciting opportunity to empower farmers and ranchers as positive change-makers on the Prairie landscape.”
All ALUS projects help improve water quality, while also producing critical wildlife habitat and mitigating flood and drought risks for communities downstream, as part of a full suite of benefits known as ecosystem services.
This new funding the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program will complement existing funding from ALUS Canada, such as by its primary philanthropic partners The W. Garfield Weston Foundation.
This project will also leverage important contributions by ALUS Canada’s community partners, the Little Saskatchewan River Conservation District and the Assiniboine Watershed Stewardship Association, as well as new funding from the Manitoba Conservation Trust to the ALUS Little Saskatchewan River program which was announced earlier this year.
For a first-hand look at ALUS on the ground in the Prairies, there is a tour of five ALUS projects in the Little Saskatchewan River Conservation District on Monday, July 8, starting at 9 a.m.
Media who wish to attend should contact ALUS Little Saskatchewan River’s Program Coordinator, Colleen Cuvelier, for more information: lsrcd.mgr [at] mymts.net.
ABOUT ALUS CANADA
ALUS Canada, A Weston Family Initiative, is a national program helping farmers and ranchers to produce cleaner air, cleaner water, more biodiversity and other ecosystem services in their communities. ALUS Canada has disbursed nearly $8.1 M in funding to ALUS communities across Canada, an investment that is multiplied by farmers, ranchers and communities on the ground. As a result, there are now nearly 24,000 acres enrolled in the ALUS program, thanks to 750 participants from 25 communities in six provinces, and the program is rapidly expanding. For more information, please visit ALUS.ca.
CONTACT
Bridget Wayland, Director of Communications, ALUS Canada, C: 514-770-3001 bwayland [at] alus.ca
