The partnership between ALUS and Lac Ste. Anne County (LSAC) began in 2015 as a three-year pilot project focused on wetland restoration. During its initial phase, ALUS Lac Ste. Anne has partnered with ALUS Parkland to help increase awareness of the program and support environmental stewardship on private land. 

Bolstered by LSAC’s Growing Forward 2 Agricultural Watershed Enhancement Program grant, the ALUS Lac Ste. Anne program is intended to improve water quality and flood and drought resiliency within the Lake Isle sub-watershed.

ALUS Lac Ste. Anne seeks to identify marginal or environmentally sensitive parcels of land, and to shift them from agricultural production to the production of ecosystem services such as water and air filtration, carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, wildlife and pollinator habitat, and flood and drought resiliency.

These ecosystem services are produced by a range of ALUS projects, such as alternative watering systems, riparian fencing, revegetation and shelterbelts.

The ALUS Program Coordinator works with farmers and ranchers to help establish these projects, while participants receive annual, per-acre payments for the management and maintenance of these projects on their land.

In the coming years, ALUS Lac Ste. Anne looks forward to working with more producers to enhance the working landscape, strengthen agricultural operations and produce ecosystem services that benefit the wider community.