ALUS participant David Francis of Lady Fane, PEI
ALUS projects are helping the Francis family to produce cleaner water, a valuable ecosystem service for the people of Prince Edward Island.
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For over a decade, ALUS has helped Prince Edward Island’s farmers produce ecosystem services for the community.
Originally implemented in 2008, the P.E.I. ALUS program is co-managed by the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the P.E.I. Department of Communities, Land and Environment as part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) suite of programs. Prince Edward Island is the only province in Canada with a province-wide program.
While the Government of Prince Edward Island manages the P.E.I. ALUS program, it also has an external advisory committee that provides advice and direction and works closely with ALUS Canada, who started to help fund ALUS activities in P.E.I. in 2018.
“Through the ALUS program, Prince Edward Island farmers have demonstrated their commitment to help protect and enhance the environment,” said then-Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Robert Henderson.
The P.E.I. ALUS program has four primary goals:
It was recognized early on in P.E.I. that the regulatory approach achieves only a minimum standard of environmental conservation outcomes, and that ALUS encourages farmers to go above and beyond legislative measures.
For example, the Province already mandates 15 metre buffer zones around watercourses and wetlands, and restricts row crops on land with a slope greater than nine percent. Through ALUS, P.E.I. farmers can expand these buffer zones, protect watercourses and wetlands with livestock fencing, reduce soil erosion with soil-conservation structures, boost grassland bird biodiversity through a delayed hay-cut, and enhance other types of ecologically sensitive lands.
“Our farmers have shown why Prince Edward Island is leading the way by working together with the ALUS program and government on an initiative that will benefit the natural environment of our entire province,” said Richard Brown, then-Minister of Communities, Land and Environment.
ALUS continues to build a strong base of support within P.E.I.’s agricultural and conservation communities, having grown to more than 425 clients, with on-the-ground projects covering more than 10,500 acres now enrolled in the ALUS program (as of October 2018).
For more information on the PEI ALUS program, visit the Government of PEI website.
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ALUS projects are helping the Francis family to produce cleaner water, a valuable ecosystem service for the people of Prince Edward Island.
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The Townshends maintain many ALUS projects on their farm to prevent erosion and keep sediment and agricultural inputs out of local streams and rivers, helping to protect PEI’s water supply.
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Dunk River Farms Ltd. is a family-owned and operated 5th generation potato farm, located in Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island.
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Reeves Farms Inc. is a 6th generation dairy farm located in Freetown, PEI, that participates in the ALUS program.
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ALUS PEI's successful pilot project for grassland bird conservation receives additional funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
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ALUS participants Mike and Evelyn Lafortune raise Dexter cattle while improving the environment in North Milton, Prince Edward Island.
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ALUS Canada launches 2018 seasonal giving campaign. Don’t delay, the deadline for your 2018 charitable contribution tax receipt is December 31!
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ALUS Canada co-organized the country’s first-ever Natural Infrastructure Forum in November 2018.
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ALUS Canada is proud to announce the hiring of Katherine Balpataky as Director of Corporate Partnerships and Business Development
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PEI Department of Agriculture and Forestry
PEI Department of Environment, Labour and Justice
Growing Forward 2