Red Deer County has established the third Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) demonstration project in Alberta.
ALUS is a voluntary program that helps producers enhance environmentally sensitive areas of their properties. The first ALUS project in Alberta was launched in the County of Vermilion River in 2010. Parkland County, near Edmonton, joined in 2012.
“This is a great partnership between ALUS and Red Deer County,” said Jim Fisher, Delta Waterfowl’s director of conservation. “It demonstrates that by working together we can really make a difference on the landscape.”
The Red Deer County ALUS project will be incorporated into the county’s “Conservation Partners’ initiative. Announced last week, this program supports three categories of conservation work—tree planting, water quality conservation and fish and wildlife habitat preservation. Conservation Partners uniquely allows the public to donate directly to conservation work being done their community.
“We’re very excited about this new approach to conservation,” says Ken Lewis, Red Deer County’s conservation coordinator. “Allowing the public to donate directly to the program will greatly enhance our ability to support the good environmental work taking place here.”
Unlike regulations, which tend to work against producers, ALUS is a voluntary program that farmers can incorporate into their business plans.
Delta Waterfowl Foundation helped developed ALUS more than 10 years ago. ALUS projects are also established in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Prince Edward Island.
