Environmental interests work together to show wetland management, cattle grazing, energy activities and research can co-exist
BROOKS, Alta. — It’s mixed prairie in more ways than one.
On the Antelope Creek Ranch, it’s a mix of the Alberta government, the Alberta Fish and Game Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Wildlife Habitat Canada that work together to manage a 6,000-acre piece of mixed grass prairie and wetlands.
The site, dedicated to livestock grazing, wildlife habitat, wetlands and related research, seems to function well despite the many potential chefs stirring the conservational soup.
“Antelope Creek Ranch is a partnership, and what it really is working to do, originally, is to show the coexistence of wildlife and rangeland management,” said Ron Bjorge, a wildlife biologist with Alberta Environment and chair of the ranch management committee.
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“That happened quite handily.”
The province bought the ranch in 1986 from private owners. It is leased by the Alberta Fish and Game Association and managed through a joint venture.
Bjorge said the ranch was suffering from drought and grazing pressure in the 1980s, but range health had been restored within 10 years.
Neal Wilson, who manages the ranch with his wife, Shannon Burnard, said records show it provided slightly more than 900 animal unit months (AUM) and grazed 135 cow-calf pairs in the 1980s. Now it provides 1,900 to 2,000 AUM and provides summer grazing for 300 cow-calf pairs placed by the Eyremore Grazing Association.
“We could probably push it … but then you’re always planning for the next drought, because next year we may not get rain,” Wilson said.
“So we’ll leave a little bit extra litter around.”
He and Burnard have been managing the ranch for several years, which involves grazing and cattle management, assisting with research projects, conducting tours, supervising hunters on the property and riding herd on oil and gas companies, which have 110 leases on the site.
Bjorge said the resource company activity has provided a new goal for the ranch.
“A new objective is to essentially pioneer the demonstration of restoration practices for gas and oil and to work in that sphere,” he said.
Wilson and Burnard are cautious in their comments about oil and gas company activity. Relationships took time to develop after they moved to the ranch and noticed field workers driving outside their lease area.
“It took us about three years to train them,” said Burnard.
“They started taking us seriously, as in how surveys should be done, how we wanted things done and the seeding mix we were going to use, all of that jazz, so now it’s really quite easy.”
The resource companies must meet provincial reclamation requirements, and some are conducting their own research into reseeding with native grasses, a process assisted by Wilson and Burnard.
The ranch also hosts tours from Lethbridge College’s wildlife and grazing management classes. Several post-graduate university students have done masters or doctoral research based on the ranch, including a recently published study on the effects of oil and gas activity on songbird nesting sites.
“We’ve always had students using the ranch throughout the 28 years,” said Wilson.
“If there are any other groups that want to be toured around, we will do that. There’s a lot of birders that come out in the spring and use the ranch.”
A 2007 bird survey showed 85 species spend time at Antelope Creek. Of those, 28 are listed as endangered, at risk or of concern.
The ranch has several parking areas designed to encourage visitors to park, walk through grasslands or visit some of the 36 wetlands scattered throughout the property. Some are man-made and augmented by the Eastern Irrigation District system, while others are natural potholes.
Wilson said it’s a safe area in which to explore the prairie ecosystem.
“The only (possible danger) is badger holes. It’s a safe thing to walk around in. The only predator we’ve got out here is the coyote, and they are what they are.”
Visitors have few restrictions other than requirements to close gates behind them, take all garbage with them and keep to designated routes and parking areas. Camping and fires are prohibited.
The ranch receives 250 visitors a year, but Wilson and Burnard would like to see more.
“We would like to see more education use, for sure, using the land base for research and studies and other such stuff, because we are a wildlife and habitat development ranch, so we’d like to have people come out and use it.”
Range consultant Susan Michalsky of Eastend, Sask., is among the researchers who have used the ranch. She recently collected data for an invasive plant inventory, with which she plans to devise a management plan for the ranch.
“It certainly has a lot of potential, I think, as a resource, especially with respect to what they have me out there doing,” said Michalsky.
She said wetland development in the 1980s, followed by more recent oil and gas activity, has brought many weeds and invasive species to the ranch. Research on managing these species could have wider application.
“I do think it’s under-utilized as a facility. I think they probably could do quite a lot more research and a lot more communications from what they find from the ranch. Neal sees that potential.”
Bjorge said the ranch is not so much a tourist destination as an example of how grazing, wildlife and resource exploration can co-exist.
The ranch, which is self-supporting, derives its income from oil and gas operations and cattle grazing. Any surplus goes into a fund for future management.
“It’s a pretty bare bones kind of operation.”
He said research related to the ranch is encouraged, but the joint venture is not a research agency.
Antelope Creek Ranch is located 15 kilometres southwest of Brooks. More information is available at www.antelopecreekranch.ca.
