EDMONTON — Alberta farmers have the legal means to protect cropland, but few have made use of them, says the manager of land use policy in the province.
Jason Cathcart of Alberta Agriculture said the Alberta Land Stewardship Act provides 29 approaches to conserving land. Private property owners have used these options to protect pastures and grasslands but not cropland.
“Under the true agriculture easement, we haven’t seen any uptake of that currently,” he told the Alberta Land Use Institute conference held in Edmonton May 4-5.
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Organizations are considering measures to save farmland, but they need to know how to manage these land bases.
Cathcart said protecting working agriculture landscapes isn’t limited to land trust groups or Ducks Unlimited. Municipalities could also do it, but they need help and guidance, he added.
Various conservation approaches have been suggested under the provincial land use framework launched in 2008.
However, the planning process has been quiet since the release of regional plans for the Lower Athabasca in 2012 and the South Saskatchewan regional plan in 2014.
The North Saskatchewan draft has been sitting with government for a year, and people are questioning its fate, said Cathcart. It is scheduled for release later this year.
The land policy was introduced partly to conserve land that was being lost to development in Alberta’s overheated economy.
He said the economy is slower now, which allows the province to take a breather and do more planning when the pressure is less intense.
There was considerable concern when the plan was first introduced that farmland and the ability to produce food were being lost.
“During the consultation period leading up to the creation of the 2008 land use framework, a lot of the concern was around food security issues. It was around the government of Alberta not doing enough to stop urban sprawl and rural residential sprawl,” said Cathcart.
However people had different perceptions about the planning process.
Older farmers said they did not want government intervening in their ability to sell land because it affected retirement savings.
Younger producers complained land prices were escalating, especially if they farmed in a desirable development area.
Urban residents were concerned about the loss of agriculture land because they have seen the loss of green spaces as new developments go up around city boundaries.
Those living in the Highway 2 corridor between Calgary and Edmonton expressed considerable concern over growth and high land values, while eastern regions of the province struggle with maintaining a population in the area to support a rural community and local services.
Scott Duguid, director of consultation with the Land Use Secretariat, said more attention is also being paid to First Nations claims in future regional plans.
Native groups criticized the Lower Athabasca plan because they did not feel their input was reflected in the final document. Since then, a First Nations group has been established to work with government ministries as the South Saskatchewan plan is implemented to ensure their treaty rights are reflected.
For more information on the progress of the seven regional plans, visit www.agric.ab.ca/landuse and www.landuse.alberta.ca.
