CALGARY (Staff) – A gift of 2,800 acres on the outskirts of Calgary has been granted to future generations of Albertans who want to preserve natural areas.
The donation from ranchers Sandy and Ann Cross will become part of an existing public conservation area established in 1987 by the Cross family. It is the largest private donation of land in Canada and is worth about $7.5 million.
With this latest bequest the Sandy and Ann Cross Conservation Farm is 4,800 acres of untouched prairie, woodlands and creeks.
To prevent the area from falling into urban developers’ hands the family decided almost 10 years ago to create a protected conservation area. Managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Crosses also donated $450,000 in cash to manage the area as an ecological education centre.
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In 1987 when the original donation of 2,000 acres was made, the Crosses provided $500,000 for an endowment fund to run an educational program on the site. It is visited by appointment only.
With additional money from the province at $250,000, plus $200,000 in corporate donations, the endowment fund is worth $2.2 million.
Since 1993 about 14,000 children have toured the area under the guidance of trained volunteers and teachers.
Sandy Cross, 82, is the last surviving son of A.E. Cross, a pioneer rancher and owner of the Calgary Brewing Company. He owned one of the largest ranches in the Alberta foothills.
