Every field Sean McGrath owns has a coulee or a small tributary leading to the Battle River six kilometres away.
McGrath, a fifth generation farmer who lives south of Vermilion, Alta., found it a natural progression to set aside small tracts of land to encourage wildlife habitat.
And now, he’ll be in line for a bonus in the form of a small stipend paid through the new Alternative Land Use Services pilot project. The program is designed to recognize that McGrath provides ongoing environmental services for society as a whole.
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“We’re excited because it’s proactive,” he said.
It’s the first ALUS project in Alberta. Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have variations on the projects that pay farmers for creating positive environmental goods and services that benefit all Canadians.
Joan Gabrielson, ALUS project co-ordinator with the County of Vermilion River, said the projects range from creating shelterbelts that attract native species, replanting native grassland, fencing off sensitive wildlife areas to livestock and stopping cultivation around several small sloughs.
Gabrielson said ALUS lets farmers design their own projects and receive small financial compensation for taking land out of production. ALUS cost-shares the initial cost of the projects and pays ongoing money to compensate the farmer for improving wetlands, waterways or fish habitat.
Gabrielson is working with a dozen more farmers in the area to design more projects, but hopes it will expand beyond the county.
“We would like to see the ALUS concept adopted provincially.”
McGrath said the program’s flexibility was the attraction for him.
“We’ve toyed with different ways to accommodate environmental improvements. Sometimes they’re expensive even though they have obvious benefits for everyone,” he said
“This way we can demonstrate all the good things we do.”
McGrath said he also receives personal satisfaction in doing the right thing on his farm.
With the few acres of wetland and cropland involved, McGrath will be paid roughly $500 to $600 a year for taking the environmental improvements.
“We’re not going to get rich. This is a chance to be proactive and demonstrate value and have some direction in the project and not just have someone tell us what to do.”
