A partnership between the Alberta Conservation Association, a farming family and the owners of a rented piece of agricultural land near Enchant, Alta., is proving successful in providing a refuge for wildlife and opportunity for upland game bird hunting.
Surrounded by irrigated canola fields farmed by the Stamp family, the refuge lies in an undulating strip of land complete with a wetland, native grasses and a small enclosure for grey partridge and pheasant.
“The goal is to try and figure out different habitat enhancements that producers can use on the landscape that will benefit wildlife but, at the same time, be economical to do on the farm,” Layne Seward, senior wildlife biologist with ACA, said about the project, which is framed by old canals that have been replaced by pipe.
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A farmer’s field is not necessarily the best place for species to overwinter, and providing opportunities for wildlife to get out of the cold and get some shelter is critical for their survival on the agricultural landscape.
“A lot of this is already on the landscape, it’s just working with producers to try to make more of it and a lot of producers are doing it on their own too,” he said. “Or they want to do it but they need help getting started figuring out some ideas. That’s where we come in. (We) try to meet with producers and give them some different ideas that will work for them, their farm and what they are doing.”
The wetland not only helps attract waterfowl but also acts as an area in which water from low-lying areas of the surrounding farmland can be moved in the event of a soggy spring.
“Wetlands are biodiversity hotspots. So many different species use them,” he said. “Water quality is getting to be a huge concern with how warm everything is getting so having wetlands, they can act as filters a lot of the time.”
Aside from attracting birds and mammals, the area features an enclosure for rearing grey partridge, which also allows for hunting opportunities. And hunting can provide its own benefits to the wider community as well, said Seward.
“It provides a huge economic benefit to a lot of these rural communities that don’t always have so many people coming in,” he said.
Nathan Stamp, whose family farms the land owned by the Haggins family, said the initiative was part of an idea to maintain some of the land for wildlife and hunting and has proven to be an opportunity to do both, while not impacting the substantial amount of farming in the area.
“We’ve had a good family relationship for the last 20 years and it’s a good fit to work together on this,” said Stamp.
Maximizing the irrigated portions of the land while saving some for hunting and conservation purposes has proven to be successful through the partnership with the ACA and the Haggins.
“Farming in southern Alberta has gotten intense. For us to have a good working relationship with landowners where they can have a benefit, we can have a benefit… where everybody’s goals are being met,” said Stamp.
