Nature Conservancy of Canada, 3900-acre ranch come to agreement
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — World Wetlands Day is Saturday, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada had a big Alberta announcement a day ahead of that.
The 3,950 acre Riverside Ranch in the foothills of southwest Alberta has been apart of the Zoratti family for over a century, and it is now also part of a conservation agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The family wishes to see that the ranch not only be conserved, but the natural landscape itself be protected.
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“Grasslands will never be cultivated, the streams won’t be diverted, wetlands won’t be drained, and the land won’t be recreationally developed. It will stay as a ranch and continue to be used as a ranch,” explained Larry Simpson, Associate Regional VP at the Conservancy.
The NCC hopes to make agreements like this one a few times a year, and in some case, will pay up to 20 per cent of the bare land value.
Conservation agreements can diminish the value of properties as much as 40 per cent.
WATCH: Riverside Ranch in Alberta (by Brent Calver)
