Alberta Land Trust Grant Program

Funding can be used for:

• Securement of a conservation easement that is registered on the land title for perpetuity.
• Land assessment and planning involved with a new conservation easement or fee simple land acquired by the land trust, such as undertaking a baseline survey.
• Administrative costs involved in obtaining or maintaining the conservation easement or fee simple land acquired by the land trust. Costs must be directly related to the project such as legal fees, accounting, and bookkeeping.
• Extension directly related to the project (for example, educational signage).
  • Grant funding cannot be used to raise funds or increase membership.
• Stewardship Endowment to ensure the continued conservation and maintenance of the property.
• When funding is available, project development funding for the development of new projects.

Funding cannot be used for the following:

• Land purchases.
• Existing conservation projects – Grants from this program are intended to enable new conservation projects only.
• Conservation easements or fee simple land acquired by the land trust more than a year prior to the application closing date (at the discretion of the Department).
• Expenses not directly related to the costs of this project.

• A land trust is a not-for-profit, non-government organization established to promote the conservation of biodiversity on private land.
• Eligible applicants are land trusts based in Alberta that operate and deliver conservation programs exclusively in Alberta.
• Eligible applicants must provide other leveraged funding and demonstrate that their application aligns with the Department’s overall conservation objectives and requirements of the program.

The Alberta Land Stewardship Fund was established following changes in 2010 to the Public Lands Act, resulting from the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.

All Alberta Land Trust Grant applications will be reviewed for completion and eligibility. An internal review committee will verify that the proposed project aligns with the Department’s conservation objectives and that the appropriate amount of leveraged funding is available.

Recommendations from the review committee will then be submitted to the Deputy Minister for final approval.
 

The internal review committee comprises representatives from:

• Lands Policy and Programs
• Rangeland and Resource Stewardship
• Fish and Wildlife
• Regional Planning
• Finance

If needed, the internal review committee will consult with regional field staff located near the project areas for expert opinion.

Project proposals will be evaluated on the following:

1. Alignment with Government of Alberta conservation priorities.

• maintaining large areas of native landscape
• conserving connecting corridors
• sustaining disconnected pockets of native habitat within fragmented landscapes
• supporting watershed functions for healthy aquatic ecosystems and water quality

2. Contribution to secondary targets and objectives for conservation priorities include:

• maintain working landscapes
• increase biodiversity values
• support the conservation for species at risk
• support carbon sequestration
• support recreation opportunities
• support ecosystem goods and services

3. Ability to leverage funds.
   Leveraging categories include:

• cash
• the value of the donated land or conservation easement
• in kind services such as manpower and equipment donations directly related to the project
• other committed grants

Land trusts must submit reporting as directed by the program area to the Department that outlines the land trust’s achievements and funding used to date. Land trusts must also submit a final report at the conclusion of their project that describes the conservation outcomes achieved by the grant.