NCC_AR_2013 - page 16-17

Total number of
properties secured: 10
Acres (hectares) secured: 7
,723 (3,125)
Land value:
$8,787,230
Number of stewardship
volunteers:
313
Mountain goat, Crowsnest
Pass Natural Area, AB
Photo by NCC
land securement
july 1, 2012–June 30, 2013
16
17
Having extended the 2012 CV season well into October and now carrying out a packed calendar of
events in 2013, NCC staff and volunteers were busy. They completed seven events during the month of
July, which included removing invasive weeds such as black henbane, creeping thistle, blueweed, com-
mon tansy and toadflax from NCC properties.
Restoring habitat in th
e
t
o encourage the return of at-risk northern leopard frogs. Al-
though the species was once plentiful in the area, it has not been seen here since 2003. At both sites, cattle
access will be managed by constructing fences around two ponds where the species have historically been
found and moving water troughs away from them. NCC’s long-term goal is to work with Alberta Fish and
Wildlife to relocate northern leopard frog egg masses to these sites.
Alberta’s foothills were settled by ranching families in the 1800s, transforming the
rolling grasslands into cattle country. Today, the area is under immense pressure
from a variety of sources, including recreational development. Thanks to the con-
tinued support of the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada, NCC placed
covering more than 4,100 acres (1,660 hectares) on three
properties along the
— a small yet critical natural ecosystem in Alberta
that stretches south from Longview to the U.S. border along the eastern slopes of the
Rocky Mountains. These agreements on the Nadeau, C. Barr and Ross Creek properties
will allow ranchers to continue their sustainable use of these working landscapes
while conserving their natural values in perpetuity.
Other accomplishments in this province last year included:
“We cannot improve the
beauty of nature but we
can conserve and protect
it. And that is a legacy to
be proud of.”
Gerald Cooper-Key
NCC supporter in Alberta
ALBERTA