NCC conserving more of Waterton Park Front

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on February 1, 2023.

NCC photo - A herd of elk herd forage in the snow near Waterton. The Nature Conservancy of Canada has acquired a new conservation site outside the park as part of their efforts to conserve the Waterton Park Front.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has acquired a new conservation site outside Waterton Lakes National Park, protecting more than 250-hectares of fescue grasslands, forests, and wetlands in the area.

The 255-hectare project is located 10 kilometers south of Twin Butte in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek and Cardston County. It builds on over 13,000-hectares of private conservation lands surrounding Waterton Park, known as the Waterton Park Front, of which 75 per cent is now conserved.

“It is an area of the Province that NCC has been working on for around 25 to 30-years. We have a lot of conservation areas there already,” said Sean Feagan, spokesperson for the NCC.

“The Waterton ecosystem doesn’t stop at the park boundary. By conserving this area outside the park, we are trying to maintain this ecosystem in all its glory. That area of the province is unique throughout southern Canada,” said Feagan in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Two hundred fifty five hectares may appear small, but the acquisition helps benefit nature in the area, as it is an important corridor, or movement pathway, for wildlife in the area.

“What this project really does, is it builds on that existing network of conserved areas. This project is one property but there are two parcels that are separated by a couple of kilometers,” said Feagan.

“It’s all about making better connections. We are trying to maintain this intact ecosystem in perpetuity. Building this network of conserved areas that serves wildlife and other aspects of natural system in the future.”

Cattle ranching has sustained the natural value of the project, and the NCC will continue working with local ranchers. A grazing management plan will be developed to ensure that it is done sustainably.

“Having cattle on landscapes is very important to helping maintain these grasslands. Otherwise, without the cows grazing, it would get encroached by shrubs and trees,” said Feagan.

“Not only is it important to maintain the natural value of this system, it is also important to ensure that local ranchers have grass to feed their cows. This will continue to be a working landscape that benefits both nature and locals.”

The area is important for a wide range of animals’ habitats throughout the year.

“These mammals do what is called an elevation, or altitudinal, migration. Basically, in the spring they follow the pattern of what is called a ‘green out.’ As the plants start photosynthesizing in the spring, that pattern starts earliest at lower elevations and then increase to higher elevations,” said Feagan.

“Then in the fall, when these plants go dormant, they go back down, decrease in elevation, and congregate in the areas outside Waterton Lakes National Park, these areas that we are working to conserve.”

The NCC says this project showcases how it is accelerating the pace of conservation in Canada. Noting in the past two years it has influenced the protection of more than 1-million-hectares coast to coast. Adding that over the next few years, the organization will double its impact by mobilizing Canadians and delivering permanent, large-scale conservation.

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