By Sheldon Spackman

Lacombe County seeking ALUS program participants for 2018

Feb 11, 2018 | 7:00 AM

A program to promote sustainable agriculture through alternative land uses in Lacombe County is now accepting its next group of participants.

The ALUS Lacombe County program is a farmer-delivered program that financially compensates landowners and agriculture producers for the community-developed delivery of ecosystem services.

Examples of ALUS projects include the construction of solar-powered watering stations, establishing shelterbelts or natural vegetation, seeding grass or perennial crops around ecologically sensitive areas, building hen houses, planting trees or creating a pollinator garden to name a few.

In 2017, the Lacombe County program saw four landowners participate in the ALUS initiative, with five projects being accepted for ALUS funding. As a result, 97 acres were enrolled in the ALUS Lacombe County program to improve ecosystems, with $8,400 in compensation committed to county landowners for providing ecosystems in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

In a release, ALUS Lacombe County Program Coordinator Jalene Makus says, “We are so proud of the relationships and projects we established in 2017 and are putting out a call to producers and landowners in Lacombe County to come on board and help us grow this program even more.”

UPDATE

Red Deer Polytechnic confirms student death on-campus

3h ago

retrofitting building

Carnival Cinemas applies to rezone for residential development

5h ago

Over 65 participants

Two-day family violence training hosted in Lacombe

5h ago

Makus goes on to say it was a great first year for the program in 2017 and they want to keep the momentum going to continue protecting sensitive lands and resources for future generations.

“Each of these projects will lead to significant environmental impacts for the county as a whole.”

For more details and information on the ALUS Lacombe County Program, call 1-403-782-8959 or email jmakus@lacombecounty.com.