A Riparian Health Assessment in Red Deer County after eight years. (Supplied)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Alternative Land Use Services

Red Deer County shares results of eight-year project: how farmers benefit the environment

Apr 24, 2023 | 1:08 PM

Red Deer County will be sharing the results of an eight-year project measuring environmental health on farms and ranches involved in Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS).

In 2015, the County contracted Cows and Fish, also known as the Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society, to do Riparian Health Assessments (RHAs) on farms and ranches that were adopting environmentally beneficial agriculture practices, including riparian management livestock fencing, alternative livestock watering systems, and rotational grazing practices.

Riparian areas are the ecological zones immediately beside lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands.

“Healthy riparian areas benefit everyone by providing valuable ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water quality enhancement, flood protection and habitat for pollinators and wildlife,” said County officials in a release.

They state initial RHAs measured baseline environmental health on 51 sites across the county, where the practices were adopted with ALUS support. Four years later, in 2018, Cows and Fish returned to the same sites, and did “Re-Visit Riparian Health Assessments” after the environmentally beneficial practices had been in place for a number of years. Results of the Re-Visit RHAs were compared to the initial baseline RHAs, to determine how riparian health has changed over time as a result of County farmers’ and ranchers’ actions.

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These same sites were then re-measured again from 2019 through to 2022.

A Riparian Health Assessment in Red Deer County before and after shots. (Supplied)

The County says this project is one of the highest concentrations of “before and after” assessments of the impacts of environmentally beneficial agriculture practices in Alberta.

“Having Cows and Fish do these objective third-party measurements is key to the future of initiatives like ALUS,” officials said in a release.

A Riparian Health Assessment in Red Deer County before and after shots. (Supplied)

On Wednesday, April 26 at 1 p.m., County farmers, ranchers, and various stakeholders and agencies will attend a presentation and discussion at Crossroads Church (38105 Range Rd 275) to hear the results.

Kelsey Spicer-Rawe, a Riparian Specialist with Cows and Fish, will be speaking on behalf of ALUS Red Deer County.

A lunch will be provided before the presentation for those who pre-register.

For information or to pre-register, contact Ken Lewis at klewis@rdcounty.ca or 403-342-8653.