Ranching family’s commitment secures future for grasslands and grazing

Westwind Weekly News Photo Courtesy of Nature Conservancy of Canada. PARTNERSHIP EXPANSION: Adam Moltzahn with Southwells.

Nature Conservancy of Canada

A ranching family’s love for grasslands is helping protect clean water and support land-based livelihoods within a growing network of conservation land near Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta. With their generosity and care, the Southwell family is highlighting the important role ranchers play in maintaining healthy, productive landscapes that support wildlife and people alike. 

The Southwells’ conservation story 

The Southwell family bought the land in 2018 to live on it seasonally and graze their cattle and horses. Since, they’ve developed a deep appreciation for the land’s natural beauty and its importance to wildlife. Now, they’ve partnered with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to help conserve a landscape that includes a mix of forests and grasslands, one of the most threatened ecosystems in Canada. 

The family’s commitment ensures their land’s habitats will be able to thrive, thanks in part to their sustainable grazing practices. The family donated the full value of the conservation agreement to NCC. 

“We wanted to make sure this land stays the way it is — not just for our family, but for future generations. It’s a unique landscape, and being able to work with our neighbours to help protect a larger connected area made it an easy decision. This way, we know it will always be there for the wildlife and for people to appreciate,” said Rob Southwell. 

Part of a bigger picture 

This conservation project is part of a larger effort to conserve Alberta’s native grasslands for the long term. The Southwells’ land is near Police Outpost Provincial Park, west of Carway, where ranchers have partnered with NCC on 14 projects totalling about 5,700 hectares. Many local ranching families are collaborating with NCC on similar projects, adding to a growing network of working landscapes that benefit both people and nature. 

Together, these ranchers are doing something bigger than any one project. By helping to keep a large, connected grassland and foothills landscape intact, they are protecting soil and water, supporting wildlife movement, and keeping the land productive for agriculture. 

That matters in a landscape where only about 16 per cent of the original Foothills Fescue grassland in Alberta still remains intact. It’s an essential ecosystem that, once broken, can take centuries to recover. Grasslands provide many real benefits for people — including filtering water, reducing flooding and erosion, and providing critical habitat for the pollinators that underpin both wild ecosystems and agricultural production. 

“The Southwell family has made a truly generous and forward-thinking decision. By donating this conservation agreement, they’ve ensured that a unique piece of Alberta’s foothills landscape will remain intact for all Albertans who depend on healthy land. This is exactly the kind of partnership that makes lasting conservation possible,” said Tom Lynch Staunton, regional vice president, NCC.

Protecting water at its source 

The Southwell’s property connects to the Oldman River system, a watershed that serves approximately 210,000 residents across southwestern Alberta. Keeping grasslands intact and healthy protects that water supply at its source, where it is cleanest and where conservation is most cost-effective. 

The stakes are significant. Alberta’s irrigation districts draw on this same river system, and while they cover only 4.4 per cent of the province’s cultivated land, they generate 27 per cent of Alberta’s total primary agricultural sales. This contributes an estimated $6.5 billion to provincial GDP, supporting 55,000 full-time jobs. Clean, reliable water from healthy upstream watersheds is the foundation that makes all of it possible. 

Making conservation possible 

At its core, this project is a strong example of ranchers leading the way. Families like the Southwells are showing that working lands and conservation support one another. Across Alberta, NCC has partnered with more than 150 landowners to conserve nearly 90,000 hectares, much of it working land. 

This project was made possible the generosity and vision of the Southwell Family. It was also supported by Cenovus Energy through the Conserving Critical Wetlands Program. 

A portion of this project was donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada under the Government of Canada’s Ecological Gifts Program. This program provides enhanced tax incentives for individuals or corporations who donate ecologically significant land. 

NCC continues to advance similar projects across Alberta and Canada, working hand-in-hand with ranchers, Indigenous Nations, governments, businesses, foundations and individuals to protect the lands and waters that sustain us all. 

To help protect the places that sustain life, visit natureconservancy.ca/donate. 

—The Southwell property is a 16-hectare (40-acre) parcel in the foothills east of Waterton Lakes National Park and is part of the Waterton Biosphere Reserve, an internationally recognized landscape where people, nature and working landscapes coexist

—Species of management concern documented in the project area include black tern, eastern kingbird, sora, and trumpeter swan