Deal to protect ranch from development means family can keep raising cattle there
An agreement to protect a sprawling ranch in southern Alberta from development is the largest of its kind in the country, the Nature Conservancy of Canada says, and will allow the family that owns it to continue raising cattle there.
The 22,000-hectare McIntyre Ranch was founded south of Lethbridge, Alta., in 1894 by William McIntyre and it remained in his family until his son, Billy, died in 1947.
A longtime family friend and employee, Ralph Thrall, bought the property after Billy's death and the Thrall family continues to own and operate it today.
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
“We've just maintained the legacy of sustainable ranching that the McIntyres began when they came up from Texas and saw the overgrazing that had occurred through the Midwest, and so they learned through others' mistakes and left the grass rather than taking it all,” Ralph Thrall III said Sunday in a phone interview from Lethbridge.
The agreement, formally announced Monday in recognition of Earth Day, is a partnership between the Thrall family, the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Ducks Unlimited that gives both organizations conservation easements on the property in perpetuity to prevent it from future development, crop planting, or even wind and solar farms.
In return, Thrall says his family continues to own the property while getting a financial boost for their ranching business.
The Nature Conservancy says McIntyre Ranch contains some of Canada's most significant uninterrupted blocks of rough fescue grasslands and over 1,000 hectares of wetlands which it says support an abundance of wildlife. It also provides carbon storage and water filtration.
Over 80 per cent of native prairie grasslands in the three Prairie provinces have been lost to other uses, the Conservancy says.
The property is home to over 150 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish. Recent wildlife surveys have revealed 27 species of concern living there, including ferruginous hawk, chestnut-collared longspur and American badger.
The Conservancy says keeping the land sustainably grazed by cattle is important because their grazing behaviour approximates the historic actions of bison.
“The successful completion of the McIntyre Ranch campaign underscores the power of collaboration and community engagement in conserving Canada's Prairie grasslands,” said Tom Lynch-Staunton, Nature Conservancy of Canada's regional vice-president.
“We hope this significant milestone is just one of many future achievements in our efforts to safeguard our planet's most endangered ecosystems.”
The Nature Conservancy says hundreds of donors made the agreement possible. It says contributions also came from the Government of Alberta through the Alberta Land Trust Grant Program, as well as from the federal government through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and private contributors also chipped in.
Thrall himself wasn't always interested in ranching. At one point in younger days, he spent a year as a professional golfer. But he says he and his siblings grew up understanding the family's ranch was unique.
He encourages other ranchers interested in protecting their land from development to investigate similar easements.
“If it was about the money, then yeah, we would be selling the ranch and living far more comfortably on the interest from the proceeds,” Thrall says.
“That's the price our family is prepared to make for the preservation of something that there isn't very much left of.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2024.
--By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.