Prairie preservation: Agreement would see ranch south of Lethbridge protected

A campaign has been launched to complete the process to protect the McIntyre Ranch, south of Lethbridge, because of it's value as a critical part of the Canadian ecosystem. (Supplied/Leta Pezderic)

A push to protect more than 22,000 hectares of Prairie land located south of Lethbridge needs your help.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) have been working together to conserve the 130-year-old McIntyre Ranch, one of the largest remaining tracts of grassland and wetlands in Canada.

Numerous individuals and organizations, including the provincial and federal governments, have already pledged funding to protect the ranch, but more help is needed.

"Today, NCC launches a public campaign to raise the remaining $3 million needed to complete the project," officials said Thursday.

The land is currently owned by the Thrall family, who are using it as a working cattle ranch.

The family has owned it for three generations and, before them, it was owned by the McIntyres for two generations.

"We are grateful to be partnering with NCC and DUC as we work together and share the responsibility to conserve prairie grasslands. This relationship will help us achieve our sustainable ranching practices in conjunction with our 'balance with nature' philosophy," Ralph A. Thrall III, president and CEO of McIntyre Ranching Co. Ltd., said in a statement.

The NCC says Canadian grasslands are crucial to the ecosystem.

"Prairie grasslands feed us, filter our water, clean our air — and are rapidly vanishing," said NCC president and CEO Catherine Grenier in a statement. "Drawing together the commitments of governments, individuals, companies, NGOs and of course, the Thrall family, we are taking a massive and critical leap towards slowing grasslands loss.

"Conservation projects like the McIntyre Ranch give me hope."

The Nature Conservancy of Canada says the 22,000-hectare property is especially important because of its capacity for carbon capture. (Supplied/Leta Pezderic)

According to the NCC, Canadian grasslands are "one of the most threatened and least protected ecosystems worldwide."

"(They) continue to disappear due to land conversion, with nearly 60,000 hectares lost every year, including an estimated 10,000 hectares annually in Alberta.

"Today, only about 26 per cent of native prairie grasslands remain in Alberta."

A 2003 survey of the McIntyre Ranch identified more than 150 plant and wildlife species, including 13 species at risk.

More information and details on how to donate can be found online.