BARRHEAD – It is something Lisa Card has been working towards ever since she became coordinator of H2C, and now thanks to a decision by County of Barrhead Councillors, it is one step closer to becoming a reality.
On Jan. 18, County of Barrhead councillors unanimously approved the terms of reference for ALUS.
ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) is a community-led, farmer delivered initiative that supports stewardship activities on agricultural lands.
Originating in Manitoba, ALUS came to Alberta in 2010 and currently has chapters in a dozen rural municipalities, the closest being Lac Ste. Anne County. In addition to Alberta and Manitoba, ALUS is active in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.
H2C (Highway 2 Conservation) is also an environmental stewardship group. While it started as a partnership with Westlock County and Athabasca County, the County of Barrhead joined in 2011 and became the managing partner in 2015.
"(ALUS) is a program by producers for producers," Card explained. "Its purpose is to enhance and maintain ecosystem services on agricultural land. What that means in practice is that the ALUS program supports project and annual maintenance costs."
County manager Debbie Oyarzun said they first became interested in ALUS after a presentation Lac Ste. Anne County made to the Agricultural Services Board (ASB) in October 2019.
A few months later, in February 2020, County of Barrhead councillors voted to send a letter of expression of interest asking to allow the group to rebrand and join ALUS.
In the fall of 2021, Oyarzun said ALUS Canada signed a memorandum of understanding with the county to the local ALUS partnership, which includes Westlock County and Athabasca County, with the County of Barrhead being the administrative partner.
"Across the province, the ALUS program is provided by a single municipality, perhaps sometimes two," Oyarzun said. "Ours is unique with three partners."
As part of the MOA, ALUS Canada has agreed to provide $70,000 through an anonymous donor to set up the organization.
However, before they receive the funding, they must set up a board of governors (partnership advisory committee or PAC).
Card said the PAC will include two representatives from each community.
One of the representatives must be an agricultural producer, while the other can be either an elected official or a member of the community's agricultural services board (ASB).
"We want both members to have an understanding of agricultural issues," Oyarzun said, adding it will be up to each municipality as to how to appoint their representatives.
Card then went through the rest of the terms of reference, from PAC member responsibilities, to compensation, to meeting rules and procedures.
"The terms of reference is a living document. It can be amended as needed," she said, noting any changes must be approved by council.
One of the benefits of being an ALUS member, Card said, is that ALUS Canada does the legwork and looks for funding sources on their members’ behalf.
"Another big draw is that with ALUS, there can be annual payments to producers to be part of these programs. There's no way H2C can fund these types of projects," Card said. "If we are going to be asking producers to do these ecosystem services, then they have to be compensated. Stuff isn't free."
“If a producer is going to take out three acres of pasture land to put in a riparian fence, he should be compensated for that. I truly believe that is the only way we can create sustainable agriculture projects."
Card said she believes they will have everything in place and be ready to start funding projects in the spring.
