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This program conserves ecologically important areas to prevent habitat fragmentation, maintain biodiversity and preserve native landscapes.
The Alberta Land Trust Grant Program accepts applications annually. To request an application package, interested Alberta Land Trusts should send an email to [email protected].
Closing date for applications is September 15th annually.
Alberta Land Trust Grant Program (LTGP) grants are available to eligible land trust organizations. These grants help establish and administer new conservation easements on private land and/or administer new conservation projects on land trusts titled land.
Conservation easements are legally binding voluntary agreements between a landowner and a land trust. When placed on the land title, an easement restricts future surface development but allows current activities, such as grazing, to continue. The landowner retains title of the property.
Grants approved through this program are not available for the purchase of land.
A land trust is a not-for-profit, non-government organization established to promote the conservation of biodiversity on private land. Any land trust currently registered in Alberta is eligible to apply but must provide other funding and demonstrate that their project aligns with the government’s overall conservation objectives.
The Alberta Land Stewardship Fund was established following changes in 2010 to the Public Lands Act, resulting from the Alberta Land Stewardship Act.
Any registered Alberta land trust organization can apply for funding from the program. The land trust organization must have stated in their mission statement that their purpose is for land conservation.
The objectives of the program are to provide grants to land trust organizations to help establish and administer new conservation easements on private land and/or administer new conservation projects on land trusts titled land. Grants will not be awarded to enable purchase of private land.
Interested land trusts should send an email to request an application package. Applications for the annual grant cycle are to be received by September 15th annually.
Project proposals will be evaluated on the following:
Once AEP receives an application package, the package is reviewed to determine completeness. An internal review committee will then determine eligibility by verifying that the proposed project aligns with the Department’s conservation objectives and that the appropriate amount of leveraging is available.
Recommendations from the review committee will then be submitted to the Deputy Minister for final approval.
The internal review committee is comprised of representatives from Rangeland Policy, Rangeland Resource Stewardship, Fish & Wildlife Policy, Regional Planning and Finance. The internal review committee also consults with field staff located near the project areas for expert opinion.
There are no limits on the number of projects or locations a land trust can apply for. Each project will be evaluated independently, and will require an individual application.
Project funding must be used within 3 years of the funding allocation date.
Funding can be used for:
Funding for the program is from the Land Stewardship Fund and is generated from the proceeds of public land sales.
Land trusts must submit an annual report to AEP. This report outlines the land trust’s achievements and funding used to date. Land trusts must also submit a final report that describes the conservation outcomes achieved by the grant.
Funds can be placed into a Stewardship Endowment Fund, but the funds must be earmarked for the project that they were awarded for.
Grants from this program are intended to enable "new" conservation projects (for example, new lands placed under conservation easements); therefore, funding requests for existing conservation projects will not be considered. Therefore, conservation easements obtained or land titles donated greater than a year prior to the application closing date are not eligible.
Connect with the Alberta Land Trust Grant program:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Email: [email protected]
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