Saddle Hills County has announced the launch of a three-year trial of the Alternative Land Use Services program for agriculture producers in the county.
According to officials, ALUS will serve farmers and ranchers to build “nature-based” solutions on their land to sustain biodiversity for the benefit of future generations in the community.
The ALUS Program Coordinator in Saddle Hills will work with local producers to establish projects that will address a number of important environmental issues including work to restore “difficult to farm” lands into environmental projects in hopes they generate cleaner air and water, along with wildlife habitats, and other ecosystem services.
As a result of the program, ALUS participants in the county will receive professional support and an annual per-acre payment for the establishment and maintenance of the ecological projects.
The first step in the process will be the establishment of an ALUS Partnership Advisory Committee to allow stakeholders to guide the program in the community.
The county says the PAC will be responsible for deciding which projects will move forward and is designed to have a 50 per cent representation of local farmers and ranchers to ensure that context is available to inform participants in the ALUS program.