Parcel of land near Claresholm, Alta. set aside to protect at-risk species

Almost 650 hectares of land have been added to an existing region of protected grassland west of Claresholm, Alta. (Supplied/NCC/Brent Calver)

A section of land has been added to a protected area along southern Alberta's Porcupine Hills, a region filled with grasslands and forests that are home to at-risk birds and trees.

Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) says the 643-hectare property located west of Claresholm in the M.D. of Willow Creek will create a single protected block of approximately 1,900 hectares. It will also add to the almost 7,700 hectares of protected land along the eastern edge of the Porcupine Hills.

The land itself is very important to many species, NCC says, because grasslands "are one of the most at-risk ecosystems on the planet."

"Over 80 per cent of this project's area features high-quality fescue grasslands," NCC said in a release.

"Protecting this ecosystem will maintain habitat for grassland wildlife, including Sprague's pipit, a songbird listed as 'threatened' under the federal Species at Risk Act, and nutritious winter forage for deer, elk and cattle."

NCC says the site also includes 96 hectares of riverbank habitat as well as forests at its highest elevations, which is home to limber pine, an endangered species of tree.

"This area contains such a rich array of habitats," said Lee Moltzahn, NCC's natural area manager, in a release. "From Trout Creek, which supports several fish species and shorebirds, to its fescue grasslands, which are important for grazing elk and nesting songbirds, and to the ridgetop forests with imperiled limber pine, this place is home to some of Alberta's most important and iconic species."

Other species observed on or near the property include the golden eagle (sensitive in Alberta), the ferruginous hawk (threatened federally, at-risk in Alberta), the great blue heron (sensitive), eastern kingbird (sensitive) and sharp-tailed grouse (sensitive).

NCC says the region will also serve as core habitat for grizzly bears.

The project, made possible through the assistance of the Government of Canada, illustrates how the NCC "is accelerating the pace of conservation in Canada."

"A conservation agreement between NCC and the property's landowner voluntarily restricts development and conversion rights on the land. This legal agreement will ensure that the property continues operating as a working cattle ranch, while maintaining the landscape in a natural, healthy, unfragmented state."

In the past two years, NCC has aided in the protection of more than 1 million hectares of land in Canada.