Land Stewardship Priorities

Ecological Goods and Services
Biodiversity

Many excellent resources, programs and organizations exist to help identify land stewardship priorities, adopt a wide range of management practices, and achieve personal goals that are more environmentally sustainable. In no order of priority, the following is a list of some of the major priorities for individuals who care for a piece of land in an Alberta Natural Region.
(If you think others should be added, please contact us.)

In all land-use decisions, maintain and enhance the remaining natural communities of our landscapes: wooded areas, ponds, streams, shelterbelts, native grasslands and aspen parklands;
Restore and maintain water quality, improve livestock management practices, as well as other land-uses, beside Alberta's rivers, creeks, streams and other water bodies. Just about everything you like and need from these water sources depends on keeping the vegetation alongside them in a natural state;
Learn about and use existing and emerging knowledge of land-use practices and techniques that help to maintain biodiversity and mimic natural processes on the landscape;
Use the wide variety of resources and programs available to monitor and assess the environmental sustainability of your land-uses - from home energy audits to on-farm environmental risk assessments and holistic resource planning;
Small changes (combined) can make a big difference . . . whether a farm, ranch, acreage or backyard, make it a personal goal to restore and maintain at least 10% of your private property in a natural state (natural to your landscape region). There are many ways to do this while still making use of the land;
Develop plans and continue adopting practices that help reduce the linear use of resources - especially non-renewable resources (e.g. oil and gas, pesticides and artificial fertilizers). Aim to mimic natural, continuous cycles of reuse and renewal of all the resources on your land and in your landscape;
Stay informed and choose to get involved in issues and developments that do not incorporate the Four Guiding Principles (of environmental sustainability).
Work towards setting quality of life goals - for your family, your business and your community - that are not measured by money and possessions;
Try to go for a regular walk in a natural landscape, without a destination or thoughts of other matters in mind. The purpose is to refrain from talking and concentrate fully on what is happening around you: the sights, smells, and sounds.

EFFECTIVE STEWARDSHIP MAINTAINS AND RESTORES THE ECOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS WHICH PRODUCE THE GOODS AND SERVICES WE, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS, DEPEND UPON.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Major portions of the preceding text were excerpted with permission and thanks from the website ,"Alberta's Special Places", created and hosted by Ray Rasmussen at Afternet. The text at thissite was largely written by Kevin Van Tighem for the magazine publication, Borealis which is no longer published). Additional text, including "Land Stewardship Priorities", was written by Ken Gurr of the Land Stewardship Centre of Canada.