Conserving Land, Livelihood, Legacy.
Photo Credit: Kim Taylor
Landowner Driven Conservation
for Southern Alberta
The Southern Alberta Land Trust Society (SALTS) was founded in 1998 by ranchers committed to slowing the conversion and fragmentation of ranch lands, supporting ranching communities, and safeguarding Alberta’s irreplaceable natural assets – native grasslands and healthy watersheds.
Less than 12% of our original grasslands remain intact on private land in southern Alberta. Yet what remains of these grasslands, and the watersheds they support, provides enormous economic and other benefits for Albertans.
These benefits include prime grazing for cattle, natural water filtration and storage, critical wildlife habitat, and incredible scenery - foundational for both our beef and tourism industries, and essential for clean water and outdoor recreation which are at the core of our Albertan identity.
SALTS exists to support landowners who want to keep their remaining grasslands in grazing and not converted to land uses that permanently undermine their benefits.
To this day, SALTS continues to be rancher-led and connected to the land and the communities we serve. We work collaboratively with landowners to provide voluntary conservation tools that meet their needs.
Conservation easements, a key tool the Southern Alberta Land Trust Society offers, can play a valuable role in ranch transitions and often provides opportunities to support tax and estate planning.
SALTS In Numbers
75
conservation easements
99.5%
of conserved lands actively used for grazing/beef production
65
families partnered with
$125,000,000
in conservation easement transactions
70,000
acres of grasslands, watersheds, and habitat conserved
$500,000
invested in landowner projects that support grassland and watershed health
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