Grasslands, potatoes & water policy

A couple of follow up items to articles that we posted recently.

During our search on these topics, we stumbled upon a cool blog site devoted to the grasslands of the northern Great Plains: Trevor Herriot's Grass Notes

How about our Blog readers? If you’d like to chip in with your thoughts on these topics, just go to the ‘Comments’ section below. We’d love to hear from you.

Letter to the Editor

By Jack Glenn, Calgary Herald November 3, 2011

Re: "Water policy a Tory priority" Oct. 31.

Sure, like peace in the Middle East and a southwest ring road for Calgary. We've been hearing this for 40 years. Environment and Water Minister Diana Mc-Queen's bureaucrats appear to have convinced her that Alberta's water allocation system has worked well over the past 100 years. Before she buys into that advice, she should ask them to explain to her how it happened that the water in every major river system in southern Alberta is over allocated.

Jack Glenn, Calgary

Calgary Herald Editorial

The right decision on grasslands

Calgary Herald November 1, 2011

Premier Alison Redford deserves kudos for fulfilling her promise to stop the sale of 6,500 hectares of grassland habitat near Medicine Hat to be turned into a potato farm.

The land was put up for sale under the previous Stelmach government, even though it contradicted the advice of the province's advisory council, which it appointed to develop a land-use framework for the area.

Redford has all but confirmed this piece of Crown land, so vital for sustaining endangered species such as the burrowing owl and ferruginous hawk, will never come up for sale again. That comes as welcome relief for environmentalists, fish and game advocates and ranchers, who all opposed the sale.

The move is the right thing to do. This parcel was first the subject of controversy last fall, when it was revealed the province struck a secret deal with SLM Spud Farms. The deal was cancelled amid criticism it lacked transparency.

The Department of Sustainable Resource Development addressed the transparency issue by putting out a request for proposals in August, and required that any development be irrigated. Former minister Mel Knight, however, failed to acknowledge the sale contradicted the advisory council's recommendations to fiercely protect prairie grassland, categorized as "vulnerable habitat."

Redford's move shows she is listening, and importantly, suggests she believes in following the best process - in this case, waiting for the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan. A land-use framework guiding development of the South Saskatchewan region is tremendously important, as it is home to 80 per cent of Alberta's atrisk species, three-quarters of which live in the grasslands.