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GRAZING LEASES
Last modified March 11, 2006



Much of the native grassland in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan is public land, leased to ranchers for cattle grazing. In Alberta, these are administered by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

The provincial agencies monitor the condtion of the vegetation to ensure that it remains productive, and that any other values the land has are considered in the management plans. Grazing leases may not be "broken" for agriculture, and therefore have some protection. The leases are still subject to oil and gas extraction and pipeline construction.

RANCHLAND ETIQUETTE

Land and cattle are the basis of the ranching business. Asking the size of a ranch or herd is the equivalent of the rancher asking about your bank balance. If he wants to tell you the size of the operation, he will.

The most significant blocks of public land are also described here, to give a more complete vision of the area.

Major Units of Public Land

 Jurisdiction

Sq. Mi. 

Acres 

Hectares 
 Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park 10  6,400  2,590 
 Pinhorn Grazing Reserve 120  76,800  31,090 
 Kennedy Coulee Ecological Reserve 4  2,560  1,040 
 Onefour Agricultural Research Station 55  35,200  14,250 
 Sage Creek Community Pasture 120  76,800  31,090 
 Sage Creek & Milk River Natural Areas 20  12,800  5,180 
 Cypress Hills Provincial Park (AB) 80  51,200  20,730 
 Cypress Hills Provincial Park (SK) 71  45,470  18,410 
 Govenlock Community Pasture 107  68,420  27,700 
 Nashlyn Community Pasture 98  62,740  25,400 
 Battle Creek Community Pasture 111  71,120  29,200 

 Total area

796 

509,510 

206,680 

Satellite Image of Palliser's Country

Twenty-five satellite photos have been matched into a mosaic of the region. The Cypress Hills area has been lightened so the narrow band of coniferous trees can be more easily determined. The boundary between the grassland and the patterned cultivated fields has been drawn in yellow. The bottom of the photo is the international boundary, with the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary just to the right of centre.

A larger version of this photo can be downloaded here (file size about 1.1 MB).

Major roadless areas

Major Roadless Areas

 

 Name

Acres 
 1  Writing On Stone 70,000 
 2  Milk River 230,000 
 3  Sage Creek 110,000 
 4  Comrey 150,000 
 5  Ranchville 34,000 
 6  Eagle Butte 54,000 
 7  Lodge Creek 125,000 
 8  Middle Creek 155,000 
 9  Centre Block 210,000 
 10  East Cypress 130,000 
 11  Q Ranch 45,000 
12  Wildhorse 120,000 
13  South West PFRA Pastures 345,000 
14  Old Man On His Back 145,000 

ROAD is defined for this project as a public right-of-way that is maintained for vehicle traffic. (The roads separating Blocks 4 & 5 and Blocks 7 & 8 are only open in the summer.) These blocks are separated from each other by a single gravel or two lane asphalt road.

The roads give an appropriate level of access to the land for ranching and recreation. The large size of the roadless areas is a measure of how intact the natural ecosystem remains.













Environmentally Sensitive Areas

All rural municipalities in southern Alberta have been assessed with respect to the landscape's environmental sensitivity. This refers mainly to the degree that the area's vegetation and wildlife are significant. Much of Alberta's portion of Palliser's Country has been rated as being of national significance.

Click here for a larger map.


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