CALGARY - Southern Alberta ranchers are banding together to preserve a huge swath of native grassland almost untouched by development.
The Waldron Grazing Co-op has agreed to place a conservation easement on more than 12,000 hectares of rolling prairie and foothills in southwest Alberta.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada, which worked on the project, says the $37.5-million deal is the largest of its kind in Canadian history.
The co-op's 72 ranchers have agreed the land will never be subdivided or farmed and none of its wetlands drained.
They will continue to own the land and use it for ranching.
Energy development is to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The land is home to every species native to it — from meadowlarks to grizzly bears.