Before and after photographs of an Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) project. (Red Deer County/provided)

By Jordan Rein

Agriculture

Alberta farmers see environmental gains through ALUS support program

Sep 17, 2025 | 1:49 PM

Producers in Alberta have been getting a boost from a program designed to bolster environmental initiatives on farms and ranches.

Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) provides cost-sharing agreements to farmers throughout the province to help fund initiatives that benefit the environment.

Projects have included fencing to preserve sensitive wetlands, tree planting, offset watering systems, buffer zones around agricultural lands and rivers, and more.

Ken Lewis, ALUS coordinator with Red Deer County says a typical agreement includes a five-year cost sharing agreement on infrastructure, which sees an initial payment to establish the project, with subsequent annual payments for ongoing maintenance.

Dozens of ALUS projects dot the landscape in Alberta in 18 counties, including Red Deer, Lacombe, Leduc, Rocky View, Wetaskiwin, Parkland, Wheatland and Mountain View counties.

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In central Alberta alone, Lewis says around 20 to 30 projects get approved annually in Red Deer County, with around half a dozen in Lacombe County every year.

“We’ve got around 200 farmers and ranchers in Red Deer County who have participated since 2013,” says Lewis. “In terms of acres, we’re now at around the 12,000 acres range [of lands] that are producing environmental services thanks to the great work our farmers and ranchers have done.”

The investments have made a real impact, says Lewis, as the county conducts regular riparian health assessments — a measurement of the environmental function of a water body or wetland.

“We’ll do an assessment when the farmer first starts the project,” says Lewis. “We’ll go back four or eight years later, and we’ll really see a trend of improvement.”

He adds, intake for the 2026 ALUS projects is beginning now.

For anyone wanting to find out more about ALUS, or to submit a project for 2026, click here.