Grasslands, Wetlands

A unique land donation: The Arnold project

DUC will carry on family’s commitment to land stewardship

January 24, 2022

A special piece of property in the Buffalo Lake area has been gifted to DUC.

The Arnold Land Donation is a 106-acre (43-hectare) parcel of native parkland and cultivated land located west of Bashaw in the Buffalo Lake area. The landowner, Ms. Arnold, and her family have lived on the property for generations. After careful consideration, she decided to work with DUC to ensure the land will remain in the natural state her family had worked so hard to establish.

Through DUC’s planned giving program, Ms. Arnold worked with DUC staff to customize her land donation, ensuring the property would be restored and maintained according to her wishes for years to come.

In the spring of 2021, with the transfer of land complete, DUC began the process of restoring the natural hydrology to eight basins of wetland habitat on the parcel.

Fifty acres (20 hectares) of upland habitat that was in a cropland rotation was then seeded to a perennial cover stand. DUC also constructed 2.4 kilometres of fencing to accommodate future livestock grazing. As part of the overall restoration plan for the parcel, the existing yard site in the corner of the property was removed and the area reclaimed.

There is no greater win for wetlands and DUC than when private landowners like Ms. Arnold choose to work with our team to restore and conserve these critical ecosystems.

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