A large plot of land in Crowsnest Pass has been set aside for wildlife conservation, complementing the province’s efforts to protect animals and Albertans in the area. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) announced Tuesday that a family who has owned a 160-acre property since 1925 has partnered with them to conserve it. Dale Kropinak’s grandfather purchased the land – one of the oldest deeded properties in Alberta – for a homestead and now, three generations later, the family wants to preserve it. “The Crowsnest Pass is one of Alberta’s great mountain landscapes, where people come from around the world to experience iconic wildlife and spectacular scenery,” said Tom Lynch-Staunton, the NCC’s regional vice-president in a news release. “By partnering with landowners like the Kropinaks, we’re helping keep these landscapes connected so bears, elk and other wildlife continue to thrive for generations to come.” The property connects with the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor, a five-kilometre-wide pathway through the Rocky Mountains that links Crown land in the north and Castle Provincial Park, Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park in the south. The provincial government has been working to build wildlife overpasses, underpasses and fencing along the corridor, so the Kropinak land will enhance those efforts. “This land has been in my family since my grandfather first homesteaded it in 1925, and I want to keep it the way it is. Partnering with NCC ensures it will stay intact, giving me peace of mind knowing it won’t ever be developed,” said Kropinak. The Crowsnest Pass is one of a few places where wildlife can cross the mountain landscape with few barriers. The conservation of private land helps preserve these connections and reduce the risk of human-wildlife conflict. Along Highway 3, between Lundbreck and the Alberta-B.C. border, wildlife collisions are estimated to cost more than $8 million annually. The NCC has helped conserve more than 700 hectares of private land within the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor to date.
