MD of Taber reconsiders grasslands irrigation
December 1, 2025
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After opposition from conservation organizations, alongside Municipal District (MD) of Taber Grazing Lessees and the Vauxhall Stock Grazing Association, the MD of Taber has paused an irrigation project that would have abolished six sections of native grassland.
The proposed conversion of six sections (about 15 square kilometres) of native grassland to irrigated cropland has been put on pause, after a new MD of Taber Council was elected. They are also reconsidering the changes to grazing lease tenure that would have been necessary to convert these sections for irrigation.
In 2011, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) conducted a valued landscapes analysis, which included these grasslands and found “the public lands along the reach of the South Saskatchewan River between Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, and the southernmost reaches of the Bow River are an important corridor of dry mixed grass prairie that links the Oldman and Bow river corridors to the eastern prairie grasslands, including patches west of CFB Suffield which serve as stepping stones to the north.” Currently, consideration is being given to conservation easements that will cover native grasslands on MD of Taber public lands. NCC has been approached to develop a business case.
Discussions between the grazing leaseholders and the MD of Taber are ongoing.
Background
In August, AWA learned that the MD of Taber was considering converting six sections of municipal public native grasslands into irrigated cropland. The MD of Taber has given assurances that these lands would not be broken, even prohibiting grazing leaseholders from converting these lands.
Supporting the grazing leaseholders, who had acted as stewards of these lands for generations, AWA wrote to Richard Phillips (General Manager of Bow River Irrigation District), Tamara Miyanaga (Reeve, Municipal District of Taber), and Danielle Smith (Premier of Alberta). We asked them to support a pause on the conversion of these native grasslands, emphasizing the need to prioritize native grasslands, as mentioned in the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan (SSRP).
AWA also joined SAGE in presenting written and verbal submissions to the MD of Taber Council. We pointed out that the project would destroy vital native grasslands and objected to the speed of the process. We asked for the council to comply with the SSRP and re-evaluate the proposed changes for the sections of native grasslands.
In September, we heard that the decision to irrigate these grasslands narrowly passed by a vote of 4 to 3. Those opposed expressed concerns with the speed of the process, and a lack of compliance with protecting native grasslands.
In late November, we received the news that this irrigation project had been paused, and the grazing leaseholders were in discussion with the MD of Taber. We continue to push for grasslands protection, and would like to see formal protections, such as conservation easements, on these municipal grasslands.