Grassland selloff

[ASRG]

Consider how this thing went down?
First off SLM Spud Farm tried to buy the 16,000 acres without any tender. After the Western Stockgrowers and the Wilderness Association raised concerns about the deal and started asking questions about political cronyism, SLM withdrew their offer.
Wait a year and suddenly Mel Knight decides it is in the provinces interest to put the 16,000 acres up for tender? He stresses that anyone buying it MUST irrigate? Now who would have the amount of water allocation necessary to irrigate? Probably the only buyer who might have enough water allocation would be SLM!
This is another "Crony deal". SLM was a significant donor to the PC party.
Notice Knight states very clearly the private sale of this land must be for "irrigation"......cutting out any conservation group or grazers from buying the property!
Knight also states all endangered species must be protected? How do you protect burrowing owls and ferruginous hawks in a potatoe field? Answer: you don't.

[rkaiser]

16000 acres of pertatoes? What the hell are they going to do with al them thar pertatoes - make em into biofuel? LOL

[ALLFARMER]

That sounds great Smc!

[per]

The Alberta Government talks about doing conservation through Land Trusts and other tools which is good but why take a tract of native grass which they already own and therefore is already protected from development and the natural capital is intact and sell it to private interests to be cultivated and pretend that using that money in an Eco friendly manner diminishes the fact that breaking up the native ecosystem is OK if we protect something else somewhere else. The something else somewhere else could be protected as well as the land they removed the protection from.

Just to be clear, my neighbor broke a bunch of native grass last year. Although I found it personally sad this was his land and his prerogative to break it up. The land we are discussing here is crown land and it is inconsistent to say the least for the crown to sell something that they have repeatedly pointed out needs protecting. Just like them to make something more not less vulnerable.

Sorry for the runnnnn onn sentences above but a rant is a rant.

[ASRG]

The fact is simple? Paying off a political debt. Big party contributions require big pay offs?
Note very clearly this land will not be sold to anyone who can't irrigate and grow potatoes? Sort of limits the field of bidders?
The timing is right. Outgoing premier isn't going to do anything....incoming premier won't have time before the tender ends! the people and media will be focussing on getting a new leader for the government and very possibly a snap election? Who will be watching or worrying about a piece of grass out in the boondocks?

[per]

I visited with a journalist working for a few radio stations yesterday. She has been digging into this story and was rather excited about bringing this all out in the open again. So maybe the information will hit the streets again. Of course not everyone sees this as an issue.

[smcgrath76]

It was on the Ab Conservation Radio
program this morning.
I liken the logic to shooting the second
last bengal tiger so you can sell the hide
to protect more tigers.

[per]

Thanks for that, at least now I can get my mind around the logic.

[Happytrails]

Whoo-ee, it must be worse than I thought. When bona fide primary agriculture producers start advocating a moratorium on cultivation (the foundation of civilization)I can't imagine what is next. All cultivated ground was either a forest or grassland before. If we are to keep the world fed we can't quit the game that got us here. HT

[wd40]

All you need to do is find on that land a rare garder snake close to extinsion and it will be put into permanent conservatory propert.