April 24, 2008
Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS): a timely step for ducks and the environment in PEI
On April 24, 2008, Alternative Land Use Services or “ALUS” took center stage for conservation in the Prince Edward Island, and Delta Waterfowl along with Delta members in PEI were right in the middle of it. Kevin Arsenault, a pioneering founder of Delta’s first PEI chapter said, “this is a great day for conservation in PEI, and as an Islander and Delta member, I’m proud to be part of it. ALUS is a conservation solution that will work with the farmers and our communities, to maintain, restore and enhance habitat for waterfowl here on the Island, but also for trout and other wildlife species.”
As Vice President of Policy for Delta Waterfowl, I joined environment Minister George Webster and agriculture Minister Neil LeClair at the podium to announce the new ALUS program, a first for PEI and a first for Canada. But now that the celebration is over and the real work begins... what is new about ALUS and why should waterfowl hunters, anglers, bird- watchers, naturalists, farmers and others embrace this new program concept?
ALUS is an incentive- based program, which means it rewards farmers and others for restoring and improving the environment. ALUS uses incentives to pay farmers to provide ecological goods and services: things like waterfowl habitat. ALUS is a new conservation concept for PEI and Canada. At Delta, we like to say ALUS is “community led and farmer delivered.” This means that communities, farmers, waterfowl hunters and others participate up- front in the development of ALUS projects where they live.
ALUS was founded by grassroots farm organizations who understand policy and program design from a local perspective- they know what is needed to make a conservation program work out on the land. The new ALUS program in PEI was developed by community watershed groups, working with government, farmers and conservation interests. ALUS works because it recognizes that people are a key part of any environmental policy solution, and incorporates the views of the community in conservation planning, while also giving the community a prominent role in controlling and managing the project.
Waterfowlers realize nowadays that the only way to create meaningful, landscape habitat changes that benefits ducks is through agricultural policy tools like ALUS. Further, without direct farmer and community involvement, there can be no progress on agricultural policy. Thankfully, ALUS was designed and intially implemented with agricultural producers in the lead which gives it the best chance for success across Canada.
Pictured L to R; Minister George Webster (Environment, Energy and Forestry), Minister Neil LeClair (Agriculture); Dr. Bob Bailey (Delta Waterfowl); Kevin MacIsaac (Chair PEI Potato Board) and Fred Cheverie (Director of Souris and area watershed group)
ALUS couldn’t come to PEI and Canada at a better time for ducks and duck hunters. Increasing prices for grains, oilseeds and feedstock for ethanol production are strong market signals, pushing farmers to put all available land into production. The rise in commodity prices are moving producers out of livestock and churning the pastures and grasslands back into crop production. That is tough news for ducks because most nest in grass cover. ALUS is an opportunity to pay producers to maintain some of their land in grass, and to conserve sensitive lands like wetlands and riparian zones, as natural areas. ALUS will help to offset market pressures to cultivate more land by allowing farmers to farm the best cropland, and paying incentives to convert marginal lands into wildlife habitat. In this way overall farm production can be maintained, while the farmer also realizes income from marginal lands providing ecological services. Coupled with other Delta duck production measures such as Hen Houses and predator management, local duck production can be maintained in the face of growing market pressures on farmland and wildlife habitat.