TDC Conservation Areas

Conservation Purpose

Although there is always some pragmatic ‘opportunism’ in selecting TDC Conservation Areas, these decisions should be guided by the overall program purpose, and by the allowable purposes under the Alberta Land Stewardship Act. This seems obvious, but when designing the details of a TDC program, it quickly becomes tempting to structure a program to generate credit transfers, rather than one to conserve valued landscapes.

The overall program purpose should speak to the conservation goal the municipality is trying to accomplish. This may be a goal to conserve an ecological function or land type, a particular agricultural landscape, or an existing historical resource. At a minimum, this should be articulated in the Municipal Development Plan, the TDC Bylaw, and any other plan that guides land use in the affected area.

In reality, this purpose should already be there – communities turn to TDC programs to help accomplish an existing goal, not define one!

The Alberta Land Stewardship Act prescribes what a TDC Conservation Area can be established to conserve. Those purposes include one or more of the following:

• the protection, conservation and enhancement of the environment;
• the protection, conservation and enhancement of natural scenic or esthetic values;
• the protection, conservation and enhancement of agricultural land or land for agricultural purposes; and/or
• designation as a Provincial Historic Resource or a Municipal Historic Resource under the Historical Resources Act;

The Act also allows that purpose to include recreational, open space, environmental education, or research uses that are consistent with the first three points. These purposes mirror the allowable purposes for conservation easements, meaning that title restriction device dovetails with the allowable purposes for TDC programs.