Alberta’s Prairie Grasslands

Alberta is home to some of Canada’s last remaining prairie grasslands – one of the most endangered ecosystems on Earth. From the Southern Foothills to the Milk River Basin and beyond, we work alongside ranching families to conserve what remains of these vital landscapes, sustaining wildlife, supporting livelihoods and keeping Alberta’s grasslands healthy and resilient for generations to come.

People riding horses through a green meadow with mountains and forests in the background.

Table of contents

Location

Alberta

Conserved since

1986

Habitat(s)

Grassland, Wetlands

Needs support now

Conserve places like this, forever

Donate now

Alberta’s prairie grasslands at a glance

Our work is built on strong relationships with the people who know and care for these lands. We collaborate with ranching operations of all sizes, from family-owned ranches to large working landscapes. We also work with Indigenous communities to conserve and care for these culturally significant landscapes.
Alberta’s grasslands provide essential benefits that people across the province rely on — clean water, healthy soil, pollinators and climate resilience. These vital ecosystems store carbon, reduce the risk of flooding and conserve communities from the impacts of a changing climate.
Prairie grasslands need ongoing care to stay healthy and resilient. Through ongoing stewardship, we restore native grasslands and support the wildlife that depends on them, including species at risk like the swift fox, ferruginous hawk and greater sage-grouse.

Why conserving Alberta’s prairie grasslands matters

In Canada, more than 80% of our prairie grasslands have already been lost. What remains is irreplaceable — and essential to our future. These powerful landscapes store vast amounts of carbon; conserve clean water; reduce the risks of flooding and drought; and sustain wildlife, economies, and communities. That’s why conserving Alberta’s remaining grasslands is so important — once they’re gone, these benefits are gone with them.

The largest, most intact grasslands

Alberta holds more of Canada’s remaining prairie grasslands than any other province, including some of the largest intact prairie landscapes in the country. Places like the Milk River Basin and Cypress Uplands are globally important for biodiversity and provide some of the last strongholds for grassland species at risk. Conserving these landscapes is not just a provincial priority — it’s a conservation priority for all Canadians.

Build climate resilience

Prairie grasslands are powerful natural climate solutions. Their deep root systems and soils store vast amounts of carbon, with up to 90% held underground. These endangered ecosystems also absorb and filter water, providing clean drinking water, reducing the impact of flooding, and making landscapes more resilient to drought and extreme weather.

Sustaining local food systems and economies

Alberta’s grasslands support pollinators, healthy food systems and the ranching families who care for these working landscapes. Pollinators play a critical role in food production, while healthy grasslands provide forage for livestock and support sustainable ranching. By partnering with ranchers to conserve grasslands, we support the ecosystems and rural economies that depend on them, strengthening the province’s self-sufficiency as the world changes.

Cattle graze in a vast, green meadow among rolling hills.

A woman with a backpack stands in a grassy meadow overlooking rolling hills and mountains.

What’s at stake

With less than 20% of Prairie grasslands remaining across the country, and what’s left facing growing pressures, these landscapes are becoming an increasingly urgent priority. Alberta is home to some of the country’s largest and most intact prairie landscapes, which support wildlife, store carbon and sustain Indigenous and rural communities. We have an opportunity to conserve these irreplaceable landscapes before more are lost.

What could be lost?

Every year, Canada loses about 60,000 hectares of native grasslands. As these landscapes disappear, so do the benefits they provide to surrounding communities and the habitat that species at risk, including the swift fox, burrowing owl and greater sage-grouse, depend on.

Why does it matter?

Native grasslands are irreplaceable. Prairie soils take hundreds to thousands of years to form, and once native sod is broken, restoration cannot fully recreate the natural systems found in intact grasslands. Altering these landscapes also risks releasing the vast amounts of carbon they naturally store underground as greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change. Conserving remaining native grasslands is the best way to conserve what cannot be fully replaced.

Why is action needed now?

Less than 6% of Canada’s remaining grasslands are formally conserved. Alberta holds more of the country’s remaining prairie grasslands than any other province, including some of its largest and most intact landscapes. As the opportunity to conserve these places shrinks, conserving them now can keep their ecological, cultural and economic benefits in place for generations to come.

Conserving the lands that define Alberta

A herd of cattle grazes across a vast, rolling green prairie.

Together with the families who ranch these lands, we’re conserving Alberta’s grasslands and safeguarding the wildlife and communities they support for generations to come.

Where the swift fox calls home

The swift fox is one of North America’s fastest canids, reaching speeds of up to 50 km/h. Once gone from Canada, the swift fox was reintroduced in the 1980s and has since made a comeback. But it is still endangered and depends on native grasslands and short prairie for food and shelter. Swift foxes make their dens in sandy soil or abandoned burrows – including one documented at an NCC conservation site in southeastern Alberta. Its comeback shows what caring for these landscapes can do.

Two young red fox pups stand on a sandy mound near green grass.

Four red fox kits stand in the tall grass.

A swift fox vixen pauses seen ner her den in the Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado.

"By working together, we can protect our grasslands and make sure future generations get to enjoy and appreciate the same rich, vibrant land."

Kim Wachtler, fourth-generation rancher and Waldron Co-op director

Two people ride horses through a grassy meadow with hills and forests in the background.

A man with a backpack crouches in a grassy meadow on a rolling hillside.

The plan in action

We conserve Alberta’s grasslands with the ranchers who steward them, keeping the prairie connected for wildlife and the communities that depend on it. Conservation agreements keep these lands intact, while partnerships with ranchers support healthy grazing and projects restore and reconnect important habitat.

Conserve

We work with ranchers and other landowners to permanently conserve high-priority grasslands, focusing on areas where large, intact prairie landscapes remain. By building networks of conserved lands, we maintain connected habitat where wildlife can not only survive, but thrive.

Partner

We partner directly with local ranching families and landowners to conserve their land and support sustainable grazing. On lands we own, we lease them back to ranchers, keeping the grasslands healthy and supporting the working landscapes that wildlife and communities depend on.

Care

Conserving land is only the first step. We monitor grassland health, manage invasive species, conserve water sources and wildlife habitat, and support healthy grazing practices. This ongoing care keeps Alberta’s grasslands healthy, connected and resilient.

Conserve places like this, forever

Donate now

Our partners

Conserving Alberta’s grasslands is only possible with ranching families, Indigenous communities, supporters, and conservation partners who share a commitment to the prairie.