OWC participated on the Project Team and provided funding for the Phase 3 report of the Southern Foothills Study, A Future Worth Protecting. The study used ALCES® (A Landscape Cumulative Effects Simulator) to model what the landscape west of highway 2 will look like into 2060 under various management scenarios.
The Southern Foothills Study was centered around the question of “How do we respect and protect the essential qualities and existing valuable assets of this landscape while still allowing for an evolution of land uses.” It examined the future trajectory of existing land uses and found that key environmental indicators showed a slow but steady loss of environmental health. The projected future decline is in addition to already significant negative changes.
Thank you to Alberta Ecotrust Foundation for funding OWC’s portion of the project and to Southern Alberta Land Trust Society for spearheading the project!
