Forward to FreedomPart IV · Chapter 13

Land, Resources and Environmental Responsibilities

Alberta already performs most land and resource management. Rather than assuming sovereignty adds nothing, the fiscal model carries C$0.2 to C$0.5 billion a year for additional land and environmental stewardship. It is a conservative allowance, not a commitment to any particular restoration programme.

Table 15 - Example used to size the additional land and environmental allowance

Activity	Scale	Annual cost
Reforestation of foothills	0.5M ha at $100–500/ha, over ten years	C$5–25M
Conservation easements and silvopasture	3.0M ha at $200–600/ha, over ten years	C$60–180M
Species diversification, controlled burns and fuel reduction	~150,000 ha a year at $500–1,500/ha	C$75–225M
Monitoring, remote sensing, education and enforcement	province-wide	C$50–100M
Total		C$190–530M

The example includes reforestation, conservation measures, fire and fuel management, monitoring, remote sensing and enforcement. A future government could design the programme differently.

For the fiscal case the important point is that an additional C$0.2-0.5 billion is already inside the C$20-30 billion result. No carbon-credit revenue, carbon-sequestration benefit or emissions offset is counted.