Advocacy

8(1) Crown Land Grazing dispositions shall be kept a fundamental component of protecting rangelands and maintaining them in perpetuity for all Albertans.

Approved: November 18, 2015

(2) The renewal, and other administrative process associated with a disposition, shall have prompt processing as to not impede stewardship or the success of the producer’s operation.

Approved: November 22, 2023

(3) Holding the right to a lease contract makes a lease a real property asset with real value. The money paid for transfer of leases should reflect the market value of the rights to a lease.

Approved: November 18, 2015

(4) To encourage outstanding stewardship of the land and increase the value of the land (and the associated lease contract) through investments made by the leaseholder in structures and improvements, disposition holders must/should be provided with security of tenure.

Approved: November 22, 2023

(5) Any grazing lease rental rate and assignment fee framework shall be fair, defensible from a trade perspective, comparable to rental rates or royalties paid by other resource sectors, while encouraging stewardship of the land.

Approved: November 18, 2015

(6) As established under the Surface Rights Act,

• (a) a grazing leaseholder, as the occupant of the Crown land under agricultural disposition, is entitled to compensation for the loss of use of the land, initial nuisance, inconvenience, noise, and adverse effects on the land around the disturbed area.
• (b) a leaseholder is not entitled to compensation for land value as the land is owned by the Crown. Compensation payments related to ownership of the land is to be paid to the Government of Alberta.

Approved: November 18, 2015

(7) As maintenance of forage, disposition land, and water resources are key to the objective of environmental sustainability, any multiple use demands, such as resource extraction, recreation, forestry, etc., must not impede long-term sustainability.

Approved: November 22, 2023

(8) Any other uses, including recreation, allowed on disposed agricultural land should not compromise,

• (a) the grazing value,
• (b) the long-term sustainability, and,
• (c) the holder’s ability to steward the land due to added cost or time.

Approved: November 22, 2023

From Part 2 – Policy and Priorities of ABP’s Policy Manual