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Vol. 19, No. 11, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 www.LamontLeader.com
Lamont landowner preserves land through Nature Conservancy of Canada BY JOHN MATHER A landowner in Lamont County has entered into an agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to have 65 hectares of land put under their protection. Heather Proctor grew up in the St. Albert area and often spent her formative years west of Edmonton near Onoway exploring sloughs and lakes. She went on to become a biology professor at the University of Alberta specializing in mites. She said the land which she has had protected has no road access but is located just to the west of Range Road 195 near Twp. Road 544. “It’s a full quarter section,” she said, and she had a friend who lived near the land and “he knew I was looking to purchase a more natural piece of property. ”He had heard the owner of four quarters had passed away and one of his nieces or nephews didn’t want the property and was interested in selling,” she said. “So I bought it in 2006.” She had done some research and prior to her ownership there were only two European owners, one being the Hudson Bay Company and the second was Sam Dolynchuk, whose family Proctor purchased the land from. He had purchased the land in 1937 for $1,134.50 and he was listed as a Chipman area farmer. Proctor did initially consider building a cabin on the property. “When I bought it you could walk to it from the nearest road,” she said. “But over the years the beavers had their way and over time it became only accessible by canoe or kayak.” She said you couldn’t get building materials to the land and she couldn’t get insurance on the property. One winter she did put a tent trailer on the property, but admits it had become neglected and mice took it over. “In the early 2000s, I witnessed rapid
A young bull moose was spotted in Lamont County on the weekend, checking out the scenery in an unusually dry and warm Crystal Moren photo. El Niño winter in Alberta.
development in the Edmonton area, with farmland and woodland disappearing before my eyes,” said Proctor, further explaining her decision. “Feeling a need to take action, I searched for ecologically important land to preserve. By partnering with NCC, I now feel it is secure; it's like life
insurance for this property. I know that no matter what, it will still be protected, and that is a great feeling.” Proctor will still own the land and pay taxes on it, but under the agreement no further development will be allowed. She said she could replace the tent
trailer and trim the brush around it, but that’s the extent of upgrades she could make. And those rules will remain if the land should be sold to new owners in the future. Continued on Page 3