Violet walrond biography of alberta

2023

The 5-year performance reports from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) on the progress of the Livingstone-Porcupine Hills Land Footprint Management Plan (LFMP) and Recreation Management Plan (RMP) are due this year. A 1 – 3 year operational transition was expected when the plans were implemented in 2018, which was allocated to develop multiple tools to evaluate progress, including,

• Spatial human footprint management thresholds (was due within first year),
• A monitoring strategy (also due within the first year), and
• A standard performance metric framework.

However, none of these tools, nor annual tracking or reports for either plan, been published publicly, despite both the LFMP and RMP outlining the necessity of robust monitoring, evaluation, and reporting to effectively execute the plans, stating that “reports will provide evidence that progress is being made towards achieving the outcomes and will adequately communicate progress on metrics”.

Strong accountability, transparency, and communication were highlighted as essential to successful land management. The only updates so far have come in the form of biannual Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ) maps, released at the start of summer and winter each year. Comparing maps from 2018-2023 shows decisions are being made to add, remove, and redesignate motorized trails each year, but the process and reasoning for these decisions is notably absent.

2021

In June, the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Mine, located within AWA’s Livingstone–Porcupine Area of Concern, is rejected by the joint provincial–federal review panel, following panel hearings that AWA participated in throughout 2020.

In February, a recommendations report was produced and completed by the Castle-Livingstone-Porcupine Hills Recreation Advisory Group.

Edith Smith, 1889-1976, was born in North Dakota, USA. In 1907 she married Will Sears, ?-1970, and they had six children, Lyle, Effie, George, Phyllis, Irene, and Albert. Edith's parents, Charles W. Smith, 1853-1910, and Lilla Isabel (also known as Elizabeth), 1852 (or 1856)-1930, moved to Canada in 1908 and farmed near Burdett, Alberta. When Charles died two years later, Edith and Will Sears also came to Alberta, to help run the farm. In 1916 the Sears moved into Burdett, and in 1922 or 1923 moved to Calgary. Edith's mother, whose second marriage was to Charlie Peterson, had moved to Calgary about 1920. Edith's siblings, Lafayette, Burr, and Altie also moved to Alberta, while her brother and sister-in-law, George and Mae "Maranda" Smith, remained in the USA. The Canadian branch of the family, especially Edith, kept in touch with George and Mae over the years, through their letters.

BY FOREST HISEY AND JONAH OLSEN

The Eastern Slopes of the Rockies have been home to countless generations of Indigenous Peoples and settlers who have benefitted from the landscape. Watching sunshine glint off those peaks calls to mind Aldo Leopold’s “Thinking Like a Mountain” metaphor, where mountains serve as an ecological lens across the centuries. 

With much of southern Alberta now privately owned and used for agriculture, ecosystems are visibly impacted by a network of cultivated fields, roads, fences, and other barriers. The lack of ecological protections for private land in Canada creates a precarious reality for biodiversity.

Landowners have the right to use their land according to personal motivations, and most need to earn a living from it. Fortunately, many ranchers and farmers consider land stewardship to be important. And for some, it is a priority. Such concerned landowners may take bold measures, safeguarding their property’s economic and ecological sustainability through collaborations with conservation organizations. 

The Waldron Ranch Grazing Co-operative is a prime example. The Ranch has entered a partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to protect over 120 km2 north of Pincher Creek using a conservation easement. Using the Waldron Ranch as a case study, we can gain insight into landowner motivations and the practical application of conservation easements.

Conservation Easements 

Conservation methods need to be tailored to fit the local form of land ownership. On public lands, biodiversity conservation can be advanced through government rules and policies. But the government has limited ability to dictate what happens on private land. Therefore, biodiversity protection on private land is usually pursued through voluntary measures, and one of the mo

MacBeth, Hugh

Hugh came to Fort Macleod in 1882. He was born in 1858 at Kildonan, Manitoba to Margaret and Alexander MacBeth who had come from Scotland to form the Selkirk Settlement in Manitoba. In 1874, at the age of 16, Hugh joined the Hudson Bay Co. as a fur trader. In 1882 he joined the I.G. Baker Co. in Fort Macleod. Three years later he moved to Lethbridge to work for the Alberta Railway & Irrigation Company as an accountant. In 1903 he entered into business for himself in the real estate and insurance fields. He was a school trustee for a number of years, Alderman and member of the Galt Hospital Board. Hugh married Jeanette E. Basset in 1885. They had seven children. Three of them died in early adulthood and one son, Fred, was killed in W.W.I. Surviving were John, Rodney, and daughter Jean.

MacDonald, A. B.

Mr. A. B. McDonald is listed as a millwright who was born in Ontario and at the age of 40 was residing in Calgary.

2004 Addendum. Ref: The 1891 Census Records.

MacDonald, Alan Ban

Alan was born in 1843 in Glengarry County, Ontario and died in 1922 at Calgary, Alberta. He was married to Elizabeth Harrison, who was born in 1851 at Alexandria, Ontario and died in 1925 at Calgary. Alan came west with the C.P.R. in 1883 and later was in charge of the stores in Langdon and Shepard. In 1885 he established the Glengarry Ranch (44) with McKenzie, Mann and H.S. Holt being the principal shareholders. The ranch was sold in later years. He had a family of eight children.

MacDonald, Charles C.

Charles MacDonald in partnership with H. O. Boyd homesteaded the SE 1/4 of Sec.28-20-1-W5M in 1886. In 1908 and 1909 he drove a team of horses for the Banff Springs hotel as well as being a guide in the mountains. He retired to the west Coast in the early 1920's.

2004 Addendum. Ref: Our Foothills Bragg Creek, Kew and Millarville.

MacDonald, Donald Peter

Donald MacDonald, the son of A.W. MacDonald,