The Weston Family Foundation has announced an additional $37 million in funding through the Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative, strengthening one of the largest prairie grasslands conservation efforts in Canadian history. This brings the Foundation's total commitment to $70 million over ten years.
Importance of Prairie Grasslands
Stretching across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, Canada's prairie grasslands support hundreds of species, including migratory birds, pollinators, and people, while sustaining soil health, water systems, and livestock production. However, of the roughly 141 million acres of historical grasslands in Canada, only 26 million acres remain intact today.
Funding and Impact
Originally launched in 2021 with $30 million awarded to five organizations, the Initiative has already demonstrated significant measurable impact. Between 2021 and 2024, participating organizations supported conservation activities across more than 1.2 million acres of grasslands habitat, trained more than 3,500 land stewards in various management practices, and established hundreds of ecological management agreements and conservation easements.
The second phase builds on these results by supporting projects focused on land stewardship, economic viability, and training—recognizing that only a systems approach will protect the grasslands. From Indigenous-led stewardship and prescribed fire to conservation agreements and adaptive grazing practices, the Prairie Grassland Initiative brings together approaches shaped by local knowledge, economic realities, and the day-to-day experience of working on the land.
Funded Projects
The ten funded projects include:
- Ducks Unlimited Canada providing ranchers and beef producers with financial support and practical tools to facilitate long-term grassland conservation.
- Food Water Wellness Foundation creating a prairie-wide ecosystem services marketplace that pays producers for protecting biodiversity, water, and carbon storage.
- Káínai (Blood Tribe) restoring Blackfoot stewardship practices through cultural burning, seasonal land management, and intergenerational learning.
- kihci-okāwīmāw askiy Knowledge Centre and Indigenous Kinship Circle connecting First Nations through Indigenous-led stewardship, mentorship, and knowledge sharing across the Prairies.
- Meewasin Valley Authority expanding prescribed fire initiatives across the Prairie provinces to improve grassland health and strengthen local fire stewardship.
- Nature Conservancy of Canada delivering stewardship and habitat management projects across community-managed grazing lands.
- Oldman Watershed Council renewing southern Alberta grasslands through riparian restoration, bison grazing, cultural burning, and watershed partnerships.
- Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation working with ranchers and Indigenous partners to expand flexible conservation agreements across Saskatchewan grasslands.
- South of the Divide Conservation Action Program creating mentorship and training hubs for prairie pasture managers and community-based land stewards.
- Southern Alberta Land Trust Society helping ranching families navigate conservation easements to support succession planning and their vision to keep native grasslands intact.
“Canada's prairie grasslands are some of the most ecologically valuable and threatened ecosystems in the world, and we have a responsibility to protect them for future generations,” said Christian Bauta, Chair of the Weston Family Foundation. “There's no singular solution. These are working landscapes and protecting them means supporting a range of long-term solutions that reflect the realities of the people connected to the land; their knowledge, their livelihoods, and their long history of stewardship.”
