YEG-Ville Land Ownership

Whose land are you walking on, and do you have permission to be there? The answer to this question is more complex than you think.

Overview of Landownership

Legal Disclaimer

I am not a lawyer and the following is not legal advice. It is based on credible sources but there is always more to it – which is why people hire lawyers. These descriptions are tailored to this site and of course to help ME! Use the following as a general guideline and when in doubt, check the credible sources noted below – or better yet, hire a lawyer.

Public, Crown and First Nation Ownership

Public Land Ownership in YEG-Ville
Public Land Ownership in YEG-Ville

Property in Alberta can be broadly divided into three groups of ownership with their own sub-divisions: Private, Public, and First Nation [1].

Crown or Public Land: Owned by a level of government. Provincial and federal crown lands cover nearly 60% of the province.

Provincial Crown Land: Within YEG-Ville catchment area, there are hundreds of provincial parks, and natural areas to visit. These are detailed on Stewards of Alberta’s Protected Areas Association (SAPAA) website including an interactive map. This site is also a primary source for this website.

Municipal Parks: Small buy Mighty. Public lands owned by cities, counties, and other public entities; geared toward recreation.

First Nation Ownership is a bit betwixt and between. Protected by federal legislation, sort of a sovereign territory, but owned by a private entity (the band).

Private Ownership Including Land Trusts

Private Land Ownership in YEG-Ville
Private Land Ownership in YEG-Ville

The second broad category are lands owned privately. Representing 30% of the province, they include lands owned by individuals, corporations, or other legal entities such as land trusts.

Private Land. Some private landowners are generous enough to allow you to enjoy their properties for free. A fee may be charged for access, or a landowner may permit the public to transit their property to get from one place to another. A great example of this in Alberta is the Waskahegan Trail.  If you don’t have permission to access a property, you might be committing a petty or more serious trespass [2].

Trusts in Me! Land trusts are an important type of private ownership. These organizations may have title to the land, a lease to private land, or help to manage a conservation easement. Many sites have more than one trust or foundation involved in their acquisition and management. Significant land trusts in YEG-Ville include the following:

  • Edmonton Area Land Trust: EALT operates 14 sites in YEG-Ville such as Bunchberry Natural Area or Boisvert Greenwoods.
  • Nature Conservancy of Canada: Owns or is affiliated with a number of YEG-Ville sites. Most notable are the Wagner Natural Area, and the Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary.
  • Conservation Easement: Owned but Conserved. A mechanism to retain ownership but meet conservation goals is a Conservation Easement. This places a protective notation on Title, to protect its conservation values and to restrict various types of activity, such as subdivision, development, tree-cutting, and wetland-draining. A Conservation Easement is always desired by the landowner, and is specifically designed to meet their needs as well as conservation needs. It allows the landowner to retain ownership, but ensures that the land will stay conserved after it is sold, donated or inherited [3].

No Guarantees in Life; Not Sure – Start Researching

For each site, I will provide landownership to the best of my knowledge and at a point in time. This information is provided without any guarantee of accuracy. If you are interested in a site and want to know who owns it, the county landownership map is your go to resource.

Notes and References

  1. Alberta Wilderness Association. “Public Lands.” Accessed August 26, 2023. https://albertawilderness.ca/issues/wildlands/public-lands/.
  2. Protecting property owners, Government of Alberta, accessed August 27, 2023.
  3. Edmonton & Area Land Trust. “Conservation Easements.” Accessed August 26, 2023. https://www.ealt.ca/conservation-easements.

Further Reading