Area wildlife biologists are looking for 30-40 southern Alberta rural landowners who are willing to help pilot a three-year provincial program aimed at improving wildlife habitat and access to private land by hunters and anglers.

Biologists held public meetings this week at Twin Butte, Cardston, Lethbridge and Magrath to outline the Recreation Access Management Program (RAMP), approved by the provincial cabinet last week. It has evolved from the controversial Open Spaces program, developed in 2007 at the University if Calgary, that drew negative response from across the province.

RAMP co-ordinator Grant Chapman says by September he hopes to have up to 130,000 acres in Wildlife Management Units 108, from Lethbridge to the U.S. border and from Hwy 4 west to the St. Mary River, and 300, south of Hill Spring, under contract for hunter and angler access.

He emphasizes the program in no way involves hunters paying for access, which is illegal under the Wildlife Act. However, landowners with a minimum 500 acres can be paid by the province to maintain and enhance wildlife habitat and let hunters on their land. Payment is from $2,000 for 500 acres to $10,000 per year for 17,500 acres. Application deadline is the end of July.

Land involved in the program will be charted on a provincial website which will provide directions and contact name. Hunters and anglers will be able to book access times either though the landowner directly or through the RAMP office. Wildlife offices will provide signs, boxes for each property in which hunters will find maps outlining access conditions and access cards they’ll need to sign agreeing to conditions.

“We hope this will open access to land not previously available to hunters,” says Chapman. He calls it “equal opportunity access” on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications will be prioritized on the quantity and quality of recreation opportunity and wildlife stewardship.

“We’re not going into this assuming landowners are bad stewards. This may just be a way to encourage them to maintain what they’re doing,” says Kim Morton, Senior Wildlife Biologist for the prairies area.

Wayne Lowry, Zone 1 director for the Alberta Fish and Game Association, says the program shows some promise and is certainly an improvement on Open Spaces, which the association vehemently opposed.

“Trying to manage a public resource like wildlife on private property has always been problematic,” he says.

Egon Larsen, area Fish and Wildlife officer, says he expects RAMP will attract a higher quality of hunter than the “slob hunter who isn’t likely to plan beyond grabbing his rifle and heading for the closest field to town.”

Chapman says he hopes the program will reduce landowner and user access conflicts.

The two area Wildlife Management Units were chosen because of the “high proportion of private land, wildlife values and emerging access permission issues,” although both Larsen and Lowry say experienced hunters don’t have access problems.

At the same time, wildlife officers and biologists and fish and game associations hope more people will take up hunting.

Perhaps RAMP will help.

“At least it’s a start,” says Morton.