Most of Golden Ranches is open to the public for visiting and hunting, with the exception of NW 24-51-21-W4. Visit the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s website and search for “Golden Ranches Area 5” for information about hunting access and permission on this quarter section.

Wildlife and Habitat

Golden Ranches includes a mixture of mature aspen forest and open grassland that provide habitat for wildlife including white-tailed deer, moose, porcupine, grouse, waterfowl such as bufflehead and a variety of small mammals and songbirds.

Do you plan on trying to identify plants and animals while exploring? Consider helping EALT with some Citizen Science. There are lots of easy ways to share your finds with our conservation team and your input is greatly valued!

Importance

Golden Ranches is located in the Beaver Hills UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which contain numerous wetlands and aspen forest, and are critical habitat for many species of wildlife. The Golden Ranches site provides landscape connectivity for wildlife as they live and move in the area.

The grasslands of the natural area provide habitat for ground nesting birds, and the forested areas provide cover for large mammals. The Golden Ranches site includes nearly 8 kilometres of North Cooking Lake shoreline.

EALT works with several partnering organizations to conserve this property.

Indigenous Connections

Golden Ranches is just east of Cooking Lake, an English translation of the Nehiyawewein (Cree) word opi-mi-now-wa-sioo which means cooking place. The lake was a well frequented Nêhiyaw campground due to the large herds of bison that once roamed the area. Golden Ranches, Ministik, Hicks, and the Smith Blackburn Homestead are all a part of the Beaver Hills region which was very important for resting when travelling between the hills and the plains in the spring and the fall. Historically, the Beaver hills region was important for the Tsuut’ina, Nehiyawak (Cree), Anishnaabe (Ojibway/Saulteaux), the Nakota Sioux, and the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot). The hills are called Amiskwaciy by the Nehiyawak, Chaba hei by the Nakota and Kaghghik-stak-etomo by the Niitsitapi, referring to the abundance of beavers. The region’s dense forests, open plains, and lakes offered many resources for different Nations to rest and replenish their stores through hunting, gathering and fishing.

Ecological History

Golden Ranches resides within the Cooking Lake Moraine, an upland area full of rolling hills and low wet areas left behind by the glacial ice of the Ice Age. This area was home to the first conservation and reforestation projects in Alberta, a result from the forest loss to logging and fires. This first project was called the Cooking Lake Forest Reserve, an area that resulted in today’s natural areas including Golden Ranches, Elk Island National Park, Cooking Lake–Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area, Ministik Bird Sanctuary and other protected natural areas.

Human History

Golden Ranches and the surrounding Beaver Hills served as the winter home for the massive herds of roaming bison. As history goes, if wild game are present, then humans are not too far behind. According to archeological records, the presence of big game hunters in the Beaver Hills area has been noted as far back as 12,000 years ago. Many generations of Indigenous groups lived off the land and its plentiful resources.

The first piece of Golden Ranches was bought in 1950 by a rancher named George Golden. Over the next several decades, he bought, sold and traded land until he had his land all in one spot, a single block of 1800 acres. The land became home to a successful horse and cow ranch. In 2008, the owners no longer wanted to manage the land. To protect the land, EALT partnered with the Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Fish and Game Association, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada and various corporate donors to obtain the land that is now Golden Ranches.

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