Watch for your Tax & Assessment Notice in the mail. All notices were mailed Thursday, May 30, 2024. If you have not received your notice by Monday, June 17, 2024, please contact our office at 780-384-4100. If you require a receipt to be sent to you, please indicate that on the bottom of the notice when you return your payment.

The tax due date is Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

If you have a concern or believe there is an error regarding your property assessment, please report this immediately to Accurate Assessment, Sean Cosens, Assessor, 780-417-6840.

If your concern is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may submit an Assessment Review Board Complaint along with the appropriate fee within 60 days of mailing (by August 6, 2024), to Flagstaff County, Box 358, Sedgewick, AB T0B 4C0, Attention: Shelly Armstrong, CAO. If you require a receipt to be sent to you, please indicate on the bottom of the notice when you return your payment.

The Assessment Review Board has the authority to review your assessment and direct the assessor to make amendments. Its function is to hear evidence as to whether your property is assessed on an equitable basis with similar properties.

For more on taxation, please click HERE.

Enumerators are now going door-to-door to all rural and hamlet addresses in Flagstaff County as part of our 2024 Municipal Census.

To avoid an in-person visit to your residence, please complete the census at: https://censusalberta.ca/flagstaffcounty, or by calling 780-384-4100. You will need the two-part secure access code that was mailed to you in late April.

The only information we require is the number of residents in your dwelling, and their age and gender.

Please note that we are using the census to complete an Electoral Boundary Review and to help support Municipal Services offered.

As this is our first census in several decades, your participation is crucial in helping us plan for the evolving needs of Flagstaff County.

Years of population change, including the more recent incorporation of the Hamlets of Strome and Galahad, have left an uneven distribution throughout our seven electoral divisions. It’s time to redraw our electoral boundaries to give residents the best possible municipal representation.

Please help us to serve you better.

Kids, break out those pencil crayons and markers! In honour of National Public Works Week from May 19 to 25, the Municipal Services Department is hosting a colouring contest!

One winner for each of the following age groups will be announced during Public Works Week and will receive a prize:

• Up to 4 years old
• 5 – 8 years old
• 9 – 12 years old
• 13 and up

*Prizes can be picked up at the Flagstaff County Administration Office between May 21-31.

Entries for the colouring contest can be emailed to county@flagstaff.ab.ca or delivered in-person to the County Administration Office by the contest deadline on May 15.

Please ensure contestants submit their name, age, and contact information.

Click the image below for a printable PDF.

Online Crime Reporting (OCR) offers an alternative and convenient way for people to report non-emergent crime without having to call the police or visit the detachment.

All reports received through OCR are forwarded to the Call Back Unit for investigation and completion.  Use of online crime reporting by the public provides frontline members the chance to spend more time on the road being proactive. 

The OCR tool can be accessed by using the link https://ocre-sielc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/alberta. The OCR tool is also available on the RCMP app.

By Nick Dunn

Wild boar in Alberta have been gaining ground and starting to invade the province quite rapidly in some regions. Their invasion can result in some of the most damaging from a species in North America. Wild boars are not native to the province and were introduced as livestock in the 1980s as a diversification method and due to their intelligence and our lack of containment, some escaped. In 2008, under the Alberta Agricultural Pest Act, wild boar was designated as a pest where it is ‘at large’ (meaning wild or feral) in Alberta. Under this act, landowners are required to control and destroy pests and prevent them from establishing on their land. In 2013, the province released minimum containment standards to help mitigate risks associated with livestock operations.

Just recently, it was reported that a wild boar was seen southeast of Lougheed roaming throughout a field. Wild boar have been seen in the County in previous years including an incidence in 2021 near Killam, which brought into Council Bylaw 06/21 A BYLAW OF FLAGSTAFF COUNTY, IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA, FOR THE PURPOSE OF REGULATING PROHIBITED ANIMALS WITHIN THE MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES OF FLAGSTAFF COUNTY. This bylaw was brought into place to address the issues of raising wild boar as livestock and to list them as a prohibited animal. Also noted is no person shall keep, either on a temporary or permanent basis, any prohibited animals on any properties or premises within Flagstaff County. Any prohibited animals located within the County must be euthanized or removed from the County within seven days of receiving an order from a bylaw enforcement officer or designated officer.

Wild boars are unique in adapting to their environment for survivability. There are two types of boars we could potentially see in Alberta including the Eurasian and hybrids crossed with domestic. As the name suggests, they originate from Europe and Asia. Identifying them can be hard as they can be mistaken for domestic species, but they will have long black and brown stringy hair with hairs on their undercoat to protect them in the winters and sharp tusks. They will eat anything as they are omnivores and have adapted to be a nocturnal species. Hunting them hasn’t been successful due to their ability to adapt and educate their offspring. In the summer, they will nest near water and in the winter, they will nest within deep snow near food sources. Sows mature after 6-8 months, and have a gestation period of 114 days, averaging 4-6 piglets per litter, leaving the species highly reproductive over their 5-to-8-year lifespan.

The province has provided funding in efforts to help eradicate wild boar, but legislation needs to be changed to make that possible. As mentioned, there are minimum containment standards for livestock producers and other hobbyists. These standards are more used as guidelines as there is no enforcement or penalization. Resolution 5-24 WILD BOAR AND THE ALBERTA AGRICULTURAL PESTS ACT addresses the legislation, asking Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation to invoke a moratorium on expansion of wild boar farming until the province decides on the future of wild boar in Alberta. This has resulted in pushing municipalities to prohibit the species through a bylaw like Flagstaff County passed in June of 2021.

Although it ended in March 2024, the province did have a bounty program that paid landowners and hunters $50 for a pair of ears. The province also has traps set out to try to catch larger groupings known as sounders, in the denser areas. Catching wild boar at large is only effective when the entire sounder is captured simultaneously. Currently, the province hasn’t released any information regarding the future of wild boar eradication. Alberta Invasive Species Council has the Squeal on Pigs Campaign that helps promote the eradication of wild boar in Alberta, in addition to mapping through their EDDMapS application.

If you see wild boar within Alberta, it is asked that you safely take pictures, note the location, and fill out the online reporting form. You can also call 310-FARM (3276) or email af.wildboar@gov.ab.ca.

Nick Dunn is Flagstaff County’s Agricultural Fieldman. He can be reached via email at: ndunn@flagstaff.ab.ca or by phone at: 780-384-4138.

By Nick Dunn

Many landowners in Alberta are facing challenges with abandoned oil leases that no one seems to know whose responsibility they are. What once put dollars in landowners’ pockets is now adding to their financial burden and potentially placing our environment at risk. According to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), the last decade of oil production has left us with hundreds of thousands of wells throughout the province. Various energy maps within Alberta can be accessed through the AER website at www.aer.ca. Here are some of the many classifications throughout the well process of well drilling to know:

Active oil leases – do not pose a threat for financial burden as they are usually managed and upkept or have an entity claiming ownership and responsibility. Oil leases that have been properly reclaimed are also not a threat and set the example of provincial and landowner expectations. I give credit to the oil producing organizations that do have reclamation plans and implement those plans within their business strategy. Leaving the land in better condition than when they developed it so the land can go back to its original state, which in our area is dominantly cultivation but also in native pasture lands.  

Inactive oil leases – pose a threat to be a financial burden for the landowner and place our environment at risk. When an oil lease becomes inactive it goes through a suspension period which includes plugging and temporary lockouts. Once it has been deemed that it is no longer needed, it must go through the abandonment process that includes permanently sealing and taking the well out of service. Once the well has been properly closed it will then be reclaimed to its original state. According to the AER, licensees (oil and gas companies) will always be held accountable for what’s beneath the surface to help ensure that sites have been properly shut down to protect our environment. Well sites pose a risk to the environment by acting as an entry point to our resources below ground if not properly capped. Whether it’s for water or oil, well sites need to be properly managed to reduce possible contamination of our underground resources.

Orphan wells – can be in any state, whether it’s active, inactive, suspended, or even abandoned; and are the heart of the problem. Wells are classified as orphans when there is no responsible party to take care of the reclamation. Orphan wells are then the responsibility of the Orphan Wells Association (OWA) and are handled in a triage manner. The OWA is a nonprofit funded by an annual levy paid by industry based on a calculation of their share in liability. The pace of OWA seems to be behind the pace of orphaned wells being added to the list.  

If you are a landowner and are experiencing issues with orphaned wells, unfortunately it’s true, that the process involves reporting the issue and then relying on regulatory bodies to take appropriate action. The AER has a reporting page to get you added to the list. After that, it is in their hands. I believe we are experiencing issues with abandoned wells because there are not enough boots on the ground to enact enforcement.

Some other ways to bring attention to your orphan wells might include seeking legal advice regarding debt collection or reclamation, and contacting local MLAs and other elected officials to share concerns and experiences. This problem is common to Albertan producers and is only going to get worse if accountability isn’t enforced. Increasing public awareness can lead to greater pressure on regulatory bodies and collaboration with others can amplify your voice. Additionally, staying informed and documenting issues relating to orphan wells is crucial.

Nick Dunn is Flagstaff County’s Agricultural Fieldman. He can be reached via email at: ndunn@flagstaff.ab.ca or by phone at: 780-384-4138.

Under the Alberta Municipal Government Act, Flagstaff County is mandated to adopt a three-year operating budget and a five-year capital budget in anticipation of future revenues and expenditures across the organization. This Business Plan and Budget provides a detailed view of the programs and services currently offered and the financial cost of their delivery. It serves as the financial direction for Flagstaff County.

The most recently approved Business Plan is now accessible on our website. View it HERE.

Applications for Year 2 of the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP) are now being accepted.

The RALP objective is to increase the environmental resiliency of agricultural landscapes by accelerating adoption of beneficial management practices (BMPs) that maximize provision of ecological goods and services (EG&S), particularly increased carbon sequestration and enhanced climate resilience.

Up to 100% of eligible expenses may be covered for approved grants to support producers in their ability to implement and maintain projects over a three-year term. Funding of up to $150,000 for Primary Producers, and up to $300,000 for Indigenous applicants or groups such as Grazing Reserve Associations and Community Pastures is available for eligible BMP projects.

For more details, click HERE.

By Nick Dunn

The world has been evolving with technology for many years and the agricultural industry has changed to adopt these new technologies in many accelerated ways. With crop production, our equipment has evolved to include the latest technology at our fingertips. This allows us to be more efficient and ultimately enables us to implement the 4R stewardship model, which is applying the Right source, at the Right rate, Right time and Right place. This same implementation is starting to hit the livestock sector and I believe it is going to change the industry, like how GPS changed the cropping sector, in due time. The reason we have adopted these changes to how we crop land is for an obvious reason: to save time and money. Now that tech companies have been establishing themselves in the livestock industry, if they can prove they can save ranchers’ time and money, then they will have a permanent seat at the table.

If you ask a producer what the most utilized piece of equipment is on the farm, he/she is going to tell you that it’s all of it. It takes the full fleet and then some to produce crops and livestock. It’s the same reason why you have more than one wrench in your toolbox or screwdriver; you need many tools. Another tool that has a big role on the farm is drones, and that’s not only to do with crop scouting and taking elevated photos or videos. Drones can be utilized for many daily activities to manage livestock such as infrastructure inspection, herd counts, reading tags, livestock recovery, thermal imaging (disease and stress detection), temperature measurements and more to come with continued software development. A drone equipped with an optical zoom and thermal imaging camera will have the capability to achieve all that you would need to with livestock and on the lower side costs around $7,000. With the new Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) there is funding available for producers to cover 50% of the costs of purchasing a drone for your farm.

I went to a conference last December and they had a speaker who spoke on new smart ear tags. These ear tags were equipped with GPS, and thermal reading capabilities. This gave producers the benefit of tracking their livestock from time spent in feeding and watering locations and if there were any sudden changes to body temperature.

He also spoke on virtual fencing, which in my mind has some major trust issues, but if you could overlook that, would provide a major benefit and allow producers to do something that seems impossible. Each animal is equipped with a GPS collar like the shock collars we have on our pets. The boundaries can be set with any device and can be done in seconds just like drawing border lines on satellite imagery.  The collars will work directly with the map boundaries you have drawn. Producers can make changes so fast that they can actually herd their animals with this process. The possibilities are endless when you can put up gates and fences and take them down in seconds, and virtually anywhere. I could even see this going to the next level with autonomous herding and organizing.

Another device he mentioned were the boluses that were swallowed and sit in the reticulum of cattle. This provides more data in terms of feed efficiency and heat detection, which will also change the way we manage cattle and provide us with more data that can be used to make inclined decisions.

Technology does have many benefits, but like everything there are also challenges and the biggest one is the high costs. Luckily there are some grants available through SCAP, but still, efficiency isn’t free. I believe these costs will come down in time just like we have seen with other technologies that we use day-to-day like computers, TVs and cellphones. Technology will be integrated further into the livestock industry to help producers enable their stewardship, which is managing the Right animal, Right feed, at the Right time and at the Right place. We are pioneers of technology integration into the agricultural industry.

Nick Dunn is Flagstaff County’s Agricultural Fieldman. He can be reached via email at: ndunn@flagstaff.ab.ca or by phone at: 780-384-4138.

By Nick Dunn

This year the Ag Services department faced many challenges along with producers in Flagstaff County to achieve its successes within our programs and services. The Ag Services department consists of 11 seasonal employees, myself the Agricultural Fieldman, and Matthew Pfeffer the Agricultural Foreman. Roadside mowing is expected to be completed twice annually and due to the early drought conditions we experienced this spring we were delayed by two weeks and started mowing in mid-June. Overcoming some adversity meant playing catch-up for what felt like the entire summer. However, with our motivated crew we were able to catch-up on our second cut and in the end accomplished 1.75 cuts. All roadsides are mowed with our Kuhn disc mowers that cut 10 feet down to the edge of the slope. Some may have noticed their roadsides were cut with our Shulte blade mower, which cuts 15 feet along all arterial and collector roadsides. This was the first year we have mowed collector roadsides with the Shulte mower as they were previously cut with the Kuhns.

The Ag Services department also offers roadside and custom spraying services. When trees and shrubs reach full leaf, our roadside sprayers start the season spraying previously hydro-axed roadside shoulders, which is conducted by the Public Works department. Vegetation that’s above 4 feet tall will be spot-sprayed with Garlon XRT while vegetation under 4 feet will be sprayed with Navius Flex. After brush spraying, we will then move into our weed control program that consists of treating one-third of the municipal roadsides. Last year we sprayed the southern third of our county, which consisted of Hwy 53 and Hwy 608 South and this year we sprayed the northern third, which consisted of Twp Rd 440 North. Our roadsides are currently sprayed with Navius Flex, which has a residual effect to suit our spraying program and provide long-term control on tough-to-kill weed species. Herbicide groupings are altered throughout the program to ensure that we do not promote the buildup of weed resistance. Crews also found themselves spraying gravel sites, stockpiles, municipal grounds including many recreational areas, Hardisty areas as part of our new leafy spurge program, and now even provincial highways. Flagstaff County entered an agreement with Alberta Transportation in 2023 to spray problematic areas throughout our borders that they were struggling to manage at full cost-recovery. We’re hoping that Alberta Transportation will continue to work with us as I believe our inspectors and sprayers can perform maintenance in a more timely and accurate manner as it is part of the Weed Control Act to control noxious weeds, and destroy prohibited noxious weeds. The Ag Services department also provides custom spraying on private land at cost-recovery with UTVs, ATVs, backpack sprayers, an Intelli-spray truck, roadside sprayers, and when it comes to scentless chamomile (mayweed) we will even pick it. As of 2023, Flagstaff County is now a registered vendor for herbicides and pesticides with the Province of Alberta and is happy to provide rural acreage owners and producers access to certain herbicides and rodenticides.

The Ag Services department also operated in some pest control duties that included removing beaver dams at cost-recovery and providing free rental traps accompanied with a damage deposit. We will continue to host extension events including Between the Roots news columns, workshops, webinars, certification courses, podcasts, Conservation Easements, other ongoing programs and projects such as Shelterbelt Establishment, Wetland Resiliency and Replacement Program (WRRP), and Alberta Land Use Services (ALUS). NEW in 2024 there will be three satellite mulch sites that will be located in Sedgewick, Galahad, and Strome. These sites will aim to give Flagstaff residents free access to wood mulch, keep mulch out of our Regional Landfill, and reduce costs for arborists performing maintenance within our borders.

The park’s crew consists of a park’s caretaker, and two labourers that are tasked with maintaining Flagstaff County owned campgrounds, playgrounds, and recreational areas. New in 2023, Flagstaff entered into an agreement with the Diplomat Mine Museum Society to assist in the grounds and facility maintenance. Many playground repairs were made to Strome and Fish Lake as well as the replacement of the Galahad playground. Other repairs included rebuilding the Fish Lake aerator, rebuilding picnic tables, fire pits, campsite utilities and restoring the ball diamond areas in Strome.

If you would like to stay updated or learn more about the Ag Services or Parks and Recreation departments, you can view our quarterly reports in the report’s sections of the Council Meeting Minutes or our ASB Meeting Minutes that we also have quarterly or as needed. I would like to thank our seasonal crews for their contributions in the 2023 season. Their hard work and passion doesn’t go unnoticed.

Nick Dunn is Flagstaff County’s Agricultural Fieldman. He can be reached via email at: ndunn@flagstaff.ab.ca or by phone at: 780-384-4138.