In recent years, ranching landscapes in the region of Calgary, Alberta have experienced intensifying land‐use pressures related to urban growth and development. At the same time, Alberta's land‐use policies have introduced voluntary, market‐based incentives to encourage the conservation and stewardship of private land. Given this new emphasis, this study aims to better understand different perspectives of ranching landscapes among residents and landowners in two rural municipalities surrounding Calgary. Drawing on cultural landscapes and political ecology literatures, this paper identifies four broad categories of ranching landscape values that participants felt were important to maintain: lifestyle and community values; ecological values; production values; and economic values and property rights. Participants’ diverse place meanings suggest a need to expand the ways in which landscapes are understood and assessed within local contexts, as a strategy for promoting private land stewardship and for resolving tensions in land‐use planning processes.

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