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It's official, spring weather has finally arrived! It's a very exciting time of year for all of us, with birds returning (to the delight of my 2 year old), and the promise of greening grass and blooming flowers! I know this is the beginning of the busy season for many of you, finishing things the long winter made you put off, planning for the impending field season and getting outside! What are you most excited for this spring and summer?
It has been a busy month for PCAP, with year-end reporting, developing the 2018/19 Workplan and finding a replacement for myself as PCAP Manager, before I start my maternity leave. The 2017/18 Annual Report is available to view on our website! PCAP also created two Species At Risk workplans this year, for the Loggerhead Shrike and the Northern Leopard Frog. They will be available on our Resources webpage soon!
For the April segment of our Native Prairie Speaker Series, we had Leila Benmerrouche from Saskatchewan Polytechnic discuss how unmanned aerial vehicles are being used for natural resource management. It provided a good introduction to UAVs and what can be done with them! The webinar can be viewed HERE. In May, we have Paulson Des Brisay from the Koper Lab at the University of Manitoba, presenting on how to disentangle the effects of industrial noise from other factors on grassland songbirds. I'm particularly interested in this one! You can register HERE!
Native Prairie Appreciation Week 2018 (June 17th - 23rd) is coming up fast! The tour, held in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture and the Society for Range Management, will be held in Beechy June 21-22 with the theme "The Missouri Coteau: 10,000 Years in the Making". Register now before space runs out! We will be touring pastures to learn about important topics such as range management, water quality, plant ID, how to monitor native prairie with limited time and resources. We'll be doing our Native Prairie Photo Contest again this year in June!
That's it for me, as I'll be starting my maternity leave in the next few weeks. The interim Manager will be Diego Steinaker, please feel free to introduce yourselves as he officially starts as the PCAP Manager on the 14th! Take care and make sure to get out and enjoy this nice spring weather!
Carolyn Gaudet
SK PCAP Manager
306-352-0472
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Editor's Note
The PCAP newsletter will continue to be your one-stop-shop for prairie conservation events and information, but this will be my final issue as editor. Thank you for allowing me to bring my love for prairie, ranching, and communication to your inbox once a month! I will be focusing more on my own prairie projects, but please feel free to stay in touch (@tara_m_davidson on Twitter, lonesomedoveranch on Instagram).
~ Tara Mulhern Davidson
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SK PCAP 2017-18 Annual Report
SK PCAP reflects on the past activities of the year before planning upcoming intiatives. Read about our accomplishments in our
2017-18 Annual Report!
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Native Prairie Appreciation Week is right around the corner!
This is the 20th Anniversary that SK PCAP has been spearheading Saskatchewan's annual Native Prairie Appreciation Week (NPAW) celebration! We are proud to present many activities and we have a full week of events planned.
Join us to learn more about native prairie and how YOU can conserve this resource at the following locations:
Saskatoon - Farmers Market: Sunday, June 17 from 10am-3pm.
Regina - Farmer's Market: Wednesday, June 20 from 9am-1pm.
Regina - National Aboriginal Day: Thursday, June 21 from 9am-3pm at the City Square Plaza
Swift Current - Market Square: Saturday, June 23 from 9:30am-2:30pm
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NPAW Poster and Photo Contests - Kids AND Adults!
Every year, to help celebrate NPAW and build awareness about prairie conservation, we host a
Youth Poster Contest. If you know a young artist who may be interested, make sure they enter, winners receive some amazing prizes!
Deadline is May 28, 2018
We will also be hosting our
NPAW Photo Contest again this year! Enter to win some great prizes. Photos must be uploaded by June 15.
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Join the Society for Range Management's Tour - The Missouri Coteau - 10,000 Years in the Making - June 21, 22, 2018!
Plan to attend the SRM NPAW Tour in Beechy, SK held in conjunction with Saskatchewan Native Prairie Appreciation Week on June 17-22, 2018!
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Plan to attend the NPAW Tour in Beechy, SK June 21-22!
Hands-on learning, networking, and more!
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SK PCAP Speaker Series
May Webinar
DYK: you can watch past Speaker Series presentations? Most of our previous presentations are available to watch at your convenience on our YouTube channel!
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Conservation Volunteer Opportunities!
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment is looking for volunteers to locate Ferruginous Hawks!
Read the details...
Parks Canada has many volunteer opportunities at the Grasslands National Park -
check them out!
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Wildlife Volunteer Opportunity
Do you enjoy spending time on native prairie in the spring? Have you noticed any sharp-tailed grouse in your travels? The Saskatchewan Co-operative Wildlife Management Survey (CWMS) is a volunteer-based survey that asks participants to provide wildlife observations across Saskatchewan. Formerly the Co-operative Deer Management Survey, this survey has expanded beyond deer to include observations of moose, elk, sharp-tailed grouse and wild turkey. Observations can be collected throughout the year, but for sharp-tailed grouse, one of the key periods is in the spring, when active lek locations can be documented.
All observations can be recorded by downloading the SK CWMS mobile application to your Apple or Android Smartphone. Once you have downloaded the SK CWMS App, please call 1-800-567-4224 toll-free or email centre.inquiry@gov.sk.ca for your
participant number and activation code.
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Wild About Saskatoon NatureCity Festival
âniskopicikêwin: things are linked together
May 22-27, 2018
Saskatoon, SK
Keynote speaker - Harvey Locke (May 25)
Dozens of free events throughout the week.
Save the Date - Saskatchewan Pasture Tour
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August 8, 2018
Macklin, SK
For more information, visit
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Tara Mulhern Davidson, Editor, Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan Newsletter
306-625-7345 |
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SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges financial support in 2017-2018 from:
Ducks Unlimited Canada, EcoFriendlySask.ca, Government of Canada - Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk, Information Services Canada, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park of Canada, Rancher's Stewardship Alliance Inc., Saskatchewan Beef Industry Development Fund,
Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture - Agriculture Awareness Initiative, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment - Fish and Wildlife Development Fund,
SaskEnergy,
SaskPower, SaskTel, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Water Security Agency.
SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges in-kind support for 2017-18 from:
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Science and Technology Branch, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association, Canadian Western Agribition, Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service, Friends of Wascana Marsh, Meewasin Valley Authority, Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan, Nature Conservancy Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park, Prairie Wind & Silver Sage, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc., Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Saskatchewan Forage Council, Saskatchewan Forage Industry Network, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Saskatchewan Ministry of Economy, Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, Saskatchewan Ministry of Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport - Royal Saskatchewan Museum and Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, Saskatoon Nature Society, SaskEnergy, SaskOutdoors, SaskPower, Society for Range Management - Prairie Parkland Chapter, South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc., University of Regina - Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Wild About Saskatoon-Nature City Festival.
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