Since 1995, the Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) has been presented annually to innovative cattle producers that have realized the value of implementing environmentally and economically sustainable cattle production on their operations. The 2019 TESA sponsored by Ducks Unlimited Canada, MNP and the SK Stock Growers was presented to Willow Creek Ranch of Consul, SK at the SSGA 106th AGM in Moose Jaw.

Willow Creek Ranch is located on the eastern edge of the Wild Horse Plain in SW Saskatchewan and is owned and operated by Randy and Terry Stokke. They operate on 14,000 acres, 90% of which is native prairie and Willow Creek Ranch has been in the family for three generations.

They have made improvements over the years to improve their grass management and develop an extensive rotational grazing system. These improvements include new water sources and cross-fencing to improve distribution and change their grazing rotation over the years to make better use of their grass. They credit most of their success to an interest in local grassland management, and learning how to manage their grass properly.

The range is managed in a way that creates a mosaic of slowly shifting habitat that benefit a variety of species, co-existing together. Willow Creek Ranch provides habitat for over 50 bird species, as well as dozen federal species at risk and provincially rare species.

In addition to their conservation efforts on the ranch, they have also put in tremendous effort to raise awareness of how traditional, extensive ranching operations can provide ecosystem services for the public good. The ranch provides a model example of sustainable livestock operations that enable them to credibly promote their industry as a solution for maintaining grassland ecosystems and their biodiversity.

     The concept of using an umbrella species to conserve habitat for multiple species in the same ecosystem is a popular approach. An umbrella species may be chosen for being a species at risk that represents the ecosystem and all it encompasses. Greater sage-grouse has received attention as a potential umbrella species for the shrub-steppe habitat and its occupants in the United States, at the core of its range. Recently, Phil Rose and his colleagues at the University of Regina and Environment and Climate Change Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service examined the extent to which conserving sage-grouse habitat would benefit mixed-grass prairie species in Saskatchewan or in the northern portion of its range. This was done by comparing grassland songbird abundance in sage-grouse critical habitat and in nearby habitat that is not designated critical habitat.
     Phil and his colleagues found that the abundance of Sprague's pipit, Baird's sparrow, and chestnut-collared longspur were negatively associated with shrub and silver sagebrush cover, both of which characterize sage-grouse critical habitat in Canada. Also, vegetation characteristics associated with shrub-steppe songbirds and grassland generalists are similar to those that defined greater sage-grouse critical habitat. Conserving greater sage-grouse critical habitat in Canada is likely to have a positive influence on shrub-dependent or shrub-tolerant species, such as lark bunting, and a neutral or positive effect on grassland generalist species. The conservation of open, grassland habitat within the sagebrush matrix could benefit chestnut-collared longspur, Sprague's pipit, and Baird's sparrow, but enhancing shrub and sagebrush cover in sage-grouse critical habitat will have a negative effect on these three species.
     In the southern Great Plains, similar conclusions were made when examining the use of the lesser prairie-chicken as an umbrella species, where prescribed grazing plans were used on private land to improve rangeland condition. This work was led by David Pavlacky from Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. Their results indicate the voluntary conservation practices aimed at recovering lesser prairie-chicken populations on private land made meaningful contributions to the regional population sizes of several declining grassland species, while also improving the productivity of grasslands for ranchers. These prescribed grazing plans have led to increasing the abundance of 24 of the 40 species surveyed. However, those management changes also led to a decrease in a number of species as well. You can read the full report here.
     Management of sage-grouse habitat in the northern United States, either sagebrush restoration, sagebrush reduction for brood-rearing sites or particular grazing regimes may also affect songbird density in a positive, negative or neutral way. In the words of Phil and his colleagues, "it is unrealistic to expect conservation programs be targeted towards the specific needs of each individual species, it is equally unrealistic to expect that conservation directed at a single species will offer complete protection for all species in a region." That being said, choosing a number of key species to act as umbrella species with various habitat requirements should cover the suite of grassland songbirds in Saskatchewan better than a single species. Be on the lookout for Rose et. al. publication in the near future!

2020 Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation  and Transboundary Grassland Workshops   

In 2020, SK PCAP is combining two workshops: the 7th Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop and the 5th Transboundary Grassland Workshop,  February 25-27, 2020 at the Ramada Plaza, Regina , SK.

The conference will include plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, case studies, trade show, poster session and a silent auction with proceeds going towards PCAP education programs. 

The theme is The Big Picture: Planning and Partnerships with presentations on:

• Tools to Restore/Reclaim Native Prairie
• Planning to minimize impact to Native Prairie
• Planning for a Species Reintroduction
• Prescribed Fire as a Management Option
• Integrated Pest Management Plan
• Soils and Mycorrhizae
• Ecosystem Management
• Transboundary Partnerships
• Native Seeds
• Urban Restoration Projects
• Wetland Restoration Projects
• Transboundary Species at risk
• Invasive species across jurisdictions

Registration will open this fall. Stay tuned!

 In addition to the NPRRW and TGPW committees inviting key speakers, we are also encouraging individuals to submit oral presentation or poster abstracts for our consideration. The Call for Abstracts can be found  here .

Tradeshow: 
As always, there will be a tradeshow! This is the perfect opportunity to showcase your business/organization with an audience of restoration/reclamation experts, consulting companies, government organizations, NGO's, prairie conservationists, academic representatives, etc. There will dedicated tradeshow times throughout the workshop.  More information to come!

More information will become available on the PCAP website shortly. In the meantime, please contact Carolyn Gaudet, SK PCAP at (306) 352-0472 or pcap@sasktel.net.