August 2025 | Volume 17 Issue 8

Hello Grassland Enthusiasts! Not sure where July has gone, but I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend!

The August webinar will be in conjunction with the Transboundary Grassland Partnership - Webinar, Saskatchewan Edition. We'll have Dr. Dale Gross talk about reintroducing prescribed fire as a grassland management process. You can register here.

You can also register for the September webinar which will be about bison genetics by Merek Wigness. You can register here.

There's an opportunity below to collect litter to help fill gaps in the rangeland reference data. You can find more information here.

Save the Date for the 2026 Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference, which is occurring May 5 - 7, 2026 in Saskatoon, SK. The new website address is prairiecesc.ca. The registration costs are listed on the website if you need to submit a request for approval this far in advance!

And finally, we would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: Innovation Credit Union, K+S Youth+Us, North American Helium, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc., Wildlife Habitat Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, as well as the continuous support of all the PCAP Partners!

Carolyn Gaudet, SK PCAP Manager 

pcap@sasktel.net

Follow the new PCESC Instagram account; pcesc.sk

Prairies in the News

Sask. cattle producers work on grassland policy

Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection

Métis prof recruits others to protect native plants after sacred sage mowed down on campus

Litter Benchmarks on Saskatchewan Rangelands

The University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and Bioresources is working on a project to fill litter data gaps in Saskatchewan rangeland reference data.

If you're out on the landscape this summer, they need your help! Please see the link below for more information:



Distributed Litter Sampling

4th Annual Canadian Prairies Training Exchange (TREX)

October 20-24, 2025 in the Saskatoon region

Jointly hosted by Meewasin Valley Authority and the Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange, this week-long training event offers participants hands-on experience with prescribed fire through a variety of modules – from classroom instruction to working directly on the fire line. Participants of all backgrounds are welcome to apply – from folks new to fire to seasoned experts.

Partners working on this TREX include:

• Aberdeen Municipal Pasture,
• City of Saskatoon – Naturalized Parks,
• ECCC – Canadian Wildlife Service,
• Nature Conservancy of Canada – Saskatchewan Region,
• Sask Parks,
• Saskatoon Public School Division – Brightwater Center,
• University of Saskatchewan – Plant Sciences Department
• Wanuskewin Heritage Park.

View the full training announcement here.

Registration is NOW OPEN! Submit your application here.

Please direct any questions to cppfe@meewasin.com

Bird Watching Basics

Interested in learning the basics of bird watching? Want to learn how to use binoculars without losing your bird? What are the 4 keys to identifying birds?

Join Lacey Weekes from Nature Saskatchewan at the Central Library in Regina on August 14 at 7 PM to find answers to these questions.

Go to reginalibrary.ca for more information.

Neat things (in case you missed it last month)

Arizona State University - Grassland Biome VR 360

Alberta recorded a new species through Bioblitz

Stay tuned for news about our upcoming Native Prairie Speaker Series webinars!

Strategies to reintroduce prescribed fire as a grassland management process in prairie Saskatchewan



Speaker: Dr. Dale Gross, Grasslands Ecologist, Saskatchewan Parks

Tuesday August 12th, 2025 at 12:00pm

Register Free

More information

September Native Prairie Speaker Series

The genetic legacy of the 1880s near extinction of Bison

Tuesday September 23rd, 2025 at 12:00pm

Speaker: Merek Wigness, Saskatchewan Bison Association

Register Free

More information

SK Forage Council's Saskatchewan Pasture Tour

August 6, 2025

Val Marie, SK

Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation's Range Health Field Day

August 7, 2025

Maple Creek, SK

Pine Ranch Pasture Tour

August 14, 2025

near Morse, SK

SaskOutdoors Educator Tour

August 20-21, 2025

Redberry Lake Biosphere Region

Meewasin Valley Authority's Grazing Dinners

Various dates, starting Sept 4th at 5 PM

Saskatoon, SK

Nature Saskatchewan's Fall Meet

September 19-20, 2025

Moosomin, SK

CLRA's Prairie Environmental Symposium

October 2, 2025

Regina, SK

4th Annual Canadian Prairies TREX

October 20-24, 2025

Trace Associates' Disaster Forum 2025

October 28-30, 2025

Kananaskis, AB

Transboundary Grassland Partnership Workshop

November 5-6, 2025

Milk River, AB

Supporting Sponsors

2025/26 Education Programs:

Presenting Sponsors:

SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges financial support in 2025-2026 from:

Ducks Unlimited Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Innovation Federal Credit Union, North American Helium, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park of Canada, K+S youth+us, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment - Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources, the Department of Plant Sciences, and the College of Arts & Science, Water Security Agency and Wildlife Habitat Canada.

SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges in-kind support for 2025-2026 from: 

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Science and Technology Branch, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association, Environment Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service, Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Meewasin Valley Authority, Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan, Nature Conservancy Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc., Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, Salthaven West. Saskatchewan Aboriginal Land Technicians, Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds, Saskatchewan Bison Association, Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, Saskatchewan Environmental Society, Saskatchewan Forage Council, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources, Saskatchewan Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation, Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, SaskEnergy, SaskOutdoors, SaskPower, Society for Range Management - Prairie Parkland Chapter, South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc., University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources, the Department of Plant Sciences, and the College of Arts & Science and Water Security Agency.