December 2023 | Volume 15 Issue 12

Season Greetings!

The SK PCAP staff (Carolyn, Caitlin and Shirley) and 5 dedicated volunteers spent a week at Agribition in November, where we had a booth in the Agri-Ed Pavilion and offered the Pitch It for Pipits and Plovers game show. Thousands of kids came through the Agri-Ed Pavilion over the week, where we talked about species at risk and how many of our prairie species overlap well with cattle ranching. We have some new newsletter subscribers that signed up at Agribition, so welcome! Also a big thank you to our volunteers: Allyson, Emily, Shannon, Dale and Rebecca!

Registration is open for the 10th Native Prairie Restoration/ Reclamation Workshop in February 2024 in Saskatoon! You can register here. The schedule is also online, we have a great line up of presentations! The Call for Poster Abstracts was extended to January 5th, 2024! You can submit a poster abstract here.

The November Native Prairie Speaker Series webinar was about prairie amphibians with Jordan Vos from the University of Lethbridge. You can find the recording on our YouTube Channel.

Later this month, the Native Prairie Speaker Series will have Emily Putz from Nature Saskatchewan to discuss monarchs and native plants! You can register here.

And finally, we would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association, K+S Youth+Us, North American Helium, Nutrien, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskWater, Wildlife Habitat Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, as well as the continuous support of all the PCAP Partners. 

Please note the PCAP office will be closed from December 22nd, 2023 - January 3rd, 2024.

From everyone at SK PCAP, we hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! Stay safe and take care!

Carolyn Gaudet, SK PCAP Manager 

pcap@sasktel.net

Register for the 2024 Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop!

The 10th Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop is back in person! The workshop will take place February 7-8, 2024 at the Saskatoon Inn and Conference Centre in Saskatoon, SK.

The theme is "Building Bridges to Tomorrow: Restoration and Reclamation For the Future"

You can check out the fantastic lineup of speakers here!

The Call for Poster Abstracts deadline was extended! The deadline for posters is January 5th, 2024.

Call for Poster Abstracts can be found here.

Registration

Registration is open, you can register here!

Early-bird Registration (until January 17th) = $325 + (taxes + fees)

Regular Registration (after January 17th ) = $375 + (taxes + fees)

Students and landholders = $300 + (taxes + fees)

One day (Wednesday or Thursday) = $190 + (taxes + fees)

Pre-workshop Event: Planning a Prairie Prescribed Fire, occurring February 6th, 2024, 1 - 5 PM. $30/person. More information is available on the registration page. There's more information here.



Employment Opportunities

Meewasin Valley Authority is looking for a Resource Management Field Coordinator. Deadline is January 3, 2024

Ducks Unlimited Canada have a few jobs available on their website.

Nature Saskatchewan will have a job posted soon, check their website in the next few days or weeks.

SK PCAP has two free education programs available.

See more information here!

Partner Spotlight:

SK Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport

Submitted by Dale Gross, Grassland Ecologist

The Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport (PCS) recognizes the critical importance of remaining native prairie and acknowledges the role of PCAP as a vital mechanism for partners to collaborate and conserve these lands.

Roughly 36,000 ha of ecologically significant native grasslands are found across the Saskatchewan provincial park system. These lands are extremely significant from an ecological perspective, but they also serve an economic and social benefit that remains readily accessible to the public. While the bulk of these grasslands are in large, southern provincial parks (Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan Landing, Douglas and Danielson, Buffalo Pound), many smaller parcels are found in other parks (Meadow Lake, Greenwater Lake, Goodspirit Lake, Porcupine Hills) and recreational sites across the province. 

Without effective management, our remaining grasslands with their wildlife and at-risk-species’ habitats will be lost to landscape fragmentation, invasive species, inappropriate fire and grazing regimes, and continued development. Evaluating the management of our prairie grasslands can be intangible, somewhat subjective, and difficult to measure. In the face of these challenges, a team of ecologists and analysts in the PCS’s Landscape Protection Unit have developed effective monitoring programs for ecological health and strategies to protect our natural resources for the benefit of all current and future generations.

These strategies include management interventions in our native prairie, such as prescribed burning, targeted grazing, haying and herbicide application, and seeding native plant species in priority locations. Cattle grazing has also occurred in some parks for decades, and this year we employed targeted grazing at Condie Nature Refuge and White Butte Trails using sheep and goats to reduce invasive plants and flammable fuels near park infrastructure. Under specific environmental conditions, we reintroduce prescribed fire for many reasons, such as reducing the risk of wildfire and enhancing habitat for wildlife. In addition, we are a founding member of the Canadian Prairie Prescribed Fire Exchange. In October, we participated in the Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) hosted by Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon to burn with 20 other agencies, advancing our skills to apply the practice in parks more safely and effectively.

Our collaborative, ecosystem-based planning captures all aspects of our strategic management for park native prairie. We actively reach out to our neighbours and other experts to explore ways to work together in conserving our remaining, precious native prairie. 

As our outdated vegetation plans require renewal and revision, we have drafted comprehensive management plans for Cyress Hills Interprovincial Park (2021), and Saskatchewan Landing (2020), Moose Mountain (2022), Douglas, and Danielson Provincial Parks. The Ministry of Parks, Culture, and Sport places great value on contributing to and communicating with PCAP and its numerous partners. We believe in sharing our work and experiences and learning from theirs as well.

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

Monarchs and Native Plants

Emily Putz, Nature Saskatchewan

Tuesday December 12 at 12 PM CT

Register here

More information

Please visit our Native Prairie Speaker Series webpage  regularly for upcoming topics, dates, and registration details.

Transboundary Grassland Partnership Workshop

December 6-7, 2023

Swift Current, SK

Meewasin Valley Authority Webinar: Managing Native Prairie for Species at Risk Habitat

December 14 @ 12 PM

Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference

January 22-24, 2024

Regina, SK

SK Environmental Society's Sustainability Speaker Series

January 23, 2024 @ 7 PM

Saskatoon, SK

SK Association of Watersheds' Annual Conference

January 30-31, 2024

Regina, SK

Native Plant Society of SK's Annual General Meeting and Conference

February 3-4, 2024

Regina, SK

Native Prairie Restoration/ Reclamation Workshop

February 7-8, 2024

Saskatoon, SK

SK Wildlife Federation's Annual Convention

February 15-17, 2024

Saskatoon, SK

Native Prairie in the News

Initiative aims to protect grasslands

2023/24 Education Programs:

Presenting Sponsors:

SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges financial support in 2023-2024 from:

Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, North American Helium, Nutrien, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park of Canada, K+S youth+us, Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment - Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskWater, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan - College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Water Security Agency and Wildlife Habitat Canada.

SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges in-kind support for 2023-24 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, Prairie Wind & Silver Sage, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc., Redberry Lake Biosphere Region, 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.