February 2025 | Volume 17 Issue 2

Well we survived another endless January, congrats everyone!

The 11th Native Prairie Restoration/ Reclamation Workshop, in conjunction with the Prairie Fire Summit 2025 is in Regina, February 11-13, 2025. Registration deadline is February 5th at 5 PM.

Similar to past NPRRW events, there will be plenaries, break-out sessions, case studies, a tradeshow, poster session and banquet. The Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange will be hosting a one-day workshop on February 11th. Links for both draft programs as below.

The first Native Prairie Speaker Series presentation of 2025 was about Ord's Kangaroo Rats, by U of R's MSc Candidate Jessie Bainbridge! The recording is available on our YouTube Channel.

The February webinar will be this week (February 6th!), Nature Saskatchewan will be giving an update about the Piping Plover census that occurred in 2024, you can register here.

Caitlin is organizing a great line-up for Prairie's Got the Goods Week, March 10th-14th, 2025. You can find more information and links to sign up 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, SaskEnergy, SaskWater, 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

The 11th Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop and the Prairie Fire Summit 2025 will take place February 11-13, 2025 at the Atlas Hotel, Regina, SK.

The theme is "Collaborative Approaches to Prairie Conservation"

Prairie Fire Summit Program

NPRRW Program

Registration

Registration closes February 5th at 5PM. Various ticket types are available, make sure to choose the appropriate one.

The Prairie Fire Summit is almost at capacity!

More Restoration/Reclamation Content!

The Prairie Reconstruction Initiative has an excellent line-up of webinars as well as recorded webinars from last year. You can find the Winter Webinar Line-Up here.

The Grassland Restoration Forum also has an excellent line-up of webinars and recorded webinars that you can find here.

Job Opportunities

Meewasin Valley Authority has a few staff positions available, you can find them here.

Nature Saskatchewan is hiring a number of summer student positions, that you can find here. Application deadline is February 9th, 2025.

Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds also have a few job opportunities including Environmental Technicians and Aquatic Biologist, that you can find here. Application deadline is February 14th, 2025.

Flora of Saskatchewan Association Survey

The Flora of Saskatchewan Association would like your feedback. Please complete our short (~ 5 minutes) survey!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NHCVTJJ

PCAP Partner Spotlight

Salthaven West Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre

Salthaven West Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre has been rehabilitating wildlife from across southern Saskatchewan for their return to the wild since 2014. We strive to promote the wellbeing of wildlife and their habitats through the rehabilitation of sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife and public education. Our goal is to release healthy wild animals back into their natural environments while fostering a broader understanding of peaceful coexistence with wildlife within our communities. 

Annually, our clinic tends to the needs of approximately 1400 wildlife patients, spanning over 140 diverse species. Birds constitute 80%, mammals 15%, reptiles 3%, and amphibians 2% of our patient demographics. Among them, we rehabilitate species classified as Endangered, Threatened, and of Special Concern, including Western Tiger Salamanders, Ferruginous Hawks, and Peregrine Falcons, respectively. We field over 5000 calls each year from concerned citizens, addressing a myriad of wildlife-related issues. This outreach has seen us care for wildlife patients from over 110 cities, towns, villages, hamlets, and communities across Southern Saskatchewan.

The Significance of Wildlife

Wildlife plays a pivotal role in sustaining healthy ecosystems, serving purposes from pollinating plants to seed dispersal and pest control, contribute to the ecological balance that sustains life. Beyond ecological significance, wildlife holds a place of deep cultural, recreational, and economic importance for all.

With urban sprawl, human activities increasingly encroach upon wildlife habitats, bringing us into closer proximity with wildlife. Our communities now share spaces with wildlife, from our homes and backyards to local parks. This proximity sometimes leads to injuries or distress for our wild neighbours, making intervention crucial. Salthaven West steps into this essential role because, quite simply, there is often no one else to do it. Our services are specific, necessary, and unique. As people come across injured wildlife and express a desire to help, our organization becomes a beacon of hope, providing crucial support for these animals in need.

To find out more about Salhaven West, you find their website at https://www.salthaven.org/salthaven-west, where you can find volunteer opportunities, a newsletter subscription

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

Piping Plovers and the 2024 Prairie Canada Piping Plover Census Results

Speaker: Ashley Vass, Nature Saskatchewan

Register Free

More information

February 6th, 2025 12PM

Save the date!

March Native Prairie Speaker Series

Topic: Cranes

Speaker: Paityn Macko, Outreach Biologist, International Crane Foundation

March 4th, 2025 12 PM

Register Free

In-Person Native Prairie Speaker Series presentation

February 6th, 2025 @ 7PM

Grasslands Inn,

Mankota, SK

Native Prairie Restoration/ Reclamation Workshop and the Fire Summit 2025

February 11-13, 2025

Regina, SK

SK Ministry of Agriculture's Invasive Species Webinar Series - Leafy Spurge

February 20, 2025 @ 12PM

SK Ministry of Agriculture's Invasive Species Webinar Series - Absinthe

February 25, 2025 @ 12PM

SK Ministry of Agriculture's Invasive Species Webinar Series - Common Tansy

February 27, 2025 @12PM

Native Plant Society of SK AGM and Conference

March 8-9, 2025

Saskatoon, SK

Prairie's Got the Goods Week

March 10-14, 2025

2024/25 Education Programs:

Presenting Sponsors:

The 11th NPRRW would not be possible without our

Gold Sponsors:

Silver Sponsors:

Banquet Sponsors:

Grant Sponsor:

Participant Sponsor:

SIGA

Poster Session Sponsor:

ISC

Regina Hotels Association

Bronze Sponsors:

Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum

Good Lands Environmental Inc.

Faculty of Science, University of Regina

Kingston Midstream Saskatchewan Limited

Millennium Land Ltd.

Truax Company Inc. 

Westmoreland Mining

SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges financial support in 2024-2025 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, TC Energy, 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 2024-25 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 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.