July 2025 | Volume 17 Issue 7

Hello Grassland Enthusiasts! I hope you're all having a fantastic summer so far.

We are taking a break from the Native Prairie Speaker Series in July. If you're looking to watch recorded webinars, the SK PCAP YouTube Channel has almost 300 webinars available for free. You can also register for the August webinar which will be in conjunction with the Transboundary Grassland Partnership - Webinar, Saskatchewan Edition. We'll have Dale Gross talk about reintroducing prescribed fire as a grassland management process. 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

PCAP Recap

SK PCAP would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all partners, followers and native prairie enthusiasts for spreading the word about native prairie and the importance of its conservation.

Here are the highlights:

• The SK Ministry of Agriculture and the SK Ministry of Environment officially proclaimed Native Prairie Appreciation Week in the province.
• Our Native Prairie Photo contest received nearly 150 entries in three categories: Native Prairie Landscape, Native Prairie Wildflower, and Wildlife in Action. Thank you to everyone who submitted photos and voted for their favourites! It's a great way to share the beauty and diversity of native prairie landscapes. You can see all entries on our Facebook page HERE. 
• 114 posters were submitted to the Native Prairie Youth Poster Contest this year! The winners are below!
• We had two webinars during Native Prairie Appreciation Week: "Wildlife, Landscape and Geology" with Dale Leckie and "Urban Wildlife Project" with Dr. Ryan Fisher and Jordan Rustad. You can find the recordings here.
• We were handing out packets of native wildflower seeds at various farmers' markets during NPAW. We had lots of great conversations about native prairie and the importance of grasslands, wildflowers and pollinators.

We would like to thank our Presenting Sponsor for Native Prairie Appreciation Week:

Follow the new PCESC Instagram account; pcesc.sk

The Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference (PCESC) planning committee is putting out a Call for Proposals for Workshops that will occur on the first day of the conference, May 5th, 2026.

Workshops are optional for PCESC participants and we'd like workshops to offer training opportunities for summer staff or anyone interested in the topic. Proposals can include workshop length, proposed registrations fee, room requirement, location, transportation needs, max registration number as well as a short description.

Please send your proposals to Eric by July 25th at eric.lamb@usask.ca

Prairies in the News

Recognizing Native Prairie Appreciation Week in Saskatchewan

Stock Growers Foundation signs Canada’s first term easement for Prairie conservation

Study confirms cattle grazing does not harm sage grouse

How America’s prairie was nearly destroyed — and why it should be restored

Local ranchers key to saving endangered bird in Weyburn area

Doug Leier: UND student uses high-tech monitors to track bird comeback on restored prairie

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

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

SALT Pasture Management Training

July 10-11, 2025

Carry the Kettle, SK

Prairie Plant Communities and Ecosystems Workshop

July 26-27, 2025

Cherry Lake, SK

Nature Conservancy Canada's Big Backyard BioBlitz

July 28-August 4

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

SaskOutdoors Educator Tour

August 20-21, 2025

Redberry Lake Biosphere Region

Nature Saskatchewan's Fall Meet

September 19-20, 2025

Moosomin, SK

CLRA's Prairie Environmental Symposium

October 2, 2025

Regina, SK

Trace Associates' Disaster Forum 2025

October 28-30, 2025

Kananaskis, AB

Transboundary Grassland Partnership Workshop

November 5-6, 2025

Milk River, AB

Career Opportunities

Sask Wildlife Federation is looking for a new Executive Director. Deadline for applications is August 1st, 2025

We would like to thank the following organizations for generously donating prizes for the Youth Poster Contest :

Nature Saskatchewan, Salthaven West,

Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre,

Saskatchewan Science Centre, Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and Shirley Bartz

Neat things

Arizona State University - Grassland Biome VR 360

Alberta recorded a new species through Bioblitz

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.