October 2025 | Volume 17 Issue 10

Happy Fall, Prairie Friends!

The October Native Prairie Speaker Series webinar will be about Ducks Unlimited Canada's Biodiversity Mapping and Assessment Tool. You can register here.

The September webinar was about bison genetics, by Merek Wigness. The recording is available on our YouTube Channel.

The SK Working Group for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists is having a 3rd engagement session on October 16th at 1 PM. You can find more information here.

Registration is open for the 2026 Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference, which is occurring May 5 - 7, 2026 in Saskatoon, SK. You can find more information here: prairiecesc.ca.

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!

Have a great long weekend!

Carolyn Gaudet, SK PCAP Manager 

pcap@sasktel.net

Registration is Open for the 14th Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference.

This dynamic gathering brings together researchers, government and NGO staff, Indigenous and ranching communities, and conservation practitioners from across the prairies. Whether you’re working in the field, managing policy, or leading grassroots initiatives — PCESC is your place to connect, learn, and share.



🌟 Register now and save !

Your conference registration includes:

✅ Evening Reception to kick-off the event

✅ Inspiring Keynotes & Breakout Sessions

✅ Poster Session & Tradeshow

✅ Banquet & Awards Night

🎤 Want to present your work? There is a Call for Abstract open now!

In addition to the regular PCESC events, there are also Tours and Workshops available to get participants out on the landscape and experience native prairie or prairie species.

📍 Learn more: www.prairiecesc.ca

Looking for Speakers for in-person presentations in South West Saskatchewan

In addition to our monthly Native Prairie Speaker Series webinars, Caitlin Mroz-Sailer, SK PCAP Stewardship Coordinator, also plans and hosts in-person Speaker Series in various locations in the South of the Divide area for rural audiences. Presentations are often about species at risk or grassland management. For example, last year, we had presentations about ferruginous hawks and grassland songbirds. In-person presentations are recorded and available on our YouTube Channel.

We're currently looking for speakers for this fall and winter. If you are currently working on a project or research related to species at risk or grasslands and interested in speaking to a rural audience, please contact Caitlin at caitlinmroz@hotmail.com!

Free Education Programs

SK Prairie Conservation Action Plan (SK PCAP) is getting ready to launch Adopt a Rancher and Taking Action for Prairies for the 2025-2026 school year! SK PCAP’s Education Coordinator, Shirley Bartz, offers two FREE curriculum- supported, action-orientated environmental education programs that bring the native prairie ecosystem to your classroom, or bring your class out to the prairie!

SK PCAP has two free education programs available:

Taking Action for Prairie (TAFP) is a 2.5 hr in-class program delivered to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students that teaches concepts of prairie ecology and conservation.

Adopt a Rancher (AAR) is a program that brings 10th grade students and ranchers together to build understanding of what it takes to run a livestock operation on native prairie pastures.

Contact Shirley for more information at pcap.education@gmail.com

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

Supporting Conservation Decisions with a Biodiversity Mapping and Assessment Tool

 Tuesday October 21st, 2025 at 12:00pm

Speaker: Dr. James Paterson, Research Scientist, Ducks Unlimited Canada

Register Free

More information

SK Working Group - IYRP Engagement Session

October 16 at 1 PM

4th Annual Canadian Prairies TREX

October 20-24, 2025

SK Association of Watersheds' Annual Conference

October 22-23, 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

Grassland Restoration Forum's Fall Information Session

November 20, 2025

Claresholm, AB

Prairies in the News

Why Bison Reintroduction Is Crucial for Prairie Ecosystems

Plowing up the prairie: Will history repeat itself?

Field Trip!: Adopt a Rancher program helps teach Grade 10 students about native grasslands

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, Nature Saskatchewan, North American Helium, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park of Canada, K+S youth+us, Ranchers Stewardship Alliance Inc, Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds, Saskatchewan Cattle 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, 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.