July 2026 | Volume 18 Issue 7

Happy July, everyone!

I hope you're having a great start to the summer. We've been getting some rain, which is such a nice change from the previous 7 or so years of drought conditions.

Make sure to check out some of the native prairie-related articles linked below, there were many in the last month!



Have a fantastic month!

Upcoming Events

The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) monthly theme for July is 'Services and infrastructure for pastoralists'. Keep an eye out for events and resources celebrating grasslands on this Trello board.

The IYRP Book Club is meeting in August to discuss Treat Them as Buffalo by Blair Palmer Yoxall. We will be joined by the author for the discussion! The registration link is here.

You can find an update about our Native Prairie Appreciation Week activities below, including contest winners!

Webinars

Our June Native Prairie Speaker Series webinar was about the ecological impacts of roads. You can find the recording on YouTube. The July webinar will be about citizen science! Register here. You can also register and find more information for the August webinars here.

Thank you Sponsors

We would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support: 

K+S Youth+Us, North American Helium, Pembina, Sasktel, TC Energy, and Wildlife Habitat Canada, as well as the continuous support of all the PCAP Partners!

Carolyn Gaudet, SK PCAP Manager 

pcap@sasktel.net

Survey Opportunity

University of Manitoba Survey on Public Views of Prescribed Fire in Prairie Management

Please complete the online survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2ZCWDRW

PCAP Recap: Native Prairie Appreciation Week - June 14-20, 2026

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 four categories: Native Prairie Landscape, Native Prairie Wildflower, Wildlife in Action and People on the Landscape. 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. 
• 98 posters were submitted to the Native Prairie Youth Poster Contest this year. The winners are below!
• We had one webinar ahead of Native Prairie Appreciation Week: "Paved Paradise" by Ben Goldfarb. You can find the recording 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:

Thank you to our NPAW Youth Poster Contest donors:

McNally Robinson

Nature Regina

Nature Saskatchewan

Sask Parks, Culture & Sport

Saskatchewan Science Centre

Shirley Bartz

International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists!

Check out the SK Working Group's Trello board for upcoming International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists events and range-related content. You can find the Trello board for Canadian Resources here. There are quite a few field tours in Alberta on the IYRP Trello board. You can find more global information at the official IYRP website: https://iyrp.info/

Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) is inviting organizations, networks and leaders from across the country to participate in a biweekly national Zoom call dedicated to collaboration, promotion and shared learning. You can register here.

SAVE THE DATES - FALL

Central Grasslands Roadmap

November 10-12, 2026

Chihuahua City, Mexico



Grassland Restoration Forum's Fall Information Session

November 19, 2026

Claresholm, AB

Western Canada Conference on Soil Health & Grazing 2026

December 8-10, 2026

Edmonton, AB

Living Labs - Central Prairies Conference

December 15-16, 2026

Saskatoon, SK

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

July Native Prairie Speaker Series

Every Observation Counts: How You Can Help Document Saskatchewan's Biodiversity

Speaker: Andrea Benville, Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre, Ministry of Environment

Wednesday July 29th, 2026 at 12:00 pm

Register free!

August Native Prairie Speaker Series

Woody Plant Encroachment and Forages

Speaker: Andrew Williams, Masters Student, University of Saskatchewan

Tuesday August 25th, 2026 at 12:00 pm

Register free!

IYRP Field Tour: Celebrating Pastoral Stewardship

July 8th, 2026

Staverly Research Ranch

Staverly, AB

Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds' Cover Crops & Rotational Grazing Early Adopter Field Day

July 29, 2026

Gladmar, SK

Saskatchewan Pasture Tour

August 5, 2026

Canwood, SK

IYRP Virtual Book Club: Treat Them as Buffalo

August 20th, 2026 @ 12 PM CST

Employment Opportunities

Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds is hiring a Watershed Education and Outreach Manager. Application deadline is July 10th, 2026

Native Prairie in the News

Canada’s Endangered Species Watchdog Is Strapped for Cash

Those working for prairie conservation play the long game

Prairie grassland decline drives push for new native seed bank initiative

What city art students found in Saskatchewan’s native prairie

Native Prairie Appreciation Week to highlight southeast's environment

Weston Family Foundation invests an additional $37 million to safeguard one of Canada’s most ecologically valuable and threatened ecosystems

Nature Saskatchewan urges beachgoers to help protect endangered piping plovers

Living Prairie Museum uses sheep to manage urban prairie grasslands

Native Prairie Publication

Research paper: Diverse grazing enhances abundance and diversity of obligate grassland birds in the northern Great Plains

2026/27 Education Programs:

Presenting Sponsors:

SK PCAP gratefully acknowledges financial support in 2026-2027 from:

North American Helium, Parks Canada - Grasslands National Park of Canada, K+S youth+us, Pembina, Saskatchewan Cattle Association, Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment - Fish and Wildlife Development Fund, SaskEnergy, 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 2026-2027 from: 

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Science and Technology Branch, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Association, Environment and Climate Change Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service, 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 Cattle 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.