May 2026 | Volume 18 Issue 5

Happy May!


The 2026 Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference is this week! The sold out conference will host nearly 350 individuals and showcase presentations, posters, tradeshow, tours and workshops, entertainment and awards. We'll provide a recap in the June eNewsletter.


Upcoming Events

We are organizing the 28th Native Prairie Appreciation Week (NPAW, June 14-20)! We have our photo contest, a youth poster contest, we'll be handing out native seed packets at Farmer's Markets in Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current. More information on NPAW activities can be found here.


The NPAW tour will be in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park and Monet Pasture, June 12-13, 2026. In an effort to get kids out on the landscape there will be kids programming by PCAP's Education Coordinator, Shirley Bartz. It'll be a great line up of presenters and we'll get to use the new Range Health Assessment workbooks!

You can find more information and register here.


The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) monthly theme for May is 'Biodiversity and ecosystem services'. Keep an eye out for events and resources celebrating grasslands on this Trello board. If you want to learn more about pastoralism and climate change, there are resources on the IYRP website.



Webinars

Our April Native Prairie Speaker Series webinar was about the importance of climate adaptations. You can find the recording on YouTube. The May webinar will be about the diets of prairie amphibians! Register here.


Thank you Sponsors

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

K+S Youth+Us, North American Helium, Pembina, 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

Native Prairie Appreciation Week

June 14-20, 2026

Check out our annual Youth Poster Contest and Social Media Photo Contest and NPAW Tour with the Society for Range Management - Prairie Parkland Chapter

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. You can find more global information at the official IYRP website: https://iyrp.info/ They also have resources for the April theme of Climate Change and Resilience.


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 DATE


Central Grasslands Roadmap

November 10-12, 2026

Chihuahua City, Mexico




Living Labs - Central Prairies Conference

December 15-16, 2026

Saskatoon, SK


Native Prairie in the News


How Last Mountain Lake, Sask. became Canada’s first migratory bird sanctuary



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

May Native Prairie Speaker Series


What's On the Menu? Diet Analysis of Prairie Amphibians During the Breeding Season

Speaker: Jordan Vos, recent M.Sc. Graduate, University of Lethbridge

Tuesday May 12th, 2026 at 12:00pm


Register free!


June Native Prairie Speaker Series


Paved Paradise: The Ecological Impacts of Our Planet's Highway System

Speaker: Ben Goldfarb, Environmental Journalist and Author

Tuesday June 9th, 2026 at 12:00 pm


Register free!


Upcoming Events

Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference

May 5-7, 2026

Saskatoon, SK


World Migratory Bird Day

May 9, 2026

Regina, SK


Keystone Connections: Connecting Buffalo Guardians

June 3-4, 2026

Tsuut'ina Nation


Nature Conservancy of Canada's Celebrate Conservation at Buffalo Pound

June 8, 2026, 1-3 PM

Buffalo Pound, SK



Native Prairie Appreciation Week Tour

June 12-13, 2026

Sask Landing and Monet Pasture


Nature Saskatchewan Spring Meet

June 19-20, 2026

Swift Current, SK

Employment Opportunities



Nature Saskatchewan and the Last Mountain Bird Observatory are hiring a Banding Intern.


2026/27 Education Programs:

Presenting Sponsors:

 
Carolyn Gaudet, Editor, Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan Newsletter
 

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.