Project protects wildlife habitat

Group buys land near Dundurn

A natural habitat for whitetailed deer, moose and elk near Dundurn will be protected as part of a new conservation project announced by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

The NCC announced on Tuesday that it purchased about 160 acres of private land, which was deemed to be in a pristine natural state.

The rolling hills made of old sand dunes are covered by aspen trees, wet meadows and native grasslands. Prairie clover, which is considered to be a species of special concern under the Species at Risk Act, can also be found there.

According to the NCC, other species of local importance on the property include the sand-dune wild rye, Menzies’ catchfly and red-stemmed cinquefoil.

Matthew Braun, manager of conservation science for the NCC in Saskatchewan, noted in a statement the property is adjacent to some of the largest tracts of remaining native habitat in the Saskatoon area.

“Walking the hills and skirting the bushes on the property is a journey into the past, where my imaginings of wide open, wild Saskatchewan are all real,” he wrote.

Biologists and foresters who plant, manage and maintain trees will put together a full inventory that will identify and confirm the animals and plants on the land next spring. The information will be used to create a property management plan.

In Saskatchewan, the NCC has conserved more than 150,000 acres of land considered to be “ecologically significant. The Dundurn project is funded by federal and provincial programs, as well as through individual donors.