Conservation project protects large area of prairie grassland at Swift Current
mliebenberg@prairiepost.com
A large piece of prairie grassland in close vicinity to Swift Current will remain protected through the actions of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC).
The 286 hectares of grasslands, wetlands and shoreline environments provide habitat to numerous species, including Saskatchewan’s provincial bird, the sharp-tailed grouse.
The Cave pasture conservation project is located directly on the city’s northern boundary. The property borders Highway No. 4 on the east side and 11th Avenue NW on the west side.
Michael Burak, the NCC program director for southwest Saskatchewan, said it is quite unusual for the non-profit organization to have a project so close to an urban area.
“For us in Saskatchewan, this one is definitely the closest that we have to an actual urban centre,” he noted. “We’ve got a couple of properties that are in general proximity to Regina and Saskatoon, but all of them are about 20 minutes, half an hour or 40 minutes outside those major centres.”
The Cave pasture, which is a reference to the family that previously owned the land, was purchased by the NCC in a phased process and the project was formally announced on Sept. 19.
“The fact that this one is basically butting right up against the city limits is something that we don’t have currently,” he said. “We’re hoping that it’ll be a really good opportunity for people to get more familiar with NCC now that we’re a new neighbour to the city. And we’re hoping that the land will become somewhere that people want to get outside and to enjoy nature.”
The NCC became aware of the land through realtors who have previously worked with the organization.
“The property is subject to all kinds of development pressure just because of the location so close to the city,” he said. “When we saw that it was available and we saw the current condition of the property was still intact native grassland, we knew it was something that we should be prioritizing.”
The only sign of development on the property is overhead power lines across the site, but the land has never been tilled.
“It’s really just been used for cattle grazing since it was homesteaded generations ago,” he said. “The fact that it is still in that kind of pristine state for the most part is something that we found pretty attractive at the outset. We had the opportunity to do a bit of fieldwork on the property in the spring and summer, and the grass itself was in really great shape. It’s obviously been very well managed for a number of years.”
There are grasslands, wetlands and shoreline habitat on the property that provides a refuge for a variety of species. It became clear from fieldwork visits to the property that there is a thriving ecosystem with a significant number of waterfowl, including seven different species of ducks and several Canada geese.
It also provides habitat for wildlife listed under the federal Species at Risk Act, varying from leopard frog to different bird species such as loggerhead shrike, Sprague’s pipit, lesser yellowlegs and long-billed curlew.
Sharp-tailed grouse occur on the property and there is a large and active mating lek, which is an area used for courtship displays by male birds. This highlights the property’s importance for conservation, because sharptailed grouse numbers have been declining about five per cent each year since 1968.
The presence of a conservation property so close to an urban area does create a potential risk that it can become an isolated island surrounded by other land uses. Burak said it is certainly an issue that they have considered, but in this case the topography of the land on the western side of the NCC property does not make it very easy to use for farming.
“So there should probably be some level of connectivity both on the west side of the property as well as on the east side to a lesser extent, because of the location of the city, but that is something that hopefully we can work on in the future to make sure that some of those connectivity remains in place,” he said.
A key benefit of the Cave pasture conservation project’s proximity to Swift Current is the opportunities that it will offer for people to experience a natural area.
“The real benefit that we see is just having a space like this close to the city for schools to bring groups of kids out to experience what native grassland actually looks like, what it sounds like and all those kinds of different senses that you do get from it,” he said. “A lot of people find a lot of benefits for their own mental health with just getting outside a little bit more. So hopefully this becomes something that people can explore and take in.”
The NCC acquired the property in two stages, which resulted in land title transfers in March and June. Funding support for the initial stage came from the federal government’s Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund and the Government of Saskatchewan Fish and Wildlife Development Fund. Funding for the second acquisition phase came from the federal government’s National Heritage Conservation Program and the project also received contributions from a couple of private donors.
Fieldwork data collected so far on the site will be used to create the first version of a management plan for the property, which will guide conservation work on the site. A cleanup day was held to remove barbed wire and discarded items left on the property in the past. A new fence was installed along the southern boundary and the NCC will arrange a grazing lease to ensure the grass is grazed on an annual basis.
The NCC has identified grasslands conservation as a key priority. It has launched the Prairie Grasslands Action Plan in June with a goal to raise $500 million to conserve 500,000 hectares of grasslands by the end of 2030. More details about this campaign and the ecological importance of grasslands are available online at www.prairiegrasslands.ca