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Nature Views - a forum for environmental discussion - published by Nature Saskatchewan Issue 174 Summer 2013 Table of Contents Heritage Range Lands at Risk: Help Save PFRA Community Pastures 2 From Your President Lorne Scott, Conservation Chair, Nature Saskatchewan 3 From Your Editors Letters to the Editor Issue New Members After 70 years of managing the Prairie Farm Volunteers Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) Community pastures, the Federal 4 Margaret Skeel Scholarship government is turning the management of the pastures over to the Prairie Provinces. 5 2013 Spring Meet & Registration Form The Government of Saskatchewan has said 6 Call for Nominations for Nature Sask it does not want to take over the Awards management of the 62 pastures in the Call for Resolutions province and would offer them for sale or Fall Meet lease to existing patrons. Many patrons have indicated they are not in a position to 7 Gary Seib Receives Prairie buy the pastures. Conservation Award Mary Houston Receives Alumnus of The PFRA pastures are among the best Influence Award managed and contain the largest blocks of native prairie grasslands remaining in 8 Turning Leaves Saskatchewan and Canada. Many see the 2013 Baillie Birdathon disposal of these pastures as the end of Flight Plan Partners the last large tracts of heritage rangelands and the loss of their critical biodiversity Auvergne Creek Wise PFRA Community Pasture sign. Photo 9 PlantWatch values. by Gary Seib. Rare Plant Rescue Background 10 Vulture Tagging · The 62 PFRA pastures in Saskatchewan contain about 1.6 million acres of native grasslands and Turtle Lake Sanctuary aspen parkland landscape. · Some 1,800 patrons graze about 85,000 cow/calf pairs on the pastures. 11 WOW Nature Festival · Managed livestock grazing creates a healthy landscape for our native flora and fauna. Volunteering with NCC · Some 32 known Species at Risk are found across 55 of the provinces 62 pastures. · When livestock are removed from the pastures in the fall, many are open for access by thousands of 12 Upland Game Bird Survey licensed hunters to harvest game birds and animals. Common Loon · The pastures are very important to producers in providing grazing opportunities. LMBO Opens in May · Soaring land prices make it impractical for many smaller producers to purchase the pastures. 13 Need a Quick Boost? Go Outside! The PFRA pastures are among the best managed rangelands in the province, with full-time professional land NatureCity Festival managers operating the pastures, managing the grass and accommodating the needs of patrons while ensuring a healthy landscape for native plants and animals. 14 Life Cycles of Migratory Birds Blue Honey Why are these PFRA pastures so critical to biodiversity? 15 Lichens vs Plants and Birds · Overall, we have lost 80% of our natural Ban Bee-Killing Pesticide landscape south of the forest fringe. We have one of the most modified landscapes 16 Nature Quest in North America. · Close to 50% of our original wetlands 17 Swift Fox are gone. Polar Bears · 20% of our native plants are rare and disappearing at an alarming rate. 18 U of S CCE Tours · Three out of four grassland bird species are declining in numbers, including 19 Donors Burrowing Owls, Sprague’s Pipits, and Submission Guidelines familiar well-known species like meadowlarks and Killdeer. 20 Upcoming Events · Sage Grouse once found throughout the southwest corner of Saskatchewan are now confined to Grasslands National Park with as few as 50 birds now surviving. Species at Risk such as the Swift Fox use PFRA pastures. Photo by R. Bergan cont’d on page 4 Nature Saskatchewan Publication Mail Agreement # 40063014 Room 206 Postage Paid in Regina 1860 Lorne Street Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses To: Regina, SK S4P 2L7 Administration Centre Printing Services 111-2001 Cornwall St Regina, SK S4P 3X9 [email protected] Humanity in Harmony with Nature Page 2 Summer 2013 Nature Views From Your President NATURE VIEWS Donna Bruce Nature Views provides a forum for discussion, a means for the dissemination of information about environmental issues to the people of Saskatchewan and promotes the aims and objectives of Nature Saskatchewan. Nature Saskatchewan is also known By the time you read this, the hours that many of us have spent on snow and ice as the Saskatchewan Natural History Society. management recently will be a distant memory – at least I certainly hope so! It’s been an interesting winter, but I think we are ready to leave it behind. The same Nature Views is published four times a year by Nature Saskatchewan. Receiving the might be said for the “interesting” time we’ve had in Nature Saskatchewan over newsletter is a benefit from membership in Nature Saskatchewan. Views expressed in Nature Views are not necessarily those of Nature Saskatchewan. the past few months. Submissions and comments are invited. Send materials to this Nature Views It will take some time for all the accounting to be done for our March 31 year-end, editor: Rob Warnock, 3603 White Bay. Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 7C9. Phone: (306) but in spite of generous (and greatly appreciated!) donations from members in 586-2492. Materials can be sent by email to: [email protected] recent months we rather expect our balance sheet at year end will show a bit of Layout: Angela Dohms a deficit. This is largely the result of the denial of federal funding that we reported Proof reading: Angela Dohms and Rob Warnock to you last fall. We did finally get a response to our request for an explanation – Final proof approval: Rob Warnock they ran out of money. They did encourage us to apply again and we have done Submission deadlines: that, as well as applying to every funder our wonderful staff could think of. The Spring issue: January 15 Summer issue: April 1 staff has also refocused planned activity somewhat as a precautionary measure. Fall issue: July 15 Winter issue: October 15 It is still too early to know how well we will do with funding in the new fiscal year but we are hopeful! [After all, we are very good at what we do!] Advertising Rates: Full page (14.5" X 10") .................... $400.00 1/2 p. (7" X 10") .............................. $200.00 At one point we had started to think about cutting back on staff. But then life 1/4 p. (7" X 5") .................................$115.00 “happened” as it sometimes does, leaving our Conservation and Education 1/8 p. (3.5 X 5") ...............................$ 65.00 Manager, Deanna Trowsdale-Mutafov on extended sick leave with a rare and serious 1/16 p. (3.5" X 2.25") ....................... $ 40.00 Classified ads ................................. 50 cents/word cancer. Lacey Weekes has been covering for Deanna as well as maintaining Non-governmental organizations will receive a 10 percent discount on their ads in responsibility for Operation Burrowing Owl. Our Species at Risk Manager, Melissa Nature Views. These rates DO NOT include GST or PST. Ranalli, is preparing for six months leave to join her husband on his sabbatical in Europe, and is also having some health issues; Rebecca Magnus has been The editors reserve the right to edit articles for clarity and space limitations. Materials preferably submitted in RTF format or as a text file with images submitted covering for her. Rather than cutting positions we’ve been appreciating and hanging separately in .jpg or .tif format. More detailed submission guidelines are available on the on to all of our wonderful staffers to get us through the next few months! Nature Saskatchewan website (www.naturesask.ca). All material printed in Nature Views may only be reprinted with permission from the author. And as if things were not already weird enough, another absolutely tragic death This issue of Nature Views has been printed by the Weyburn Review, Weyburn. happened recently. You may remember a wonderful letter to the editor printed in Circulation: 2200 ISSN: 1207-5450 the Winter 2012 Nature Views, written by Ute Bosley. Ute is the mother of Ellen Bouvier, our Office Coordinator who is currently off on maternity leave. Those who OFFICE AND PROGRAM CONTACTS have attended recent field meets are likely to have met Ute with Ellen and her son General Manager Gary Seib Species at Risk Manager Melissa Ranalli André. She was a wonderfully vibrant woman and the light of her family’s life. Conservation & Education Manager Deanna Trowsdale-Mutafov She was killed in a horse accident, while saving her grandson’s life. Her loss is Office Coordinator Kaytlyn Burrows deeply felt by all who knew her. Habitat Stewardship Coordinator (Rare Plant Rescue) Laurie Johnson Habitat Stewardship Coordinator (Oper. Burrowing Owl) Lacey Weekes Habitat Stewardship Coordinator (Shrubs for Shrikes) Rebecca Magnus So really, we’re all ready for the promise of spring – for returning birds and crocus Habitat Stewardship Coordinator (Plovers on Shore) Rebecca Magnus blooms, for putting canoe on water and boot to trail (without snow!). There is Saskatchewan PlantWatch Coordinator Deanna Trowsdale-Mutafov some comfort to the turning of the season, even though we know more change is NatureQuest Coordinator John Murray coming. General Manager Gary Seib will retire at the end of June after a busy Inner Nature Jeanne Corrigal Last Mountain Bird Observatory Alan Smith and very productive four years. As the recent events I’ve just described would Turkey Vulture Tracking/Birds of Saskatchewan Book C. Stuart Houston suggest, he will have earned it and then some! BOARD OF DIRECTORS I hope you will be able to join us for the Spring Meet in Swift Current and Grasslands Honourary President J. Frank Roy Past President Lorne Scott National Park. It will be a wonderful celebration of the great idea that is now a OFFICERS national park, and an opportunity to be reminded of the splendour of natural President Donna Bruce Vice-president Karen McIver grasslands.