That is a shame, but
completely understandable for a couple of reasons: 1. most of these places are
a few miles away from the largest urban centres, 2. it is hard to find our
public grasslands, and 3. gaining access can be tricky.
The first problem can
be solved with a vehicle, but the other two take some work. In this post I am
going to try to explain how to find a community pasture and then how to get access
permission.Some day I would love to make a really good map showing all our Crown owned grasslands—in provincial parks, in leased WHPA (Wildlife Habitat Protection Act) grasslands, and in our provincial and federal (PFRA) community pastures. The closest thing to that is
But if you are like me
and find maps fun you can actually figure out where the community pastures are
and where the WHPA lands are. Here is a piece of the RAN map blown up which I
printed and then scribbled on to show where the parks, community pastures and
WHPA grasslands are located in one small piece of the province triangulating
Swift Current, the Elbow of the South Saskatchewan River and Moose Jaw. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Interpreting the
colour coding from the RAN map and correlating things with two maps that show
the PFRA pastures (click here) and the Provincial Community pastures (click here), I was able to figure
out which piece of land is which. mapping the publicly-owned grasslands in one region |
The next step is to
get a road map version that will show you how to get to the place you want to
try to see. Here is what a road map for the same region looks like.
same area showing roads and waterways more clearly |
Of course a more
detailed back roads map or Google Map would get you the gravel roads in the
vicinity too, which are often the best way to visit a piece of grassland.
Ok, so let’s say you
map out a piece of grassland you want to visit. Then what? How do you get
permission to go for a walk in a community pasture or a privately managed piece
of WHPA land? If it is a community pasture and you know the name of the
pasture, you can often find the phone number for the pasture manager online.
For the provincial
pastures in my example, they are all in the south region of the pastures system
and the managers phone numbers are listed on this web page.
For the PFRA pastures,
at least those that have not been transitioned to private management yet, you
can simply Google for contact information by the name of the pasture and
usually you will find the phone number. (If you have trouble, contact me at trevorherriot@gmail.com and I will
see if I can find the phone number for you.)
So you phone (evenings
are usually best) and cordially ask for permission to go for a hike on the
pasture on a certain date. The manager may tell you which areas of the pasture
you can and cannot go. If it has been terribly dry, the manager may not allow
you on the pasture at all. They will remind you about leaving closed gates
closed and open gates open, and tell you to not drive on the pasture, other
than on the main gravelled roads.
If things go well, you
may stop in at the pasture headquarters to talk to the manager in person when
you arrive and get some more guidance on how to treat the land and where you can go and where you
can’t go. In general I have found pasture managers to be straight shooters who
will respond to well to honesty and respect, but they have every right to deny
you access so bear that in mind when you contact them.
Now, what if it is WHPA
land under a private lease that you have your heart set on? That gets trickier,
but if you are willing to do some asking door to door you can often get permission
to hike in their grassland. What works best is to drive to the area and then
look for the nearest farmstead where there are some vehicles parked in the
yard. Knock on the door and explain your interest in walking through a pasture.
If it is not their lease they will know whose it is and either phone them for
you or give you a number or directions to their yard site.
Once you locate the
leaseholder who has the WHPA land, it is the same as with pasture managers. Be
polite and deferential, explain that you will not drive off trails, and will
leave gates as you find them, and you will stay away from their livestock. In
most cases you will find a friendly person who takes pride in their land and
loves to talk about the landscape and the wildlife.
As you can tell, it can be a bit like a treasure hunt, but that is part of the fun.
Once your visit is
over, it never hurts to check in again and thank your hosts, tell them what you
saw, and let them know that you appreciate their stewardship of the prairie.
If you do visit one of Saskatchewan's public grasslands this summer, drop me a line and tell me how it went: trevorherriot@gmail.com.
If you do visit one of Saskatchewan's public grasslands this summer, drop me a line and tell me how it went: trevorherriot@gmail.com.