Grassland loss in Saskatchewan by the numbers

freshly broken prairie in Southwest Sask. where I often hear that no-one
breaks native grassland anymore

“Grassland being broken in substantial acreages is just not an issue.” 

Hon. Lyle Stewart, Minister of Saskatchewan Agriculture, Western Producer, September 26, 2013.

According to Stats Canada (Table 004-0203 - Census of Agriculture, land use, every 5 years), Saskatchewan lost 2,068,246 acres of “natural land for pasture” in the province between 1991 and 2016.

This means that more than 2 million acres of native grassland, aspen parkland and other forms of natural pasture land in the province were plowed under in the last 25 years.

How much is 2 million acres? It is nearly ten times the size of Grasslands National Park, one of our last remaining protected grassland areas of any size in the province.

native grassland next to broken land--image taken in late May this year

That 2 million acres amounts to one-sixth of the prairie area in Canada being destroyed in a single generation.

At that rate Saskatchewan is losing 80,000 acres on average every year, or more than 200 acres a day, or 9 acres every hour.

That is a 15.5% decrease over 25 years. How does that compare to rainforest loss? Well, Brazil lost 9.5% of its rainforest over the same period. (To be perfectly clear--in absolute acres lost per year the rainforest loss is much higher than our loss of native prairie, but the yearly percentage loss of prairie in SK is greater than the yearly percentage loss of rainforest in Brazil.)

Long-Billed Curlew, one of many species in rapid decline because of
grassland loss

Oh--almost forgot. It is Native Prairie Appreciation Week next week, so get out there and appreciate what we have left of our native prairie.