tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.comments2024-02-21T01:37:44.813-08:00Trevor Herriot's Grass NotesTrevor Herriothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comBlogger760125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-1109856517027882032017-06-28T13:36:45.501-07:002017-06-28T13:36:45.501-07:00Dear Trevor,
I have just started reading "Riv...Dear Trevor,<br />I have just started reading "River in a Dry Land". Like a beautiful poem, your words ring so true about the hauntingly wondrous Prairie. I am homesick now.<br />Many thanks<br />Linda Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-12340403433649734822017-06-15T14:04:21.933-07:002017-06-15T14:04:21.933-07:00Hi Steve--I love your list. An excellent summary o...Hi Steve--I love your list. An excellent summary of the risks to all of us when we lose the natural prairie cover. Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-23067184735203424492017-06-15T11:15:19.849-07:002017-06-15T11:15:19.849-07:00The end consequence of plowing under Prairie Pastu...The end consequence of plowing under Prairie Pasture, ditching wetlands, and stripping cover vegetation in the face of drought zeric cycles is Farm Bankruptcies and Wastelands. Crop Acreage permanently lost, millions of Ag. Dollars lost, Sask. Lives and Community Economies destroyed. Prairie Pastures are a land bank for future generations and protection from climate extremes, surface water belongs to the Crown not the Ag. Land Manager, soils cannot be regenerated once depleted and ground water loss...ask the Soil, Hydrology, Biology Scientists...Steve Dunnhttp://sportingvenueassessments.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-14064486770898448942017-05-23T20:48:11.334-07:002017-05-23T20:48:11.334-07:00Even so, delisting WHPA lands so they can be sold ...Even so, delisting WHPA lands so they can be sold and closing community pasture programs are both one step farther away from anything that we might loosely call "protection." If we can keep the land public there is at least a chance of future govt policy that may work with private producers in ways that provide better protection and conservation programming.Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-46995261142656855352017-05-23T07:36:22.784-07:002017-05-23T07:36:22.784-07:00The RAN in the south is a pretend system. The past...The RAN in the south is a pretend system. The pastures never were protected and it was a lie to list them as such in the first place. I argued against listing them while working on the system in the 90s but deceptive gov't optics prevailed. WHPA has been sadly diminished to feed private interests - our children's legacy is being squandered. Meanwhile all political parties turn an indifferent, even blind,eye to the destruction of our prairie heritage. Is it time for more radical action?Climate Change Saskatchewanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714551941700347634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-33026344781961660742017-05-21T19:43:29.127-07:002017-05-21T19:43:29.127-07:00yes it is fair to say that no Sk govt has really v...yes it is fair to say that no Sk govt has really valued our native prairie, but I think we are making progress and getting many people and policy makers to sit up and take notice. I do not think we will see large pieces of Crown native grasslands sold--partly because of the public outcry it would cause--but small isolated parcels will be sold from time to time as we have seen in the last couple of years. That is bad enough and we must continue to speak against it when it happens.Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-11347615148703610352017-05-21T15:35:05.221-07:002017-05-21T15:35:05.221-07:00I think you have to start by laying the blame at t...I think you have to start by laying the blame at the feet of the Harper Conservatives, for the divestiture of the PFRA Community Pastures. The successive Saskatchewan governments appear not to have valued native Prairie grasslands, as you don't measure what you don't value. Of course, under Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party, looks like most of what's left will be sold. For shame.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17795940788477748202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-55975926624043490352017-05-19T15:16:06.703-07:002017-05-19T15:16:06.703-07:00thanks for writing!thanks for writing!Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-24199150955278156722017-05-19T15:14:34.603-07:002017-05-19T15:14:34.603-07:00You are very welcome Jozien-- thanks for doing you...You are very welcome Jozien-- thanks for doing your part and taking the time to writeTrevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-51850387593869330552017-05-19T14:24:37.949-07:002017-05-19T14:24:37.949-07:00Thank you for compiling these important facts abou...Thank you for compiling these important facts about SK's highly under appreciated and in turn under protected grasslands. The kettle is boiling and we have to get to the stove! aka save our crowns!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-88628647367188289502017-05-19T10:01:20.184-07:002017-05-19T10:01:20.184-07:00since 1985, i have had the ppertunity to roam arou...since 1985, i have had the ppertunity to roam around the prairies for a few days every 5 years or so. Bow Island area. What did concern me in 2014 was that little corners in farmers field's where now all being used by people, as in argiculture or recreation. I couldn't find as many cacti. I don't know if the two were related, but this year i sometimes do a post on FB to raise awareness to my beloved prairie. And Thank you so much for your work, found your book in the library.jozienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10212900310477832041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-50966830225931626182017-05-13T19:41:42.631-07:002017-05-13T19:41:42.631-07:00Wow, nice blog! We have a lot in common. I grew up...Wow, nice blog! We have a lot in common. I grew up on the prairies of South Dakota. After working as a wildlife biologist in Alaska, I became a teacher in Seattle, which is a far more corrupt city that I ever could have imagined. At any rate, I became a political activist, but my spiritual roots are still in West Dakota.<br /><br />Do you know how I can contact Hamilton Greenwood? I'd like to ask him if I can use his photo of blue grama grass in a book about symbols of the fifty states I'm working on. If you don't want to share his contact information here, you can e-mail me via my contact page @ www.kpowbooks.com/contact (It's a brand new website, so don't be shocked it it doesn't look developed yet.)David Blomstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625375616919298101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-14420383752420589412017-04-25T17:42:23.163-07:002017-04-25T17:42:23.163-07:00Thanks Ian--that still might be possible in some a...Thanks Ian--that still might be possible in some areas but you would have to choose carefully. I certainly walk road allowances from time to time...Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-54859234677333215672017-04-25T15:42:25.351-07:002017-04-25T15:42:25.351-07:00Makes complete sense as I grew up in the Rural sou...Makes complete sense as I grew up in the Rural south SK. We used the road allowances for quicker access to our land but the neighbor tilled it every year and thus my education on road allowances from my *fist in the air* grumbling of my dad. I actually had thought it would be an interesting trek on a plated motorcycle to map out the road allowances and see how far you could go on them. Alas, I dont think it would be possible (at least not without getting chased off with a shotgun). Thanks for the reply!Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09537160337561829218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-67475619915532706202017-04-25T14:38:37.874-07:002017-04-25T14:38:37.874-07:00Actually there certainly used to be a "grid r...Actually there certainly used to be a "grid road map" but it focused mostly on the roads of course. And even that map was really just a grid pattern thrown down on the Sask highways map. To find undeveloped road allowances you just go east-west on a gravel road in farm land and look every mile. If there is no road at the one mile mark, then there should be a 66 foot wide strip separating the cropped land. Does that make sense? They are not hard to find except that now farmers are just cultivating them often and that makes them more or less invisible.Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-68770457516475535232017-04-25T13:13:38.638-07:002017-04-25T13:13:38.638-07:00Hi. Is there a map of SK road allowances at all?Hi. Is there a map of SK road allowances at all?Ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09537160337561829218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-28867770597052938692017-04-24T07:53:53.155-07:002017-04-24T07:53:53.155-07:00Hi Myrna: I am mostly talking about undeveloped ro...Hi Myrna: I am mostly talking about undeveloped road allowances--i.e. those without roads and ditches. A road allowance is 66 feet wide. If there is no road in the middle there is lots of room for a cabin that is say 30' by 20'. Entire Metis communities once lived along road allowances. Now of course even ditches in developed road allowances with roads do provide some habitat--but they are sometimes plowed and almost always hayed before the birds can finish nesting these days.Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-25360090130957611612017-04-23T16:47:35.851-07:002017-04-23T16:47:35.851-07:00Aren't these what we used to call ditches? At ...Aren't these what we used to call ditches? At least that was how I thought them in the 1950s when my parents drove us out to the family farm, and in the 1980s when I owned a quarter section and waited for the joy of the June-blooming wild rose bushes in the "ditches" outside the fences. Their perfume was intoxicating. But jsut a couple of years ago I was driving around tht same countryside (NE of Edmonton) and all the ditches were gone along with the fences, with crops seeded growing right up to the edge of the road. Because there are now so few farm houses, the whole landscape looked like a Soviet-style kolkhoz. There was something really chilling about that. I am therefore pleased to learn that at least in SK there is pushback....O another topic: Metis have been called, historically, the road-allowance people. In spire of your descriptiona nd photographs, I can't see how entire families and their goods can comfortably "settle" in a ditch. Please help me visualize this.myrna kostashhttp://myrnakostash.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-89963492140112232692017-03-27T08:28:50.852-07:002017-03-27T08:28:50.852-07:00True, this is where all political parties have to ...True, this is where all political parties have to park the rhetoric and come to a common agreement on this sort of policy so that it continues despite a change in government. Sadly I never see that happening. <br />Cheers<br />Don Don Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01219252687885044144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-21236731691788925692017-03-27T08:20:52.444-07:002017-03-27T08:20:52.444-07:00thanks Don--yes we need to make habitat an asset r...thanks Don--yes we need to make habitat an asset rather than a liability, and on all land, not merely these pastures they want to privatize. However, it has to be done carefully--otherwise payments or incentives can backfire over the long run. Or if an incentive program stops for some reason, producers will destroy the habitat.Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-53611223774385208852017-03-27T08:02:43.839-07:002017-03-27T08:02:43.839-07:00I agree that there should be a major fight to reta...I agree that there should be a major fight to retain crown lands, but there should be a plan B where farmers and ranchers are given tax credits/incentives to retain grasslands and wetlands. Due to cities insisting on building homes and businesses on flood plains the money spent on flood mitigation or rebuilding could be better spent keeping the water on the land far from the cities.Don Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01219252687885044144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-46199487210733339782017-03-26T22:51:22.381-07:002017-03-26T22:51:22.381-07:00thanks Cody. thanks Cody. Trevor Herriothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11129533251670929001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-65795398680812722042017-03-26T22:45:05.494-07:002017-03-26T22:45:05.494-07:00I was aware that the grasslands were in rough shap...I was aware that the grasslands were in rough shape but these numbers are staggering. You're right, this land is well worth the fight. But it's not going to be easy. Keep up the great work man! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17960884274387864143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-56012364876207243522017-03-03T19:55:05.566-08:002017-03-03T19:55:05.566-08:00thank you
such important informationthank you<br />such important informationSandra Semchukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257954187729347296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1953681015185820780.post-9461077133293350402017-02-22T16:21:14.215-08:002017-02-22T16:21:14.215-08:00Hmm- it's almost like Dave, and his fellow Eur...Hmm- it's almost like Dave, and his fellow Europeans, don't know our grasslands exist. A bit like our own politicians. I'll try hiding behind some Stila. Rob WrightClimate Change Saskatchewanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714551941700347634noreply@blogger.com