The Alberta Advantage: a pasture management model from our neighbours

some of the folks involved with making the management of Antelope Creek Ranch work for the wider public interest

Here is a story that shows how a group of stakeholders and government agencies aiming to conserve grassland ecology can work with a large piece of grassland to maximize livestock gains while at the same time minimizing the damage from oil and gas development and ensuring that wildlife habitat is protected.

Antelope Creek Ranch, near Brooks, Alberta, is a model that Saskatchewan's PFRA grazing patrons and conservation community might want to take a close look at. The 5000 plus acres of pasture land are managed cooperatively in partnership with the Alberta Fish and Game Association (AFGA), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development and Wildlife Habitat Canada (WHC). Here is a quote from the history section of their website, but the whole site is worth a good look.

The ACR celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006, testament to a success story that it is possible for ranching, oil and gas operations and wildlife to co-exist on the same property. The ranch is managed for livestock and wildlife amid long-standing EnCana Corporation (formerly Pan Canadian Energy Corporation), and relatively recent Pengrowth Energy Trust (formerly Murphy Oil) oil and gas operations – a work in progress to promote the wise use of native mixed grass prairie in southern Alberta, and elsewhere in western Canada.

One of the nice features of the Antelope Creek Ranch is that they encourage day hikers and wildlife viewers. In fact the website (see below for a screen capture) suggests birdwatchers and hunters alike contact the ranch managers for favourable locations for their chosen activity.

Wouldn't you like to see some of Saskatchewan's PFRA pastures managed this way? There is no reason why we couldn't adapt the model and make it work for our grazing patrons and the ecosystems contained in the first ten pastures to be transferred first to provincial jurisdiction.

History and Drama of a Prairie Commons--great pastures article in CCPA newsletter

Public Pastures-Public Interest board members, Dr. Josef Schmutz, a conservation biologist at the University of Saskatchewan and Dr. Katherine Arbuthnot, a conservation psychologist at the University of Regina, teamed up to write an authoritative review of the history of the PFRA, looking at the multiple benefits of the community pastures, and presenting an alternate strategy to management that is emerging among concerned Saskatchewan citizens. It was published online this week on the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives website.

Here is a brief excerpt:

"The crux of the issue is that the PFRA pastures do 

more  for  us  than  produce  cattle.  The  current 

professional  management  program  coordinates 

multiple  functions  and  benefits.  Pasture 

managers  enable  sustainable  grazing  on 

endangered  ecosystems,  while  tending  the 

sometimes  conflicting  habitat  requirements  of 

many  species  at  risk.  The  pay‐off  for  such 

management  includes  soil  conservation,  water 

conservation,  and  carbon  sequestration,  in 

addition to the economic value of the cattle. The 

wise option would be to retain this expertise that 

has been developed over nearly 80 years, but it is 

unlikely that pasture patrons could afford to pay 

for this on their own. Nor should they."

Do read the entire article. Meanwhile, if you are in Regina and want to help out the cause, come to our Ken Hamm house concert this Friday, April 19. Only $20. Ken is giving all of the proceeds to PPPI in our efforts to ensure the pastures receive the protection and conservation management they deserve. There are a handful of tickets left so if you want one email kherriot@sasktel.net.

Master blues guitarist Ken Hamm will be playing at a PPPI benefit house concert this Friday in Regina

The Road is How: images from a prairie road waiting for spring

Went for a short drive this morning down one of my favourite roads running east of the city. People who live on the road sometimes call it "Old 16" because it was at one time a main highway into the city, Highway 16, before the new 16 that is part of the Yellowhead highway in Central Saskatchewan.

the western termination of Old 16

The book I have been working on since the fall of 2011 is based on a three day walk down Old 16. For now at least, I am calling it The Road is How: Three Days Afoot through Nature, Eros, and Soul.* The title borrows from something Soren Kiekegaard once wrote about the road as a spiritual image.

This morning Old 16 was bathed in blue light reflected off far too much snow for April 14. The sun was only half-obscured by gauzy clouds and though the wind was cold, spring seemed at least a possibility.

Horned Larks help. They are the first breeding birds back from the south (the central U.S.). They chase each other and then land briefly in pairs, before taking off again on little courtship flights and what appears to be brief aerial battles thirty feet above the snowy fields.

like many grassland songbirds, the Horned Lark has long hind claws that help it to walk and stand rather than hop like a robin would

When I saw a bird sitting on the wire at first I thought it might be a meadowlark, but as I got close enough for a very distant telephoto shot (80 metres or so) I realized it was a Northern Shrike. The Northern Shrike, which winters down here and breeds in the far north of the province, shares with its endangered grassland relative, the Loggerhead Shrike, the habit of eating vertebrate prey. Shrikes are the only songbirds in fact who regularly prey on mice, amphibians and birds. The hooked bill visible in this image tells the story.

Another northern predator that depends on the prairie for its winter survival is the snowy owl. I flushed a perfectly white adult male off the side of the road, where he looked like any other chunk of snow piled up by the graders. Here he is in flight, first at a distance. . .

That is "Monica Farm" shown in this image. Here is a cropped version of the same photo:

After swooping over the road he headed north to land in a small bush about three hundred metres away (this image is about 150X so is even fuzzier than usual):

*HarperCollins will be publishing the new book by this time next year and my editor, Patrick Crean, is expected to get back to me with some editing thoughts very soon.

PFRA pastures make the Focus Section of today's Globe & Mail

Canadian archives photo in today's Globe & Mail feature on the PFRA pastures

Take a look at this morning's Globe & Mail if you get a chance. The weekend Focus section contains two pieces I wrote for them recently on the community pastures controversy, one of which made it to the online edition. But the paper edition includes some of the most important stuff about the loss of the PFRA managers. It is based on an interview with the inimitable Mert Taylor (pasture manager at Bigstick PFRA), who I have written about in this space.

Here is the online photo gallery, which includes this terrific shot of Mert, taken by Jon Bowie.

Here is a snippet from the online version of the feature:

Elise Dale, pasture rider at Wolverine Pasture, explains why the PFRA system of management matters

Elise Dale, PFRA Pasture Rider on the Wolverine Pasture

Today I have a guest post from Elise Dale, who has worked as a pasture rider in Wolverine Community Pasture, near Lanigan, Saskatchewan--one of the first ten pastures to be cut loose from Federal support and being put up for sale or lease.

Her story testifies to the need for public input and oversight through professional managers who answer to an agency that protects the public interest in these important conservation areas. Without such oversight independent from direct financial interests in the pastures, things like species at risk protection will fall unfairly on the shoulders of the leasing pasture patrons.

Here is Elise's story:

I grew up on a mixed farming operation, in close proximity to the Wolverine PFRA pasture and three generations of my family have brought cattle to the pasture to graze. I always had an interest in cattle & horses. I raised both, I had a small cow/calf operation until the time factor got in the way of breeding & training quarter horses.

I was lucky to be offered a job at the Wolverine pasture and have worked there as a rider the past few years. From early on I was always in awe of the native American history in this pasture, Spoony Lake is a unique place, up on the north bank there sits a teepee ring with a fire pit and a perfect view of the lake and many times while checking this field Weisbeck (the manager) and I have mused how perfect a spot this is to catch the breeze off the lake with the picturesque view.

Up on the buffalo jump, hunting blinds have weathered the years. Passing these structures, they always make me wonder to myself about the hunters that drew the short stick and were planted up there to turn the herd of bison, some of the blinds have been scattered from the elements and cattle rubbing on them, but one sits almost perfectly unscathed. I wonder, now more than ever, how many people will get to enjoy the very last of our wide open spaces and the story that this land tells.

This pasture was land abandoned in the 1930's and taken over by the federal government to rehabilitate. Their mandate was noble: rehabilitate the land and return it to a functional state. They did just that, they hired and educated a new breed of conservationist, people who appreciate the land and the wildlife living off it. I believe the term environmental stewardship fits here. The man I work for, Eric Weisbeck is one of these men, not a preachy tree hugger but a rational conservationist, and environmental steward.

Eric Weisbeck, Wolverine Pasture Manager, photo courtesy of Brian Payne

He has done a great job of managing the grass and has made this pasture prosper for over a decade. The Wolverine pasture encompasses more than 16,000 acres and not only grazes cattle but is a rich wildlife preserve. Its became a wildlife haven for at risk bird species, Sprague's Pippet, among countless other bird species, as well as mule deer, white tail, elk, and moose.

The current situation arising from the federal governments decision to cut the P.F.R.A pastures is perplexing to me, With an abundance of gravel in this pasture, local and surrounding municipalities, and provincial government bodies are trying to secure their piece of it. I believe steps need to be taken with proper conservation and archaeological easements, as well as mining regulations on gravel pits so this land will thrive under new owners and managers. How the land with the gravel will fair through all this weighs in the decision of which entity will be given the rights to determine how, when and where the natural resources will be extracted. i.e. government bodies or pasture group, who has the best interest of both environment and resources in mind?

I am not sure I have the answers as to what should happen with the gravel extraction. If left in the hands of the producer group, given the chance they may jump on the chance to subsidize their grazing rates by selling gravel or selling land to interested parties. By the state the provincial government leaves their other gravel pits in their control, I wouldn't be easily convinced that they would manage them in a respectable manner. Guidelines need to set so that interested government bodies will not rape the land for its gravel and a piece of our countries unique heritage will be lost forever.

Spooner Lake, in Wolverine Community Pasture, image courtesy of Elise Dale

Six principles to guide the transition of the PFRA pastures

Chestnut-collared longspur, one of 31 species at risk whose habitat needs are considered in the management plans of the PFRA pastures (image courtesy of Allan McKeigan)

This week there was a fair bit of media on the PFRA pastures (including this one in the Leader-Post covering our Public Pastures-Public Interest media conference), but here is the one I liked best--an article by Candace Savage in Canadian Geographic.

At our media conference we announced the list of organizations that have endorsed PPPI's set of principles.

Here are the principles, followed by the provincial, national, and international organizations who have endorsed them:

A Vision for the Future of Saskatchewan Heritage Rangelands

In the spring of 2012, the federal government announced it was transferring control of the PFRA pastures back to the provinces. In Saskatchewan the PFRA lands comprise 62 pastures totaling 1.8 million acres. The land for the pastures is almost all provincially owned.  While the Manitoba government intends to keep the land under public ownership, the Saskatchewan government has announced it plans to sell or lease the land to farmers and ranchers who have been grazing livestock on the pastures. The Province has also said that it does not want to manage the pastures.

A forum on the pastures was held on November 23, 2012 in Regina. A second event, the “Forum on the Future of the PFRA Pastures,” was held on March 1, 2013, at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.  The Saskatoon forum was attended by over 100 rural and urban residents including, farmers, ranchers, conservationists, First Nations, scientists, and academics. 

The following principles were developed by Public Pastures – Public Interest based on input from the forums, further discussions and research evidence.

The Principles

1.     Keep ownership of the PFRA pastures in the public domain.

This is the best way to balance diverse interests, to preserve the integrity of the pastures, and to ensure that the legacy of the pastures is secured for future generations.

2.     Maintain livestock grazing as a priority.

Livestock grazing is essential to the management of healthy prairie grasslands and to maintaining cattle and other livestock cattle production now and in the future. This is a win-win arrangement that benefits producers and preserves the natural ecosystems in the pastures.

3.     Utilize professional pasture managers.

It has taken decades to build up the expertise needed to manage the livestock and grazing, the ecosystems, and the habitats for indigenous species and species at risk. Pasture managers are part of a system-wide team that helps them to improve their individual practices and provides coordinated support. Pasture patrons have dubbed their PFRA pasture manager as ‘their best asset.’

4.     Preserve the natural landscapes and ecological integrity of the pastures.

Preservation of the natural landscapes and ecology of the pastures is important at a World level. They contain the largest contiguous block original prairie grasslands in the Northern Great Plains. They are home to many indigenous species, including 32 species at risk found in 55 of the pastures.

5.     Protect the cultural and historic significance of these heritage rangelands.

The pastures contain significant heritage and archaeological sites, and sacred and ceremonial sites that are still significant in contemporary First Nation and Métis cultures. They have played a key role in Canada’s agricultural development and preserve the tradition of working cowboys. The pastures are part of the history, culture, and vitality of rural Saskatchewan.

6.     Recognize and sustain the investment in the public benefits provided by publicly-owned community pastures.

Through the visionary action taken by key agricultural leaders more than 75 years ago, public resources were applied to restore degraded land to a state that yielded economic production and environmental benefits year after year. The PFRA community pastures provide one of the best examples of a “‘triple-bottom-line” enterprise in Canada. This investment needs to be continued now and in the future.

A Strategy Forward

A.    Work with stakeholders to establish an inclusive Transition Plan.

We need a clear and transparent transition plan to manage the changes to the PFRA community pastures. Participants in the planning should include: governments, pasture patrons, municipalities, First Nations, industries, conservation organizations, range managers and others. The goal should be to ensure that the best-management practices developed through the PFRA continue to serve pasture patrons, protect our natural and cultural heritage, and  provide benefits for the people of Saskatchewan.

B.    Take the time to get it right.

The decisions from the federal government were made without consultation. The Saskatchewan government has bought a little time from the federal government to do some review of the situation, but forcing a decision to dispose of the first ten pastures by the Fall of 2013, as currently planned, is too rushed. Time is needed for the general public, who are the owners of the land, and the various stakeholders, to determine what the future of the community pastures will be and how they can be preserved for future generations.

And the growing list of endorsing organizations:

1. Alberta Wilderness Association
2. Audubon Rockies, USA
3. BC Nature
4. Bird Studies Canada
5. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Saskatchewan Office
6. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – National Office
7. Fundación Biósfera del Anáhuac, Anáhuac Biosphere Foundation, Mexico
8. Iniciativa Bosque de Agua, Rain Forest Initiative, Mexico
9. International Union for the Conservation of Nature
10. National Farmers Union
11. Nature Alberta
12. Nature Canada
13. Nature Manitoba
14. Nature Saskatchewan
15. National Audubon Society, USA
16. Nature New Brunswick
17. Nature Nova Scotia
18. Ontario Nature
19. Protecttheprairie.ca
20. Public Pastures – Public Interest
21. Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development in Saskatchewan
22. Regina Public Interest Research Group
23. Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
24. Saskatchewan Archaeological Society
25. Saskatchewan Environmental Society
26. Saskatchewan Outdoor and Environmental Education Association
27. Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation
28. Society of Grassland Naturalists (Medicine Hat)
29. Temperate Grasslands Conservation Initiative
30. University of Regina Pasture Profs

Grasshopper sparrow--one of many grassland species that flourish on the PFRA pastures

Federal Govt washing its hands of the Greater Sage Grouse

One of the rarest birds in Canada fights to hold its ground in Saskatchewan and Alberta [image courtesy of John Carlson]

Peter Kent, our Federal minister of the Environment won't say one way or another if his ministry has any plan for helping the Greater Sage Grouse, one of the most endangered birds in Canada (there are nearly three times more Whooping Cranes breeding in Canada each year than there are Sage Grouse).

Here is a news clip from CTV on the topic.

And a Globe and Mail article. These two news stories give an update on court action taken by Ecojustice, a legal defense fund that has been trying to get Ottawa to actually follow the provisions of its Species at Risk Act (SARA) for as long as the act has been on the books. This latest gambit by Minister Kent is just another form of the dithering that allowed the Sage Grouse to decline over the last decade while the ministry let the oil and gas industry decimate its critical habitat in Alberta and Saskatchewan mile by mile.

Some of that habitat is in the PFRA pastures that Ottawa is handing over to the provinces to reduce the regulatory burden on industry. SARA does not really have any teeth on land that is not managed by the Federal government, so the process of getting rid of the PFRA system minimizes Federal responsibilities for thirty or so species at risk by 2.2 million acres. Other than Grasslands National Park, the Suffield Reserve in Alberta, and a couple of small National Wildlife Areas, they will have little to worry about regarding prairie species.

In the 1980s I used to watch Sage Grouse in the big Govenlock pasture. Once oil and gas moved in, the grouse rapidly disappeared. Sage Grouse need moderately to lightly grazed sagebrush habitat and do not like to be near vertical structures, roads or anything that drowns out their spring courtship vocalizations. Rates of reproduction and survival plummet after the land gets cut up by the roads, pumps and pipelines that come with resource extraction.

Sage Grouse droppings from one of the last active leks in Canada

We need a Sage Grouse reserve to be set aside as soon as possible in southwest Saskatchewan and one in southeast Alberta. There just so happen to be some community pastures in limbo right now. Why not make one or two of them into a big National Wildlife Area, working with the local grazing community to retain access for cattle while making the Greater Sage Grouse, Pronghorn and other grassland species a priority? We will undoubtedly be developing a re-introduction program for Sage Grouse soon in Canada. Let's make sure we have a place protected from oil and gas where it is worth the work of re-introducing them.