The Birds of Strawberry Lakes Community Pasture

Clay-coloured Sparrow, by Kim Mann

On the second weekend of June, a birding friend, Chris Harris, and I joined with nine other keen birders to do a one day survey of the breeding birds in the landscapes in and around Strawberry Lake Community Pasture.

Strawberry Lake is one of Saskatchewan's provincial community pastures and one of the southernmost in the Aspen Parkland eco-region. The provincial community pastures, like the federal ones being transferred to Saskatchewan, provide important remnants of grassland habitat for a wide range of grassland and wetland birds as well as woodland species, many of which are on Canada's Species at Risk list.

Spreading out in four groups, we counted birds from 5 am to mid-afternoon, visiting the lakes and wooded coulees and creeks in the Indian Head Creek drainage just north of the pasture--Cherry, Margueritte, and Deep Lakes--as well as the wetlands and grasslands in and around the community pasture itself.  Since the event we have been entering the data onto eBird, an online database where volunteers record and store their sightings from all over the world.

We recorded 123 species of birds, almost all of them breeding in the area. Here is a gallery of images from the event, all taken by the birders who helped out.

The day started with mist on Cherry Lake. Fran Krbs contributed this photo.

 
Ten Wilson's Phalarope were seen, including this one that Brian Sterenberg caught on camera.

And here is a phalarope nest I photographed near one of the larger wetlands in the Community Pasture

 

Bob Luterbach, Ed Rodger and Jim Cummings made the most astonishing bird discovery of the day by finding a pair of nesting Trumpeter Swans. Two weeks later I returned to photograph them and found they had five young swimming beside them. This is a first record in modern times for the southeast part of the province. The resurgence of the Trumpeter Swan in recent decades is one of the great victories of endangered species recovery. In the 1930s Canada was down to 77 individuals of this species and today we have as many as 16,000.

Red-winged blackbirds were giving this turkey vulture some misery. Here are two images by Dennis Evans followed by one taken by Brian Sterenberg.

Fran Krbs got a distant photo of this American Bittern hiding in plain sight in the southeast corner of the Community Pasture. It was one of two we recorded--both on Strawberry Lake Community Pasture.

Brian Sterenberg caught this Grey Catbird (one of 34) showing off the colour on its undertail.

This female mountain bluebird preened in an Aspen bluff in the middle of the pasture as Fran Krbs took her photo. We found a total of eight, seven of which were on the community pasture.

Fran also got this image of a Marsh Wren (one of three we recorded) near one of the abundant wetlands on the Community Pasture.

We recorded four Green-winged teal on the day. Brian Sterenberg took this photo of a male.

Black terns breed on several of the larger wetlands on and near the community pasture. We counted 107, including some on nests. Kim Mann took this photo.

Other significant sightings for the day included a single Ruddy Turnstone that should have been much farther north by then, two wood ducks, three Great Crested Flycatchers, 515 canvasbacks, four common goldeneye, two hooded mergansers, 500 eared grebes in one colony, 90 Least Flycatchers, 35 Red-eyed Vireos, aYellow-throated vireo, 26 grasshopper sparrows, ten Sprague's Pipits, and 19 bobolinks.

Finally, a couple of prairie wildflower photos. Ed Rodger contributed the Yellow Lady's Slipper and Kim Mann took the photo of a pussytoes or Antennaria species.

A tremendous day of prairie bird counting during one of the rare sunny breaks we had this June. Thanks to all who came out to help and to those who shared their photos: Dennis Evans, Kim Mann, Brian Sterenberg, Ed Rodger, Dale and Paule Hjertaas, Bob Luterbach, Fran Krbs, Dan Sawatzky, Jim Cummings, and especially Chris Harris who did so much of the preparation and eBird consultation to make the day both fun and fruitful.

As the cattle industry consolidates, how do we protect our native grassland?

Swift Current-Webb PFRA Pasture Manager Mert Taylor (image by Jon Bowie)

2014 is the International Year of the Family Farm. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, there are more than 500 million “small holder” family farms on this planet. Of course most of those are in Africa and Asia, but that is still an impressive number. 

 

How many small holder family farms were here on the northern Great Plains before the internal combustion engine transformed our rural landscapes? In 1936, when the province had 930,000 people, more than half of them lived on a total of 142,391 farms (Saskatchewan Encyclopedia).

Today we have somewhere fewer than 40,000 farms. Many have off farm income and most of them do not feed themselves the way their subsistence-based predecessors once did in the middle of the last century.

The number of farms in Saskatchewan continues to drop rapidly. In fact it fell nearly 17 per cent in five years from 2006 to 2011. 

But what is a small holder family farm anyway? A family-owned corporation that runs a feedlot employing twenty people and bringing in receipts of $3 million a year is included in the definition of family farm, but no one would call them “small holders.” Cargill is owned by a family. 

On the other hand, a husband and wife who run their own ranch grazing 10,000 acres of leased and private land but only bring in $150,000 in gross receipts are legitimately a family-sized operation. Is it fair to call them “small holders” though? They may not be making enough net income to pay the bills without off-farm income but they have a lot of land in their care. The average Saskatchewan farm is now 1,600 acres--up from 2006 to 2011 by 15%, 2 points short of the percentage of farms we lost in the same period. If you are cropping 1,600 acres you may not be a small holder, but you are likely struggling to make enough to cover your expenses. 

If we look at gross income as a way of defining the small farmer, we quickly find out why there are very few of them left. There simply is no money in it if you stay small and those that remain small are in it more for love than for money.

Field cropping farmers in Canada who bring in less than $100,000 in gross receipts have a ratio of expenses-to-receipts of 84 cents to the dollar. Beef producers in that same category, however, were much worse off at 96 cents to the dollar. Not a lot of margin to be had in beef until you get over the $100,000 in gross receipts mark, when the ratio improves to .85.

According to the Stats Canada site, “Farms raising predominantly beef and ‘all other animals’ had the lowest proportions of farms covering their expenses and also had relatively large numbers of farms in the lowest receipts class. For all beef operations, the proportion with receipts that met or exceeded their operating expenses came in at 51.9%. . . .” 

That is bad news for our smaller cattle and bison producers in Canada but what does it mean for native grassland ecosystems? If the beef industry continues to consolidate and more of our grassland is concentrated into fewer hands—whether through ownership or leasing of Crown land—the quality of land management would not necessarily have to decline and could in theory improve. The wild card that will determine which way things go is the role of the public, both in the marketplace and through government policy. 

Large incorporated beef operations that are left to merely follow the marketplace’s demand for low per-unit prices and maximum yield will be driven to look for more ways to cut costs and increase scale to find the point where their expense-to-receipts ratio hits a sweet spot. Conservation and the public interest in healthy grasslands will only enter the equation incidentally to the extent that the producer will need to save some grass for next year. Concern for species at risk, oil and gas development, biodiversity, invasive species, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and public access to Crown land will all remain outside the consideration of producers, large or small.

For those values to have any influence over the grazing management of our remaining native prairie, the public either has two options: 1. we vote with our pocketbooks by purchasing grassland-friendly beef and bison or 2. we work with government agricultural and environmental agencies to create pricing structures on leased Crown land as well as other incentives and disincentives that will enable our producers to continue protecting our native prairie, and improving their stewardship where possible. 

Realistically, we will likely need to do both—work with market instruments and environmental policy—to protect our native grassland ecosystems as the beef industry continues to change and consolidate, driving smaller producers from the land.

Red Williams: province is abandoning its role of protecting land from cultivation

Crown grasslands that are sold may be broken

Red Williams, professor emeritus of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine from the University of Saskatchewan, has published this week some comments on the Province of Saskatchewan's recent announcement that it has decided to sell some of its leased grasslands formerly protected under the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act.

In his 89 years, Red has seen agriculture go through a great deal of technological change as the prairie was converted into industrialized cropping landscapes. More than most of us he knows what has been lost and knows the cost of short-sighted agricultural policy. Here is the text of a note he sent out earlier this week in his newsletter, which he still pens regularly from his home in Saskatoon:

Lease Land for Sale
The Saskatchewan government has taken one more step in the ideological trend that has been evident over its tenure. The land previously held or leased with restrictions on its use has been a contention for years. The larger ranchers and farmers have wanted to have title to their leased land in a long time lease while the smaller operators would prefer that it continue as is because of the cost of purchase. The claim by the Minister of Agriculture that it is alright because the lessees have been good stewards of the land is pure “poppy cock.” They have been required to maintain the land in its original state which is the objective of the government’s ownership whether the land is suitable for grain production or not.

We have still not seen the end of the move to sell-off the PFRA lands to individuals or groups and therefore exposing them to cultivation and resale. The whole picture is one in which land held in trust by government is being abandoned and eventually lost of its original purpose of protection from cultivation. It is all a matter of political ideology; whether you believe in conservation or in the total exploitation of the land resource.

With little expectation that an election will change the administration in the next term, it behooves the public to object as strongly as possible that the wholesale sale of protected lands is counter to the will of the majority.

 

 

Province confirms that public ownership is the best way to conserve the most ecologically significant lands

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister, Hon. Lyle Stewart makes the announcement as Environment Minister Cheveldayoff looks on (photo courtesy of Saskatoon Star-Phoenix)

Last week the Province announced a new plan for the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act (WHPA) lands in Saskatchewan.The announcement declared that the following triage system would determine which, if any, Crown lands in the WHPA could be sold:

• Approximately 1.7 million acres with high ecological value will be retained under Crown ownership and WHPA protection;
• Approximately 1.3 million acres with moderate ecological value may be eligible for sale with the protection of a Crown conservation easement; and
• Approximately 525,000 acres with lower ecological value may be eligible for sale, without restrictions.

While the conservation community might prefer that all of the lands be retained under WHPA and Crown ownership, this announcement introduces an important new "science-based" Crown Land Ecological Assessment Tool, or CLEAT that allows the government to "categorize lands based on their ecological value and risk of development."  

As much as we might like to see CLEAT protect all Crown lands from privatization, at this point I think we have to congratulate and give credit to the Province, especially to Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart, and to the hard-working biologists, ecologists, and agrologists in Saskatchewan Environment and Sask Agriculture. In cooperation with Saskatchewan's primary conservation NGOs (Nature Saskatchewan, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited, and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation), they have developed a model and a land management strategy that clearly places a high value on public ownership of our most ecologically significant lands. CLEAT recognizes that the strongest form of protection is sustained public ownership, and, to quote again from the Province's website, 

"supports implementation of the Southern Conservation Land Management Strategy and its goal of maintaining appropriate protection based on land’s ecological values. The tool considers a variety of factors, including:

• natural cover
• unique ecological features
• road density
• species at risk reports
• size of the parcel
• proximity to other conservation lands
• activity on adjacent lands

The assessment provided by the CLEAT is considered, during the review of the potentially salable parcel, to determine whether land may be sold."

It would be fair to assume that the province's scientists and the conservation NGOs will ensure that the PFRA community pastures will also be put through the CLEAT system and this new "Southern Conservation Land Management Strategy".

As everyone who has experience with the PFRA pastures knows, these grasslands would rise to the top of the list based on that list of factors used in CLEAT, placing them in the category of land that must not be sold.

A visit to Chico Basin Ranch, Colorado

My wife Karen and I spent a pleasant four days in Colorado Springs area last week. Mike Siddoway, Associate Dean of Faculty at Colorado College, had invited me to come for a visit, read from the new book, The Road is How, and speak to a class in literature and science at the college.

The visit was wonderful in many ways--the class, getting to know birders and environmentalists, book lovers, and bright young students at the reading at the faculty club and afterward at a dinner hosted by Mike and his wife Chris, who teaches Geology at the college.

On the last day we arranged to have the education director at Chico Basin Ranch, Kathryn Baker, show us around this unique project east of Colorado Springs in the cholla cactus/shortgrass prairie. (See slideshow above.) Kathryn was a delightful host and answered my one hundred questions about how the ranch works. It seems to be a partnership between the State of Colorado and a private ranch family, based on a 25 year lease on the 87,000 acres.

The deal seems to be that the ranch operator, "Ranchlands", grazes the land under a cost scheme that commits them to follow certain conservation measures and to work with a range of conservation NGOs and government agencies to enhance and protect the ecological value of the grassland and its riparian zones. On the ranch's website, which is quite sophisticated, they say under conservation that they

"are fortunate to enjoy collaborative, working partnerships with respected organizations including the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, the Colorado Native Plant Society, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, The Nature Conservancy, Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado State University Extension, Land EKG, and Holistic Management International."

It would be good to hear from some of these agencies and NGOs to see if they feel that the management of the ranch is returning the benefits that the State of Colorado wants to see from this public land, but it certainly looked impressive while we were there.

A bird banding station from the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (who endorsed the PPPI principles!), managers who seem genuinely concerned about conservation, a vacation ranch operation, apprenticeship programs, and open access for the public. I met two birders who were there for the day including the cheerful and very sharp Bill Maynard who writes a birding blog for the ranch.

As I traveled and spoke to staff and visiting birders, I had to wonder whether this kind of public partnership with private ranchers might work in Saskatchewan on public lands.

Greater Sage-grouse--a biologist's perspective

Greater Sage-Grouse on a lek in the United States, where so far it is still possible to see these birds enact their spectacular spring ritual. Photo by photographer and artist, Dennis Evans

Canada has many tremendous biologists employed in the Federal Government and in our provinces. They are really our most important defenders of our endangered prairie birds. However, Canada's environment is not receiving the full benefit of their work--in part because their recommendations are seldom followed by the upper level bureaucrats and politicians who set policy, but also because they can no longer speak to the public or share information with the non-profit conservation sector.

Fortunately, we have biologists who work outside government, in our universities and in the private sector who are free to speak. The following piece on the Greater Sage-Grouse was written by Saskatoon conservation biologist, Joe Schmutz. I think it is fair to say that Joe's perspective on the fate of this species and the Emergency Protection Order and how it relates to ranching likely reflects the views of many of our scientists working on grassland bird conservation in government agencies. Here is Joe's statement, which he has submitted for publication in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:

Will Saskatchewan have people and roads but nowhere to go?

The near turkey-sized sage-grouse of southern Saskatchewan (and Alberta) is colourful, offers spectacular mating displays and is specially designed by nature to thrive in sagebrush country.  The sage-grouse is also in danger.

Throughout our past the sage grouse provided inspiration for traditional dance in indigenous culture, and food for First Nations peoples and settlers.  When hunting became regulated, the sage grouse was protected, yet numbers dropped and kept dropping. 

Reasons for the decline include disturbance (e.g. oil and gas development), predation, accidents (e.g. crashing into fences at dusk) and disease.  Most importantly much of the silver sagebrush range that the grouse call home has been cultivated.  What sagebrush remains is thanks to ranchers. Halting the decline will not be simple.  However, options do exist.

Ranchers can adopt specialized grazing practices to benefit sage-grouse, including attention to grazing intensity, livestock distribution, onset of grazing and grazing systems, to use their own lingo.  The oil and gas under the small sagebrush range that remains will not spoil underground from a delay in extraction – it will gain in value.  Without the necessary collaboration and leadership, however, sage-grouse numbers will remain on their path to extinction in Canada.  It will be harder if not impossible to bring the grouse back.  Do we and our children care?  May we want to go down the road and watch the grouse’s spectacular display, or simply know that it remains a part of our province?

The federal government needed reminding in court of its promise to Canadians and its obligations under international conventions.  Then, late last year, an Executive Order for the protection of the sage-grouse was issued by the Government of Canada.  This dismayed the short-term oil and gas interests.  It remains so mishandled that it perplexed the ranchers, our necessary allies in the species’ conservation.

The management of sage-grouse is a provincial responsibility.  The federal involvement only happened when the Province was unwilling to be fully engaged.  Provincial ministers have been saying that they don’t care about birds.  What else do they not care about? 

The Saskatchewan provisions for protecting species at risk are buried in the Wildlife Act.  The provisions are so full of discretionary powers that, coupled with a stated lack of care, they do not inspire confidence.  Our provincial coffers bulge from the sale of public land, resources underground and public institutions.  If we are serious about protecting the sage-grouse, the many other species we take for granted and a functioning environment within which we prosper, then the environment minister and his staff need to be given the resources and the nod to do the job.  If enough of us care, then let’s let our elected officials know where the paved road should lead.

Joe Schmutz, Saskatoon

photo courtesy of the generous Dennis Evans

Wyoming spends millions to protect Sage-grouse and their habitat--what about Saskatchewan?

from a website for the U.S. Western Governors' Association

The more I talk to the men and women who run cattle on government land, the more it becomes clear that, apart from their purchased lease rights, they don’t expect much from the rest of the world. They like the way they live and the places they live and they want to be left alone. If they must receive any notice, they would prefer that it was for having chosen to work with grassland rather than destroy it with a plough. And they want conservationists to see the irony and injustice in regulations that penalize ranchers for being the ones who chose a form of agriculture that, when it is done right, protects the oases of prairie remaining in the ecological desert of cropland. 

Recognition, though, will not be enough. If we want to protect rare grassland habitats and species without eroding the income of ranchers who agree to apply certain management practices, our provincial and federal governments will have to commit some significant funding. In the last nine years, the state of Wyoming has spent nearly $8 million working with ranchers and the resource industry to keep the Greater Sage-Grouse off the endangered list. How much has Saskatchewan (which has twice as many people and more than twice the government budget) spent to conserve or restore Greater Sage-Grouse habitat during the last ten or even twenty years? Nothing. 

In fact, Saskatchewan Environment several years ago abolished the one endangered species biologist position they had. The ministry now claims to have risen above endangered species management by taking an "ecosystems based management" approach instead. Which sounds nice, but if you only have enough budget to go to meetings and write strategic plans and reports and there is nothing left to support and implement actual plans such as the South of the Divide Multi-species Action Plan (a multi-stakeholder initiative primarily between the Saskatchewan Stockgrowers Association and many government agencies) then the ecosystems you talk and write about will continue to erode along with their many species at risk. It is time to put some money behind our planning and talk and take things to implementation in the field.

In the U.S., where state governments and the oil and gas industry are spending millions every year to work with ranchers and others just to keep the sage grouse off their Endangered Species List, the Governors (!) of eleven Western states meet annually to compare and compile sage-grouse protection programs, producing a report!

Meanwhile here in Canada, our politicians don't give the grouse a second thought as it moves rapidly from severe endangerment to extirpation.

The Greater Sage-Grouse is now Canada’s most endangered bird. Last week, I received word that one of Saskatchewan’s last sage-grouse leks had only two males dancing on a patch of grass that had once been stamped flat by dozens.  We may or may not be able to restore the sage-grouse, but there are many other grassland creatures declining now and they all need the long term protection and conservation management that public lands and public funding can offer.

Sage-grouse male on lek, image courtesy of Associated Press