A chunk of southwest conservation land has recently expanded by more than 1,000 hectares.
Nestled deep into the southwest corner of the province, Zen-Ridge was initially 195 hectares of grasslands, rolling hills, seasonal creeks and streams, and home to several at-risk species.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada's program director for the southwest, Michael Burak, is thrilled with their recent purchase which now totals 1,235 hectares of protected flora and fauna near Consul.
"We had an initial purchase from the same landowner back in either 2019 or 2020 and from that initial acquisition, the landowners actually leased the land back from us to continue grazing it as part of their operation," he explained. "We had some conversations (with the family) over the course of the few years and then just this past January or February, we finally closed the sale."
This exchange of land allows the family who previously owned it to continue their daily operations; while technically less land on title, they are still able to manage the same span of land base under different ownership.
Nearing both the Alberta border and the Montana border, the land is a hotspot for species at risk in the province including burrowing owls (endangered), chestnut-collared longspur (endangered), ferruginous hawk (threatened) and swift fox (threatened).
"Lots of [the species] need a fairly large amount of area to be able to carry out all of the different life processes that they have, like foraging, breeding, nesting, raising young," said Burak. "All of those grassland birds will leave for the winter and then come back; if they've been frequenting an area and come back to it the next year, and all of a sudden it's been converted to agriculture or developed or changed in any way, it forces them to look elsewhere ... they may never come back to that area again. So, the consistency on the land is something we really wanted to see out there."
The conserved area also plays a pivotal role in ensuring the future of native grasslands, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. While under the NCC's ownership, the area will continue to be used for cattle grazing to maintain the health of the grasslands and support the local economy.
The purchase was made possible through donors and partners, including John Garland, Dr. Therese Leneveu, Barbara and Doug Mader, Ann and Roger Phillips Foundation and Northbridge. The Government of Canada provided support through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, part of Canada’s Nature Fund. The Government of Saskatchewan contributed through the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund.