Canada鈥檚 largest conservation agreement signed
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, June 24, 2015
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson
The Neepawa Banner
Hundreds of years ago, buffalo grazed the area known as Big Grass Marsh. Now, with the signing of Canada鈥檚 largest conservation agreement, the land will remain in its natural state for now and into the future.
The agreements were actually signed last winter, however the celebration at the site was held on Thursday, among the chatter of birds in the Big Grass Game Bird Refuge. About 40 people celebrated the culmination of two and a half years of work and the permanent protection of 43,500 acres of municipal land in the Big Grass Marsh area. The land covered by the Big Grass Marsh Conservation Agreement, located between Plumas and Langruth, includes marshland as well as land that is operated as a community pasture, providing grazing for area cattle.
The conservation agreement allows the land to be grazed and managed as it is currently, but keeps it in permanent cover. This means that it can never be broken up and cultivated.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see that land left鈥�
The project was first brought forward close to three years ago by Richard Callandar, an RM of Lakeview councillor and rider at the Big Grass Grazer Co-op. He had heard about the conservation agreements in place to protect the Langford Community Pasture, south of Neepawa, and hoped that Big Grass could be protected in a similar way. Callander grew up in the area and has worked at the pasture, on and off, for 40 years.
With only one, four mile road in the 43 sections that make up the area, Callander said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to see that land left.鈥�
Callander brought the idea to council and while some councillors were initially uncertain, they all came on board pretty quickly. He said, 鈥淭he next meeting, they said, 鈥榊ou know, this is a good thing.鈥欌�� Callander added, 鈥淨uite a few of them [councillors] are cattlemen and how better to preserve nature. Because we don鈥檛 have buffalo any more, we can use cattle.鈥�
Callendar added that while he initially brought the idea forward, 鈥淚 really did nothing but come up with the idea, other people did all the work鈥� Everyone [at the ceremony] had a small part in making it happen.鈥�
Keeping the land as is
The RM of Lakeview approached 水果视频 Habitat Heritage Conservation Corporation about protecting their municipal land within the Big Grass pasture.
Wes Pankratz, a habitat conservation specialist with 水果视频 Habitat Heritage Corporation, explains that this was phase one. This initial agreement with Lakeview covers 112 quarter sections, or 17,280 acres.
Phillip Thordarson, who was reeve of the RM of Lakeview and currently sits as a councillor for the Municipality of Westlake-Gladstone, was very pleased to see the conservation agreement come to be. He said that the Lakeview council was supportive of the idea, 鈥淭hey know what the land is like and they appreciate it for what it is.鈥� He added that with amalgamation, it became increasingly important to the council of the small municipality that the land be protected. He said, 鈥淭he decision to sign was strongly supported by Lakeview council who were concerned that a future council might not value these lands in their natural state and would allow them to be sold off and broken up. We wanted to keep the land as it is.鈥�
Pankratz explained that they were invited to a Lakeview council meeting to answer questions about what a conservation agreement would mean. 鈥淭hey basically wanted to make sure that the pasture was protected from being developed or used for something else. They wanted to make sure it was going to stay in permanent cover. And that鈥檚 what our agreement was. It鈥檚 not about making any changes, it鈥檚 about keeping it the same,鈥� he said. He explained that the municipality wanted to make sure that they could still do activities such as manage fence lines and control bush.
Once the council passed a resolution in support of the conservation agreement, the next step was to identify the ownership and legal description of all the parcels of land. Then, a caveat was registered with Land Titles on each of those parcels. The agreements stay with the land, regardless of ownership.
Lakeview councillors then began talking with councillors in the neighbouring municipality of Westbourne and phase two saw the inclusion of Westbourne鈥檚 municipally owned land in the area. Westbourne鈥檚 conservation agreement covers 99 sections, or 15,800 acres, of pasture as well as adjacent hay and marshland.
David Single, who was the reeve of the RM of Westbourne and is now the mayor of the Municipality of Westlake Gladstone explained, 鈥淲e wanted to see this land kept as is.鈥� He said that at their public meetings, they found nobody who thought it was a bad idea.
鈥淭his marsh has ecological benefits, wildlife habitat benefits, benefits to the farmers and tourism benefits. I鈥檓 happy to say the RM of Westbourne is pleased to be a part of it,鈥� said Single.
With the work already having been done in Lakeview, Pankratz said that Westbourne councillors were quick to support the project in their municipality. 鈥淭hey were pretty educated about what this was about. We signed [the agreement] within months,鈥� said Pankratz.
The final phase saw Lakeview protect the remainder of their land within the Game Bird Refuge. In total, the conservation agreements form a block of 43,000 acres, called the Big Grass Marsh Conservation Agreement.
Once in a lifetime
The size of the agreement wasn鈥檛 lost on MHHC chief executive officer Tim Sopuck. 鈥淚n almost three and a half decades in conservation, I know I鈥檝e never been involved in something this big. I can鈥檛 expect I鈥檒l have this kind of opportunity again,鈥� he said. He continued, 鈥淢ost of the time if we do an easement that鈥檚 99 acres or 112 acres, that鈥檚 an accomplishment. If you scale it up, you start to get a sense of why this area is so special.鈥�
Sopuck explained that they often work with those in the livestock industry. He said, 鈥淲e have a particular affinity for the grazing livestock industry because that鈥檚 where most of the habitat is residing in agro-水果视频. Without cattle producers, [habitat would be] pretty hard to maintain.鈥�
The Whitemud Watershed Conservation District helped cover the costs, including staff time and title searches, associated with making the conservation agreements a reality. WWCD manager Chris Reynolds said that for a long time, government funding was not available for projects within the WWCD area so the board began setting money aside in a reserve fund to be used specifically for conservation agreements. He added that they have a longstanding partnership with MHHC.
The Big Grass Marsh area is of particular importance within the watershed鈥� from the Riding Mountain escarpment, through Eden and Arden, all of the water drains through the marsh. A healthy marsh provides flooding protection for those downstream, improved water quality and provides a home for wildlife and waterfowl. Reynolds explained, 鈥淭his is the biggest marsh in the watershed, it鈥檚 basically the kidney that we have for the watershed. We have one third of the whole area draining through this marsh, it鈥檚 a huge area.鈥�
Reynolds continued, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think in my time here I would ever have seen the Big Grass Marsh actually be protected permanently. It鈥檚 absolutely fantastic that this is taking place.鈥�
John Whitaker, MHHC board chair and an Erickson area producer, praised the municipalities, saying, 鈥淭he municipalities showed really strong leadership here.鈥� He continued, 鈥淭hese guys are really progressive, they鈥檙e looking at the future economic and social health of their municipality. They get it, this has to come from a diverse landscape. A diverse economy is based on a diverse landscape.鈥�
In addition to the habitat benefits, he praised the municipality鈥檚 desire to secure the future of the community pasture as a place for cattle to graze and a cost effective way for young producers to enter into the industry.
To see the protection of the land become a reality, Callander said that it felt good, adding that he didn鈥檛 realize it was the largest conservation agreement in Canada. 鈥淚 just think that it was a very good thing and we鈥檙e fortunate to have somebody as a tool to use in this province to make it go forward,鈥� he added.
Thordarson noted that as time goes on and people clear and cultivate fields, more habitat is disappearing. He added that agricultural lands have different purposes to which they are most suited, and that this land in particular, is best suited to grazing. 鈥淧eople should see the benefits [of cattle ranching], grazing creates better habitat鈥� Cattle are the modern buffalo,鈥� he said.
鈥淎lthough we were the smaller municipality, we brought the most municipally owned land into the agreement. I鈥檝e said this before and I鈥檓 saying it again, there鈥檚 an idea nowadays that bigger is better, and in the case of conservation agreements, that鈥檚 true. But small communities can do big things,鈥� said Thordarson.
In the coming years, those involved hope to see the remaining land within the pasture protected. About one-third of it is provincial crown land and therefore not currently protected by the conservation agreement. However, work is underway to perpetually protect this land as well with a conservation agreement.
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水果视频 Habitat Heritage Corporation CEO Tim Sopuck. Of the signing of the agreement, he said, " 鈥淚n almost three and a half decades in conservation, I know I鈥檝e never been involved in something this big. I can鈥檛 expect I鈥檒l have this kind of opportunity again... Most of the time if we do an easement that鈥檚 99 acres or 112 acres, that鈥檚 an accomplishment. If you scale it up, you start to get a sense of why this area is so special.鈥�
Wes Pankratz, a habitat conservation specialist with 水果视频 Habitat Heritage Corporation, helped the former RMs of Lakeview and Westbourne develop a conservation agreement to protect their municipal land within the Big Grass Marsh area. Of the the councils, he said, 鈥淭hey basically wanted to make sure that the pasture was protected from being developed or used for something else. They wanted to make sure it was going to stay in permanent cover. And that鈥檚 what our agreement was. It鈥檚 not about making any changes, it鈥檚 about keeping it the same,鈥�
Phillip Thordarson, who was reeve of the RM of Lakeview and currently sits as a councillor for the Municipality of Westlake-Gladstone, said, 鈥淎lthough we were the smaller municipality, we brought the most municipally owned land into the agreement. I鈥檝e said this before and I鈥檓 saying it again, there鈥檚 an idea nowadays that bigger is better, and in the case of conservation agreements, that鈥檚 true. But small communities can do big things,鈥�
David Single, who was the reeve of the RM of Westbourne and is now the mayor of the Municipality of Westlake Gladstone explained, 鈥淲e wanted to see this land kept as is... This marsh has ecological benefits, wildlife habitat benefits, benefits to the farmers and tourism benefits. I鈥檓 happy to say the RM of Westbourne is pleased to be a part of it."
The Whitemud Watershed Conservation District manger Chris Reynolds, said, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think in my time here I would ever have seen the Big Grass Marsh actually be protected permanently. It鈥檚 absolutely fantastic that this is taking place.鈥�
John Whitaker, MHHC board chair and an Erickson area producer, praised the municipalities, saying, 鈥淭he municipalities showed really strong leadership here.鈥�
During the ceremony, 水果视频 Habitat Heritage Corporation presented a newly created Conservation Achievement Award to the municipality. Included in the presentation are members of the former councils of Lakeview and Westbourne, as well as representatives from MHHC and the Whitemud Watershed Conservation Disctrict. Back row (from left): Chris Reynolds (WWCD), Kerry Arksey, Arnold Coutts, Jim Rinn Front row: Robert Rogers (WWCD), Dwight Ferguson, Phillip Thordarson, David Single, John Whitaker (MHHC), Richard Callander.
A map shows the area protected by the Big Grass Marsh Conservation Agreement
The festivities included a trip by horse and wagon through the pasture to the abandoned village of Marshland.
The festivities included a trip by horse and wagon through the pasture to the abandoned village of Marshland. In the village's cemetery, lady slippers can be found.
The festivities included a trip by horse and wagon through the pasture to the abandoned village of Marshland. In the old cemetery, only two grave stones are clearly visible.
The festivities included a trip by horse and wagon through the pasture to the abandoned village of Marshland. Wild roses grow in the village's old cemetery.
The festivities included a trip by horse and wagon through the pasture to the abandoned village of Marshland.
The festivities included a trip by horse and wagon through the pasture to the abandoned village of Marshland. Here, the visitors wait as the pasture鈥檚 summer residents pass by.
