Priorities outlined | Producers worry about legal consequences
An initiative underway in southwestern Saskatchewan will emphasize voluntary conservation of species at risk and critical habitat rather than regulating how it should be done.
The South of the Divide Initiative began more than a year ago as a way to help land owners, land managers and others working on the land — such as oil and gas workers — develop good stewardship practices. Environment Canada, Parks Canada and Saskatchewan Environment are leading the work along with stakeholders including agricultural and environmental organizations.
The area of concern is the Milk River Watershed that runs south of the Cypress Hills toward Wood Mountain. The area is home to several species that are endangered or threatened and for many is the northern edge of their range.
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A collaborative, multi-species action plan is the most efficient and cost-effective way to deal with species at risk in the area, according to the province. It recently allocated $300,000 to implement the plan’s priorities, which are still in the works, during this fiscal year.
Lynn Grant, a cattle producer from Val Marie, is one of the agricultural representatives working on the initiative.
He said producers have been concerned about the legal consequences of some provisions in the federal legislation.
“There are serious problems with the regulatory approach because then you make these species a liability rather than an asset,” he said. “The objective would be to make these species an asset. You would want to have it (on your land).”
Grant said there are federal and provincial environment staff who are just as concerned about regulation as producers are and would prefer voluntary stewardship.
A heavy handed approach didn’t serve American producers well, he noted.
“They’ve had some really punitive species-at-risk legislation for a lot more years than what we have and in the U.S. the story was triple s — shoot, shovel and shut up,” he said. “That doesn’t do anybody any good.”
Grant said “progressive-minded” conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and Nature Conservancy Canada and government representatives do recognize that cattle producers’ good grassland and grazing management are preserving species at risk.
The SOD initiative will be a great step forward if it works, he said.
Most producers like to see acceptable numbers of wildlife on their land as evidence that they are managing grassland properly, he added.
“If you’ve got 300 or 500 head of whitetail deer in your hay field or in your stack, that’s not the greatest thing, and then when you put a deer antler through a $2,000 tractor tire that’s less so,” he said.
Some landowners will need assistance to deal with the economic challenges of providing critical habitat and adopting certain practices, he said.
Environment Canada has said it would like to reduce the regulatory burden of the species-at-risk legislation and strengthen environmental protection instead.
Saskatchewan environment minister Ken Cheveldayoff said SOD is a chance for the province to develop its own plan to ensure species at risk are protected. The province is responsible for managing critical habitat on provincial and private lands.
Grant expects the implementation plan will go to the minister later this fall.
