Grazing and farming leases on Indian land must be accompanied by grazing permits to be valid, says Keith Walls of Indian and Northern Affairs.
The manager of land advisory services for Saskatchewan noted the amount of land leased from reserves has steadily increased as First Nations’ land base has grown.
There are 70 First Nations in Saskatchewan, half of which lease more than 200,000 acres to producers each year for crops and pasture.
Walls advised farmers wishing to lease reserve lands to approach the band’s land manager for a lease application.
It will detail the terms of the written or verbal contract, land to be used, the dates of use and rental rates. That information will be forwarded to Indian and Northern Affairs to finalize the permit application.
“We rely on the First Nation land manager to do the bulk of the work with the farmer,” he said.
There is no charge for the permit.
For more information, contact Indian and Northern Affairs at 306-953-8645 (north office) and 306-780-6396 (south office).
