Conservation groups are more optimistic their concerns about the Saskatchewan government’s plan to sell protected lands won’t be ignored, after meeting with officials and ranchers last week.
Lorne Scott, chair of Nature Saskatchewan, said they feel they are part of the process now.
“We’ve got guarded optimism, I guess,” he said after the May 6 meeting.
The groups said they hadn’t been consulted before the government moved ahead with amendments to the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act that could see up to 10 percent of the 3.5 million acres of protected land removed from the legislation and sold to ranchers who are leasing it.
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Other land could be bought and sold but with crown conservation easements attached to maintain protection, while the most critical habitat would remain under the WHPA.
The environment ministry is using a computer program known as the Crown Land Ecological Assessment Tool to assess the value of its protected crown lands and determine into which category each parcel should fall.
Scott said conservationists want this tool used on all provincial Crown land.
“We would very much like to see it used to appraise the non-WHPA crown lands, which is several million acres of natural crown lands out there that has no protection at all.”
Some of this land could be placed under conservation easements, which would help replace some of the land being sold, he said.
Environment minister Nancy Heppner has not committed to a policy of no net loss, or the practice of placing an acre under protection for every acre that is removed.
But she said she would consider ecological assessments on other land.
“The ministry of environment has unoccupied crown lands, which haven’t necessarily ever been assessed for ecological value. There may be some other crown land outside of WHPA that requires protection, whether through WHPA or a different piece of legislation.”
The conservation groups also suggested that some revenue from crown land sales be placed into a fund for conservation.
Heppner said the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund is already in place and would be a logical place for money to go. However, she has to take this idea to the provincial cabinet.
Another suggestion was to establish a crown land advisory committee, which would include ranchers, conservationists and other stakeholders.
Scott noted the government recently abolished a committee called the crown Land Stakeholder Forum.
Heppner said she has asked her officials to work with stakeholders to develop a mandate for a new committee.
Meanwhile the amendments to the WHPA that sparked the recent debate are still expected to pass during this legislative session.
“We actually didn’t have any calls yesterday for the legislation to be pulled, and so we’re going to be carrying on with our time line …, ” said Heppner.
