All 85 federal community pastures will be open this year as Ottawa begins to turn the land back, in most cases, to the provinces.
Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said the federal government would begin to divest itself of the pastures next year.
“No pastures will be affected this grazing season and we will work in collaboration with our provincial partners and with all stakeholders to make sure the transition away from federally operated pastures is as smooth as possible for producers,” Ritz said in a news release.
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Ten pastures will go next year, and all of them by 2018.
The government said that grazing and breeding services will be offered on the operating pastures throughout the transition.
Patrons will receive as much notice as possible when the pastures they use are to be affected.
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud said he expects five of the 60 pastures in the province to be affected next year, along with five in Manitoba.
He hasn’t said what the province will do with more than 1.3 million acres of pasture land on top of the 52 pastures it operates on its own.
However, he told the legislature that the province will work with patrons to make the transition as smooth as possible and to find ways for them to either own or lease the land.
“I think for many of the producers out there, the thing is that they want to be involved in the process and have the opportunity to continue to utilize this land while at the same time increasing the number of cattle that we raise in this province,” he said.
Lorne Scott, conservation director for Nature Saskatchewan, said about 10 percent of native prairie in the province is within the federal pastures.
Good grass management practices have created ideal habitat for birds, wildlife and species at risk.
Scott said it would be “a significant blow” if the pastures were to be sold for development, cultivation or hunt farms.
He said current patrons would likely be the best stewards of the land.
“They recognize the value of the native grassland and I’m sure that it would be preserved,” he said. “We in the conservation community would be most willing to work and co-operate with the patrons and agriculture industry to assist. We have no desire to see the cattle removed.”
Agriculture Canada, when contacted for an interview, sent an e-mail response stating Saskatchewan and Manitoba, home to 84 pastures, have mandates to conserve public land. The national defence department owns the single pasture in Alberta.
“(They) are well equipped to make appropriate management decisions regarding the social, economic and environmental values of these lands,” said the e-mail response.
Some of the land within the pastures is already designed as critical habitat under the species at risk legislation. These designations remain in effect when the lands transfer to the provinces.
Other possibilities for the pastures include selling them to municipalities or private interests. As well, Ottawa could sell the land with conservation easements attached, or some other formal agreement to preserve the native grass.
