The author writes that Prairie ecosystems are in trouble, and our agricultural productivity may follow if we don’t act. | File photo

Ranching has vital role in Prairie conservation

Born and raised in Calgary, we took many family camping trips into the Prairies. I was always awed by the massive expanses of grasslands, the endless blue skies and the diversity of birds, mammals and insects we would see. I remember having to clean our windshield at every stop along the way because the dead […] Read more

The Canadian Cattle Association and Nature Conservancy of Canada estimate that the country loses about 150,000 acres of grassland per year from pasture converted to cropland or swallowed up by urban expansion.  |  File photo

U.S. to fund grassland, wetland conservation

Three Canadian groups are developing a similar initiative that would prevent the conversion of grassland to other uses

WINNIPEG — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has made a $138 million commitment to preserve grasslands and wetlands and cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. U.S. agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack announced the investment March 13, explaining the funds come from the Inflation Reduction Act, which is intended to transition America toward a greener economy. “(It) […] Read more

The grasslands mapping project is expected give producers the ability to know the status of every inch of their soil.  |  File photo

Project to create grassland inventory

A national effort is expected to yield an inventory of Canadian grasslands by the end of 2024. Satellite imagery data of Canada’s grasslands goes back 20 years. That bird’s eye view is available every day now, according to Nasem Badreldin of the University of Manitoba, who has studied and taught soil biology and the regrowth […] Read more


The Grasslands Conservation Initiative proposal comes at a time when producers are converting more grasslands to crop production.  |  File photo

Grassland payment proposal gains momentum

Canadian Cattle Association says Ottawa appears open to a program that would pay producers to maintain grasslands

BRANDON — The Canadian Cattle Association has been getting a “warm” reception from the federal government as it proposes a new strategy to preserve the country’s grasslands, says vice-president Tyler Fulton. Last fall, the CCA, Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)developed an idea called the Grasslands Conservation Initiative. The basic concept is […] Read more

The Porcupine Hills features grasslands, creeks and forests supporting a variety of plants and animals.  |  NCC/ Brent Calver photo

Ranches reach conservation agreements in Alberta

New Nature Conservancy of Canada deals will preserve more than 6,178 acres of grassland in the Porcupine Hills 


Three cattle ranches in operation for generations have joined a network of conserved lands in Alberta that protects grasslands essential to everything from watersheds to wildlife. “I think ranchers are what make these projects possible,” said Sean Feagan, media and communications co-ordinator for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Alberta Region. “They’ve stewarded the land. They’ve […] Read more


Josh Dillabough, a natural area manager with the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Manitoba, says the Jackson Pipestone Prairie and Wetlands is one of a shrinking number of native pastures that still look the way most of Western Canada did before settlement.  |  Ed White photo

Hopes are high for protected pasture

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has developed a plan to protect 1.2 million acres of threatened prairie by 2030

MELITA, Man. — They might be known to humans as the “Poverty Plains,” but this windswept patch of southwestern Manitoba is rich with wildlife. Even on a cold, late October day, faced with a harsh northwestern breeze, and with half a foot of snow having fallen over the past day, this rolling territory hosts numerous […] Read more

The Jackson Pipestone Prairie and Wetlands in southwestern Manitoba is an example of the vulnerable ecosystems threatened by today’s economics.  |  Ed White photo

Today’s economics do little to protect vulnerable land

Is the market for prairie land broken? Have the grasslands of this vast region fallen into a situation of what economists would describe as “market failure?” I wondered this after wandering across a beautiful, rolling patch of prairie known as the Jackson Pipestone Prairie and Wetlands. It’s a vulnerable patch of our native lands in […] Read more

The Grasslands Conservation Initiative is the product of joint discussions between the Canadian Cattle Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada that were held in the lead-up to this year's Climate Change Conference (COP28) in United Arab Emirates.  |  File photo

Initiative hopes to protect grasslands

Three organizations with a history of conservation on the Prairies have launching a new initiative to protect one the most threatened agricultural and ecological landscapes in the West. The Grasslands Conservation Initiative is the product of joint discussions between the Canadian Cattle Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada that were held […] Read more


An Agriculture Canada scientist says most of the 19 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian agriculture from 1990 to 2019 was the result of converting grassland to crop production.  |  Mike Sturk photo

Grasslands seen as answer

From 1990 to 2019, greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian agriculture went from 58 million tonnes of carbon dioxide to about 69 million tonnes. That’s an increase of 19 percent. Tim McAllister, an Agriculture Canada scientist in Lethbridge, says the 19 percent jump is mostly about grassland that’s now being used to grow crops. “When you […] Read more

Native grassland on a sunny day.

Grasslands called key to carbon future

A researcher says grasslands must be retained now if landowners are to take advantage of carbon markets in the future

University of Alberta researcher Ed Bork said he believed landowners will eventually be paid for carbon storage and other environmental benefits that grasslands and pastures provide.