Land near Dundurn, Sask. to be turned into protected grassland site

A piece of land near Dundurn, Sask., has been bought by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to turn it into a protected grassland site.

Grasslands are considered the world’s most endangered ecosystem, with 80 per cent of original grasslands in Saskatchewan lost to development.

NCC said purchasing the 160-acre property was a priority due to its pristine natural state and connectivity to the surrounding native habitat which includes rolling hills made from old sand dunes which are covered by aspen trees, shrubs, wet meadows and native grasslands.

“The Dundurn property is adjacent to some of the largest tracts of remaining native habitat in the Saskatoon area,” Matthew Braun, the NCC’s manager of conservation science and planning in Saskatchewan, said in a statement.

“Walking the hills and skirting bushes on the property is a journey into the past, where my imaginings of wide-open, wild Saskatchewan are all real.”

The hairy prairie-clover, which is listed as a special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act, is found on the property, along with several other important plants including sand-dune wild rye, Menzies’ catchfly and red-stemmed cinquefoil.

NCC said biologists and foresters will make an inventory of the land next spring, including the identification and confirmation of plants and animals.

The information will then be used to develop a property management plan.

The federal and provincial governments made financial contributions to the project, along with individual donors.

Catherine McKenna, the federal minister of environment and climate change, said the purchase will help conserve the biodiversity and natural heritage of the area.

“Preserving natural areas such as this one also helps fight climate change, and by working together we can all make a difference for our climate and our wildlife,” McKenna said in a press release.

Dundurn is approximately 40 kilometres south of Saskatoon.