redberry lake biosphere reserve newsletter
DESCRIPTION
In this issue we will provide a bit of background information on data collection that is linked to a few of the projects. Another featured article is on Holistic Management.TRANSCRIPT
of healthy soil. These and
many more topics are part
of a course that we would
like to make happen this
winter, to make our farms
more sustainable and our
families stronger.
We will also keep you
posted when we will have
our website updated with
new information and pro-
ject reports, which will be
later this fall.
If you have any other tidbits
of news that you feel would
be of interest to our area
and would like to share feel
free to contact us.
-John Kindrachuck, Execu-
tive Director-
The Redberry Lake Bio-
sphere Reserve is happy to
be back updating you on the
happenings in our biosphere
area. Rachel Turnquist, who
is our new Agri-
Environmental Group Plan
Technician, will be gather-
ing articles and putting to-
gether our newsletter for us.
We are planning on con-
tinuing to provide you with
information about our Bio-
sphere Reserve and also the
other BRs across Canada
and around the world. We
will also be sharing with
you updates on some inter-
esting projects happening in
our area and some of the
partnerships that we have
established with other agen-
cies and organizations.
In this issue we will provide
a bit of background infor-
mation on data collection
that is linked to a few of the
projects. Another featured
article is on Holistic Man-
agement. A few years back
at our AEGP Winter Work-
shop we had Don Campbell
come in and spend the day
talking about HM. Some of
the topics he shared with us
were the importance of goal
setting, making time for
family and the importance
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
Inside this issue:
Pelicans 2
LUIDC Project 2
Holistic Management 3
Bras D’Ors Lake 3
Red Berries 4
REDBERRY LAKE BIOSPHERE RESERVE
What’s Happening in the BR?
SEPTEMBER 2011
VOLUME 17
Hi, it is time I intro-
duce myself. I am
Rachel Turnquist and
I have been hired as
the new Agri-
Environmental Group
Plan Technician.
Three quarters of my
time will be dedicated to the AEGP program and
the other quarter to the Redberry Lake Biosphere
Reserve. I am very excited to be here and so far
am enjoying the work immensely.
I grew up on a mixed farm in North East Sas-
katchewan, near a tiny town called Prairie River.
In June I graduated from the University of Sas-
katchewan with a Bachelor‘s degree in Agriculture
with a major in environmental science.
Since I have moved to Hafford I have met number
of people and have been on a few farm visits. I
have noticed that everyone is so friendly here!
I would like to get to know more of you, so please
don‘t hesitate to call. If you have any questions
about the AEGP program or would like to start a
project , please let me know and we can start work-
ing together!
Work: (306) 549 4060 Cell: (306) 549 7473
Email: [email protected]
NEW FACES
The North Saskatchewan River Basin
Council has recently undergone a
couple of changes. First, I am
pleased to report, that we have relo-
cated to Hafford. We can now be
found at Redberry Lake Biosphere
Reserve, Research and Education
Centre. We moved our office from
North Battleford this spring and I am
enjoying our new surroundings here
at Redberry Lake.
The second change, is that I, Heidi
Hougham have been hired as our
Interim, General Manager while
Katherine Finn is away on maternity
leave. Congratulations to Katherine
on the birth of her baby girl, Raven.
What hasn‘t changed is our mis-
sion: to implement North
Saskatchewan River Watershed‘s – Source
Water Protection Plan; to develop and protect
source waters in the watershed so that the
resource can sustain future social, economic,
environmental and cultural needs. For copies
of our Source Water Protection Plan or for
any questions or concerns you may have re-
garding the watershed; please contact us at
our new location:
North Saskatchewan River Basin Council
Attn: Heidi Hougham, Interim General Man-
ager
Box 458
Hafford, SK S0J 1A0
Phone: (306) 441-3119
Fax: (306) 549-4061
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.nsrbc.ca
For years, the spring migra-
tion has brought along with
it Pelicans to Redberry Lake.
The Pelicans take up resi-
dence, breed and lay eggs.
The male and female both
care for their young, in
shifts. The Pelicans grow,
the days become shorter and
before you know it, they are
in the process of migrating to
their southern costal winter-
ing grounds. This summer
there was an interruption.
Pelicans vacated their usual
Redberry Lake nesting
grounds, in the middle of
June. There are a few possi-
bilities. Pelicans will vacate
their nests if their food
source has diminished, or if
they feel threatened, whether
it be by natural predators or
by humans. Both the Minis-
try of Environment and Ca-
nadian Wildlife Services
have been made aware of
this departure and are inves-
tigating the matter. It is our
hope the reason will be de-
termined and the problem
solved so that the Pelicans
will continue to return, year
after year.
PELICANS TAKE A VACATION
(LIRA) Project is intended to
provide decision makers
with a means to help answer
these types of questions by
developing a standardized
economic assessment meth-
odology that could be util-
ized in any region of the
country.
Currently LIRA pilot studies
are being investigated in
Saskatchewan, Atlantic Can-
ada and Alberta. The Sas-
katchewan Association of
Watersheds (SAW) is the
project proponent for the
Saskatchewan based LIRA
pilot studies. While external
funding is being sought to
complete entire LIRA stud-
ies in up to four watersheds
in Saskatchewan, the Land
Use and Infrastructure Data
Collection and Cataloguing
Project (LUIDC) provided
pre- study information gath-
ered in the Redberry Lake
area in anticipation of a fully
funded LIRA pilot study in
the region.
The Land Use and Infra-
structure Data Collection
and Cataloguing Project
(LUIDC) allows AESB to
begin initial data compilation
and analysis for the Red-
berry Lake Region LIRA
Pilot Study as well as be
used to develop a data cap-
ture and compilation tem-
plate that will be incorpo-
rated in to AESB's LIRA
Phase Four Project Manual.
During the months of
March and August 2011, the
Redberry Lake Biosphere
Reserve and the regional
planning firm of Prairie Wild
Consulting Co. assembled a
team of GIS Technicians/
Data Collectors and worked
with a key representative
from AESB to ‗map‘ and
‗catalogue‘ a number of land
-based features (natural and
built) in the Redberry Lake
area. The LIRA project be-
comes part of an integrated
planning process intended to
help local rural and urban
municipalities plan economi-
cally for long and short term
needs in the areas of: infra-
structure management, eco-
THE LAND USE AND INFRASTRUCTURE DATA COLLECTION AND CATALOGUING PROJECT (LUIDC)
The Land Use and Infra-
structure Data Collection
and Cataloguing Project
(LUIDC) in the Redberry
Lake area is intended to in-
form the Agriculture Envi-
ronmental Services Branch
of Agriculture and Agri-
Food Canada‘s Land & In-
frastructure Resiliency As-
sessment (LIRA) Project and
the larger regional sustain-
ability planning initiative
that involves the RMs of
Meeting Lake, Douglas and
Great Bend and the Towns
and Villages of Radisson,
Hafford, Borden and Speers.
The regional sustainability
plan is being supported by
the participating municipali-
ties with matched funds from
the North West Enterprise
Region and the Provincial
Government‘s Planning for
Growth Fund to support lo-
cal and regional planning
needs over the next 25
years+.
The regional plan together
with the Land & Infrastruc-
ture Resiliency Assessment
Page 2
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE BR?
nomic and social develop-
ment, land use, ecological
and watershed management.
- Lenore Swystun, Prairie
Wild Consulting Co.-
Hilary Lavoie & Shane Parchewski , GIS Technicians at work in March 2011
Silver Buffaloberry —see page 4-
Holistic management has
many benefits such as rever-
sal of desertification, more
biological activity in the soil,
more productive rangelands,
reduced operating costs, im-
proved wildlife habitat,
healthier environments and
stronger family relationships.
But what is Holistic Man-
agement?
Holistic Management
stems from the philosophy
where emphasis is put on the
whole rather than separation
of the parts. The land man-
ager directs the relationships
between the land, grazing
animals and water in ways
that imitate nature. By doing
this, the land manager will
realize sustainable economic,
environmental and social
benefits. Land that has been
degraded can be improved,
finances can be enhanced,
and relationships can be
made better. A balance can
be achieved. The first step
to becoming a holistic man-
ager is planning and goal
setting. There are four areas
that are focused on.
Financial planning
Financial planning is learn-
ing how to spend money, on
what and when. This step
includes learning to deal
with financial challenges and
taking action to produce a
profit
Grazing Planning
Grazing planning is about
getting the animals to the
right place at the right time,
to improve the health of the
land which will in turn, im-
prove profit.
Land Planning
Land planning includes de-
signing infrastructure to
manage livestock movement
allowing the manager to use
time as a grazing tool.
Biological Monitoring
Biological monitoring is
learning to monitor plant
growth rates, water supplies
and grazing patterns so that
changes and trends can be
predicted and animal and
plant performance can be
identified.
Redberry Lake Agri-
Environmental Plan in part-
nership with the Redberry
Lake Biosphere Reserve
would like to invite Don
Campbell to put on a work-
shop on about Holistic Man-
agement. Don Campbell
did an overview of the
course in winter 2010 and an
interest from the community
was expressed. Don jointly
owns and operates B-C
Ranch with his wife Bev and
his two sons and their wives.
The ranch is grass based,
about 4500 acres and is run-
ning about 650 cows and
marketing long yearling.
Don operates a private Ho-
listic Management facilitat-
ing business that deals with
people, land and finances.
He offers a six day course
across Western Canada. For
more information or to sign
up call Rachel.
Work: (306) 549 4060
Cell: (306) 549 7473
HOLIST IC MANAGEMENT
BRAS D’OR LAKE: CANADA’S 16TH BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Page 3
VOLUME 17
This past June, Canada wel-
comed it‘s 16th Biosphere Reserve, Bras
d‘Or Lake. The watershed is an inland
sea composed of salt water. One unique
feature of Bras d‘Or Lake is that it con-
tains both warm tropical species and
cooler arctic species that live only a few
hundred meters apart.
The process of becoming a
UNESCO site began in 2005 with in-
volvement from First Nations, provincial
and federal governments, academics and
local area citizens.
“emphasis
is put on
the whole
rather
than sepa-
ration of
the parts”
Hawthorn—see page 4-
Box 221
Hafford SK, S0J 1A0
Phone: 306 549-4060
Fax: 306 549-4061
Email: [email protected]
Check us out on the web! www.redberrylake.ca
and like us on Facebook! If you would like to receive this newsletter via
email, please contact our office
R E D B E R R Y L A K E B I O S P H E R E R E S E R V E
Attention Ladies
LEAVE THE KIDS, COWS & HUSBAND AT HOME!!! Two days of practical and interesting sessions focused
on improving and appreciating your operation de-signed especially for women
September 28th & 29th, 2011 La Reata
Ranch along the South SK River
near Kyle, SK
Call Julie (306) 264 3884
Or for more information
Call Rachel at RBL Biosphere Reserve
Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Association Box 221, Hafford, Sk. S0J 1A0
Tel: (306) 549-4060 Fax: (306) 549-4061 Email: [email protected]
Government of Saskatchewan
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUES TIONS OR SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR NEWSLETTER OR PERHAPS YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE AN ART ICLE. PLEASE CONTACT REDBERRY LAKE BIOSPHERE
RESERVE AT (306) 549-4060, OR EMAIL [email protected]
Quotable Quote:
We must treat this land of ours with
respect and with deference. To me the
land is as animate and as living, as
complex as any human being. Our fu-
ture lies as much in partnership with
this land as it does in our partnership
with each other. -Thomson Highway-
RED BERRY LAKE...REDBERRY LAKE
As Summer comes to an end, the berry picking season comes
to an end. Of notation are the abundance of red berries sur-
rounding the lake this time of year. Redberry Lake derived its
name from red berries no doubt. But what kind of berries are
those?
1. Buffalo berries. There are two different buffalo berries
present. There is the Thorny or Silver Buffaloberry
(Shepherdia argentea), which is edible and was histori-
cally used by First Nations in pemmican. This berry is
quite sour and some claim the best time to pick it is after a
killing frost. The other buffaloberry is not as edible. It can
cause diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain if eating in
large amounts. It is the Canada Buffaloberry(Shepherdia
canadensis). The historical use of it was medicinal, for
treating stomachaches, constipation, heart problems, arthri-
tis, tuberculosis and gall stones.
2. Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.). The berry looks like a minia-
ture apple. There are large thorns, one to two inches long
on these bushes. Hawthorns make excellent habitat for the
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus exubitorides) or
often referred to as the ―Butcher Bird‖. This small, bird
uses the thorns on such shrubs to impale its prey of frogs,
grasshoppers, beetles and mice. The Loggerhead Shrike is
an Endangered Species so Hawthorns, and other habitable
shrubs, are an important part to its survival.
3. Rose (Rosa spp.) There are three rose species in our area.
The most common is the Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana),
which is a short rose, the one you see often on the side of
the roads and in grassy pastures. The others are the
Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis) and the Wood‘s Rose (Rosa
woodsii). Both can grow quite tall, up to or exceeding 1.5
meters. They look quite similar and can be confused. The
rose hips stay on the shrub all winter. They can be eaten,
but should only be eaten in small amounts as there is the
potential for stomach upset and diarrhea. It has been said
that three rose hips contain as much vitamin C as an or-
ange. Other vitamins present in these hips are vitamins,
A,B,C,E and K.
Wood‘ s
Rose