Saskatchewan Environment - Saskatchewan's Representative Areas Network

For thousands of years, human cultures have been part of the web of life that included the land, the water, the plants and other wildlife such as birds, animals and fish. Everything that human society needed came from the land. There was a balance between what the land could provide and what societies needed in order to survive.

In Saskatchewan today, much of our economy is still dependent on the land and living things. Agriculture depends on good soil. The forest industry depends on healthy forests. Commercial and recreational fisheries depend on clean lakes and rivers. To meet human needs and to keep our economy going, we need to conserve healthy land, water and living things.

We know that some activities have taken a heavy toll on our environment. We are concerned about the loss and degradation of important habitats. Whole ecosystems are being threatened and we know that some plant and animal species are at risk of being lost forever. To ensure that our surroundings - the land, the water and the wildlife - can continue to meet our needs now, and those of our children's children on into the future, we need to care for our environment.

One of the ways that we can begin to do this is by setting aside special places that represent the different kinds of landscapes in our province. Keeping these places in their natural state will help us to ensure that most types of living things, which are all part of the web of life, will continue to flourish into the future. Top

The current system of preserves, parks and wildlife habitat lands offer some protection to a variety of living things. Unfortunately, there are not enough of these

areas to safeguard our natural resources at levels that we have come to expect in Saskatchewan. In response to the need to conserve more areas in their natural state, the province is in the process of establishing a system of special sites called the Representative Areas Network.

The network consists of existing and new wildlife lands, riparian areas, wetlands, protected areas, bird sanctuaries, ecological reserves and prairie rangelands. Sites include examples of the majority of Saskatchewan's biological and landscape types, and will be used as test sites that we can study and monitor. This will allow us to find out how well we are doing in managing our lands and resources elsewhere in the province.

To become part of the Representative Areas Network, these places need long-term protection so that the natural living things there can continue to thrive. Top

EcoRegions of Saskatchewan
A	Selwyn Lake Upland
B	Tazin Lake Upland
C	Athabasca Plain
D	Churchill River Upland
E	Mid-Boreal Upland
F	Mid-Boreal Lowland
G	Boreal Transition
H	Aspen Parkland
K	Moist Mixed Grassland
M	Mixed Grassland
N	Cypress Upland

The Representative Areas Network will not change people's traditional use or enjoyment of the land. For hundreds of years, people have hunted, trapped, fished, gathered berries and plants or just enjoyed nature. These activities, with proper management, have not been shown to hurt natural systems and can generally continue in representative areas.

The long-term ecological impact of other human activities, such as road building, commercial forest harvesting and mineral development are less well understood at this time. Ideally, new sites selected as representative areas do not include these kinds of activities.

Sometimes, mineral development and logging are already occurring in areas that are important to include in the network. In these cases, activities will be carefully monitored to assess the overall effect on the area’s ecology.

Over time, it may be shown that certain activities once thought to be harmful are not ecologically threatening. At that time, consideration may be given to allowing the activity to occur in a representative area.

We still have a lot to learn about human effects on ecosystems. The Representative Areas Network will give us the opportunity to increase what we may already know about potentially damaging activities.

In some places, special management activities will be required to help restore the land to a more natural state. For example, we no longer have herds of bison roaming the prairie. We can try to duplicate the natural effects bison had on grasslands by grazing domestic livestock.

Fire also used to change the land in a way that renewed growth. It may be necessary to have controlled burns to duplicate this once-natural event. Occasionally, selective timber removal may occur in some sites as part of a vegetation management plan. These activities will be carefully controlled and monitored and their effects studied. Top

Choosing the right sites as part of the Representative Areas Network is very important. Over the past few years, specialists from a variety of agencies worked together to develop a map of the ecoregions of our province. They looked at climate, land forms and soil types - the kind of features that don't really change

over time - "enduring features".

It is important that the representative areas chosen include examples of each kind of enduring feature, and that sites are identified in each of the province's 11 ecoregions. Watersheds are also considered as enduring features to ensure aquatic resources are represented in the network.

Many people are involved in deciding which areas will be chosen to become part of the network. Using the ecoregions map as a starting point to ensure that the right types of enduring features are included in the network, people in local communities, including traditional users, aboriginal peoples, industry representatives, ranchers and other producers, all have an opportunity to contribute to the selection and management of individual sites.

Once a site has been selected and all parties agree about the types of activities that can occur within it, Saskatchewan Environment ensures these wishes are reflected in the type of designation used for the site. Top

Crown lands administered by Saskatchewan Environment are designated using existing legislation like The Ecological Reserves Act, The Parks Act or The Wildlife Habitat Protection Act. Some important lands may be administered by another government agency or a conservation organization. These lands can also be included in the Network through a Memorandum of Understanding or Partnership Agreement between the department and the land-administering agency.

Private lands may be managed through conservation easements or purchased through the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund in order to fully safeguard sensitive resources.

Saskatchewan continues to work towards completing its Representative Areas Network. Living up to provincial and national commitments to contribute to the preservation of ecological diversity remains a high priority for the Government. In keeping with the need to have inclusive public input and support for site selection, designation and management, some discussions to resolve issues may require considerable time to complete.

The initial scientific evaluation of each Ecoregion has been completed. Potential sites that would capture under-represented features necessary to complete a comprehensive Network have been identified, and are now being brought forward for public discussion and input prior to finalization and designation. Ongoing management and monitoring of individual sites will continue for many years after that. Based on what we learn from these sites, adjustments and additions to the network may also be required in the future. Top

Many people may ask what effect the completion of the Representative Areas Network will have on them. The network will make an important contribution to the long term economic and social development of the province. A healthy environment will help to support a healthy economy which will benefit each of us. More importantly, the Representative Areas Network will help us to ensure we can provide a secure future for our children and grandchildren - a future that includes open spaces and the peace and richness natural wilderness areas can provide. Top

To receive more information about Saskatchewan's Representative Areas Network contact: