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IN THE NEWS |
| Last modified March 14, 2007 | ||
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| Photos by Branimir Gjetvaj |
Rebecca Grambo brings detailed research and thoughtful analysis to this vivid portrayal of Saskatchewan's hidden treasure - the Great Sandhills. She summarizes the thousands of years of history in the region, then looks forward to how future residents may benefit from these resources. The balance of long-term appreciation of our heritage and short-term economic profit is examined. Similarly, how will the interests of local ranchers be impacted by the interests of broader society? Serious questions, covered in a thoughtful manner.
Branimir Gjetvaj's intense photos bring this area to life. Whether the exotic and sensual curves of a sand dune or a simple gravel road, Branimir finds colour and form that few would expect in Saskatchewan's prairie.
Residents of Palliser's Country will appreciate the discussion of issues that are found across our region.
In the dead calm of winter, the heavy constructuion sounds of jack hammers and diesel engines echo off the Cypress Hills like report from a rifle.
Work is continuing on Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park's new $3.6 million visitor information centre adjacent to Elkwater Landing grocery store along the park's main drive.
While Hidden Valley ski resort four kilometres east entertains hundreds of skiers daily, the rest of the park is currently silent save for the sound of construction.
Currently the interior beams of the building stand naked against the stark landscape like donosaur ribs.
Framing is expected to begin soon, park site manager Julie MacDougall indicated, with doors to open the July long weekend.
"It's right on the main traffic path between the restaurant and the boat landing and we're anticipating it will facilitate repeat visitors going into the centre on a regular basis," she said. "Where it's located has always been a hub of activity."
At approximately 600 square metres, the centre doubles the public space of the previous centre. It will contain visitor information services, an indoor theatre, interpretive work space and a gift shop.
The featured exhibit, a six-metre archaeological peel, will be part of the new exhibit gallery. The peel will be a layered soil profile exhibitiing more than 8,000 years of human and natural artifacts.
The park has a $20 millioin economic impact on the local economy every year, according to provindicial government estimates.
Meanwhile, a retro fit of Elkwater Street lights will be complete in March, MacDougall indicated.
More energy efficient bulbs that emit less diffused light and less corbon dioxide are being installed to help the park meet its declared dark sky preserve dedication from September 2004.
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Canadian Geographic July-August 2005, pp. 64-70.
Well-known author and nature photographer Wayne Lynch presents a brief history of the greater sage grouse's populations in Canada. He interviews Alberta researcher Cameron Aldridge, and presents the latest thinking on why the populations continue to decline. Canadian Geographic includes several sage grouse links on their web site.
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| File photo of bison on the RP Ranch
by Corlaine Gardner |
Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine, June/July 2005
The RP Ranch has been a fixture of the Irvine, AB area since the 1880s. Canadian Cowboy article on the R. Porter Ranch near Irvine. In this three-page article, the ranch's history is reviewed.
Bob Porter describes his conversion to raising bison, partly in recognition of their role in the grassland ecology. He offers some practical advice when working with this opinionated species, "Buffalo - you have to go and look at a herd that perhaps you want moving, and they'll tell you if it's a good day to consider such a thing. For buffalo, think cattle on a video and put every movement into fast forward."
With the Trans Canada Highway forming the north boundary of the ranch, modern travellers get a glimpse of the grassland as it once was.
This article provides some thoughtful insight into a modern ranch.
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Canadian Wildlife, May 2005, pp. 18-25
Wayne Lynch has summarized the success of the thirty-year reintroduction program in southeastern Alberta. He thoughtfully describes the fox's lifestyle, while bringing the prose to life with spectacular photos of swift foxes at home on the grassland.
In closing, he notes that the population has spread from southeastern Alberta to southwestern Saskatchewan and northern Montana. The population is now estimated at 900, with a formal census scheduled for the winter of 2005-06. The status of the Swift Fox has been upgraded from Extirpated to Endangered in 1999, and the Recovery Team is preparing a report recommending a further change to Threatened.
It looks like the Swift Fox is back for good!
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Wild Lands Advocate, April 2005, V. 13, n.2
This cover story brings out information on the proposed wind farm on the north slope of the Cypress Hills. While wind energy has many environmental benefits, it does come at a cost.
The proponent has asked to install turbines on a wide swath of land near Cypress Hills Provincial Park, but the details are still not known. The County of Cypress has been placed in the awkward position of ruling on an incomplete proposal, and possibly reversing their earlier decision to protect a buffer area around the Hills from industrial development.
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The district of Merryflat, south of Maple Creek, SK, was featured in the March/April 2005 issue of Our Canada magazine. Former resident Jim Cochrane briefly describes his father's homesteading experience from 1913 to 1938. Even in those days, farmers had to "work out" to make ends meet; Henry worked at nearby ranches. The full story can be viewed here.
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Old Man On His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, near Eastend, SK, has been featured prominently in many news items. Most recently, Canadian Geographic's January-February 2005 issue discusses the site's role in conserving genetically pure plains bison. The same issue also has several other stories on the prairie region. The magazine's web site presents substantial material that is not covered in print.
Prairie North, Saskatchewan's Life Magazine, includes a conversation with Peter and Sharon Buttala, former owners of Old Man On His Back, in the Winter 2004 issue. The cover article features the wild bison herd of Prince Albert National Park, one of only a few bison herds still subject to predation by wolves.
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A critical piece of Alberta's native prairie south of Medicine Hat has been preserved.
Thanks to the effort of a number of conservation agencies, the Peigan Creek Conservation Property has been secured as a wildlife habitat.
The conservation area is a 640-acre parcel of land 20 miles south of Medicine Hat. Alberta Fish and Wildlife non-game biologist and member of Medicine Hat's Chinook Pheasants Forever organization Joel Nicholson, who helped co-ordinate the project, said the project filled a real need in the province. Full Story
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| Cover photo by Branimir Gjetvaj |
With the beauty of a coffee table book, but the depth of a text, this exceptional book should grace the desk of every person interested in the grasslands. And as more people browse through its pages, the ranks of interested people are bound to increase.
Ms. Savage flows easily from describing the rich natural variety of the plains, to expressing urgency at the need to take positive action. As she writes in the introductory chapter,"These trends are deeply troubling, and we could easily get lost in the dark. To find our way forward we will have to be sure-footed, willing and able to move quickly from sorrow to hope, from past to present, from celebrating wildness to accepting and honoring our own accident-prone presence. We will need to see both the splendor of the life that has faded away and the abundance that still extends across the whole wide world of the prairie in every direction."
Residents of Palliser's Country will recognize many of the scenes portrayed here, a confirmation that we have some of the most scenic grassland in North America.
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Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce
Business Magazine
November 2004, pp. 19.
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Medicine Hat NEWS, Thursday, September 23, 2004
Ian Tyson doesn't like country music. He doesn't keep up with the current crop of country stars and, for the most part, isn't interested in what's happening in Nashville. The working cowboy and Alberta rancher is much more in tune with what's going on in southern Alberta, the Manyberries area in particular.
That's why he's performing a benefit concert for the Manyberries School Riding Academy this Saturday, which also happens to be the 70-year-old cowboy laureate's birthday.
The front page of this issue featured a beautiful colour photo of Elkwater, glorious in its fall foliage.
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Wild Lands Advocate 12(2): 16, April 2004 (Alberta Wilderness Association)
Standing on the south boundary of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, you can gaze across the broad sweep of grassland stretching to the Sweetgrass Hills about 140 km southwest. Turn to the southeast, and the grass stretches into Saskatchewan just as far, but with no hills to backstop the view.
The prairie adventurer with a (very!) full canteen could travel on native grassland from Climax, SK, to Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park, a distance of 250 km, while crossing only six roads.
Prairie residents take vast expanses for granted, but perhaps our mountain friends could think of it this way: Palliser's Country's eight largest roadless areas are each the size of Kakwa Wildlands Park (250 sq.mi.). Overall, the area is larger than Banff National Park, but has perhaps 2% of Banff's population.
This grassland is no golf course! The rolling prairie suddenly plunges over sandstone cliffs into the Milk River Canyon where dryland species such as yucca, cactus and rock wren are found. At the other extreme, the fescue grassland gives way to a narrow band of lodgepole pine, white spruce and orchids in the Cypress Hills. Along the way, wetlands and sand hills add their variety. FULL STORY
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Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce Business Magazine
April 2004, pp. 8-10.
People are investing in southwest Saskatchewan.
Ethanol production. Dinosaur discovery. Machinery manufacturing. Rail tours. Commercial feedlot. Windpower interpretive centre. These are a few of the ventures happening- or about to happen - in southwest Saskatchewan, thanks to huge efforts and investment from local residents. Full story