Wild About Saskatoon: Real action needed to protect nature in Sask.
Governments may not be meeting their obligations to protect vulnerable areas, but some people in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan are doing so.
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We wish we were not surprised to hear that our provincial government is skipping COP 15, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, now taking place in Montreal.
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As Andrea Olive pointed out in her recent comment (SP, Dec. 7), the Saskatchewan government never seemed to care about conservation.
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As the rest of the world, including Canada, works towards a goal of getting 30 percent of the country by 2030, Saskatchewan is sticking with the 12 percent it set itself some two decades ago. Even this ambitious goal was unattainable for us.
According to the latest figures from the province’s website, only 9.76 percent of the lands in this province are protected. Small, isolated fragments of habitat are far from sufficient to sustain robust, diverse, and functioning ecosystems.
But when our government doesn’t take action to protect biodiversity, many people in Saskatchewan do. For the past 10 years, Wild about Saskatoon has worked to celebrate and champion the natural areas in and around this city.
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We are constantly inspired by the many people who care about nature and who work tirelessly and creatively to educate others and protect and restore ecosystems.
This city is blessed with an abundance of natural treasures – the magnificent river valley, natural and protected areas, the city forest, and gardens and parks. These areas are home to an abundance of life, from crocuses to meadowlarks and tricolored bumblebees to whitetail and mule deer.
The city’s official community plan envisions a city that “grows in harmony with nature” and “thrives in harmony with its natural surroundings, conserves resources, and consistently demonstrates environmental leadership.”
In addition, the plan includes a commitment to prioritize nature in urban design: “Developments must incorporate, preserve and complement all significant natural features (and) respect the land’s physical capacity for development…”
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Those are glowing words. But does the city keep its word?
Two of the city’s major natural areas, Northeast Swale and Small Swale, will be impacted by current and proposed development, including the proposed University Heights 3 neighborhood and a major thoroughfare, the Saskatoon Freeway.
This high-speed line is expected to run eight lanes through North East Swale and expand to ten lanes in Small Swale.
The grasslands and wetlands of the Swales are remnants of one of the most vulnerable and least protected ecosystems on earth. In our region, less than five percent of the original fescue prairie remains.
But the Northeast Whale alone is home to over 200 species of plants and over 100 species of birds, as well as many mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
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Of these, there are 17 federally listed species (species classified as threatened or endangered), including the barn swallow, northern leopard frog and American badger, and 15 provincially listed species, including northern shrike, buttercup violet, lesser yellow lady’s slipper and the steppe predator fescue.
Merely listing these species does little justice to the exquisite beauty and vitality of these areas and the delight they bring to visitors.
When the Swales are irreparably degraded – death by a thousand cuts – Saskatoon’s proposed National Urban Park will be a sad effort. It is high time that governments at all levels got serious about protecting nature.
Joanne Blythe and Chad Hammond are steering committee members of Wild About Saskatoon, a Saskatoon group dedicated to protecting, connecting and enhancing natural areas and advocating civic and provincial policies that support the health of local ecosystems.
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Cameron Wood: The grasslands of Saskatchewan are among the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems
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Andrea Olive: Saskatchewan remains a conservation latecomer in Canada
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With files from the Edmonton Journal and the Montreal Gazette
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