Released on August 14, 2013
The provincial government has entered into a three-year agreement with Ducks Unlimited Canada that will help Saskatchewan to better manage woodland caribou.
The three-year agreement provides the ability for the Ministry of Environment to purchase wetland classification data for about 200,000 square kilometres of Saskatchewan’s northern forest. The data will help to define critical habitat for the development of caribou management plans under the federal recovery strategy. Wetlands are a significant habitat for woodland caribou.
“Ducks Unlimited Canada has been the ministry’s long-time partner in wetland conservation,” Environment Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said. “We are extremely pleased that Ducks Unlimited is able to provide critical data to inform Saskatchewan’s caribou management, as well as other ministry projects.”
In partnership with over twenty government agencies and private companies, Ducks Unlimited Canada has completed enhanced wetland classification for approximately 100,000 square kilometres or almost half of Saskatchewan’s Boreal Plain Ecozone. Over the next two years, Ducks Unlimited intends to acquire data for about another 100,000 square kilometres.
“The Ducks Unlimited data will fulfill our need for more information about key wetland ecosites to better estimate caribou habitat on the landscape, at a fraction of the cost of collecting it on our own,” Cheveldayoff said. “This agreement provides excellent value for the people of Saskatchewan.”
The total cost of the three-year agreement will be $262,000.
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For more information, contact:
Val Nicholson
Environment
Prince Albert
Phone: 306-953-2459