What is the future for PFRA community pastures?
For over 75 years, the Canadian government has managed a large swath of community pastures across the Canadian Prairies, comprising of 929,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) of some of the largest unfragmented tracts of grasslands found anywhere in the world. If grasslands included in the Community Pasture Program (CPP) were a country, they would rank 168th in size – slightly larger than the Republic of Cyprus and right behind Lebanon. Or in the Canadian context, the PFRA community pastures cover the area that is 1.6 times the size of Prince Edward Island. The federal...
Read MoreWinter on the prairies – Grasslands National Park
Snow-covered hills in Frenchman River Valley – West Block of Grasslands National Park. This photograph was taken after a late spring snow storm south of the old Larson’s homestead (this is an older image from the archives). Friends told me that they got a “lot of snow” in Val Marie so I went south and spent a weekend photographing in the park. It does not looks much, but for this (very dry) part of Saskatchewan, any moisture is received with joy. Back to the Grasslands National Park photo gallery.
Read MoreGreat Sand Hills book among top 30 best-sellers in Saskatchewan
A happy news that I am proud to share with you: the Saskatchewan Publishers Group has compiled a list of their top 30 best sellers for 2012. The top-ranking list includes ‘The Great Sand Hills, A Prairie Oasis’ book in 13th place. If you have not picked up a copy, check them out and order a copy. Or two. Here is an excerpt from the book review by Dr. Bram Noble, a University of Saskatchewan professor who was involved in the GSH Regional Environmental Study. The review was published in the Great Plains Research journal, University of Nebraska – Lincoln. “The Great Sand...
Read MoreNovember skies on the prairies
There is something special about November skies close to sunrise or sunset. I have quite a few images that capture the warm, soft light above the horizon around the magic hour. A friend of mine commented once that those pictures are part of my “Lavender Landscapes” opus. I have been travelling to Swift Current on a weekly basis since since early November. On my last trip I was driving through gently rolling farm fields along Highway 4 just north of town, when I noticed the skies changing colour. An opportunity to capture one more Lavender Landscape image. I pulled on a grid road...
Read MoreWinter in Grasslands National Park
Canadian Prairies were hit by a strong snow storm in early November. We received between 20 and 30 cm of fresh powdery stuff. I happen to be in Grasslands National Park as the storm was passing through and spent two days photographing snow-covered prairies. I have photographed in the park during winter before. However, I have not seen the park so white and pristine. Snow storms come and go, and in this part of Saskatchewan the fresh snow cover does not last too long. It is either blown away by strong winds or partially melted by warm chinooks arriving from Alberta. Driving conditions were so...
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