If the Conservatives removed protection on all fish in the ocean, do you think there’d be an outcry of concern? What if they allowed every old tree to be cut down, because we could just plant new ones by hand? Arrogance is the assumption that humans have figured out how to do everything by hand better than nature does without even trying.
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There’s an open forum in Regina today (Friday), to help people connect with others who are concerned about the privatization of previously protected public pasture prairie.
You should be concerned about it too, whether you live in SK, or in Toronto, or St. John’s. Like the state of the fisheries and oceans is a concern to the people of the prairies, so too is the state of the grasslands to all other Canadians. Without some of the natural prairies left for future people to preserve from development, we’ll have snuffed out a biologically diverse and important habitat, and ruined the economy for untold scores of people yet to come.
It was costing us only $8M to get $58M worth of benefits from the protected community pastures managed by PFRA. “A darn good deal” – Candace Savage, author on the plains.
The province for now holds the land, poised to sell it at “market” rates. How can the market reflect the irreplaceable value of land and wetlands unmodified by human plows? Simply, it will not, and history will not judge our mistaken removal of protection kindly.
ADDED: They don’t say if it’s before or after their disastrous cuts.
Did You Know?
The Government of Canada has committed $225 million to help the Nature Conservancy of Canada protect 500,000 acres of natural habitat – the equivalent of 290 CFL football fields everyday.
– source gc.ca
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff 
Posted to my FB. Hoping folks in or around Regina today pop in to support you and your colleagues.
Correct me if I’m wrong…
Didn’t the federal government create the pastures during the 1930’s and 40’s to alleviate the agricultural crisis of drought? Wasn’t the goal of the program to provide grazing and breeding opportunities to farmers, promote soil conservation and generally improve the economic development of surrounding areas? Weren’t the post-war pastures mostly provincially run? Haven’t almost all of the 20 odd protected areas created in Saskatchewan in the last 40 years been created by the provincial government?
Questions:
1) Is the sale a provincial matter? If so, is it “Conservatives” as the post reads, or Saskatchewan Partyers? The reason I ask is the blog owner gets a little anal if you accidentally misidentify a political party.
2) Have Saskatchewan farmers and farms not progressed agriculturally, employing state of the art conservation methodologies and technologies, in the last 70 years? Are the pastures needed?
3) Why should taxpayers pay the costs so that the greedy 1%’ers profit to the tune of $50 million? Why doesn’t private enterprise purchase the land to reap it’s own rewards? Why subsidize the rich?
Think of the tourist dollars that would be made if millions of acres were converted to pastures! By Candace’s math the rate of return is an ASTOUNDING 700%!!!! Why if I lived there I’ld be snapping up this land (and more!!) and converting it ALL to pasture!
Imagine the tourist marketing campaign… big, bright, glossy brochures… TV ads, magazines… “SASKATCHEWAN COME FOR THE GRASS”!!! You could have Cheech and Chong as official Saskatchenanese goodwill ambassadors! Think of the pizza sales! Jus’ sayin’.
That gives ‘the official’ Brad Wall Wall fiasco in Ottawa a big can-o-wupass!
One thing I don’t understand tho’. I don’t remember reading anything about the recent prarie dust bowls. Can someone ask Chris Turner, with globull warming at unprecedented levels, will we be returning to previously natural weather occurences caused by natural variability in the climate, because of CO2 now?
Do you really have to ask me to correct you?
You’re wrong. The Cons gave up protection and left it up to the province who is also passing the buck and giving up on protecting the property as a public trust.
2. Your second question is moot, there’s no way to “progress” past having natural grass and wetlands, un-tilled. The community pastures are an advanced, state-of-the-art conservation method, vitally needed by humanity.
3. Another of your stupid, hostile questions with a point missed before you even get started. Local ranchers help manage the land by providing grazing animals that would be there naturally (bison).
” I don’t remember reading anything about the recent prarie dust bowls.”
We both know you’re no friend of nature, but gosh you’re dense, aren’t you? You pretend there’s some advanced mechanical solution to preventing dust bowls, while the Harper government has literally cut money going to soil conservation projects that have been working for decades against the tide of mechanization without thought or hindrance that led to the dirty 30’s soil loss.
http://www.producer.com/2012/04/end-of-an-era-for-shelterbelt-program%E2%80%A9/
Do you know another reason Ritz thinks there’s no need for shelterbelts? Toxic chemicals used instead of tilling. Mmm, cancer and GMO. Eat up, while you still can.
I’m wrong? The Conservatives are responsible for a provincial decision in a province with no Conservative party? Yeahhhhhhhhh…. maybe you might want to explain that one.
[ADMIN: Federally managed lands given to the province become provincial decision territory then. Pretty straight forward.]
Perhaps you can further explain to me… you Greenlibdipp fanboys are, ad nauseum, in complete histrionics over Prime Minister Harper’s (to paraphrase) ‘complete dictatorial control’ and ‘disregard for Canadians’. How can this be when by your OWN admission “The Cons gave up protection and left it up to the province”. Don’t your own words make you look like a bit of a prevaricator? You can’t have it both ways, yet you complain if he’s in charge AND complain when he’s not.
[ADMIN: The point is to leave protected lands managed with national funds, because they are of national (global really,) importance. Harper won’t always be there to mismanage, so we have to protect things until a better manager can take over. A little hard when they sell the bloody land off to private people who won’t give it back.]
NOTE: from 2) on down I had no idea what you were even jibbering about.
[ADMIN: Because you are way out of your area of ‘expertise’. Send another troll next time with half a chance.]
I need some liberal arts mathematics explained… I just don’t get it.
In your story you claim mathematician Candace’s economic benefit from the pastures as “costing us only $8M to get $58M worth of benefits from the protected community pastures” That’s $50 million/year
Yet in your most recent reference, for those very same community pastures “the public good from shelterbelt trees since 1981 has been worth $600 million.” That’s $19 million a year.
Which BS liberal arts math number is less BS? 50 or 19?
Now you’re confusing shelterbelt cuts benefits with community pasture cuts and benefits, and attributing it to your “liberal arts” meme. Your stupidity doesn’t give up, I have to give it credit.
Whaaaaaaaa? How many government departments do you guys have to oversee grass??????? Quite the waste of taxpayer money.
This provincial farce has nothing to do with the Conservative Party. You guys made your bed, you sleep in it!
PS. Maher sure tainted himself last week eh!!!!
Australia announced some pasture methane sensor R+D last week. Given the probably drier future climate of the southern 1/2 of AB, 1/3 of SK and sliver of MB, it might be easy to collaborate with researchers in all agri-fields in Australia, given most of their productive land will be drier and is already on the way there. It would be nice if the Schools acted as the same country, except exporting products the nearby markets are different.