of healthy soil. These and

many more topics are part

of a course that we would

like to make happen this

winter, to make our farms

more sustainable and our

families stronger.

We will also keep you

posted when we will have

our website updated with

new information and pro-

ject reports, which will be

later this fall.

If you have any other tidbits

of news that you feel would

be of interest to our area

and would like to share feel

free to contact us.

-John Kindrachuck, Execu-

tive Director-

The Redberry Lake Bio-

sphere Reserve is happy to

be back updating you on the

happenings in our biosphere

area. Rachel Turnquist, who

is our new Agri-

Environmental Group Plan

Technician, will be gather-

ing articles and putting to-

gether our newsletter for us.

We are planning on con-

tinuing to provide you with

information about our Bio-

sphere Reserve and also the

other BRs across Canada

and around the world. We

will also be sharing with

you updates on some inter-

esting projects happening in

our area and some of the

partnerships that we have

established with other agen-

cies and organizations.

In this issue we will provide

a bit of background infor-

mation on data collection

that is linked to a few of the

projects. Another featured

article is on Holistic Man-

agement. A few years back

at our AEGP Winter Work-

shop we had Don Campbell

come in and spend the day

talking about HM. Some of

the topics he shared with us

were the importance of goal

setting, making time for

family and the importance

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Inside this issue:

Pelicans 2

LUIDC Project 2

Holistic Management 3

Bras D’Ors Lake 3

Red Berries 4

REDBERRY LAKE BIOSPHERE RESERVE

What’s Happening in the BR?

SEPTEMBER 2011

VOLUME 17

Hi, it is time I intro-

duce myself. I am

Rachel Turnquist and

I have been hired as

the new Agri-

Environmental Group

Plan Technician.

Three quarters of my

time will be dedicated to the AEGP program and

the other quarter to the Redberry Lake Biosphere

Reserve. I am very excited to be here and so far

am enjoying the work immensely.

I grew up on a mixed farm in North East Sas-

katchewan, near a tiny town called Prairie River.

In June I graduated from the University of Sas-

katchewan with a Bachelor‘s degree in Agriculture

with a major in environmental science.

Since I have moved to Hafford I have met number

of people and have been on a few farm visits. I

have noticed that everyone is so friendly here!

I would like to get to know more of you, so please

don‘t hesitate to call. If you have any questions

about the AEGP program or would like to start a

project , please let me know and we can start work-

ing together!

Work: (306) 549 4060 Cell: (306) 549 7473

Email: rturnquist@redberrylake.ca

NEW FACES

The North Saskatchewan River Basin

Council has recently undergone a

couple of changes. First, I am

pleased to report, that we have relo-

cated to Hafford. We can now be

found at Redberry Lake Biosphere

Reserve, Research and Education

Centre. We moved our office from

North Battleford this spring and I am

enjoying our new surroundings here

at Redberry Lake.

The second change, is that I, Heidi

Hougham have been hired as our

Interim, General Manager while

Katherine Finn is away on maternity

leave. Congratulations to Katherine

on the birth of her baby girl, Raven.

What hasn‘t changed is our mis-

sion: to implement North

Saskatchewan River Watershed‘s – Source

Water Protection Plan; to develop and protect

source waters in the watershed so that the

resource can sustain future social, economic,

environmental and cultural needs. For copies

of our Source Water Protection Plan or for

any questions or concerns you may have re-

garding the watershed; please contact us at

our new location:

North Saskatchewan River Basin Council

Attn: Heidi Hougham, Interim General Man-

ager

Box 458

Hafford, SK S0J 1A0

Phone: (306) 441-3119

Fax: (306) 549-4061

Email: info@nsrbc.ca

Website: www.nsrbc.ca

For years, the spring migra-

tion has brought along with

it Pelicans to Redberry Lake.

The Pelicans take up resi-

dence, breed and lay eggs.

The male and female both

care for their young, in

shifts. The Pelicans grow,

the days become shorter and

before you know it, they are

in the process of migrating to

their southern costal winter-

ing grounds. This summer

there was an interruption.

Pelicans vacated their usual

Redberry Lake nesting

grounds, in the middle of

June. There are a few possi-

bilities. Pelicans will vacate

their nests if their food

source has diminished, or if

they feel threatened, whether

it be by natural predators or

by humans. Both the Minis-

try of Environment and Ca-

nadian Wildlife Services

have been made aware of

this departure and are inves-

tigating the matter. It is our

hope the reason will be de-

termined and the problem

solved so that the Pelicans

will continue to return, year

after year.

PELICANS TAKE A VACATION

(LIRA) Project is intended to

provide decision makers

with a means to help answer

these types of questions by

developing a standardized

economic assessment meth-

odology that could be util-

ized in any region of the

country.

Currently LIRA pilot studies

are being investigated in

Saskatchewan, Atlantic Can-

ada and Alberta. The Sas-

katchewan Association of

Watersheds (SAW) is the

project proponent for the

Saskatchewan based LIRA

pilot studies. While external

funding is being sought to

complete entire LIRA stud-

ies in up to four watersheds

in Saskatchewan, the Land

Use and Infrastructure Data

Collection and Cataloguing

Project (LUIDC) provided

pre- study information gath-

ered in the Redberry Lake

area in anticipation of a fully

funded LIRA pilot study in

the region.

The Land Use and Infra-

structure Data Collection

and Cataloguing Project

(LUIDC) allows AESB to

begin initial data compilation

and analysis for the Red-

berry Lake Region LIRA

Pilot Study as well as be

used to develop a data cap-

ture and compilation tem-

plate that will be incorpo-

rated in to AESB's LIRA

Phase Four Project Manual.

During the months of

March and August 2011, the

Redberry Lake Biosphere

Reserve and the regional

planning firm of Prairie Wild

Consulting Co. assembled a

team of GIS Technicians/

Data Collectors and worked

with a key representative

from AESB to ‗map‘ and

‗catalogue‘ a number of land

-based features (natural and

built) in the Redberry Lake

area. The LIRA project be-

comes part of an integrated

planning process intended to

help local rural and urban

municipalities plan economi-

cally for long and short term

needs in the areas of: infra-

structure management, eco-

THE LAND USE AND INFRASTRUCTURE DATA COLLECTION AND CATALOGUING PROJECT (LUIDC)

The Land Use and Infra-

structure Data Collection

and Cataloguing Project

(LUIDC) in the Redberry

Lake area is intended to in-

form the Agriculture Envi-

ronmental Services Branch

of Agriculture and Agri-

Food Canada‘s Land & In-

frastructure Resiliency As-

sessment (LIRA) Project and

the larger regional sustain-

ability planning initiative

that involves the RMs of

Meeting Lake, Douglas and

Great Bend and the Towns

and Villages of Radisson,

Hafford, Borden and Speers.

The regional sustainability

plan is being supported by

the participating municipali-

ties with matched funds from

the North West Enterprise

Region and the Provincial

Government‘s Planning for

Growth Fund to support lo-

cal and regional planning

needs over the next 25

years+.

The regional plan together

with the Land & Infrastruc-

ture Resiliency Assessment

Page 2

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE BR?

nomic and social develop-

ment, land use, ecological

and watershed management.

- Lenore Swystun, Prairie

Wild Consulting Co.-

Hilary Lavoie & Shane Parchewski , GIS Technicians at work in March 2011

Silver Buffaloberry —see page 4-

Holistic management has

many benefits such as rever-

sal of desertification, more

biological activity in the soil,

more productive rangelands,

reduced operating costs, im-

proved wildlife habitat,

healthier environments and

stronger family relationships.

But what is Holistic Man-

agement?

Holistic Management

stems from the philosophy

where emphasis is put on the

whole rather than separation

of the parts. The land man-

ager directs the relationships

between the land, grazing

animals and water in ways

that imitate nature. By doing

this, the land manager will

realize sustainable economic,

environmental and social

benefits. Land that has been

degraded can be improved,

finances can be enhanced,

and relationships can be

made better. A balance can

be achieved. The first step

to becoming a holistic man-

ager is planning and goal

setting. There are four areas

that are focused on.

Financial planning

Financial planning is learn-

ing how to spend money, on

what and when. This step

includes learning to deal

with financial challenges and

taking action to produce a

profit

Grazing Planning

Grazing planning is about

getting the animals to the

right place at the right time,

to improve the health of the

land which will in turn, im-

prove profit.

Land Planning

Land planning includes de-

signing infrastructure to

manage livestock movement

allowing the manager to use

time as a grazing tool.

Biological Monitoring

Biological monitoring is

learning to monitor plant

growth rates, water supplies

and grazing patterns so that

changes and trends can be

predicted and animal and

plant performance can be

identified.

Redberry Lake Agri-

Environmental Plan in part-

nership with the Redberry

Lake Biosphere Reserve

would like to invite Don

Campbell to put on a work-

shop on about Holistic Man-

agement. Don Campbell

did an overview of the

course in winter 2010 and an

interest from the community

was expressed. Don jointly

owns and operates B-C

Ranch with his wife Bev and

his two sons and their wives.

The ranch is grass based,

about 4500 acres and is run-

ning about 650 cows and

marketing long yearling.

Don operates a private Ho-

listic Management facilitat-

ing business that deals with

people, land and finances.

He offers a six day course

across Western Canada. For

more information or to sign

up call Rachel.

Work: (306) 549 4060

Cell: (306) 549 7473

HOLIST IC MANAGEMENT

BRAS D’OR LAKE: CANADA’S 16TH BIOSPHERE RESERVE

Page 3

VOLUME 17

This past June, Canada wel-

comed it‘s 16th Biosphere Reserve, Bras

d‘Or Lake. The watershed is an inland

sea composed of salt water. One unique

feature of Bras d‘Or Lake is that it con-

tains both warm tropical species and

cooler arctic species that live only a few

hundred meters apart.

The process of becoming a

UNESCO site began in 2005 with in-

volvement from First Nations, provincial

and federal governments, academics and

local area citizens.

“emphasis

is put on

the whole

rather

than sepa-

ration of

the parts”

Hawthorn—see page 4-

Box 221

Hafford SK, S0J 1A0

Phone: 306 549-4060

Fax: 306 549-4061

Email: info@redberrylake.ca

Check us out on the web! www.redberrylake.ca

and like us on Facebook! If you would like to receive this newsletter via

email, please contact our office

R E D B E R R Y L A K E B I O S P H E R E R E S E R V E

Attention Ladies

LEAVE THE KIDS, COWS & HUSBAND AT HOME!!! Two days of practical and interesting sessions focused

on improving and appreciating your operation de-signed especially for women

September 28th & 29th, 2011 La Reata

Ranch along the South SK River

near Kyle, SK

Call Julie (306) 264 3884

Or for more information

Call Rachel at RBL Biosphere Reserve

Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Association Box 221, Hafford, Sk. S0J 1A0

Tel: (306) 549-4060 Fax: (306) 549-4061 Email: info@redberrylake.ca

Government of Saskatchewan

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUES TIONS OR SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR NEWSLETTER OR PERHAPS YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE AN ART ICLE. PLEASE CONTACT REDBERRY LAKE BIOSPHERE

RESERVE AT (306) 549-4060, OR EMAIL RTURNQUIST@REDBERRYLAKE.CA

Quotable Quote:

We must treat this land of ours with

respect and with deference. To me the

land is as animate and as living, as

complex as any human being. Our fu-

ture lies as much in partnership with

this land as it does in our partnership

with each other. -Thomson Highway-

RED BERRY LAKE...REDBERRY LAKE

As Summer comes to an end, the berry picking season comes

to an end. Of notation are the abundance of red berries sur-

rounding the lake this time of year. Redberry Lake derived its

name from red berries no doubt. But what kind of berries are

those?

1. Buffalo berries. There are two different buffalo berries

present. There is the Thorny or Silver Buffaloberry

(Shepherdia argentea), which is edible and was histori-

cally used by First Nations in pemmican. This berry is

quite sour and some claim the best time to pick it is after a

killing frost. The other buffaloberry is not as edible. It can

cause diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain if eating in

large amounts. It is the Canada Buffaloberry(Shepherdia

canadensis). The historical use of it was medicinal, for

treating stomachaches, constipation, heart problems, arthri-

tis, tuberculosis and gall stones.

2. Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.). The berry looks like a minia-

ture apple. There are large thorns, one to two inches long

on these bushes. Hawthorns make excellent habitat for the

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus exubitorides) or

often referred to as the ―Butcher Bird‖. This small, bird

uses the thorns on such shrubs to impale its prey of frogs,

grasshoppers, beetles and mice. The Loggerhead Shrike is

an Endangered Species so Hawthorns, and other habitable

shrubs, are an important part to its survival.

3. Rose (Rosa spp.) There are three rose species in our area.

The most common is the Prairie Rose (Rosa arkansana),

which is a short rose, the one you see often on the side of

the roads and in grassy pastures. The others are the

Prickly Rose (Rosa acicularis) and the Wood‘s Rose (Rosa

woodsii). Both can grow quite tall, up to or exceeding 1.5

meters. They look quite similar and can be confused. The

rose hips stay on the shrub all winter. They can be eaten,

but should only be eaten in small amounts as there is the

potential for stomach upset and diarrhea. It has been said

that three rose hips contain as much vitamin C as an or-

ange. Other vitamins present in these hips are vitamins,

A,B,C,E and K.

Wood‘ s

Rose