Siksika to begin land management plan

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Within the next few months, as spring comes to the historic grassland south of Gleichen, Alta., she Siksika Nation will begin using a massive wetland and rangeland improvement plan developed in partnership with Alberta Prairie CARE.

The plan involves 4,400 hectares of First Nation's tribal holdings, and will restore much of the area's original wildlife habitat and multiply land uses.

"It's an opportunity for us to manage our own resources to best advantage," said Carlon Big Snake, area service manager of the Siksika National's agricultural department and tribal ranch.

"And it's the first part of our long-range plan for the preservation and management of our own resources of water, wildlife, rangeland, upland and grassland.

Grass has also grown here, enough to feed endless herds of buffalo. But now in areas pastured by the Siksika Nation, the quality of grass has been deteriorating year by year. Over-grazing is a factor, but under-use is also a problem; some areas of good grass haven't been used because there was no water supply for cattle or fences to keep the herds together.

Water was always a problem: prolonged dry years had shrunk the natural sloughs and water holes and only irrigation water could restore them.

Also, the Siksika Nation wanted to devise a comprehensive land management plan on the entire reserve that looks at oil and gas resources, residential planning, ecotourism and significant heritage sites.

In all of these cases, improvement of their rangeland and marsh wetlands seemed to be the hinge that would open he door to a more prosperous and productive future of the Nation.

Accordingly, in October, 1991, the Siksika Corporation of Agriculture Development began negotiations with organizations involved in habitat improvement.

At the time, several of these groups, including Ducks Unlimited Canada, were coming together in a land-use program identified as Prairie CARE, the acronym for Conservation of Agricultural Resources and the Environment.

Prairie CARE is now the land-use program of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which operates in Canada, United States and Mexico and is the largest conservation initiative in history. In Alberta, Prairie CARE is delivered by a team of resource technicians from Ducks Unlimited and Alberta Fish and Wildlife Services with support from Environment Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada and Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development.

As a result of the negotiations, the Siksika Nation entered into a 30-year agreement with Alberta Prairie CARE, and implementation of a $180,000 program of wetland and rangeland improvement got underway. It was competed by the end of 1994, an will be put into use for the first time this spring.

"The major area of improvement affects half of a 7,800 hectare block of grazing land located north of the Bow River near Gleichen," explains Alberta Prairie CARE manager, Jerry Brunen.

"The Bow River forms the south boundary of the area and both large, grass-covered sand hills and grassy plains characterize this landscape. It's really quite spectacular."

This year, the native grassland has been prepared as a managed grazing range.

A total of 18 1/2 km of fencing now divide it into a series of pastures that can be used alternately so that none is over-or-under-grazed. The project also involved restoring to grassland 306 hectares of eroded land previously cultivated and working with Agriculture Canada to develop two water wells and a distribution system for stock-watering at several sites.

Away from the river, four natural basins have been provided with a reliable irrigation water supply, and six small rock islands have been built within the basins so that Canada geese can be attracted to nest there. The basins are no longer dependent on run-off or rainfall, and will begin to fill about mid-May when the irrigation water from the Western Irrigation District becomes available.

Low dykes and water control structures have been cnstructed so that water levels generated by irrigation can be managed. Managing water levels helps crate good wildlife habits as well as improving grass forage.

The Siksika project confirms that there are likely to be significant economic benefits in improving pastureland and water supply. With the total grazing management system in place, the Siksika Nation can eventually anticipate a 30-per-cent increase in current stocking rates and revenue.