First Bird Sanctuary at Last Mountain Lake
The Western Hemisphere's oldest federal migratory bird sanctuary, Saskatchewan's most productive fish population, a wetland of international importance and one of the last remaining oases of native mixed-grass prairie - Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area is a region of ecological superlatives.

Super-Flyway: Stretching north to south, just above the western headwaters of the Qu'appelle River, Last Mountain Lake is strategically located in the heart of the central flyway of North America. Surrounded by mixed grasslands, fen bogs and saline wetlands, dotted with islands and edged by marshy bays and protected inlets, this body of freshwater anchors one of the most diverse, productive natural habitats in western Canada.

The outstanding richness of Last Mountain Lake's bird and wildlife population attracted the attention of the Canadian government over a century ago, when it was recognized that impending railroad development threatened crucial migratory paths and nesting grounds. In 1887, just over 1,000 hectares were set aside as a Federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary. In 1951, administration of the area was passed to the Canadian Wildlife Service, and in 1966, the CWS joined with the Province of Saskatchewan to form Canada's first cooperative National Wildlife Area.

International Prominence: Today, the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife area protects 15,600 hectares, and is part of a national system of 98 Migratory Bird Sanctuaries and 49 National Wildlife Areas. Last Mountain Lake has garnered other high-profile designations, including:
• Wetland of International Importance (based on the 1971 Ramsar, Iran convention on wetlands)
• Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Site
• Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Site (Canada)
• International Bird Area Site (plan pending)

Habitat Haven: Wetlands and grasses dominate the landscape of Last Mountain Lake, with 21% of the area covered by wetland, and 54% by native grasslands (the remaining grasslands are subject to limited, managed agricultural use). The Lake's combination of high-quality habitat and geographical positioning attracts birds by the millions. Over 150 species of migratory birds- including 50,000 cranes and 450,000 geese-darken the sky each season. Crops grown in the area, such as early ripening barley, are designed to lure migratory birds. Lure crop fields are closed to visitors from early August through late September, allowing the birds to feed at will.

Among the 100 additional bird species that breed at Last Mountain Lake are 9 species of shorebirds, 43 species of songbirds and 13 species of ducks. Most notable are the Western Grebe, the American White Pelican, the American Avocet and the Wilson's Phalarope. They are supported by nesting enhancement measures that include:
• building of water control structures to hold spring melt water
• sowing of dense nesting cover
• placement of artificial islands and nesting platforms in marshes.

Several of Canada's vulnerable, threatened or endangered bird species appear at Last Mountain Lake, including the Peregrine Falcon, Piping Plover, Whooping Crane, Burrowing Owl, Ferruginous Hawk, Loggerhead Shrike, Baird's Sparrow, Caspian Tern and Cooper's Hawk. The northern end of Last Mountain Lake is one of the few areas in Saskatchewan where the globally endangered Whooping Crane occurs on an annual basis as a migrant.

The Wildlife Area is home to 36 mammals, including white-tailed deer, badgers, coyotes, fox and ground squirrels. It is also the site of an ongoing native vegetation reclamation project, designed to restore prairie grasslands to their natural state. Controlled fires and grazing are used to keep existing grassland areas free of shrubs and exotic grasses.

Vanishing Raptors of the Grasslands: Burrowing Owls, Swainson's Hawks and Ferruginous Hawks
Emblems of the vanishing prairie grasslands, the small, dusty brown burrowing owl, the long-winged, graceful Swainson's hawk and the large, rusty-coloured ferruginous hawk are birds of the open country. As availability of uncultivated pastureland in the Qu'appelle Valley has declined, so too have the numbers of these once plentiful birds of prey.

The fortunes of prairie raptors began to take a perilous turn when buffalo became extinct in the late 1800's. Accustomed to being trampled by millions of thundering buffalo hooves (and frequently ravaged by fire), the grassland ecosystem, with its interdependent wildlife network of gophers and badgers, hawks and owls, was forever altered.

Elbow Room: Cultivation, urbanization and a decrease in naturally occurring fires (resulting in an invasion of trees and shrubs), have gradually combined to restrict hawk habitation. Unobstructed, wide open spaces are crucial to the hawks, whose rapid, straight-away chase of prey animals is unsuited to dipping and turning among trees or habitats with heavy cover. Human proximity to hawk nesting sites can be highly disturbing, especially to ferruginous hawks, which will abandon their young if approached during incubation or hatching periods. Although Swainson's hawks appear to be more tolerant of nearby habitation, their struggle for survival has been further challenged by agricultural pesticide poisoning in their Argentine wintering grounds.

The Gopher Connection: All three grassland raptor species depend on a healthy population of Richardson's ground squirrels (commonly known as gophers). The once-ubiquitous prairie rodents are the main component of the hawks' diet. When raising its young, one hawk may capture up to 500 gophers.

For the burrowing owl, the gopher represents not only sustenance, but shelter. As their name suggests, the tiny owls nest in burrows in the ground. Unoccupied ground squirrel burrows are a favourite refuge, as are badger holes. (In a fascinating system of prairie interdependence, the owls prey on gophers, and badgers prey on both ground squirrels and burrowing owls.)

In some parts of the Qu'appelle Valley, fragmentation and loss of habitat, pesticide use, and long-standing efforts to exterminate the prairie "pests" have reduced gopher populations to a level that seriously undermines owl and hawk reproduction.

Raptor Recovery: "Operation Burrowing Owl", launched in 1987, was one of the first wildlife stewardship programs in Canada. Hundreds of landowners in southern Saskatchewan now protect more than 40,000 acres of grassland habitat, and participate in an annual census which provides information on population trends. Visitors to Moose Jaw, west of Regina, can observe burrowing owls in their natural habitat at the Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre.

Hunting of hawks in Canada is no longer permitted. Since 1992, the Ferruginous Hawk Nest Site Establishment program, directed by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, has worked to boost waning populations by providing artificial nesting habitat in nesting poles or baskets.

Songbirds of the Prairies: Baird's Sparrows and Sprague's Pipits
A century ago, the Baird's sparrow and the Sprague's pipit were among the most common songbirds of North America's Great Plains. Their distinctive calls can still be heard in many parts of the Qu'appelle Valley, but their numbers have declined as native grasslands have succumbed to cultivation and development.

Both the dark-striped, yellowish-crowned sparrow and the somewhat larger, longer-billed pipit are elusive birds, fleeing well in advance of human disturbance. The Baird's sparrow, though secretive, is reluctant to fly, preferring to run along the ground, while the Sprague's pipit is known for its singular rising-and-falling song during extended display flights high above its nesting habitat.

Prairie cultivation and grazing have reduced the populations of both species, limiting their breeding territory to isolated pockets where native prairie still exists. Although both may tolerate some agriculturally-altered habitat, they prefer un-grazed or lightly grazed grassy lands, and tend to avoid areas of excessive shrub cover, introduced grasses, or barren surfaces. Almost entirely insectivorous, the Baird's sparrow and the Sprague's pipit are highly susceptible to pesticide poisoning. They are also vulnerable to nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds.

Restoring the Mixed-Grass Prairie
Tall grass, mixed-grass, short grass…no grass. The endless grasslands that once covered North America's Great Plains, reaching north to the banks of the Qu'appelle River, have largely disappeared. One of the continent's most dominant ecosystems has been replaced by one of the world's largest farming and ranching areas. Of the original 24 million hectares of mixed grass prairie in Canada, less than one-quarter remains, and in the western Qu'appelle region, only a few steep valley slopes harbour fragments of untouched prairie grassland.

Typical of the semi-arid climatic conditions of the area north of Regina, the prairie that once surrounded the Qu'appelle River was a mixture of drought-tolerant, mid-height and tall grass species. The most common native grasses included:
• Little Bluestem.
• Blue Grama.
• Spear Grass (Porcupine grass)
• Needle-and-Thread Grass
• June Grass
• Western Wheatgrass

Rooted and Resilient: As drier weather began to dominate northwest regions of North America about 7,000 years ago, grasslands gradually overtook woodlands. Highly-resilient plant species evolved from intermittent droughts, floods, and fires and survived the constant trampling and grazing of millions of bison, deer, elk and antelope. The sturdy prairie grasses developed a number of adaptive features:
• Extensive root systems, sometimes several metres deep and hundreds of metres wide, sought moisture and nutrients, and protected the arid soil from wind and water erosion.
• A symbiotic relationship with soil fungi and bacteria supplied nitrogen to the grasses and plant sugars to the microorganisms.
• Hollow stems allowed the grasses to bend in the wind without breaking, and to straighten back up after trampling.
• Leaves had thick surfaces to reduce moisture loss. Some had the ability to roll up when exposed to wind.
• The grasses grew from the base rather than the tip, providing fast recovery from heavy grazing and fire.

Prairie Preservation: As research and study have revealed the complexity of the native prairie ecosystem, prairie rehabilitation projects - such as the Mixed-Grass Prairie Habitat Restoration Project at Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area - have re-created the conditions and components that gave rise to the great grasslands of the northwest. In addition, the Native Prairie Stewardship Program of the Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation Corporation encourages individual landowners to voluntarily conserve their existing native grasslands, and the Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan (a partnership of business, government and academic agencies) promotes the sustaining of the native prairie in a healthy state.