A conservation agreement east of Brandon, Manitoba, sets out to serve the region's cattle economy and its groundwater at once. The Rural Municipality of North Cypress-Langford and the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) have announced a deal covering roughly 1,300 hectares — more than 3,200 acres — of mixed-grass and sandhill prairie in the Assiniboine Delta, above the Assiniboine Delta aquifer, one of Manitoba's largest groundwater sources and the supply for drinking water and farm irrigation across the area.

Local ranchers will keep grazing cattle on the land, which NCC and municipal officials say is essential to keeping the grassland intact. "Cattle perform such an essential role in ensuring that grasslands remain healthy, intact and resilient. It is proof that conservation of nature and agriculture can and do go hand-in-hand," said Andrea Laughren, NCC's vice-president for the Prairies; strategic grazing with local producers will remain an integral management tool.

On a tour of the property last month, NCC natural area manager Josh Dillabough walked visitors through Manitoba's prairie types — tall grass, mixed grass, fescue and the rarer sandhill prairie found in pockets such as this parcel and around Spruce Woods Provincial Park — and pointed to native blue grama grass, pasture sage and the endangered prairie skink that depend on undisturbed grassland. Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn, a cattle producer for 40 years, said the province sees its role as balancing that use with strong rural economies; Stephanie Kryschuk of the Whitemud Watershed District called the deal a "vital win" that secures aquifer recharge areas.

The arrangement pays the municipality as well. Councillor Rob Van Kommer said $2.35 million from the deal goes into a permanent investment fund, with local financial institutions invited to bid to manage it; the RM receives 70% of the annual interest for healthcare and conservation projects, and a further $350,000 tops up its reserve to about three-quarters of a million dollars for healthcare. The municipality in turn donated more than 550 acres in the Douglas Swamp area to NCC.

Ottawa contributed through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund. "Community members are safeguarding intact prairie in Manitoba that stores carbon, supports sustainable grazing, and strengthens the resilience of local communities across the Prairies," said federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin, describing it as part of a wider federal push on grassland conservation.

Source: Manitoba Co-operator