The Association of Manitoba Community Pastures is the successful recipient of two Manitoba Conservation Trust grants in 2020 dealing with prairie and rangeland enhancements.
$250,000 will be directed toward grazing and range management improvements at the Alonsa, Bield, Cote-San Clara, Ellice-Archie, Ethelbert, Langford, Spy Hill-Ellice, Wallace and Woodlands Community Pastures. These Community Pastures have a combined area of 189,500 acres, provide grazing services for 31,800 head of livestock from area producers, and are important habitat for species at risk.
“This new funding will go a long way toward improving grazing management which in turn provides numerous environmental benefits for all Manitobans," said Barry Lowes, Chair of the AMCP Board of Directors. "We are dedicating efforts to better grazing rotations and movement through brush management and cross fencing as well as drought resiliency with water source improvements.”
Federally and/or provincially-listed species at risk within the nine Community Pastures targeted by Conservation Trust funding include the Northern Prairie Skink (Langford) and 14 bird species including: Bank Swallow (Woodlands), Olive-sided Flycatcher (Bield), Whip-poor-will (Alonsa), and Sprague’s Pipit (Ellice-Archie, Spy Hill-Ellice, Wallace).
Another $25,000 grant will be directed toward completing range health assessments using madein-Manitoba methodology and land management plans at the Bield and Wallace Community Pastures.
In total, ecological monitoring with a focus on biodiversity and land management planning will take place over 17,300 acres within the Aspen Parkland Ecoregion.
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