Plan outlined for handover of community pastures in Saskatchewan – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Jun 15, 2017

REGINA – The Saskatchewan government has outlined a three-year plan to transfer the management of community pastures to local producer groups.

Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart says the groups could include municipalities, environmental agencies or First Nations and will be offered 15-year leases.

He says 13 community pastures in the northwest will be handed over next year, another 19 in the northeast and the northwest in 2019 and the remaining 18 pastures by 2020.

Cattle farmers have traditionally used the pastures set up in the 1920s as grazing land for their animals.

The phaseout was announced in the March provincial budget.

One lobby group has raised concern that privatization of prairie grasslands could result in poor management and erosion of important wildlife habitat.

(CKRM, The Canadian Press)

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