Qu’Appelle River Valley

Qu'Appelle Valley (Photo by NCC)

The Qu’Appelle River is one of the major continental waterways that served as a highway and corridor into the Great Plains. The river and its valley support a vast number of native plant species, including many that are nationally and provincially rare or endangered. The Qu’Appelle River Valley is one of the very few places in Saskatchewan where Bur Oak, Smooth Green Snake and Snapping Turtle are found.

Formed during the melting of the last glaciers, the Qu’Appelle River Valley stretches from the south end of Last Mountain Lake and Diefenbaker Lake eastward towards the Manitoba border. The valley's habitat transitions from prairie coulee within the Mixed Grassland Ecoregion in the west to the aspen bluffs and Bur Oak forests of the eastern Aspen Parkland Ecoregion.

Ecological Significance

Of all the ecosystems in Canada, riparian zones often contain the greatest biological diversity. The banks of the Qu’Appelle River, along with the slopes that frame the river, the ridges and plateaus flanking the valleys, and the aquatic ecosystems within the river itself, offer a huge diversity of habitats. The Valley’s varied landscapes are critical to the survival of over 30 rare and endangered animal and plant species, including the Loggerhead Shrike, Northern Leopard Frog, Bigmouth Buffalo fish and Smooth Arid Goosefoot. Other species that are usually associated with more easterly ecosystems, such as Smooth Green Snake, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Towhee, Snapping Turtle and Bur Oak, are also found here.

Qu'Appelle River Valley (Photo by NCC)

Status and Threats

Housing, acreage and cottage developments are an increasing threat to the Qu'Appelle Valley ecosystem. Currently, the dominant land uses in the area are agricultural, including sod farms and market gardening. These activities are more prevalent along the lower flood banks of the Qu’Appelle River, while cultivation is dominant on the drier upper banks. Areas where the grades are too steep for other uses are typically grazed. Due to these intensifying agricultural practices as well as the increased fragmentation from housing and cottage developments, few large contiguous areas of native prairie remain on the north side of the valley. A higher concentration of native grasslands occurs along the ridge or upper plateau south of the Valley, but these critical plant species and habitats remain unprotected.

Conservation Action

Quick action is required to secure as much of this vital habitat as possible. An example of NCC's work in the Qu'Appelle is the 640 acre (259 hectare) May Property which was purchased in cooperation with Saskatchewan Environment Fish & Wildlife Development Fund, Alliance Pipeline Ltd., SaskEnergy and an anonymous donor. This property is the key piece that links two additional properties protected by Saskatchewan Environment, Ducks Unlimited and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation to form a corridor of wetlands, native prairie and riparian areas totalling over 3,227 acres (1,312 hectares). In the Lower Qu’Appelle, NCC partnered with Saskatchewan Environment to protect 9,200 acres (3,700 hectares) of Fish and Wildlife Development Lands through a conservation easement agreement. The Valley was also the site of NCC’s first project in Saskatchewan and its first purchased conservation easement. NCC is now working with willing landowners to secure additional critical valley properties.