The Prairie Parklands delivery area represents the Canadian extent of the vast Prairie Pothole Region, one of the richest, most diverse and unique wetland/grassland ecosystems in the world.
Prairie Parklands
190.3 Million Acres
Delivery area
12.25 Million
Acres of wetlands
13.5 Million
Breeding ducks
(10 Yr Average)
Breeding Grounds for One Third
of the breeding grounds for continental waterfowl populations
41 Million
Acres of grasslands (native and non-native)
64
Priority Shorebird, Waterbird, and Landbird Species, many in decline
Setting of habitat objectives for this iteration of implementation planning was guided by wetland and upland restoration and retention scenarios (direct and policy) that were estimated to achieve the waterfowl hatched nest objective by 2040, and to stop priority landbird population declines by 2035. These objectives account, in part, for projected background changes in land use to 2040, and hence estimate habitat objectives to that date (as described above). Objectives were then scaled back in delivery to the timeframe of this Implementation Plan, 2021–2025. In setting habitat objectives, provincial teams drew on previous experience and achievements, and considered future capacity to arrive at the objectives presented below.
Objectives were first set at the provincial scale before being rolled up to the PHJV-wide objectives reported below (see Appendix 8 for provincial scale objectives). Working at a provincial scale is justified given that many key PHJV partners operate only within their respective provinces. Currently, habitat objectives for landbirds are focused only on retention of remaining grasslands throughout the PHJV delivery area. This includes objectives both within and outside current Waterfowl Landscapes targeting 15% of the 20-year objectives for this five-year Implementation Plan.
Across the PHJV area, a subset of 64 priority Shorebirds, Waterbirds and Landbirds were identified, including 20 species protected under Canada’s Species At Risk Act (SARA). For the first time, we have included quantitative targets for grassland bird habitat conservation.
HABITAT OBJECTIVES 2021–2025, 2040
Five-year (to 2025) and 20-year (to 2040) Habitat Restoration Objectives within and outside Waterfowl Target Landscapes in each province.
| PROVINCE/REGION | WINTER WHEAT (ACRES) | TAME HAY/ PASTURE (ACRES) | PLANTED COVER (ACRES) | WETLAND (ACRES) | NESTING TUNNELS (#) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALBERTA (2040 OBJECTIVE) | 308,000 | 291,800 | 0 | 48,100 | 0 |
| WITHIN TARGET LANDSCAPES (5-YEAR) | 91,000 | 61,400 | 0 | 10,300 | 0 |
| REMAINING DELIVERY AREA (5-YEAR) | 217,000 | 11,500 | 0 | 1,700 | 0 |
| SUB-TOTAL | 308,000 | 72,900 | 0 | 12,000 | 0 |
| % OF 2040 OBJECTIVE | 100% | 25% | 25% | ||
| SASKATCHEWAN (2040 OBJECTIVE) | 561,000 | 1,536,900 | 20,500 | 16,500 | 0 |
| WITHIN TARGET LANDSCAPES (5-YEAR) | 211,000 | 252,000 | 4,900 | 3,500 | 0 |
| REMAINING DELIVERY AREA (5-YEAR) | 350,000 | 132,200 | 200 | 600 | 0 |
| SUB-TOTAL | 561,000 | 384,200 | 5,100 | 4,100 | 0 |
| % OF 2040 OBJECTIVE | 100% | 25% | 25% | 25% | |
| MANITOBA (2040 OBJECTIVE) | 238,000 | 178,300 | 0 | 9,200 | 5,000 |
| WITHIN TARGET LANDSCAPES (5-YEAR) | 62,000 | 23,000 | 0 | 800 | 1,200 |
| REMAINING DELIVERY AREA (5-YEAR) | 176,000 | 14,500 | 0 | 1,200 | 100 |
| SUB-TOTAL | 238,000 | 37,500 | 0 | 2,000 | 1,300 |
| % OF 2040 OBJECTIVE | 100% | 21% | 22% | 26% | |
| PHJV RESTORATION TOTAL (2040) | 1,107,000 | 2,007,000 | 20,500 | 73,800 | 5,000 |
| PHJV RESTORATION TOTAL (2021–2025) | 1,107,000 | 494,700 | 5,100 | 18,100 | 1,300 |
| % OF 2040 OBJECTIVE | 100% | 25% | 25% | 24% | 26% |
| The deployment of nest tunnels is proposed for delivery in Manitoba. Due to their high use and success rates, nesting tunnels are expected to enhance Mallard production in most program areas (i.e., ~60% tunnel occupancy and ~70% nest success). | |||||
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 2021–2025: Prairie Parklands
Habitat Retention Objectives – Waterfowl and Landbirds
Five-year (to 2025) and 20-year (to 2040) Habitat Retention Objectives for waterfowl and landbirds.
| Habitat Retention | 2040 HABITAT OBJECTIVE (ACRES) |
FIVE-YEAR HABITAT OBJECTIVE (ACRES) | % 2040 HABITAT OBJECTIVE |
||
| DIRECT NAWMP |
EXTENSION NAWMP |
TOTAL | |||
| WETLAND | |||||
| ALBERTA | 798,100 | 11,900 | 187,600 | 199,500 | 25% |
| SASKATCHEWAN | 286,300 | 71,600 | 0 | 71,600 | 25% |
| MANITOBA | 142,700 | 31,800 | 0 | 31,800 | 22% |
| SUB-TOTAL | 1,227,100 | 115,300 | 187,600 | 302,900 | 24% |
| UPLAND-WATERFOWL | |||||
| ALBERTA | 511,500 | 45,900 | 82,000 | 127,900 | 25% |
| SASKATCHEWAN | 1,840,000 | 410,000 | 50,000 | 460,000 | 25% |
| MANITOBA | 252,200 | 53,000 | 10,000 | 63,000 | 25% |
| SUB-TOTAL | 2,603,700 | 508,900 | 142,000 | 650,900 | 25% |
| UPLAND-LANDBIRDS a | |||||
| ALBERTA | 1,768,700 | 199,000 | 66,300 | 265,300 | 15%b |
| SASKATCHEWAN | 2,484,800 | 279,500 | 93,200 | 372,700 | 15%b |
| MANITOBA | 153,300 | 28,800 | 9,500 | 38,300 | 25% |
| SUB-TOTAL | 4,406,800 | 507,300 | 169,000 | 676,300 | 15% |
| a – Upland objectives for landbirds are not additive to upland objectives for waterfowl – delivered acres will be targeted to serve both landbird and waterfowl objectives to the degree possible. | |||||
| b – 5-year habitat objectives projected at 15% for Alberta and Saskatchewan are considered aspirational to demonstrate the importance and need for grassland birds. However, with current resource and programming levels, a 5% objective for Upland-LANDBIRDS is more realistic. | |||||
A new decision support tool was also developed to set upland habitat conservation objectives for four priority grassland bird species listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act: Baird’s Sparrow (Special Concern), Chestnut-collared Longspur (Threatened), Thick-billed Longspur (Threatened), and Sprague’s Pipit (Threatened). The tool relies on pixel-based species density models, which provide a link between the amount of habitat across the landscape and population size. With this tool, we were able to set spatially-explicit acre objectives for grassland conservation.
