The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation recently received $3.5 million dollars from the Westin Family Foundation in order to investigate conservation agreements and help ranchers to conserve biodiversity in south west Saskatchewan as well as maintain their ranching operations. 

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation and the University of British Columbia's Conservation Decisions Lab will be holding a Priority Threat Management assessment session to inform conservation agreements and easements in south west Saskatchewan as Program Manager for the Stock Growers Foundation, Tom Harrison explains. 

"It's an interactive exercise that asks producers, species experts, and natural resource experts to get into a group and begin talking about different conservation items, different needs and then come up with priority areas to work in, priority places, and  priority activities to focus on."

Harrison adds that through the workshop itself, they hope to get engagement from producers as well as species experts, ranchers, and ag producers in order to get their thoughts on different activities. 

Harrison says ranchers are essential to the conservation process.

"The ranching community throughout Saskatchewan is responsible for retaining and managing the native grasslands and naturalized grasslands in Saskatchewan, and the reason we have that allows the wildlife to flourish and gives a home for them."

The online workshop will be taking place Tuesday, November 23rd from 12:30-3:30 pm. For more details and information on how to attend contact Wayne Hellquist, General Manager of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation at quest@myaccess.ca 

Those attending will also receive a $50 Cowtown gift as a token of appreciation.