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| Biosphere Reserve Information | ||||
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REDBERRY LAKE |
 © Photo: Peter Kingsmill |
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| General Description |
Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve is situated in the province of Saskatchewan in the south-west of Canada, covering 112,200 hectares. The regional landscape is composed of rolling prairie, dotted with seasonal ponds and marshes, along with aspen/shrub groves. The core area is a saline lake with several islands. There are small patches of natural mixed prairie which is very rare in this highly grazed and cultivated part of the prairies. Redberry Lake is an important site for the conservation of several significant species of birds. It provides habitat for nine endangered, threatened, or rare bird species, as well as over 180 other species. Monitoring nesting sites of American White Pelican (Pelecanus eryhthrorhynchos) is one of the research and monitoring activities undertaken in the area. About 1,000 people live in the area (1998) and most of them are Euro-Canadians, primarily of Ukrainian origin. The primary economic activities in the region are agriculture and livestock raising. Eco-tourism development over the past decades has encouraged new ways of looking at local habitats, and brought new hope to some community enterprises. The expansion of sustainable tourism activities in tandem with wildlife protection, according to a study in the late 1980s is supported by a vast majority of stakeholders, including representatives of the local communities. The protected status of the site prevents tourism from intruding into the delicate areas and allows tourist numbers to be kept at sustainable levels. There exists a strong potential to undertake the development of new, sustainable agriculture, livestock, and silviculture products that could be marketed under the ‘brand’ of the biosphere reserve, such as ‘model’ farms and natural prairie grass cultivation for seedstocks. There is also a potential for linkages with other biosphere reserves to market the products of sustainable resource use, as well as educating the general public about conservation practices. |
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| Major ecosystem type | Temperate grassland; saline lake | |||
| Major habitats & land cover types | Grasslands including typical prairie grasses such as wheat grass (Agropyron spp.), fescue (Festuca spp.), oat grass (Avena barbara), sedges etc.; aspen-shrub forest dominated by aspen (Populus tremuloides) with several shrubs such as Rosa spp., silver willow (Salix alba) and hawthorn (Crataegus spp.); saline lake/rocky islands; farmland cultivated with wheat, and barley; pasture land | |||
| Location | 52°42'N; 107°10'W (centre of core area) | |||
| Area (hectares) | ||||
| Total | 112,200 | |||
| Core area(s) | 5,600 | |||
| Buffer zone(s) | 6,300 | |||
| Transition area(s) when given | 100,300 | |||
| Altitude (metres above sea level) | +487 to +533 | |||
| Year designated | 2000 | |||
| Administrative authorities | Redberry Regional Economic Development Authority Corporation | |||
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| Brief description |
Water quality monitoring of streams leading to the lake Lake limnology, UVB impact measurement Climate change: UV radiation effects and ice phenology (ice-on / ice-off protocols) Pesticide drift analysis Monitoring nesting sites of American White Pelican (Pelecanus erthrorhynchos) Endangered species monitoring Waterfowl research Recreational and tourist visitor impacts Mapping of the different zones of the biosphere reserve |
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| Specific variables... | ||||
| Abiotic | Climate, hydrology, monitoring/methodologies, pollution, pollutants, uv radiation/solar radiation. | |||
| Biodiversity | Birds, freshwater/inland water, methodologies, rare/endangered/threatened species. | |||
| Socio-economic | Recreation, tourism. | |||
| Integrated monitoring | Impact and risk studies/Environmental impact, mapping, planning and zoning measures/zonation. | |||
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| Contact address |
Patricia Fennig Coordinator, Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve Box 221 S0J 1A0 Hafford, Saskatchewan Canada |
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| Telephone | (1.306) 549 4060 | |||
| Fax | (1.306) 549 4061 | |||
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coordinator@redberrylake.ca info@redberrylake.ca |
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| Web site | www.redberrylake.ca | |||
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| Last updated: 26/09/2007 |
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