Pasture lands start transition
The 2018 growing season will see a transition for Saskatchewan pasture lands, as new lease agreements with the province begin to take effect.
The government announced last year that it was ending the Saskatchewan Pasture Program (SPP) and would consult with user groups on future use of the land. The SPP allowed access to government lands for uses such as grazing of animals, hunting and collecting of medicinal plants.
Wally Hoehn, the executive director of Lands Branch with the province’s Ministry of Agriculture, told paNOW that 13 pasture lands in northwest Saskatchewan will begin the transition from the SPP this year. Another 19 pasture lands across northeast and northwest Saskatchewan will transition in 2019, with the remaining 18 pastures in the northeast and south transitioning by the 2020 grazing season.
Results of public consultations on future use of the land found that most people did not want the land to be sold or sub-divided. More than 2,000 people completed the survey last year.