Study Finds Landowners are Fairly Compensated for Habitat Conservation

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While a conservation easement on agricultural lands may reduce their resale value, a recent study has found that landowners, through easement payments, have been adequately compensated for the difference. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted by Dr. Chad Lawley from the Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics at the University of Manitoba and Dr. Charles Towe, from the Department … Read More

Species At Risk Profile: Silky Prairie-Clover

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Common Name: Hairy Prairie-Clover, Silky Prairie-Clover Species Name: Dalea villosa var. villosa Description: Hairy prairie-clover is a member of the Fabaceae, or Pea, Family.  Their flowers are pale rose-purple or, rarely, white, and appear from mid-July to mid-August.  Leaves and stems are densely covered with hairs, giving them a distinct velvety texture and silvery-green colour. The leaves are made up … Read More

Species At Risk Profile: Red-Headed Woodpecker

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Common Name: Red-Headed Woodpecker Species Name: Melanerpes erythrocephalus Description: A vivid red head, neck and breast make the Red-headed Woodpecker easily recognizable. It is an omnivorous species, feeding on insects in the summer and nuts in the winter.  Unlike other woodpeckers, the Red-headed Woodpecker forages for food rather than excavating holes to find insects.  It is also the only woodpecker … Read More

Species At Risk Profile: Piping Plover

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Common Name: Piping Plover Species Name: Charadrius melodus Description: The Piping Plover is a stocky shorebird with a white breast, abdomen and rump and pale brown to grey back, head and wings. It is identifiable by a black stripe across the forehead from eye to eye, a long white eyestripe and a single black band across the chest. It arrives … Read More

The Langford Community Pasture

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In the rolling agricultural landscape around Neepawa, there exists 20,000 acres of unique natural land, known as the Langford Community Pasture — land never broken by prairie settlers for dryland agriculture. The rolling sandhills are a place where cattle have coexisted for over a century with native prairie plants and animals, including the endangered Prairie Skink — Manitoba’s only lizard. … Read More

Species At Risk Profile: Northern Prairie Skink

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Common Name: Northern Prairie Skink Species Name: Eumeces septentrionalis Description: These little creatures are Manitoba’s only natural lizard species. Northern Prairie Skinks are brown with 4 pale longitudinal stripes. Juveniles are distinguished from adults by a bright blue tail. Adult males are distinguished from females by a reddish orange tinge on the head and throat during the breeding season. Prairie … Read More

Species At Risk Profile: Least Bittern

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Common Name: Least Bittern Species Name: Ixobrychus exilis Description: This bird is the smallest of the North American herons and is distinguished by large chestnut patches on it’s wings. Males are darker than females. When alarmed, the Least Bittern freezes in place with its bill pointing up, turns its front and both eyes toward the source of alarm, and sometimes … Read More

Species At Risk Profile: Buffalograss

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Common Name: Buffalograss Species Name: Buchloe dactyloides Description: Buffalograss is a short grass with greyish green, slightly hairy leaves that can grow up to 10 centimeters (4 inches) long.  The Lakota name translates as “grass that sticks to people’s clothes.”  Male and female plants are strongly dimorphic (physically different).  Female flowers are hidden by the leaf blades and enclosed in … Read More