They’re as tall as a coke cans, as voracious as T-Rexes and among Canada’s most endangered species. But now burrowing owls have more conserved habitat to call home in southern Manitoba, thanks to the partnership between the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and Broomhill area landowners, the Gervin family.

The Melita area is deemed the Grassland Bird Capital of Manitoba, and now stands among the last bastions of native mixed-grass prairie in the province, an ecosystem which is critical for many at-risk species, including the endangered burrowing owl.

Josh Dillabough, Natural Area Manager for the NCC, works out of the Brandon office. He says their organization has now officially launched its plan to protect the 500 hectares of native prairie and wetland habitat across two new conservation areas near the communities of Broomhill and Sifton, named the Jackson Pipestone Prairie and Wetlands project.

Beyond burrowing owls, the songs of chestnut-collared longspur (threatened), bobolink (threatened) and Baird’s sparrow (special concern) form a chorus in the air, signaling its importance for biodiversity in the region. 

A portion of the project falls within an internationally recognized Important Bird Area and is made up of sustainably pastured lands, alive with wetland birds like red-necked phalarope (special concern), lesser yellowlegs, black-crowned night herons, tundra swan and the ferruginous hawk. 

The NCC says the Gervin family has been involved in burrowing owl recovery since the 1980s and is largely to thank for the vibrant diversity of birdsong and prairie species inhabiting this region.  The Gervins have worked with the Manitoba Burrowing Owl Recovery Program since its inception in 2010 to protect habitat for the endangered birds across their properties.  Through this program they are seeing wild owls back in this area that are using artificial nest burrows that their program has installed for extra protection for nesting burrowing owls.

Dillabough says partnership is always an exponential factor for the NCC, and their organization relies on partnership quite heavily, with landowners, area stakeholders, as well as the US and Canadian governments. This and other conservation projects were supported through funding from generous residents and businesses. Additional support came Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Nature Fund and Nature Smart Climate Solutions Funds. Contributions were also made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as they too, recognize the importance of protecting the habitat of migratory birds. 

"It is exciting that we were able to work with the current landowners during that purchase transition, and to allow us to take on a portion of the overall purchase," shares Dillabough. "It just goes to show you that whenever there are important things that need to be done, that we're willing to sit at the table with everybody, and to try and work out what's best for conservation, for the local livestock industry, and for the local community - because it's not solely about conservation with this, this is for everybody."

"Grasslands are North America's and Canada's most endangered ecosystem," he notes. "We lose approximately a quarter section of native grasslands every day, and on average we lose about 60,000 hectares a year." Dillabough says if we don't turn this trend around, we stand to lose 500,000 hectares by 2030, an area six times the size of Calgary. 

"These grasslands are more rare than the Amazon Rainforest and they're right in our backyard and we have a chance right now to do something," he adds. "I don't think we can pass the baton on any longer, I think it's about raising that awareness so that people know. We don't want to lose this.  It's pretty special and it's in our own backyard."

“Manitobans know very well the beauty and value of the native mixed-grass prairies that form some of the most iconic landscapes in the province. Working in partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, our government is helping to protect native mixed-grass prairies in Manitoba, which play a critical role in the recovery of species at risk, like the small and mighty Burrowing Owl that calls these habitats home. These investments are part of our national conservation campaign to protect 25 percent of land and water in Canada by 2025, working toward 30 percent by 2030. Protecting nature not only helps reverse the dramatic loss of biodiversity, but also helps sequester more carbon in the fight against climate change and keeps our environment free from pollution.”   –  The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Learn more about Canada’s iconic Prairie grasslands at prairiegrasslands.ca.

Gervin Stock Farms, located in the Broomhill area, supports six of Manitoba’s most threatened grassland bird species at risk (including the burrowing owl) and lies in the center of some of the last of the habitat-imperiled grassland bird species in North America.   In 2019, the Gervin family was awarded the Prairie Conservation Award for Manitoba, in recognition of their dedication to the stewardship of the lands. Now under the stewardship of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, this family’s love for the land can continue in perpetuity.

Please listen to more with Josh Dillabough below!

(All photos were taken at the Jackson Pipestone Prairie and Wetlands project, submitted by the NCC)

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