Wildlife: Saskatchewan's Grasslands National Park, 1 by Lilypon

Lilypon wrote:
Grasslands National Park of Canada is a land of rolling hills, rugged coulees, and steep ravines. The West Block centres on the Frenchman River Valley and the East Block features the Killdeer "Badlands" and the Wood Mountain "Uplands". Grasslands National Park of Canada is where sky meets prairie at the northern extension of the great plains. Human Story

Native habitation dates back to 10,000 years ago. By the 1600's, the Gros Ventre followed the bison herds in this area. More recently, the Assiniboine, Cree, Sioux, and Blackfoot also inhabited this grassland area on a seasonal basis. Campsites, tipi rings, vision quest sites, medicine wheels, and bison drive lanes are some of the cultural heritage.

By the 1880's, Euro-Canadian settlement had pushed farther west., bison herds were declining and so were other native species. Cattle herds replaced bison on the open range. Large ranches, like the 76 Ranch, held lease to thousands of acres of grazing lands. The cowboys who worked these ranches were the cowboys of the old west, their lifestyles romanticized on the silver screen.

MacDonald's national policy and the Homestead Act had a noticeable impact on this area by 1908. The Act allowed for grants of crown lands to potential farmers. Farmers took up the homestead challenge and put up fences, which changed a part of ranching forever. Today, farming and ranching coexist to form a unique blend of economies and south-western hospitality. Establishing The Park

Efforts to protect the grasslands of this area and its native species have been going on for over 50 years by various individuals and groups. During the 1950's and 60's prairie conservationists promoted the protection of a significant area of natural grasslands. In October 1963, members of the Saskatchewan Natural History Society passed a resolution urging the federal government to establish a national park in south-western Saskatchewan. A study of potential park areas was conducted in 1965 in southern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta, concluding that the Killdeer Badlands-Frenchman river area was the most suitable.