Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary is a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

, located in the

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipalities in Canada, a type of municipal status in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, ...

of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. The migratory bird sanctuary was the first established in North America. The area is within the

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The protected area is in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and f ...

, an International Biological Program site, and includes adjacent uplands. The site is used as a staging or nesting area by numerous migratory and colonial bird species, including the

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...

and the endangered

whooping crane The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to ...

. The lake has rich spawning grounds used by numerous fish species, including the vulnerable

bigmouth buffalo Bigmouth may refer to: * "Bigmouth", a song by Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. C ...

. It was recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1987, its centennial anniversary, for its undisturbed natural areas, among them the wetlands, shoreline, forest, and adjacent grasslands, and for being the first bird sanctuary in Canada.

History

In 1887, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories

Edgar Dewdney Edgar Dewdney, (November 5, 1835 – August 8, 1916) was a Canadian surveyor, road builder, Indian commissioner and politician born in Devonshire, England. He emigrated to British Columbia in 1859 in order to act as surveyor for the Dewdney ...

recommended the establishment of an area to protect wild fowl. On 8 June 1887, an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

established the Dominion bird reserve at Last Mountain Lake. It was the first bird sanctuary established in North America. A parcel of land of about was reserved as a

breeding ground In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, encompassing the northernmost of the lake's shoreline. In 1917, it was officially named Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary, and was managed and operated by the Fish and Game League. In 1921, it was protected under the federal

Migratory Birds Convention Act The Migratory Birds Convention Act (also MBCA) is a Canadian law established in 1917 and significantly updated in June 1994 which contains regulations to protect migratory birds, their eggs, and their nests from destruction by wood harvesting, hunti ...

Description

Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary is located in the Northern mixed grasslands, It is characterised by

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s used by

shorebird 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s and

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es used by

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

at the north end of the lake, whose water level is managed "within a series of basin" by control structures built by

Ducks Unlimited Canada Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is a Canadian non-profit organization that works to conserve, restore and manage Canadian wetlands in order to preserve habitat for North American waterfowl, wildlife and people. They work with industry leaders, gover ...

. A dam at the south end of the lake is used to control overall water depth. The shoreline is primarily sandy, interspersed with rocky or gravelly tracts, and features numerous peninsulas forming bays between them. The shallow marshes also feature

potholes A pothole is a depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. Water ...

and saline wetlands that support the reeds lining the shore. Throughout the lake are several natural islands. The surrounding uplands consist of native prairie and low-lying grassland, much of it alkaline. Access to the migratory bird sanctuary is permitted, with seven roads connecting to the site. The site is subject to the federal ''Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations'', which prohibits hunting migratory birds, or destroying, disturbing, or removing migratory bird nests and eggs. Permitted activities include hiking, fishing (subject to provincial regulations), and boating.

Fauna

The autumn North American bird migration sees as many as 400,000

anatidae The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...

and 75,000 sandhill cranes stopping at the site. The lake's islands also support various prairie bird and waterfowl species that nest in colonies. The whooping crane, an endangered species, has been recorded to use the lake as a staging area during its migration. Numerous fish species inhabit the lake, which "provides some of the richest spawning and nursery grounds in Saskatchewan", including the

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

bigmouth buffalo, a filter-feeding fish. The land surrounding the lake is inhabited by various prairie mammals, and is used by deer as a

wintering Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

site.

National Historic Site

On 24 June 1987, the Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary was officially recognized as a

. The dedication ceremony was presided by

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

. The designation was granted primarily because it was the first sanctuary "to afford protection to migratory birds" that had been established in Canada. Among the elements cited for the designation are undisturbed natural features, including the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s, water and shoreline, forest, and adjoining

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s. Also cited were managed features, including the dam and other water control features, and nearby crop fields that lure birds.

Notes

References