Sheila Bautz
Special to the Herald
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment is focusing on a variety of areas to continue to contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The ministry’s responsibility extends to balancing the impact human technological advances and infrastructure have on the natural environment, which is a home to multitudes of animal species.
The ministry’s requirement to manage the environmental footprints left in the province stems from their responsibility to ensure the 2007 Ministry of Environment Regulations are abided by. This creates a balance between human activity and the environmental impacts those activities have on the prairie landscape. The term footprint is a way to measure the type of impact human activity has on the natural environment and wildlife.
“Environmental stewardship and economic growth go hand in hand,” said Travis Keisig, the Saskatchewan Minister of Environment. “The investments in this [2024/25] budget will ensure sustainable habitats for fish and wildlife, advance innovation and support the transition to a lower emission electricity grid – all while maintaining affordability and reliability.”
The Ministry of Environment Regulations, 2007, which define the ministry’s duties, include providing science-based solutions to existing regulations. The government entity must also mitigate the proper measures required to appropriately protect the environment and wildlife species while safeguarding provincial communities.
“The investments in this budget will ensure sustainable habitat for fish and wildlife and advance a lot of innovation as well,” said Keisig.
Partnerships with Academia & Research Institutions
The Ministry of Environment builds partnerships with academia and research institutions, which are vital to the development of new technologies and genomics research. The genetic research aspect aims to improve forest sustainability and resilience.
“This government works to promote industries and sectors across the province that allows for economic growth while leading in environmental stewardship,” said Keisig. “We know our decisions will have a lasting impact on our future generations, and we’re planning for a future that supports resilient, biologically diverse landscapes. We know that Saskatchewan is blessed with abundant natural resources and world-class producers that provide the food, fuel, fertilizer, and forestry that the world needs.”
The strategy is to balance innovative, science-based developments with wildlife and landscape conservation.
“This is one of the reasons why the Ministry of Environment has allocated 1.89 million, an additional $933,000 into Saskatchewan’s 20-year Habitat Management Plan [HMP],” said Keisig. “This strategy will balance development with conservation, using science-based solutions to ensure sustainable fish and wildlife habitats all across the province. The HMP emphasizes maintaining biologically diverse landscapes, which aligns with the growth plan with environmental stewardship. This government understands the importance of balancing healthy forests, landscapes, and wildlife.”
The HMP is reportedly dedicated to emphasizing the maintenance and ecological biodiversity health of natural landscapes and wildlife management for healthy populations. The collective goals of the provincial government and various conservation efforts align with the Growth Plan’s focus on environmental stewardship. In addition to the HMP, the Environment Ministry’s budget includes funds allocated to focus on woodland caribou habitat restoration.
“This budget contains one and a half million for woodland caribou habitat restoration,” said Keisig. “This work will help create jobs in northern Saskatchewan and will help achieve our goal of doubling the growth of the forestry sector by 2030.”
Recently, the Ministry of Environment supported ten research projects that were formally presented at the SERG-International Annual General Meeting in February. According to SERG International’s on-line statements, the organization is ‘an association of forest management, regulatory and research agencies, and pesticide suppliers, interested in forest pest management’.
In addition, research publications are publishing Saskatchewan based academic papers. The Population Ecology Journal is including Saskatchewan research on spruce budworms. Another peer reviewed journal entitled Forest Science will also publish the research on the spruce budworm epidemiology in 2025-26.
The University of Regina, the University of Alberta and a Master of Science scholar at the University of British Columbia are collaborating research on forest disturbances and the effects.
Every one of these scholarly endeavours are all supported by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Affordable Energy
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment states that they continue their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector.
In May 2024, a six-year agreement (2024-25 to 2029-30) was solidified between the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment and SaskPower for the Clean Electricity Transition Grant (CETG). For the 2025-26 fiscal year, an increase to this funding is nearly $175.0 million. The allocated funds will advance various required technologies and infrastructures to support clean electricity operating costs. This includes power purchase agreements and renewable power imports to maintain affordable power for Saskatchewan residents while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with it.
To date, the Environment ministry reports that they issued “$140 million to support clean electricity operating costs, including renewable power purchase agreements, demand-side management programs and renewable power imports”.
The advancement of the province’s clean electricity assists in providing families and businesses with affordable and reliable power. As well, the continued expansion to the Output-Based Performance Standards (OBPS) Program is ongoing. The program provides regulated emitters to achieve a net-zero emissions electricity.
“Engaging and supporting our communities is essential for achieving our environmental goals,” said Keisig. “Sustainable landscapes and resilient wildlife populations are crucial for our natural resource economy.”
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment fulfills roles that focus on managing an amalgamation of duties that involve technology, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring that environmental issues are managed to nurture Saskatchewan’s natural environment and wildlife health.
