Shaynee Modien
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Shaunavon Standard
Three years ago, the provincial government of Saskatchewan introduced new legislation involving a revised Trespass law. As of January that year, hunters were required to obtain direct permission to hunt on private land.
Katherine Conkin, a wildlife biologist based in Saskatoon for the Saskatchewan Fish and Wildlife branch of the Ministry of the Environment, was recently asked about the impact of this law on the population of waterfowl, as well as other changes that may affect the growth of these bird species in Saskatchewan.Given that the province is located on the main migratory route, Conkin noted that”the waterfowl population continues to do very well in Saskatchewan, though we continue to monitor as we go through drought periods.”
Recent notable waterfowl migrations spotted in the Southwest include snow geese. When asked about their status, Conkin replied, “In the early 2000s, snow geese and Ross’s geese exploded and they were doing incredibly well.”However, she also mentioned that recent snow geese populations are seeing a decline due to breeding productivity.
When asked about the Canadian goose,the signature bird of Canada, Conkin stated, “They’re doing pretty well, with nothing notable to report in Saskatchewan.”
While the current situation for some waterfowl has remained the same, a look at the past provides insight into the future.Out-of-province hunters, including Americans, saw a dramatic decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic.”For at least a year, we didn’t have any hunters coming in or out of the province,or very few, and there was a steep decline,”stated Conkin.”More recently, we’ve seen that the number of hunters return to pre-COVID levels,and it’s kind of stabilized.”Conkin went on to state, “I was just looking at the number of non-resident license sales for this year, and most visiting hunters are visiting from late September to early mid-October, and we’re within 100 licenses of last year’s numbers.”
When asked about the impact of the changes to the Trespass law and its effect on hunting, Conkin responded by saying,”It’s a complex question. I don’t know if we’ve seen a change in population that we can directly relate to the law. We did some research on waterfowl hunters, both resident and non-resident, just after the change to the Trespass law, and it generally indicated that it didn’t have a significant impact on people’s ability to obtain permission. But that’s not to say there aren’t pockets where people are struggling to get permission.”
The biologist noted that other types of hunting have shown more significant signs of difficulty. “With big game, we’ve had a lot more response from people who are having difficulty getting access to hunt for a variety of reasons,” said Conkin. “This is something we’re certainly interested in and watching more closely as a ministry.”
