Parker Coulee

Property Description

The Parker Coulee property is located along the eastern edge of the Cypress Hills in southwest Saskatchewan. The property is part of a large contiguous block of grassland habitat that follows the Jones Creek and Swift Current Creek valleys. As a result of the high degree of variation in elevation, a variety of ecological systems including mixed grasslands, fescue grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, and woodlands are found throughout the area. To date, this is the largest acquisition that NCC has completed in this area of the province. The property is approximately 324 hectares (802 acres) in size, and includes native dominant grassland, forested coulees, wetlands, and a few seasonal creeks and riparian habitats.  

South of the Boreal Forest, the montane regions of the Cypress Hills provide the only substantial coniferous woodland habitats between the Rocky Mountains and south-central Manitoba. This makes these areas incredibly important for forest-obligate and migrant species that use this region as a stopover location. Many montane species occur only within the Cypress Hills and surrounding areas in Saskatchewan, and the only Lodgepole Pine forest east of the Rocky Mountains is located in this area as well.  

Content and property pictures courtesy of Nature Conservancy of Canada.