Canadian Plains Research Center
This interdisciplinary regional studies center at the University of Regina carries out innovative research and publishing, much of it with a broad environmental focus.
The concept of a regional studies resource centre involving the cooperation of the three Prairie Provinces was first initiated in 1970. In 1973, the centre became known as the Canadian Plains Research Center (CPRC). While CPRC covers all aspects of history and settlement in the prairie region, land resource information and land use has been a consistent aspect of its work.
Its major current projects include:
The Institutional Adaptation to Climate Change (IACC) project to study the capacity of institutions in dryland regions to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The Great Sand Hills Regional Environmental Study to characterize the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of the Great Sand Hills in the form of a baseline assessment; conduct a cumulative risk assessment of impacts on the Great Sand Hills; and develop alternative scenarios for sustainability. (See: http://www.se.gov.sk.ca/GSH/LINKS.htm)
The Climate Change and Adaptive Strategies for Conservation Area Planning in Grassland Environments project studies the influence of climate change on native prairie in order to develop adaptive conservation strategies.
The Climate Change and Prairie Biodiversity: Prediction and Adaptation project focuses on understanding wildlife adaptations to climate change impacts on habitats in the prairies of southern Saskatchewan.
Past projects include: Prairie Biodiversity Study, North American Protected Areas Database, Native Prairie Mapping Project, Prairie Ecosystem Sustainability (PECOS) Study, Ecoregions of Saskatchewan poster and multimedia CD-ROM and central involvement in the Prairie Conservation Action Plan.
The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Division analyzes and maps geographically distributed resources. It offers training courses to students and working professionals, and conducts research and land resource information projects. The GIS services have been applied in agriculture, urban and rural land use, forestry, hydrology and wildlife management. Past clients include: Forestry Canada, Parks Canada, NASA, Word Wildlife Fund, Nature Saskatchewan, NAFTA Commission on Environmental Cooperation, Canadian Wildlife Service, Canadian Council on Ecological Areas, and The Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Projects include: assessment of biodiversity in the grassland ecoregion of Saskatchewan in relation to agricultural land use practices, development of digital geographic databases for Prince Albert National Park and Grasslands National Park, maintaining a baseline database on protected areas of Saskatchewan, mapping native prairie and conservation areas and establishment of a comprehensive digital geographic database for the modeling of earth surface responses to global climate change in the Palliser Triangle.
It has also developed a standardized map of the ecological regions of North America at three scales and poster map that depicts land management categories for conservation purposes within Saskatchewan
The CPRC's Publishing Division is Saskatchewan's largest, non-fiction press. Established in 1973, the Press has published over 150 titles, examining various aspects of life in the prairie region of Canada, including several titles on natural history and land use. These include:
The Ecoregions of Saskatchewan by D. Acton, G. Padbury and C. Stushnoff
This book describes the physical and biological characteristics, as well as the human activities, for each of the major ecosystems of the province. It also describes why an ecosystem approach is essential to sustainable resource use.
Canoeing the Churchill: A Practical Guide to the Historic Voyageur Highway by Gregory P. Marchildon and Sid Robinson
Ecological Reclamation in Canada at Century's Turn by Henry T. Epp
Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces by Heinjo Lahring
The Swift Fox: Ecology and Conservation of Swift Foxes in a Changing World by Marsha A. Sovada and Ludwig Carbyn
Managing Changing Prairie Landscapes by Todd A. Radenbaugh and Glenn C. Sutter
It's most ambitious publishing project, the 1,100 Page Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan has just been completed.
For more information see http://cprc.ca/
The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, the CPRC most ambitious publishing project, contains a wealth of information on Saskatchewan's environment, as well as its environmental champions.