Prairie Futures Society · Est. 2011
We're a team of ecologists, ranchers, field biologists, and community organizers working to restore native grassland and wetland ecosystems across Saskatchewan. Science-first. Landowner-centred. Long-term.
Our foundation
"To restore and protect native grassland and wetland ecosystems in Saskatchewan through science-based conservation, landowner partnership, and transparent public reporting."
"A Saskatchewan where native prairie is not a relic but a living, expanding landscape — where biodiversity is part of the rural economy, not separate from it."
Prairie Futures Society was founded in 2011 by a group of Regina-based ecologists and ranchers who had grown frustrated with the either/or framing of prairie conservation — the assumption that meaningful ecosystem protection required keeping agriculture out.
They believed the opposite was true: that lasting conservation in Saskatchewan required working with the people who own and work the land, not positioning science against them.
The founding group included grassland researchers from the University of Saskatchewan, two multi-generational ranching families from the Qu'Appelle Valley, and a wetland biologist who had spent a decade mapping pothole loss across the province. The combination of scientific rigour and agricultural reality was deliberate, and it's still the core of how we operate.
We are not an anti-farming organization. We are a pro-native-ecosystem organization. We believe there is room for both — and that the people who live closest to the land are often best positioned to help protect it, if they're given the tools, the science, and the support to do so.
Our people
PhD, University of Saskatchewan. Twenty years of research in native grassland ecology, including landmark studies on soil carbon dynamics under prairie restoration regimes. Rachel leads all science partnerships and chairs our research committee. She grew up on a mixed farm north of Swift Current and has never lost the conviction that the people closest to the land are its best long-term stewards.
Ben spent fifteen years running a beef operation in the Qu'Appelle Valley before transitioning to conservation work after participating in one of our early landowner programs. He now coordinates all landowner partnerships, leads easement negotiations, and serves as the primary contact for new landowner inquiries. He knows the agricultural calendar, the spring mud, and the skepticism — and he has the patience and credibility to work through all three.
MSc, University of Regina (Plant Ecology). Lily leads all annual plant and vertebrate surveys, develops our monitoring protocols, and manages our species occurrence database. She has a particular expertise in native grassland forb identification and has contributed to several provincial botanical assessments for COSEWIC-listed species. In the field, she is exceptionally fast.
Owen runs our volunteer field day program, coordinates community science contributions to our annual surveys, and manages our education outreach — including school visits and the youth naturalist program we run in partnership with the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. He came to conservation through birding, which is approximately the right origin story.
Greta writes the grants, files the reports, manages our public communications, and handles all media inquiries. She has raised over $1.8 million in competitive grant funding since joining in 2017 and has a gift for translating complex ecology into compelling narratives for funders and the public alike. Without her, the lights would not stay on — in her own words, frequently.
Partnerships
Our work is strengthened by institutional research partnerships and collaborations with established conservation organizations across the province and country.
University of Regina
Ecology Lab partnership for monitoring protocol development, species-at-risk surveys, and peer-reviewed publication of annual survey results. Dr. Patricia Lavallee serves as our external research advisor.
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Wetland restoration collaboration, joint funding of the Chaplin Lake project, and shared access to DUC's provincial pothole inventory database for site prioritization.
Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation
Landowner outreach partnership, co-sponsorship of the youth naturalist program, and shared membership access for volunteer recruitment at field days.
Nature Conservancy of Canada
Collaborative easement structuring on multi-parcel projects and joint access to NCC's long-term monitoring data for southern Saskatchewan.
14 years of work
Since 2011, Prairie Futures has operated with one conviction: healthy grasslands and wetlands are not a luxury. They are the foundation everything else depends on.
Open science
All survey data is published annually on this site. Selected analyses are submitted for peer review. Below are our formal publications to date.
Long-Term Vegetation Response Following Native Grass Seeding in Degraded Northern Great Plains Cropland: A 10-Year Assessment
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) Occupancy Rates in Managed Grassland Corridors vs. Isolated Remnant Patches: Evidence from the Qu'Appelle Valley
Prairie Pothole Restoration and Waterfowl Breeding Pair Density: A Six-Year Analysis of 18 Restored Wetlands in South-Central Saskatchewan
Soil Carbon Accumulation Rates in Restored Native Grassland vs. Tame Pasture: Implications for Prairie Carbon Programs