Background
In 2016, Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum initiated the Transboundary Grasslands Partnership recognizing that the environment doesn’t respect human boundaries. Watersheds, wildlife, air quality, invasive species…all parts of the environment transcend multiple boundaries on any given landscape. These boundaries are real and can impact the environment and our human objectives for it, especially at the edges of jurisdictions.
Alberta partners proposed joint workshop to explore the interest for a broader transboundary partnership with Montana and Saskatchewan. Objectives of the first workshop included:
- Becoming familiar with the broad scope of work and accomplishments of large landscape conservation transboundary collaboratives.
- Reviewing the status of existing transboundary grassland initiatives with a focus on successes, challenges and outcomes.
- Discussion around existing jurisdictionally‐based environmental, land use and natural resource management priorities and challenges. Identify potential topics where new or enhanced transboundary collaboration may result in better outcomes.
- Confirm interest in pursuing additional topical transboundary issues or a broad grassland transboundary large landscape collaborative.
Vision & Mission
Vision:
Working collaboratively to sustain healthy transboundary native biodiversity and the supporting grassland ecosystems and communities.
Mission:
The Transboundary Grasslands Partnership (TGP) is a voluntary collaborative partnership working towards native grasslands conservation. The TGP will provide a forum where transboundary jurisdictions and sectors work collaboratively to conserve and enhance native grassland landscapes. The partnership will operate under three guiding principles:
- Enhance: the health and function of native grasslands, by building on successes and challenges and awareness amongst the partners,
- Create: working towards collaborative actions that address gaps in transboundary native grassland conservation, and
- Connect: acknowledging and improving transboundary communications, relationship building, education, cooperation and messaging between partners, Tribes and First Nations and interested organizations and individuals.
The Transboundary Grassland Partnership holds core team quarterly meetings to maintain communications across jurisdictions. The Transboundary Grassland Partnership workshop is held annually and the location of the workshop rotates between Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana.
2024 Membership Questionnaire Results
Membership Questionnaire
In 2024, the Transboundary Grassland Partnership (TGP) conducted a membership questionnaire to better understand who we are as a network and where our collective efforts are focused.
We reached out to over 300 participants, and received 54 responses. Click below to view our findings.
Member Organizations
| Member Organization | Jurisdiction | Website |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum Society | Alberta | www.albertapcf.org |
| Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan | Saskatchewan | www.pcap-sk.org |
| South of the Divide Conservation Action Plan | Saskatchewan | www.sodcap.com |
| Alberta Environment and Parks | Alberta | www.alberta.ca/environment-and-parks.aspx |
| Milk River Watershed Council Canada | Alberta | www.mrwcc.ca |
| United States Fish and Wildlife Service | Montana | www.fws.gov |
| The Nature Conservancy | Montana | www.nature.org/en-us/ |
| American Bird Conservancy | Montana | abcbirds.org |
| Pheasants Forever | Montana | www.pheasantsforever.org |
| World Wildlife Fund | Montana | www.worldwildlife.org |
| Blood Tribe Land Management | Alberta | btlands.com |
| Alberta Wilderness Association | Alberta | albertawilderness.ca |
| Piikani Lodge Health Institute | Montana | www.piikanilodge.org |
Transboundary Grasslands Resources
Collaboration is key to producing conservation outcomes within the TGP geography. By sharing resources, we can enhance usership of important tools that already exist!
Policy, Social & Ecological Knowledge
Resources:
- Stemming the Loss of Grasslands in Canada, A Scan of Policy Solutions
- By: Birds Canada and the Central Grasslands Roadmap
- kihci-okāwīmāw askiy Knowledge Centre
- University of Saskatchewan
- International Buffalo Relations Institute
- Centre for indigenous Environmental Resources
Alberta
In southern Alberta, native grassland and watershed initiatives include:
- the Government of Alberta’s South Saskatchewan Regional Plan
- Prairie Conservation Forum’s Prairie Conservation Action Plan
- Milk River Watershed Council of Canada’s transboundary State of the Watershed report and watershed management plan
- Grassland Restoration Forum
Check out this list of many more grassland partners in Alberta
Spatial Resources:
Montana
Montana’s Northern Great Plains encompass some of the largest most significant grasslands remaining in the United States.
Click here for a list of Montana’s Partners in Grassland Conservation
Spatial Resources:
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan
The PCAP Partnership represents the collaborative efforts of multiple interests toward promoting and conserving Saskatchewan’s native prairie. The PCAP Partners work together to deliver innovative and critical prairie conservation activities that represent the shared objectives of a diverse mix of stakeholders and that benefit the social, cultural, economic and ecological fabric of Saskatchewan.
Grassland Partners in Saskatchewan
Spatial Resources:
Northern Great Plains
The Northern Great Plains spans more than 180 million acres crossing 2 Canadian provinces and 5 American States. It is one of only four remaining intact temperate grasslands in the world.
The TGP is one example of a grassland partnership that collaborates with other jurisdictions; other partnerships include:
Prairie Pothole Joint Venture
The Prairie Pothole Joint Venture is a partnership among federal, state and non-governmental organizations with a common interest in advancing wetland and grassland conservation for birds. It formed in 1987 as one of the first bird habitat Joint Ventures in the United States.
This is a collaborative guide to increase conservation of North America’s Central Grasslands, which span 500 million acres across Indigenous Lands, Canada, the United States and Mexico. By bringing together 8 diverse sectors, (Indigenous communities and Nations, province and state-level agencies, industry, private land owners/managers/producers, academia, non-governmental organizations, foundations, and federal governments of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico), the Roadmap identifies common principles and collaborative priorities for the many people and organizations living, working on and influencing the Central Grasslands.
For more information about the Northern Great Plains check out the World Wildlife Fund