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Prairie Tips & Ethics |
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| They were named for the
population they so thoroughly support. They were
named for the goose quills which the Indians once
collected, first for their own needs and then to
bring to the fort at Touchwood for export to
Europe. |
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The Quill Lakes,
about 90 minutes drive from Saskatoon, east on Highway
16, are the largest inland body of salt water in North
America. They form a RAMSAR site and are a bird watchers'
paradise. |
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To be designated a
RAMSAR site, a wetlands of international
importance, a site has to host more than
1,090,000 shorebirds or 15 percent of a flyway
population annually. The Quills are officially
recognized as a Western Hemisphere Shoreline
Reserve Network Site, part of a chain of 23
reserves in several countries including the U.S.,
Mexico, Brazil, Surinam, Argentina and Peru. |
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The Reserve covers
40,000 acres including the salt lakes, freshwater
marshes, mixed grass prairie and aspen parkland. The Quill Lakes area is home to 34
species of shorebirds, including the endangered Piping
Plover. Other species include the American Avocet, the
Marbled Godwit, the Least Sandpiper, the Semi-palmated
Sandpiper, the Red-necked Phalarope, the Stilt Sandpiper,
and the Hudsonian Godwit. However, this area of
Saskatchewan is also a major migratory flyway and the
Quill Lakes, nearby Fishing Lake, and the Foam Lake Marsh
provide a staging area for 400,000 ducks, 130,000 snow
geese, 80,000 Canada geese and 40,000 sandhill cranes.
Middle Quill Lake (Mud Lake) has a colony of 400 White
Pelicans, and Fishing Lake attracts cormorants as well.
The area has the distinction of providing habitat for
endangered species, including the whooping crane, Baird's
sparrow, the ferruginous hawk, and the peregrine falcon.
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| The Quills (Big Quill
Lake, Mud Lake and Little Quill Lake) cover an
area of about 230 square miles, tucked between
Highways 35 and 6 east and west and Highways 5
and 16 north and south. Big Quill is roughly 18
miles long north and south and 11 miles across at
the widest point. Little Quill is about 15 miles
long, running east and west, and six miles wide.
Mud Lake bridges the two bigger lakes. The three
together form one body of connected water with a
common level. |
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The Quills were
formed when the last of the continental ice sheet
retreated more than 10,000 years ago. The lakes are at
the lowest part of the glacial lake basin so that there
is no outflow of water. Some spring water and seasonal
run off makes its way into the lake system but
evaporation has created a highly saline body of water. |
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As water levels
drop, the lakes reveal massive expanses of apparently
white sand beaches. In truth, the area is a large mud
flat with an alkaline topping, as tough to drive on as
slick ice. |
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In spite of the size,
the lakes basin is really a shallow saucer set
into the Quill Plain. Reports of water depths
vary from about 20 feet to two feet. The bottom
shifts, creating sand bars. The water is not
particularly navigable and metal parts on a water
craft would rust quickly because of the salt. |
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Besides birds, the
area supports deer and smaller animals, in particular
foxes, skunks and coyotes. White tail deer are very
common. |
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| Much of the shoreline
and adjacent upland around Big Quill is
provincial Crown Land that is being transferred
to the Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation
Corporation, the provincial co-ordinator for the
North American Waterfowl Management Plan program.
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There are viewing
sites around the lakes. |
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Tourists are
reminded that driving on wet alkali is not recommended.
As well, much of the land is hay bottom harvested by
local farmers, or grain fields. Tourists are asked to
please check with farmers before crossing fields. Even
foot traffic can seriously damage a crop and vehicle ruts
can damage expensive farm equipment. Driving through
grain fields or across stubble can cause field fires. Ask
about trails and foot paths. |
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