MULTISAR

MULTISAR At Home on the Range: working with landowners and land managers to improve habitat for species at risk in the grasslands of Alberta.

MULTISAR aims at working in partnership with Alberta ranchers in finding win-win solutions to prevent the loss of natural prairie and its biodiversity, assist with the recovery of grassland species at risk and ensure positive benefits to the ranching operation.

Dotted blazing star, one of Alberta’s showiest wildflowers, grows in dry native grasslands, hillsides, and badland areas...
08/05/2025

Dotted blazing star, one of Alberta’s showiest wildflowers, grows in dry native grasslands, hillsides, and badland areas of southern Alberta. Its tall spikes of purple flowers light up the prairie in July and August, standing out against the land’s more muted tones.

A favourite among prairie pollinators like bees and butterflies, dotted blazing star is perfectly adapted to Alberta’s arid grassland ecosystems. Its taproot can reach depths of up to 4.5 metres (15 feet), helping it survive droughts and flourish where few other plants can take root.

Ferruginous hawks don't just nest in trees, they're also cliff nesters! These prairie raptors often return to the same n...
07/31/2025

Ferruginous hawks don't just nest in trees, they're also cliff nesters! These prairie raptors often return to the same nest year after year, adding fresh nesting material each season. Over time, their nests can grow massive - layered with layered with sticks, twigs, sagebrush stems, and sometimes bones. Our team came across a cliff nest this summer with a mule deer antler woven in! Whether perched in a lone tree or clinging to a steep coulee slope, these nests are a testament to the resourcefulness of the largest hawk species in North America.

07/31/2025

Prairie reports and links with important details about the prairies. Isolated Native Prairie Habitats study is to determine what constitutes isolated native prairie habitats, where they are, and their value.

That’s a wrap for Southern Alberta Youth Range Days 2025! Day 3 was all about bringing it all together. Youth put the fi...
07/25/2025

That’s a wrap for Southern Alberta Youth Range Days 2025! Day 3 was all about bringing it all together. Youth put the finishing touches on their ranch plans and proudly presented their ideas to the group! A huge thank-you to the sponsors and volunteers who made this unforgettable experience possible. Three days of muddy boots, sunshine, new friendships, and big ideas. The future of our rangelands is in good hands!

Day 2 of Southern Alberta Youth Range Days was packed with adventure and hands-on learning! The day kicked off in the fi...
07/24/2025

Day 2 of Southern Alberta Youth Range Days was packed with adventure and hands-on learning! The day kicked off in the field with plant ID, western blue flag counts, and thoughtful conversations about ranch management. After lunch, a rafting trip down the St. Mary’s River gave kids a fun way to explore riparian plants up close. We capped off the night with a fascinating presentation on bears 🐻 from Waterton Biosphere. From rivers to rangelands, these youth are gaining the knowledge and confidence to be tomorrow’s land stewards!

Attending the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede this week? Come say hi! We are at Country in the City in the Pavilion...
07/23/2025

Attending the Medicine Hat Exhibition and Stampede this week? Come say hi! We are at Country in the City in the Pavilion Building!

The first day of Southern Alberta Youth Range Days kicked off yesterday in Kimball. Despite the cool, damp weather, kids...
07/23/2025

The first day of Southern Alberta Youth Range Days kicked off yesterday in Kimball. Despite the cool, damp weather, kids got out in the field to learn about rangelands and practice some plant identification. They also learned about wetlands, set up some acoustic monitors, and sighted some trumpeter swans. In the afternoon, kids began developing their ranch plans and then ended the day off learning about the Rocky Mountain sculpin and owls. It was a full and inspiring start to Youth Range Days, with curious minds, muddy boots, and a whole lot of learning on the land!

Male lark buntings are one of the prairie's most striking songbirds. Their black bodies and white wing patches stick out...
07/22/2025

Male lark buntings are one of the prairie's most striking songbirds. Their black bodies and white wing patches stick out amongst the more muted colours of the grasslands. Males have an impressive flight display, flying high above the prairie, before descending gently while delivering their bubbly, musical song. Female lark buntings lack the bold colours of the male so they can blend into the prairie grasses while nesting. In Alberta, lark buntings are typically found in native grasslands with an abundance of sagebrush. Unfortunately, as our native grasslands disappear, so too do our lark buntings which are currently listed as Threatened in Canada. When managed well, cattle grazing can help maintain the grassland habitat that lark buntings need to nest and thrive.

Today was the second and final day of the Southern Alberta Grazing School for Women in Twin Butte! We started the mornin...
07/18/2025

Today was the second and final day of the Southern Alberta Grazing School for Women in Twin Butte! We started the morning off in the field with some lessons in riparian health and plant identification, and then back to the hall for our amazing ranching women panel! We ended the day with wise words from Grazing School alumni and an engaging talk on how we can support species at risk in the Waterton Biosphere Region. Thank you to all the wonderful ranching ladies who came out and of course, to the organizers. What a tremendous two days!

07/17/2025

Last night at the Southern Alberta Grazing School for Women, we were treated to bear safety training by Jeff Bectell, Andrea Morehouse, and Mike Meeks. In southwestern Alberta, grizzly and black bears share the landscape with us — especially in foothills, forests, and ranchlands. Whether you're hiking, biking, ranching, or living in these areas, bear safety training can save lives, both human and bear! It was also pretty fun!

07/17/2025

Our crew was out this past weekend with Alberta Environment bios (another story coming soon!) - and a few of our captures included young bats from this year! The young bats are taking their first flights! We noticed a little later in the night, there were some wild flights going on around another grouping of bat boxes - which were almost certainly little bats practicing their new flight skills! We always give a heads up to everyone when this happens. You might find bats on the ground or on the sides of buildings - these aren't sick bats but rather young ones that have just run out of gas! Or crashed! Please never handle with bare hands. Carefully - you can move these guys to either a bat house, or a tree, or use the "Pillowcase method" (put the bat in an open pillowcase and hang that in a tree - which gives the bats safe cover and they can leave later on their own) - or if there seems to be an injury - you can go to our albertabats.ca/foundabat page and contact your closest wildlife rehabilitator (we have a list that takes bats in Alberta). See https://batworld.org/local-rescue/ for a map for most of North America to find a rescuer.

Today is Day 1 of the Southern Alberta Grazing School for Women in Twin Butte! Some great presentations in the classroo...
07/16/2025

Today is Day 1 of the Southern Alberta Grazing School for Women in Twin Butte! Some great presentations in the classroom today on grazing principles and practices, herd health and liver flukes, and large carnivore livestock co-existence and mitigation. We're also spending time in the field learning about range health and identifying plants!

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Lethbridge, AB

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+14033815318

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