American author Willa Cather once wrote, "Anyone can love the mountains, but it takes a soul to love the prairie." It's true. Grasslands are too often underappreciated for their beauty and environmental, economic, and cultural value.
Native grasslands are uniquely adapted to extreme conditions like drought and fire, as well as regular disturbances like grazing. The key to this resilience is not any single plant or animal, but rather the diversity of prairie life. Together, the many grasses and forbs enable important functions like livestock forage, carbon sequestration, and water regulation.
Diversity means habitat for hundreds of plants and animals, many of which only live on the prairies. The Grasslands Natural Region is also home to 75 percent of Alberta's species at risk—animals such as burrowing owls, greater sage-grouse, and chestnut-collared longspurs.
The diversity of plants in native grasslands contributes significantly to carbon sequestration. The amount of carbon stored in grasslands rivals that stored in forests, but below ground in the deep root systems of native grasses and forbs. The roots of some species can extend as deep as 15 feet and, unlike forests, protect the carbon from being released into the atmosphere during fire.
Native grasslands in Canada are primarily used for raising beef. Ranching in North America is perhaps one of the few industries that can have lasting positive impacts on the environment and protect species diversity on grasslands. This is because a rancher's most valuable resource, grass, also provides wildlife habitat, stores carbon, and maintains water and soil function. Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) projects, like MULTISAR (Multiple Species at Risk), help protect prairie wildlife while working with the ranching community to ensure their operations remain profitable and sustainable.
If ranching and conservation are a perfect combination, and Canada once had over 54 million acres of grassland, it's strange that Canada only contributes approximately two percent of the world's total beef production. The reason is complicated but largely dictated by economics. It's often cheaper to produce beef in ways that do not offer similar environmental benefits. It can be more economical to convert or alter grasslands to other land uses—such as crop production and energy development.
Conversion of temperate grasslands has made them one of the most threatened (yet least protected) biomes in the world—even more at risk than rainforests. According to the World Wildlife Fund's 2024 Plowprint Report, approximately 1.9 million acres of grasslands were converted to crops across the Great Plains in Canada and the United States in 2022. While below the 10-year average of 2.6 million acres annually, an alarming amount of grassland continues to be lost each year.
In Canada, less than one percent of tall-grass prairie, 18 percent of short-grass prairie, and 24 percent of the mixed-grass prairie remains. Alberta appears to be faring slightly better than other provinces. According to the Native Prairie Inventory conducted by the Prairie Conservation Forum, 46 percent of Alberta's historic grasslands still have native vegetation. The proportion varies based on the natural subregion and ranges from 58 percent of native prairie in the Dry Mixedgrass and 32 percent in the Foothills Fescue subregions. The persistence of Alberta's grasslands has been aided by the fact that most are unsuitable for crop production or are Crown land that cannot be converted. Nevertheless, landowners who deliberately choose to maintain grasslands on their property deserve much of the credit for conserving this dwindling resource.
We also lose wildlife when we lose native grasslands. The 2024 State of Canada's Birds report, birdscanada.org/introducing-the-state-of-canadas-birds, produced by Birds Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) shows that grassland birds are in crisis. Canada is losing grassland birds at a much faster rate than any other group of birds—a whopping 67 percent decline since 1970. The situation is far worse for birds that depend on native grassland; they have declined by an unimaginable 90 percent.
To raise awareness about the precarious state of grasslands and how Indigenous and ranching communities who live on these lands contribute to culture, economy, and the environment, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. The momentum is growing, and this initiative is now supported by over 102 countries and 365 organizations.
Albertans have always taken great pride in our prairie cultural heritage. First Nations worked and lived on this land for time immemorial, maintaining a deep and holistic relationship with the prairies. Bison (Iinii, the blackfoot term) were the central pillar to connecting to the land—culturally, materially, and spiritually. The ranching traditions that followed are also much celebrated by Albertans, evoking the rugged individualism and connection to nature.
Today, over 80 percent of Canadians live in cities. Together with the loss of natural grasslands, many people no longer have a connection with the original prairies. Prairie-based producers and conservationists have often heard, "what's all the fuss about saving grasslands? The prairies are covered in the stuff." We have thought for some time that Canadians really don't know what a native grassland is. The Canadian Wildlife Federation, in partnership with ECCC and the Weston Family Foundation, surveyed Canadians to find out what they really know, or don't know, about grasslands.
With the support of Abacus Data, 2,500 Canadians from coast to coast to coast were asked basic questions to see if they knew that a native grassland was different than say, a wheat field or a grassy urban park. Only one in four Canadians believe they know exactly what the term "grasslands" means. Fewer understand terms like "native" or "natural" grasslands. Fewer yet understand that native grasslands are critically endangered, needing restoration, conservation, and protection.
If you believe that large-scale grassland conservation is urgently needed, you need to know this will be impossible to achieve without public support. Support can only grow from awareness, and this survey has shown that we have work to do. But it has also provided a roadmap to achieving this goal. Most importantly, we learned that Canadians genuinely care about grasslands.
To improve awareness, the Canadian Wildlife Federation has formed a coalition of organizations, including ACA, to build a campaign to improve grassland awareness. Stay tuned for more in 2025 as we continue to build toward the 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
Photo credit (top): ACA.
