While the government issued these “resource-saving” permits, it also sold this land to the Province of Saskatchewan, who gave the green light to begin a 20-year construction project on the upstream Junction Reservoir. This project would prove to be disastrous to this sensitive area, worsening drought conditions that ravaged Canadian farming in what we now refer to as the “Dirty 30s,” where dry weather created the “Dust Bowl” that contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Now fast forward 80 short years (with a lot of long days in between). That project switched hands from the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority to the federal government for “clean up,” and back again to the Saskatchewan government via the new Water Security Agency (WSA). The WSA currently has full control of water allocation in all of Saskatchewan. The WSA also boasts having the ownership and operation rights to 72 dams across the province, making them a strong opponent to any independent opposition like Doug Wilson.
In the early 90s Doug began to notice a significant drop in the amount of water flowing to his ranch. Consequently, studies would later show that this significant drop amounted to a whopping 76 per cent decrease. Added to that is the fact that Doug’s ranch sits on a natural floodplain, which would replenish the stored groundwater level each year; in essence the land irrigated itself. But without the flooding, the water table hasn’t just dropped, it has fallen off a cliff. Doug proceeded to contact the WSA to appeal his case since his cattle depend on that water for drinking and feed. The WSA not only declined to return his flow rates back to normal levels, but they also pulled his original 1911 permit (permit number 14 that authorized water access for the ranch). Officials from the WSA cited that at the time of issue, a signature was missing making the century-old document invalid. After cancelling the permit, the WSA has denied Doug’s applications ever since.
“Over the last 20 years I have spent about $250,000 trying to fight this while at the same time losing about $500,000 per year in revenue, but the Saskatchewan government has not budged. Still, I am not going to give up. The survival of my farm and the land around it depends on it.”
Doug has significant concerns about the effect that these many years of limited water in the area have had on the plants and animals that depend on that waterflow. Trees and feed-grass have been replaced by Fox Tail grass, whose spikes get stuck in cows throats and can result in them having to be put down. Dust has begun to kick up and settle on a whim, coating everything in the area. In addition, Doug has noticed that sensitive and endangered species of animals that used to thrive in the surrounding wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. Not only is Doug’s ranch and livelihood at risk from this government-caused water shortage, but so is the natural ecosystem of the area.
“What people don’t realize is that this is all public land, and it’s being destroyed, at the cost of the plants and animals around it. For example, it is right in the middle of the North American Fly-Way, and offered a critical resting and refueling spot for migratory birds. This is bigger than me and my ranch. Farmers need to work WITH the land, if we don’t, our livelihood dies with it.”
Potable water shortage for its many heads of cattle is not the only challenge the Wilson ranch is facing. The skyrocketing prices of livestock feed is costing Doug half a million dollars just to feed the cattle he has left and make sure they make it through the winter.
Things may look bleak, but Doug’s farming roots and love of the land run deep. He is not afraid of hard work and certainly not afraid to fight for his livelihood and on behalf of the land around him. Doug has spent the last few years trying to work with the WSA, appealing to reason and hiring scientists to study the watershed. Our humble rancher has also been contacting other agencies who might be able to help, such as his local MLA and the federal government, whose mandate it is to protect endangered species and sensitive plant life. Although putting in the effort to get the help and solutions he needs, Doug has been forced to take his plight to the provincial court.
“It really seems like everyone is afraid of the WSA. I have appealed to the federal government, my provincial government representatives, and even other environmental interest groups. They either refuse to come look at the damage with their own eyes (because then they will have to take action), or they commiserate but state they need to ‘pick their battles.’ What the WSA is doing here is illegal. But there is zero oversight and enforcement. They are damaging the environment and playing God with the natural waterways. Everyone knows it but they are choosing to look the other way.”
Doug contacted the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) for help, and while the Government of Saskatchewan would not engage on the topic while it is in litigation, CFIB is working hard to find other ways to support Doug and other farmers effected in his area. “Doug’s situation is both fascinating and devastating”, Brendan Rolfe, CFIB’s Senior Manager of Business Resources in Western Canada states, “it is Erin Brokovich-esque in its impact and intrigue.”
Doug is not opposed to government initiatives that would protect the watershed and believes in the need for proper water stewardship in agriculture. This is very important especially in areas like the Great Sand Hills, where the encroaching sand threatens to swallow up fertile earth. “The problem is that in an effort to preserve water, they are damaging the ecosystem. The irony of it all is that they are actually losing more water by storing it in a shallow dam (due to high evaporation rates) than by allowing it to be stored underground, as it has here since the beginning of time. Water security should not come at the expense of 400 head of cattle- 200 hundred of which have already paid for this mistake in resource management with their lives.
The Wilson family ranch has survived countless droughts, floods, and storms, but the WSA may be its biggest environmental disaster to date.
The WSA is a strong department that appears to operate independently of any checks and balances. It would argue that Doug wants to take water out of the system, when in fact, he is fighting for water to be returned to it. In terms of water management in Saskatchewan, the Water Security Agency is the judge, the jury, and, in Doug’s case, his potential executioner.
Are you passionate about natural water and green space conservation or wish to support the farmers that have fed our country since its infancy? Doug estimates that this affects an area of around 130 square kilometres, and he, the farms around him, and the environment need your help. Please contact us and/or write your MLA and MP about this issue if you can spare the time and consideration.
