Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area

The upland ecosites are mainly composed of loamy to sandy grasslands and make up about 67% of the protected area.[11] These areas have a variety of different grasses that can grow, including wheatgrass and western porcupine grass.[11] While these areas mainly have grasses and non-native weeds growing in the present day, they were used as agricultural land in the past because of the soil composition.[11] Several different trees and shrubs including trembling aspen, willow, and thorny buffaloberry also find the soil composition easy to grow in and have been able to thrive in these areas.

In the lowland ecosites, which make up 33% of the protected area, saline soils and clays can be found.[11] The composition of the soil is dependent on environmental factors such as wind, beaches, surrounding springs, and basins.[11] Lowland ecosites can have three different compositions, dry saline soils, saline wetlands, and freshwater wetlands. Each of these composition types will have different varieties of plants found within them.[11]

Aquatic habitats (approximately 4,300 hectares (11,000 acres)) include streams, dugouts, deep marshes, and artificial reservoirs.[11] Snow runoff and evaporation rates will affect the flow rates of these areas. Sufficient water flow and quality can provide spawning areas for fish in creeks and streams.[11]

This Wildlife Area is now being protected but it used to be dominated by cultivated ground for crop production.[11] Migratory birds and wildlife use the lake's shallow bays for migration routes, nesting, and roosting cover.[11] The Canadian management plan in place has allowed the use of prescribed fire and water management programs to be tested and is now being used to benefit the area. The boundaries of the national wildlife area were originally put in place to protect wild fowl breeding grounds.[11]

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area contains approximately 318 plant species in 58 families.[15] Seven of these plant species are identified as rare for the Saskatchewan area.[15] Aspen trees and willow trees are the only endemic trees in the area and are quite scarce.[15] Shrubs are present in sufficiently moist hollows within the area.[15]

One native grassland complex that encompasses about a tenth of the area is mainly composed of northern rough fescue and spear grass, with herbaceous species also present including holden bean, northern bedstraw, crocus Anemone, low goldenrod, yellow toadflax, and western snowberry.[15] Degrees of alkalinity and slope determine what dominant plants are present.[15]

Moisture-tolerant species encompass a lowland complex that covers just over 12% of the area.[15] Mid-slope sites are composed of smooth blue beardtongue, bastard toadflax, early blue violet, and northern bedstraw as dominants.[15] Mid-lower slopes contain northern rough fescue, Kentucky blue grass, and green needle grass as dominants.[15] Lower slopes see Kentucky blue grass, northern reed grass, graceful sedge, and northern wheatgrass as dominants.[15] Soil salinity is associated with the following dominant grasses: Salt grass, wild barley, and slender wheatgrass.[15] Salt grass and Nuttals' salt-meadow grass are best supported by highly saline areas.[15]

A third complex that covers 2% of the area and that is found in wet meadows is composed of wild barley, beaked sedge, awned sedge, and spangletop.[15]

Alkaline wetlands make up a fourth complex that covers approximately 1% of the area.[15] When these areas dry out, which occurs frequently, a white alkali flat ringed with red samphire, wild barley, Nuttals' salt-meadow grass, salt grass, and sea-milkwort is left behind.[15] Sedges and reed grass make up the wetland edge vegetation, with the principal emergents being bulrush and cattail.[15]

The springs in the northern portion of the area are surrounded by raised bogs that best support cattails, sedges, and northern grass of Parnassus.[15] The blue-green algae species Anabaena, Anacystis, and Aphanizomenon are crucial to the area.[15]

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area experiences a wealth of birdlife. The wide array of birdlife in the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area can be attributed to it being one of the most productive lakes in southern Saskatchewan and to it being located in the heart of the Central Flyway of North America.[10] Large populations of birds use the region’s habitats as they cross the Great Plains.[10] During migration, more than 300 bird species have been documented in the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area.[10] Throughout peak migration, up to 50,000 cranes, 450,000 geese, and several hundred thousand ducks can be visible.[10] It is a vital breeding ground for approximately 100 bird species that are unique to the prairie region, as well as a nesting ground for nine species of shorebirds, 43 species of songbirds, and 13 species of ducks.[10] Some of these include western grebe, American white pelican, American avocet, and Wilson's phalarope.[10]

At the north end of the lake, Ducks Unlimited Canada has constructed water control structures that provide supplementary marsh habitat for waterfowl and mud flats for shorebirds.[10]

When it comes to threatened, endangered, and vulnerable bird species, many of them rely on the National Wildlife Area’s legal protection.[10] These birds occupy several islands on the lake as well as floating platforms in the marsh.[10] Nine of Canada's 36 classified species by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) have satisfactory habitat within the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area.[10] These species include peregrine falcon, piping plover, whooping crane, Sprague’s pipit, ferruginous hawk, loggerhead shrike, Baird’s sparrow, Caspian tern, and Cooper’s hawk.[10]

In addition to migratory birds, the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area is also utilized by other wildlife including sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge, red fox, badgers, coyotes, white-tailed jackrabbits, and white-tailed deer.[10] Important fish spawning areas are found within the marshes, streams, and shallow waters of the lake.[10] These aquatic areas support approximately 18 fish species including bigmouth buffalo, which is considered a vulnerable species.[15] Plankton are crucial in the area’s aquatic food chain.[15]

There are numerous invasive species present, which are considered one of the main threats to the area.[15] These species include smooth brome grass, Kentucky blue grass, quack grass, toadflax, nodding thistle, and sweet clover.[15] Other main threats to the area include gravel extraction, habitat fragmentation, and other human influences.[10]