Quill Lakes

Quill Lakes
A piping plover running on a beach

The Quill Lakes is a wetland complex in Saskatchewan, Canada that encompasses the endorheic basin of three distinct lake wetlands: Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake and Little Quill Lake. On May 27, 1987, it was designated a wetland of international importance via the Ramsar Convention.[1] It was the first Canadian site in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, is a site in the International Biological Programme and Saskatchewan Heritage Marsh Program, and was designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site of International significance in May, 1994.[2][3] The site is an important staging and breeding area for spring and fall migration of shorebirds. The site qualifies as an Important Bird Area for its globally and nationally significant migratory and breeding populations of more than a dozen species of birds.[4]

The lakes were named for bird quills collected near shorelines and shipped to England for use as quill pens. Quill Lakes is Canada's largest saline lake,[5] covering an area of about 635 square kilometres (245 sq mi). Salinity varies within the lakes and with their water levels,[6] but effectively limits the floral diversity of the region.[5] Located directly north of Regina and east of Saskatoon,[7] it is primarily provincial Crown land administered by the Fish and Wildlife Branch of Saskatchewan Environment.[1] The surrounding area, consisting of glacial moraines, is mostly used for agricultural purposes. Big Quill Lake is pear-shaped and approximately 27 km long, measuring 18 km at its widest point. Middle Quill Lake, also known as Mud Lake, is the smallest of the three, about 6 km long and 3 km wide. Little Quill Lake is 24 km long and 11 km wide.[6] Islands located on Middle Quill Lake have been designated provincial wildlife refuges to protect breeding colonies of American White Pelican and Double-crested Cormorant.[1]

Various studies have surveyed bird populations at this site. The International Shorebird Survey in 1988 counted 155,000 shorebirds at Big Quill Lake. Surveys between 1989 and 1992 at Middle and Little Quill Lakes found one-day peaks of 101,900 birds.[6] The most comprehensive study conducted, involving all three lakes, resulted in a count of 197,155 birds. The site is an important staging and breeding area for the endangered Piping plover. Other species identified throughout the complex include "85,000 geese, 100,000 ducks, [and] 12,000 cranes"[5], as well as the Black-bellied Plover, Sanderlings, Hudsonian Godwit, Red Knot, Stilt Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Red-necked Phalarope, [and] Lesser Yellowlegs".[6] Additionally, in the mid-1990s several Whooping Cranes were observed using the area for staging during fall migration.[4]

Drought in the surrounding regions results in increased water draw from the lakes, reducing the water level and increasing its salinity. This reduces the breeding habitat for the Piping plover.[1]

Big Quill Resources (taken over by Sifto Canada in 2011) operates on the shore of Big Quill Lake extracts naturally occurring sulphate from the brine of the lake then combining it with potassium chloride to form sulphate of potash that is the sold as a fertilizer. [8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan - Ramsar Site". Environment Canada. Archived from the original on 2007-05-03. http://replay.web.archive.org/20070503110339/http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/ramsar/df02s11.en.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
  2. ^ "Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN)". Environment Canada. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. http://replay.web.archive.org/20081208235144/http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/whsrn/index.en.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
  3. ^ "Quill Lakes: Site Description". Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. http://www.whsrn.org/site-profile/quill-lakes. Retrieved 2011-04-28. 
  4. ^ a b "Quill Lakes". IBA Canada. http://www.bsc-eoc.org/iba/site.jsp?siteID=SK002. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
  5. ^ a b c "The Annotated Ramsar List: Canada". The Annotated Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. Ramsar Convention Bureau. 2000-01-10. Archived from the original on 2007-12-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20071230051034/http://www.ramsar.org/profile/profiles_canada.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
  6. ^ a b c d "Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan (International)". Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Environment Canada. http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/whsrn/df01s04.en.html. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
  7. ^ "Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Survey Routes (Map)" (PDF). Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada. 2005-11-01. http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/nwrc-cnrf/02CB949F-8306-463B-8741-932FA1DEEF6F/main.pdf. Retrieved 2008-01-28. 
  8. ^ "Saskatchewan Economic New Feb 4, 2011 - Wynyard Updated (Taken from The Humboldt Journal, January 26, 2011)". Enterprise Saskatchewan. http://www.enterprisesaskatchewan.ca/enr020411. Retrieved 2011-02-08. 

External links

Coordinates: 51°55′N 104°20′W / 51.917°N 104.333°W / 51.917; -104.333


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Quill Lakes — Sp Plùnksnų ežera Ap Quill Lakes L Kanadoje (Saskačevano p ja) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • List of lakes in Canada — Canada has an extremely large number of lakes. The number of lakes larger than three square kilometres is estimated at close to 31,191 by the Atlas of Canada. There is no official estimate of the number of smaller lakes. This list is at best… …   Wikipedia

  • Mammoth Lakes, California — Town of Mammoth Lakes   Town   View of Mammoth Lakes and the resurgent dome from along road to the Lakes Basin …   Wikipedia

  • Palm Beach Lakes Community High School — Palm Beach Lakes Community High School, also known as Lakes or PBL, is a coeducational, Public High School located in the Palm Beach Lakes community of West Palm Beach, Florida. It is under the jurisdiction of the School District of Palm Beach… …   Wikipedia

  • Meadow Lakes, California — Coordinates: 37°04′49″N 119°25′50″W / 37.08028°N 119.43056°W / 37.08028; 119.43056 …   Wikipedia

  • Saskatchewan Highway 35 — Infobox road marker province=SK type=Hwy route=35 alternate name= length km=573.1 length round=1 length ref= established= maint=Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure Transport Canada direction a=South starting terminus= junction= direction… …   Wikipedia

  • Kandahar, Saskatchewan — Infobox Settlement official name =Kandahar other name =Candahar Post Office native name = nickname = settlement type = motto = imagesize = 250 image caption = The road into Kandahar in May 2003 flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield… …   Wikipedia

  • List of articles about Saskatchewan CCF/NDP members — This is a list of Wikipedia articles about members of the Saskatchewan, Canada, branch of the Co operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a social democratic political party, and its successor, the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP).1929… …   Wikipedia

  • List of endorheic basins — The following is a list of endorheic basins watersheds which do not drain to the sea.Africa* Chott Melrhir (Algeria) * Chott Ech Chergui (Algeria) * Chott el Hodna (Algeria) * Tidikelt Depression (Algeria) ** Sebkha Azzel Matti ** Sebhka… …   Wikipedia

  • Bankend, Saskatchewan — Infobox Settlement official name = Bankend, Saskatchewan other name = native name = nickname = settlement type = Village motto = imagesize = image caption = flag size = image seal size = image shield = shield size = city logo = citylogo size =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”