Two Manitoba Conservation Trust grants are going to the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures.

$250,000 will be making its way to the Alonsa, Bield, Cote-San Clara, Ellice-Archie, Ethelbert, Langford, Spy Hill-Ellice, Wallace and Woodlands Community Pastures for improvements towards grazing and range management.

The nine community pastures combine for 189,500 acres, they also provide grazing services for 31,800 head of livestock and are important habitats for species at risk.

The community pastures are the home to federally and provincially-listed species at risk including the Northern Prairie Skink in Langford, and at-risk bird species including Bank Swallow in the Woodlands, Olive-sided Flycatcher in Bield, Whip-poor-will in Alonsa, and Sprague’s Pipit in Ellice-Archie, Spy Hill-Ellice, and Wallace.

The second grant of $25,000 will be given to the Bield and Wallace Community Pastures for completing range health assessments using made-in-Manitoba methodology and land management plans.

The Aspen Parkland Ecoregion will experience ecological monitoring, focusing on biodiversity and land management planning across 17,300 acres.