As a newcomer to Southern Saskatchewan, I’m constantly in awe of the majestic landscapes, the natural beauty and the amazing wildlife in the region. It is a grandeur made to be shown off, if not in a Hollywood movie, then at least in a Saskatchewan tourism booklet.
Sadly, many of these historical sites, ecological wonders, and geological phenomena remain one of the south country’s biggest secrets. Sadder still some of these marvels of nature and history are in danger of being lost.
Take the St Victor Petroglyphs for example. These rock carvings, precariously on a cliff’s edge near St. Victor, have national importance as a First Nations’ sacred site and as a historical cultural artifact. But viewing this archeological and cultural wonder is tricky. St. Victor is tucked away in the hills between two highways. If non-locals can manage to read the worn signage, they will turn-off onto roads to the St Victor Petroglyphs that are nothing short of horrible considering this is a thoroughfare to a major provincial historic site. One pothole stretches across the entire roadway. This is hardly a good first impression for visitors and tourists to the province. At the petroglyph site itself, visitors can enjoy the majesty of the landscape and view the glyphs, but without a guide or interpreter, they miss out on understanding their meaning. Also, forces of nature threaten the glyphs’ very existence. Some of the cliff face is about to crumble and lichen is overtaking some of the rock face. The site desperately requires preservation. Fixing the roads and the site are not a priority for the province, which takes the attitude that “nobody goes there”. It is left up to the Friends of the Petroglyphs, a local conservation group with limited funding, to do what they can.
Some gems of the south are in better condition. Hats off also to the many small museums in Assiniboia and surrounding communities with dedicated individuals and groups working to preserve their local history. Southern Saskatchewan is also home to disappearing natural phenomena like the grasslands and wetlands. The Grasslands National Park has made strides in preservation and developing public programming. Last week Mossbank took a step towards conservation and stewardship of its world class wetlands with the unveiling of its Mossbank School Centre of Excellence. Most locals and visitors probably don’t realize that Mossbank is the most important wetlands area for waterfowl in North America and deserves to be developed as such.
But all these efforts are piecemeal. It’s the province that needs to fix infrastructure to develop tourism in the deep south, starting with the roads please. Opening up tourism walks a fine line between development and preservation. The pristine landscape must be left pristine.
Saskatchewan might be at the forefront of global agriculture and industry, but they are somewhere at the back of the line in terms of capitalizing on tourism potential. When the premier was drawing up the spring budget, he missed the gold mine under the tourism stone. Many countries of the world with natural wonders or historic sites rely heavily on tourism that brings millions to the economy. Saskatchewan has unique ecosystems like our southern grasslands and wetlands that can prove an attraction in the rapidly growing ecotourism sector.
My question has always been why hasn’t the province done more to promote Saskatchewan outside its borders as a tourist destination? I’ve certainly heard how great it is in Alberta from all those “Travel Alberta” radio commercials. The issue is partly attitude. While other countries – and Alberta – view tourism as an aspect of the economy, Saskatchewan governments have always lumped it in with culture, sport and other such “hobbies”. It’s never been a priority and lack of a developed tourism infrastructure proves this mindset. Saskatchewan residents are ingrained to think that there’s nothing worth seeing here and real holidays can only be had outside the province. Locally, enthusiastic groups and municipalities and towns have done their best. It’s time for the provincial government to get serious about instilling pride in the province about our culture, history and natural environment – and not just in our Riders. Programs like Saskatchewanderer are good but they are not enough. It’s befuddling why decades of provincial governments have never marketed the province for its natural wonders and not just for economic exploitation. Conservation and not exploitation is the way of the future. Saskatchewan leaders would best get on the bandwagon now before there is nothing left to preserve.
