| Grasslands National Park | |
|---|---|
| Parc national des Prairies | |
 Bison grazing in Grasslands National Park | |
  Location in Saskatchewan  Location in Canada | |
| Location | RM of Val Marie No. 17, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Nearest city | Val Marie |
| Coordinates | 49°09′N 107°31′W / 49.15°N 107.51°W |
| Area | 907 km2 (350 sq mi) |
| Established | 1981 |
| Visitors | 19,656 (in 2022–23[1]) |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Grasslands National Park | |
 | |
Grasslands National Park is a Canadian national park located near the village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, and one of 44 national parks and park reserves in Canada's national park system (though one of only two in Saskatchewan itself). This national park is north of the U.S. state of Montana and lies adjacent to the international boundary. It consists of two separate parcels, the East Block and West Block.
The park was established in 1981. Prior to this the province's only national park was Prince Albert National Park. Grasslands annually receives about 12,000 visitors.
Grasslands National Park represents the Prairie Grasslands natural region, protecting one of the nation's few remaining areas of undisturbed dry mixed-grass/shortgrass prairie grassland.[2] The park is located in the World Wildlife Fund-defined Northern short grasslands ecoregion, which spans much of southern Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, and the northern Great Plains states in the US. The unique landscape and harsh, semi-arid climate provide niches for several adapted plants and animals. The park and surrounding area house the country's only black-tailed prairie dog colonies. Fauna found in the park include bison, pronghorns, greater sage-grouses, ring-necked pheasants, burrowing owls, coyotes, ferruginous hawks, swift foxes, prairie rattlesnakes, black-footed ferrets, eastern yellow-bellied racers, and greater short-horned lizards.[3][4] Flora includes blue grama grass, needlegrass, plains cottonwood and silver sagebrush.[5]
- ^ Canada, Parks. "Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Open Government Portal". open.canada.ca. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ Whelan, Piper (3 May 2021). "The struggle to restore native prairie". Canadian Cattlemen. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Ferrets, foxes and the fringed orchid: Species that suffer when grasslands are threatened". The Nature of Things: Science, Wildlife and Technology. CBC. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "Grasslands National Park: Wildlife". Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
- ^ Camping in Grasslands National Park, Parks Canada, 24 November 2021, archived from the original on 9 February 2013, retrieved 28 September 2012