Wheatland residents receive awards
By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor
Photo Courtesy of
Wheatland County
Roy Clark, who farms in the southeast corner of the county, near Bassano, received the Community Stewardship Award.
“I guess it’s just been a lifetime of taking care of grassland and the Crowfoot Creek,” Clark said when asked what he thought he’d done that inspired others to nominate him for this award.
“I’ve done a lot of riparian area fencing … let different groups use the area for demonstration for riparian areas.”
“A lot of cross-fencing to keep the cattle away from the creek during critical times. Rotational grazing is one term that some people use. Trying to keep the livestock off the native grass by using tame grass pastures for early grazing.”
He explained there are benefits to allowing native grass to get established and well-rooted early in the season. “If you keep the livestock from grazing the riparian area, the land next to the creek, then you get a much better root system, with all the smaller brushes, and they protect the banks of the creek,” he said.
Clark has also partnered with organizations including Cows and Fish, Crowfoot Creek Watershed group, and Foothills Forage, and has taken numerous courses with Western Stock Growers Association.
After receiving the award, Clark said he’ll continue the work he’s always done to care for the environment.
If he had one wish, he said, “A wish list would be that more people would be more conscious of waterways and where the trash goes.”
“Different people manage different ways,” Clark said. “But you can still do your part, or whatever you think is right.”
Rick Skibsted, a retired Rosebud-area farmer, received the Jim Laslo Legacy Award, for showing dedication to reducing environmental impact, and sharing those lessons with others.
“I’ve always felt we needed to protect this part of the valley because of the raptors in it.” Skibsted said. On his land years ago, Skibsted found the first pair of nesting peregrine falcons that had nested in southern Alberta in decades.
The nominating letters refer to talks he’s given at schools, museums, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and various other groups, about birds and the environment.
“I try to educate the young people that wildlife is precious. It’s worth saving,” he said. “Giving talks to kids … and showing them the majesty of the birds, maybe that will stop them from shooting randomly.”
The letters refer to Skibsted’s work with the Rosebud River Watershed Partners, and with Fish and Wildlife. They describe his encouragement to other farmers to use fewer chemicals, and his openness to try new seeding and soil conservation methods. They mention that he placed his own land in a land trust, and his dedication to stop Badlands Motorsports Corporation from building a motorsports complex in the Rosebud River valley.
“Who in God’s green earth thinks … that the only place to build a racetrack is in the river valley?” he asks. “It’s not even an essential thing to be built, let alone on the river valley.”
After receiving the award, he said, he’ll continue doing what he’s always done.
“Advocating that grasslands shouldn’t be broken up. Advocating that we need to protect the valley. Advocating to these guys that they shouldn’t be draining their sloughs all the time. Try and put some sloughs back that should never have been broken.”
The Jim Laslo Legacy Award and Community Stewardship Award were presented to Roy Clark and Rick Skibsted in a ceremony at the Wheatland County Annual General Meeting, in March. Each recipient received a take-home plaque, and a $250 award donated by the UFA. Their names are also featured on a plaque in the Wheatland County Office.