"Alvena Property" Description, Treaty Land Sharing Network

This web page was first mounted on July 29, 2023 by Sheila Schmutz. sheila.schmutz@usask.ca and last updated on August 27, 2023.

This 170 acre piece of land is located in Treaty 6 territory. Since 2001, this land has been owned and maintained by Joe and Sheila Schmutz. In the past, Xavier Letendre, dit Batoche ran cattle on this land. He was the Métis person who is said to have founded Batoche. It was enrolled in the Treaty Land Sharing Network in November 2021.

The quarter is along a "correction line", formed by the 3rd Meridian Road. Therefore it is not a typical 1/2 mile square but instead is 1 mile north to south and 1/4 mile east to west.

The entrance onto the land is at 52.543814° N -106.004843° W (GPS), about the middle of the property.

This land had a damn built by Ducks Unlimited on the northern half, about 1998. They also reseeded that area with a mix they called dense nesting cover. The vetch in this mix makes it difficult to walk through. Some coniferous trees were planted by the former landowner.

There was an extensive grass fire in May 2015. Some trees that died are still evident today, although the grass recovered. This photo is taken from the south pond which helped stop the progress of the fire from a ditch in the northern part of the land.

The land is now surrounded by a four-wire fence. Cattle are grazed here intensively from mid-September to about mid-October. There is cross-fencing that is only two wires in some areas. When the gates are shut, it is likely that cattle are inside and the fence is electrified.

The land has no dwelling on it but did in the past. There is a small storage shed.

With the help of friends from the Saskatoon Hunting Dog Club, we built a metal roofed shelter. There is a also a concrete firepit, and a 5 star outhouse.

Thanks to resident beavers. there are some ponds which still have good quality water. This is of great benefit to the cattle but also to nesting ducks, and other wildlife in the area.

Swans were plentiful on one of the ponds at the end of October 2021.

On and off, from about July 15 to September 15, there could be people training their versatile hunting dogs on the land in preparation for the test in early September. They are aware that the land is in the Treaty Land Sharing Network and will welcome your presence there with them. Shooting is rare and usually just into the air. They are asked to wear some orange clothing so you should see them from a distance.

The trails are not plowed in the winter. Access by snowhoe or cross country skis is recommended.

Plants, Shrubs, Trees and Rocks

Rocks are most easily found along the south fence about 200 m in from the roaad. The cropland to the south was cleared of rocks long ago and they were dumped along the creek bank there. The rocks are of various sizes.

This photo shows the crocuses blooming at the south end of the land at the end of April, 2023.

Pasture Sage, 21 Aug 2022. It was so dry in 2023 that the sage didn't grow nearly this much.

Sea buckthorn, orange berries on 21 Aug 2022. (not a native species)

Buffaloberry bush, red betties on 26 Aug 2023. Only female bushes have berries, I learned.

Red Osier Dogwood, white berries on 21 Aug 2022.

Snowberry. 26 Aug 2023. Apparently not considered edible but used for shampoo, medicinal purposes, etc. (https://nativeplantspnw.com/common-snowberry-symphoricarpos-albus/)

Wolf willow or silverberry. 26 Aug 2023.

Willow. 26 Aug 2023.

Dock 26 Aug 2023. There are apparently 11 species of dock (Rumex) in Saskatchewan, some wild, some native. I do not know which species this is.

Other plants present on the land include (but this list is far from complete):

  • carragana (not native)
  • cattails
  • horsetail
  • raspberry bushes, wild
  • sedges
  • trembling aspen
  • wild iris
  • wild licorice
  • wild mint

Thanks for your interest!