Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area[1] is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.[2] The protected area is in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, which extends throughout three Canadian provinces and five U.S. states. It is also within Palliser's Triangle and the Great Plains ecoregion.[3]

Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area is located at the north end of Last Mountain Lake,[4] 15 kilometres west of Govan. The majority of the park is in the RM of Wreford.

The area was first protected in 1887 as North America's first migratory bird sanctuary, called Last Mountain Lake Bird Sanctuary, when 1025 hectares were set aside for migratory birds. On 24 May 1982, the area was designated Ramsar site No. 239.[5] In 1987, 100 years after first being protected as a bird sanctuary, the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area was established encompassing 15,602 hectares of marsh, grasslands, and uplands.

The protected area includes several small islands, including Bird, Royal, and Coney. The northern most inlet for Last Mountain Lake, Lanigan Creek and its tributary Saline Creek, runs through the heart of the park. Several dykes were built to help control water flow and levels. Natural grasslands make up about 54% of the total protected area. The marshes and grasslands provide habitat and breeding grounds for about 280 species of migratory birds. Within the park, there are trails, a picnic area, a Nature Centre, and Last Mountain Bird Observatory, Saskatchewan's only bird monitoring station.[6][7]