It may seem ironic, but your firearms can help wildlife. With spring cleaning on many people’s minds, especially with the directive to stay home as we make our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation is reminding gun owners that if you have guns in good working condition you no longer use or need, you can donate them. In turn, the SWF sells the firearms and that money goes to buying land to be used as wildlife habitat.

Director of Habitat Lands, Darren Newberry, says since the Guns for Habitat program began in 1998, over $85,000 has been raised. The SWF looks for different types of land throughout the province. Newberry explains in the south, the land might be native prairie and further north, the Federation looks for bush. Some fields are seeded with alfalfa to feed the wildlife that comes through.

The SWF has been buying land since 1978, and now owns over 70,000 acres of land to give wildlife a home. The only change this year because of the pandemic is that when you call the SWF to let them know what you have to donate, because of physical distancing the pickup won’t happen until after that directive has been lifted.