Quill Lakes

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title: "Quill Lakes" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lakeview-no.-337,-saskatchewan", "ramsar-sites-in-canada", "lakes-of-saskatchewan", "important-bird-areas-of-saskatchewan", "endorheic-lakes-of-canada", "saline-lakes-of-canada"] description: "Protected lakes in Saskatchewan, Canada" topic_path: "geography/canada" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quill_Lakes" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Protected lakes in Saskatchewan, Canada ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox protected area"]

Field	Value
name	Quill Lakes
photo	Piping plover2.jpg
photo_caption	A piping plover running on a beach
coords
area	635 km2
embedded	{{Designation list
embed	yes
designation1	Ramsar
designation1_date	27 May 1987
designation1_number	365}}
::

| name = Quill Lakes | alt_name = | iucn_category = | photo = Piping plover2.jpg | photo_alt = | photo_caption = A piping plover running on a beach | photo_width = | map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | map_width = | location = | nearest_city = | coords = | coords_ref = | area = 635 km2 | established = | visitation_num = | visitation_year= | governing_body = | world_heritage_site = | url = | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_date = 27 May 1987 | designation1_number = 365}} |Canada Saskatchewan|relief=yes | width = 290 | float = right | caption = Location of Quill Lakes (Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake and Little Quill Lake) in Saskatchewan | places =

The Quill Lakes are a wetland complex in Saskatchewan, Canada that encompasses the endorheic basin of three distinct lake wetlands: Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake, and Little Quill Lake. On May 27, 1987, it was designated a wetland of international importance via the Ramsar Convention.{{cite web |url = http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/ramsar/df02s11.en.html |title = Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan - Ramsar Site |publisher = Environment Canada |access-date = 2008-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070503110339/http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/ramsar/df02s11.en.html |archive-date = 2007-05-03}} It was the first Canadian site in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, is a site in the International Biological Programme and Saskatchewan Heritage Marsh Program, and was designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site of International significance in May, 1994.{{cite web |url = http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/whsrn/index.en.html |title = Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) |publisher = Environment Canada |access-date = 2008-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208235144/http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/whsrn/index.en.html |archive-date = 2008-12-08}}{{cite web |url = http://www.whsrn.org/site-profile/quill-lakes |title = Quill Lakes: Site Description |work = Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network |publisher = Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences |access-date = 2011-04-28}} The site is an important staging and breeding area for spring and fall migration of shorebirds. The site qualifies as an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada for its globally and nationally significant migratory and breeding populations of more than a dozen species of birds. The IBA is designated as Quill Lakes (SK 002).

Description

The lakes were named for bird quills collected near shorelines and shipped to England for use as quill pens. The Quill Lakes are Canada's largest saline lake,{{cite web |url = http://www.ramsar.org/profile/profiles_canada.htm |title = The Annotated Ramsar List: Canada |work = The Annotated Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance |publisher = Ramsar Convention Bureau |date = 2000-01-10 |access-date = 2008-01-28 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071230051034/http://www.ramsar.org/profile/profiles_canada.htm |archive-date = 2007-12-30}} covering an area of about 635 km2. Salinity varies within the lakes and with their water levels, but effectively limits the floral diversity of the region. Located directly north of Regina and east of Saskatoon,{{cite web |url = http://www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/nwrc-cnrf/02CB949F-8306-463B-8741-932FA1DEEF6F/main.pdf |title = Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Survey Routes (Map) |publisher = Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada |date = 2005-11-01 |access-date = 2008-01-28

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Quill_Lakes_watershed.jpg" caption="Quill Lakes drainage basin ([https://mghydro.com/watersheds/shared/567512.html Interactive map])"] ::

The surrounding area, consisting of glacial moraines, is mostly used for agricultural purposes. Big Quill Lake is pear-shaped and approximately 27 km long, measuring 18 km at its widest point. Middle Quill Lake, also known as Mud Lake, is the smallest of the three, about 6 km long and 3 km wide. Little Quill Lake is 24 km long and 11 km wide.{{cite web |url = http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/whsrn/df01s04.en.html |title = Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan (International) |work = Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network |publisher = Environment Canada |access-date = 2008-01-28 |archive-date = 14 May 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070514221833/http://www.mb.ec.gc.ca/nature/whp/whsrn/df01s04.en.html |url-status = dead

Drought in the surrounding regions results in increased water draw from the lakes, reducing the water level and increasing its salinity. This reduces the breeding habitat for the piping plover. Since 2005, above average precipitation has resulted in widespread flooding and the lake rising 7 m and in danger of overflowing into the Last Mountain Lake watershed.

Studies and surveys

Various studies have surveyed bird populations at this site. The International Shorebird Survey in 1988 counted 155,000 shorebirds at Big Quill Lake. Surveys between 1989 and 1992 at Middle and Little Quill Lakes found one-day peaks of 101,900 birds. The most comprehensive study conducted, involving all three lakes, resulted in a count of 197,155 birds. The site is an important staging and breeding area for the endangered piping plover. Other species identified throughout the complex include "85,000 geese, 100,000 ducks, [and] 12,000 cranes", as well as black-bellied plover, sanderlings, Hudsonian godwits, red knots, stilt sandpipers, white-rumped sandpipers, semipalmated sandpipers, long-billed dowitchers, red-necked phalaropes, and lesser yellowlegs. Additionally, in the mid-1990s several whooping cranes were observed using the area for staging during fall migration.

Industry

Big Quill Resources (taken over by Sifto Canada in 2011) operates on the shore of Big Quill Lake extracts naturally occurring sulphate from the brine of the lake then combining it with potassium chloride to form sulphate of potash that is then sold as a fertilizer.{{cite web |url = http://www.enterprisesaskatchewan.ca/enr020411 |title = Saskatchewan Economic New Feb 4, 2011 - Wynyard Updated (Taken from The Humboldt Journal, January 26, 2011) |publisher = Enterprise Saskatchewan |access-date = 2011-02-08 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110225155643/http://www.enterprisesaskatchewan.ca/enr020411 |archive-date = February 25, 2011

References

References

1. "Quill Lakes".
2. "Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas".
3. "Quill Lakes". Birds Canada.
4. "Mud Lake Wildlife Refuge". Government of Canada.
5. (7 September 2017). "'There's nothing left': Sask. flooding forces family from farm that was home to 4 generations". [[CBC News]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::