Sullivan Lake is a large alkaline lake covering 220 square miles in East Central Alberta. It’s named after John Sullivan, the Irish-Canadian astronomer and mathematician who accompanied John Palliser on his renowned, three-year expedition across western Canada (1857-1860).
In recognition of its important biodiversity the lake and surrounding prairie were certified as an Ecological Gift by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Sullivan Lake is a U-shaped body of water, and the land lying between the two arms of the U is locally referred to as “the Horseshoe.”
The Horseshoe encompasses several farms and some cultivated cropland but large stretches of native mixed-grass prairie persist, particularly along the lakeshore where the land is too laced with gullies to make cultivation feasible. “Our family owned grazing land in the Horseshoe for many years,” says Bob, “and I acquired a 108-acre piece of this prairie-land over 20 years ago.”
Sullivan Lake is a noted resting site for waterfowl migrating south. Every autumn flocks of geese, swans and cranes numbering in the thousands land on the shores of this lake to rest and feed before continuing their journey.
In addition to waterfowl the land hosts a herd of pronghorn, whitetail deer, coyotes, the occasional badger and numerous species of grassland and shore birds.
In spring the prairie is usually purple with shooting stars. A small herd of cattle grazes the pasture each summer. Saskatoon bushes, buck brush and chokecherries bloom and fruit in the gullies.
Rock cairns suggest aboriginal hunters may have once stampeded bison into the lake and bison bones still surface in the spring along the muddy shoreline.
Our wish for this grassland is to maintain it as close as possible to its natural state and to protect the species that continue to thrive in this relatively pristine habitat.
Bob Griebel and Sandy Easterbook.
Sandy & Bob also placed a conservation easement on their home place Kettle Crossing Farm.
Lyle Eberle
Sandy EasterbookKettle Crossing Farm 2021