Doug Lapitsky of Mikado, a long-time member of the River Ridge Fish and Game League, has received the prestigious Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) Gordon Lund Memorial Award.
According to information provided by SWF, the award is presented annually to “the person who, by thought, effort, or deed, is considered to have contributed the most towards the conservation of Saskatchewan's renewable natural resources (i.e. someone who spends countless hours teaching our youth about wildlife and conservation, a certain person who has spearheaded an ongoing project and has stuck with it from beginning to end, etc.). This award is not limited to SWF members.”
Nominees for the award are judged on the following:
- The nominee’s activities have clearly contributed to the conservation of one or more of Saskatchewan's renewable resources.
- The nominee’s activities are expected to have lasting beneficial effects on Saskatchewan's renewable resources or on public awareness of same.
- The nominee’s activities are expected to have influence on future conservation activities with reference to our renewable resources.
- The nominee’s activities lead to benefits through improved use of our resources or heightened public interest in our renewable resources.
Lapitsky was nominated for the award by Kathy Thomas, River Ridge president.
“Doug Lapitsky has been a dedicated member of River Ridge Fish and Game for over 20 years and to say that he is a true advocate for conservation and responsible management of our natural wildlife and habitat resources would be an understatement,” said Thomas in the nomination letter.
“Everything Doug does always ends in a benefit to habitat in Saskatchewan. His proactive and collaborative approach, coupled with his passion for habitat health and protection have made him an instrumental set of boots on the ground. Whether he is checking out the suitability and potential of land to be purchased for Habitat Trust, signing up land owners for the Wildlife Tomorrow program or driving around the province changing out old signage on Wildlife Habitat lands, Doug can be found hard at work for our cause.
“Doug has been instrumental in organizing demonstrations and educational field days showcasing the positive impacts of using livestock grazing and forage seeding to rejuvenate habitat trust forage acres. He has spearheaded several projects collaborating with local farmers to rejuvenate these grasslands. The resulting bump in forage productivity has in turn provided grazing or hay sale revenue, helping to recover costs and pay land taxes on the land, all while accomplishing the end goal of healthy habitat for our wildlife.
“Doug is not afraid of a challenge,” continued the nomination letter. “In fact, he was one of the first to put up his hand to volunteer to support a tree planting challenge to break a world record. He coordinated the local logistics and on-the-ground support for the planting of white spruce trees in our area totaling 20,000 trees in 2019 and 35,000 trees in 2020.
“Doug always has his ear to the ground for opportunities to make a real difference for wildlife and habitat. Last year, he found out about an opportunity for our River Ridge Club to support the purchase of an elk decoy to be used by local conservation officers to catch illegal hunters and poachers. Because of him, we were able to help provide the officers with a valuable tool in their work to conserve our resources.
“A tireless volunteer in the River Ridge Club, Doug co-ordinated the construction and delivery of a memorial forest cairn, provides overnight security at our gun show every year and is a staple set of helping hands at our annual banquet and awards night, all of which results in dollars raised and donated to Habitat Trust every year.
“Whether it is world record sized projects or small scale volunteer activities, if Doug is involved, you can be sure that it will be to the benefit of wildlife and habitat conservation.”
