Needle and Thread Has Votes Sewn Up

(Western Producer article by Ed White, Saskatoon newsroom, July 1, 1999)
 
CYPRESS HILLS PROVINCIAL PARK, Sask -- Saskatchewan's wheat sheaf, prairie lily, white birch and sharp-tailed grouse might soon have to shuffle over a little.
 
Native prairie fans want the provincial government to proclaim needle and thread grass as Saskatchewan's official grass, another emblem for The Land Of Living Skies.
 
"It's a charismatic little grass, it's a romantic little grass," waxed Chris Nykoluk of the Prairie Conservation Action Plan when she announced that needle and thread had won a province-wide vote, defeating western porcupine grass and June grass.
 
"I think it's a wonderful grass to have as our provincial grass," Nykoluk told environmentalists, government officials and ranchers at the Romancing the Prairies conference.
 
Needle and thread is named for the appearance of its seed and awn. The long spiky seed sits at the end of a long, thin awn, which, when dried, turns curly. It looks like a needle and thread hanging in the air.
 
The seed, on its curly awn, can even plant itself in the ground. Dog owners complain that the seed sometimes plants itself into their pets.
 
Needle and thread's success comes at the end of an elaborate democratic process that saw more than a dozen nature organizations, producer groups and government departments canvass their members.
 
Nykoluk said needle and thread clearly won, even though some organizations backed other grasses more strongly. Saskatchewan's environment department supported June grass, which came in second overall. But Saskatchewan Agriculture and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association voted in favour of needle and thread, giving it the advantage.
 
The idea of campaigning for an official grass for Saskatchewan came from the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan. Its members wanted to highlight the value of native prairie species, and thought that enshrining a specific species would be a good way of drawing attention to the shortgrass prairie.
 
Originally, Native Plant Society members wanted to nominate rough fescue. It is a widespread native species that many already associate with Saskatchewan grasslands.
 
But many people also associate rough fescue with Alberta, where the species is more widespread. So, with politeness in mind, the Native Plant Society turned away from rough fescue, leaving it to the Albertans to enshrine, should they ever wish to immortalize the species.
 
Getting needle and thread approved is no rubber-stamp exercise. Nykoluk is working with Saskatchewan's protocol officer to ease the grass through the emblemization process.
 
To be made official, needle and thread will need the approval of Saskatchewan's provincial secretary Berny Wiens. Then the provincial cabinet will have to approve the selection.
 
But even that's not enough. The Provincial Emblems and Honors Act will have to be amended to include needle and thread. That means that the legislature must approve the selection. "It's a long process," said protocol officer Michael Jackson.
 
The last time the emblems act was amended was two years ago, when potash was made Saskatchewan's official mineral.
 
Nykoluk said she thinks ranchers and environmentalists will be proud to see a plant they admire being officially recognized.