VIDEO: New reserve at Lonetree Lake offers another summer destination for southeast

You can add Lonetree Lake nature reserve to your list of summer destinations in 2022.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada announced the new property on Thursday.

It's located roughly an hour and a half west of Estevan near the U.S. border.

"In this particular case this land was up for sale on the open market," said Jennifer McKillop, the Saskatchewan regional vice-present for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. "There's not a lot (of native grasslands) left in Saskatchewan, but this one was particularly well-cared for by the rancher that owned it, and a number of species at risk present, and just a beautiful place, so that's how we chose Lonetree Lake."

The project received both public and private funding, including from people who donated their SGI rebates.

McKillop said there won't be any restrictions for people who want to visit the space.

"The land is open to the public, foot access. If folks want to hunt there we just ask that they request permission," McKillop said, adding that there will be a contact phone number on signs that are going up in the area. "It's very nice that it's located contiguous to the Clear Lake Municipal Park, so if people are camping there they can go out and hike around and go to the other side of the lake."

She added that she hopes other nature reserves can be established in Saskatchewan in the future.

"If the opportunity is there and folks are interested, it's certainly something that we'll continue to do," McKillop said. "The province has goals in terms of conservation to protect 13 per cent of representative areas in the province by 2025, so what we do actually helps the provincial government meet some of their goals as well."

Video courtesy of Gabe Dipple.