Kazan Lake (11542)
Canada, North America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2008
National site name: Kazan Lake
Central coordinates: Latitude: 55.5710, Longitude: -108.3207
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 431 to 434
Area of KBA (km2): 249.17847
Protected area coverage (%): 0.01
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Kazan Lake is situated in west-central Saskatchewan, 30 km south of the town of Buffalo Narrows, and 100 km east of the Alberta border. The lake is 16 km long and 10 km wide. The Kazan River connects to Peter Pond Lake, which is a large body of water located about 15 km to the north. The shores of Kazan Lake are predominantly forested with some portions supporting emergent vegetation. Dominant trees are typical of the boreal forest region, with Black Spruce being abundant. A group of islands lie at the shallow northern end of the lake.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: Kazan Lake supports a large colony of American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants. Between 1976 and 1991 this colony supported an average of 1,048 American White Pelican nests, and 1,770 Double-crested Cormorant nests (a total of six surveys were completed during this period). This average number of nests represents about 2% of the Canadian population of American White Pelican, and just over 1% of the world's population. Other noteworthy species that breed on the Kazan Lake islands include Great Blue Heron and Osprey. An average of 53 heron nests were observed during two surveys in 1970 and 1976, while a pair of Ospreys has also been recorded at the site. A wide variety of boreal-forest birds also nest on the islands and in the surrounding area.
Habitats
Land use: hunting | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Other | 3 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 92 | |
| Forest | 5 |