Rural Municipality of Blucher No. 343

The Rural Municipality of Blucher No. 343 (2016 population: 2,006) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 11 and SARM Division No. 5. It is located in the north-central portion of the province on the South Saskatchewan River.

Blucher No. 343
Rural municipality
Rural Municipality of Blucher No. 343
Location of the RM of Blucher No. 343 in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 52.012°N 106.168°W / 52.012; -106.168[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Census division	11
SARM division	5
Formed[2]	December 13, 1909
Government [3]
• Reeve	Blair Cummins
• Governing body	RM of Blucher No. 343 Council
• Administrator	R. Doran Scott
• Office location	Bradwell
Area  (2016)[4]
• Land	789.64 km2 (304.88 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[4]
• Total	2,006
• Density	2.5/km2 (6/sq mi)
Time zone	CST
• Summer (DST)	CST
Area code(s)	306 and 639

History

The RM of Blucher No. 343 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 13, 1909.^[2] In 1958, the Patience Lake Mine was the first potash mine built in Canada.^[5]

Geography

Numerous water bodies are located in the RM of Blucher No. 343. The larger lakes include Cheviot Lake, Bradwell Reservoir, Crawford Lake, Judith Lake, and Patience Lake.

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM.

Towns

• Allan

Villages

• Bradwell
• Clavet

The following unincorporated communities are located within the RM.

Special service areas

• Elstow (dissolved as a village, December 31, 2014)

Unincorporated hamlets

• Blucher
• Cheviot

Demographics

Population history
(1981–2016)

Year	Pop.	±%
1981	1,287	—
1986	1,383	+7.5%
1991	1,225	−11.4%
1996	1,155	−5.7%
2001	1,476	+27.8%
2006	1,593	+7.9%
2011	1,787	+12.2%
2016	2,006	+12.3%
Source: Statistics Canada via Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics[6][7]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the RM of Blucher No. 343 had a population of 1,984 living in 748 of its 795 total private dwellings, a change of -1.1% from its 2016 population of 2,006. With a land area of 789.4 km² (304.8 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.5/km² (6.5/sq mi) in 2021.^[8]

In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Blucher No. 343 recorded a population of 2,006 living in 766 of its 808 total private dwellings, a 6.9% change from its 2011 population of 1,876. With a land area of 789.64 km² (304.88 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.5/km² (6.6/sq mi) in 2016.^[4]

Government

The RM of Blucher No. 343 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the second Wednesday of every month.^[3] The reeve of the RM is Blair Cummins while its administrator is R. Doran Scott.^[3] The RM's office is located in Bradwell.^[3]

Attractions

• Christ Church — West Patience Lake (municipal heritage property)^[9]

Bradwell National Wildlife Area (NWA)

Bradwell National Wildlife Area (51.9084°N 106.2506°W / 51.9084; -106.2506) is a 123-hectare (300-acre) protected area^[10] established in 1968. It is in the RM of Blucher, about 48 kilometres (30 mi) south-east of Saskatoon. With the completion of the Gardiner Dam and Lake Diefenbaker in 1967, wetland habitat in the area was lost. Ducks Unlimited Canada was involved in a project with Canadian Wildlife Service to bring water to the marshes in the area to ensure stable water levels year-round. The water for Bradwell NWA comes via aqueduct from Lake Diefenbaker, which is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the south-west, and controlled by a series of dykes, ditches, and water control structures. Directly upstream in the aqueduct system is Blackstrap Lake and downstream is Bradwell Reservoir.^[11]

Bradwell NWA is in the Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregion. The landscape has groves of trembling aspen and idled hayfields. A total of five wetlands are protected within the NWA and birds found there include the bobolink, horned grebe, redhead, canvasback, northern pintail, ruddy duck, lesser snow goose, white-fronted goose, marbled godwit, and the Wilson's phalarope.^[12]

See also

• List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan

References

1. "Pre-packaged CSV files - CGN, Canada/Province/Territory (cgn_sk_csv_eng.zip)". Government of Canada. July 24, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
2. "Rural Municipality Incorporations (Alphabetical)". Saskatchewan Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
3. "Municipality Details: RM of Blucher No. 343". Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
4. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Saskatchewan)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
5. "RM of Blucher Official Community Plan" (PDF). Retrieved June 19, 2017.
6. "Saskatchewan Census Population" (PDF). Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
7. "Saskatchewan Census Population". Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
8. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
9. "Christ Church - West Patience Lake". Canada's Historic Places. Parks Canada. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
10. "Bradwell National Wildlife Area". Protected Planet. ProtectedPlanet. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
11. "Bradwell National Wildlife Area". Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Government of Canada. November 24, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
12. "Bradwell National Wildlife Area pamphlet". Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Government of Canada. February 20, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2023.