Rural Municipality of Fertile Valley No. 285

Not to be confused with Rural Municipality of Fertile Belt No. 183 or Fertile Valley No. 429, Alberta.

The Rural Municipality of Fertile Valley No. 285 (2016 population: 539) is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 12 and SARM Division No. 5. It is located in the southwest portion of the province.

Fertile Valley No. 285
Rural municipality
Rural Municipality of Fertile Valley No. 285
Conquest Macrorie Betalock Ardath Bounty Denny Bratton Juniper Surbiton Anerley
Location of the RM of Fertile Valley No. 285 in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 51.401°N 107.080°W / 51.401; -107.080[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Census division	12
SARM division	5
Formed[2]	December 13, 1909
Government [3]
• Reeve	Barry Friesen
• Governing body	RM of Fertile Valley No. 285 Council
• Administrator	L Jean Jones
• Office location	Conquest
Area  (2016)[4]
• Land	1,016.37 km2 (392.42 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[4]
• Total	539
• Density	0.5/km2 (1/sq mi)
Time zone	CST
• Summer (DST)	CST
Postal code	S0L 0L0
Area code(s)	306 and 639
Highway(s)	Highway 15 Highway 44 Highway 45
Waterway(s)	Anerley Lakes Coteau Lake Macdonald Creek Milden Lake South Saskatchewan River Stockwell Lake

History

The RM of Fertile Valley No. 285 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 13, 1909.^[2]

Geography

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM.

Villages

• Conquest
• Macrorie

The following unincorporated communities are within the RM.

Localities

• Anerley
• Ardath (dissolved as a village December 31, 1972)
• Betalock
• Bounty (dissolved as a village November 25, 1997)
• Bratton
• Surbiton

Attractions

The eastern boundary of the RM runs along the South Saskatchewan River with the south-east corner at Gardiner Dam on Lake Diefenbaker. A portion of Danielson Provincial Park is within the RM near the dam.

On the RM's eastern boundary, and the western bank of the South Saskatchewan River, is Coldwell Park Recreation Site (51.3098°N 106.9353°W / 51.3098; -106.9353).^[5] It is a provincial recreation site that has a day-use area, access to the river, a picnic site, and 19 rustic campsites.^[6] Access is off Highway 44.^[7][8]

Demographics

Population history
(1981–2016)

Year	Pop.	±%
1981	834	—
1986	770	−7.7%
1991	657	−14.7%
1996	610	−7.2%
2001	602	−1.3%
2006	609	+1.2%
2011	511	−16.1%
2016	539	+5.5%
Source: Statistics Canada via Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics[9][10]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the RM of Fertile Valley No. 285 had a population of 604 living in 169 of its 181 total private dwellings, a change of 12.1% from its 2016 population of 539. With a land area of 1,010.19 km² (390.04 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.6/km² (1.5/sq mi) in 2021.^[11]

In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Fertile Valley No. 285 recorded a population of 539 living in 170 of its 182 total private dwellings, a 5.5% change from its 2011 population of 511. With a land area of 1,016.37 km² (392.42 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.5/km² (1.4/sq mi) in 2016.^[4]

Government

The RM of Fertile Valley No. 285 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 Barry Friesen while its administrator is L Jean Jones.^[3] The RM's office is located in Conquest.^[3]

Transportation

Highway	Starting point	Community	Ending point
Highway 15	Highway 4	None	Highway 20
Highway 44	Highway 9	Macrorie	Highway 11
Highway 45	Highway 7	Macrorie	Highway 42

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 Fertile Valley No. 285". 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. "Coldwell Park Recreation Site". Canadian Geographical Names Database. Government of Canada. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
6. "Coldwell Recreation Site". Tourism Saskatchewan. Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
7. "Coldwell Park Recreation Site". BRMB Maps. Mussio Ventures Ltd. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
8. "30 Free Places to Camp in Saskatchewan". Explore. Explore Magazine. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
9. "Saskatchewan Census Population" (PDF). Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
10. "Saskatchewan Census Population". Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
11. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.