Peter Butala, a rancher in southwest Saskatchewan and husband of noted novelist Sharon Butala, died recently. Here's what caught my eye in the Globe and Mail obit:

For his part, Mr. Butala never read his wife's books. However, he did read magazines and newspapers, which is how he became aware of the environmental problems he found on his land. Over the years, he found the ecology of the grasslands to be fascinating and was saddened that, throughout his lifetime, he had watched most of it disappear to agriculture.

He decided to do something about it and went to great lengths to protect the native grasslands on his own land. To prevent it being overgrazed, he kept his land under-stocked with cattle; while other ranchers used vehicles to herd cattle, he preferred cowboys on horseback because they were less damaging to the land.

While having fewer cattle meant he did not make as much money as his neighbours, it did not matter to him. The land was safe and that was the most important thing.

He donated land to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. That land formed the basis of what is now known as The Old Man On His Back Nature and Conservancy Area. Here is what some of his neighbours thought about that:

While the grasslands were preserved, not everyone was happy. Farmers and ranchers in the area had been waiting for Mr. Butala to retire so that they could buy the land and put it to what they considered better use. Many of them feared such environmentalism would hurt the agricultural business and the Butalas found themselves snubbed in the street.

Undaunted, Mr. Butala became involved with the NCC, giving presentations about the grasslands and helping with fundraisers.

In 2003, the NCC reintroduced the Plains Bison to the grassland. "Peter was elated," said Bob Santo of the NCC. "It was one of his dreams he never thought would come true." ...

A few days before he died, Mr. Butala asked Lorne Scott of the NCC if he thought the ranch would always be preserved.

"Yes," replied Mr. Scott.

I dare say that Mr. Butala was a richer man than many of his more greedy contemporaries. The land he owned is certainly richer for his stewardship.