SLIPPERS OF THE SPIRIT The Genus Cypripedium in Manitoba ( Part 1 of 2 ) by Lorne Heshka he orchids of the genus Cypripedium, commonly known as Lady’s-slippers, are represented by some Tforty-five species in the north temperate regions of the world. Six of these occur in Manitoba. The name of our province is aboriginal in origin, borrowed Cypripedium from the Cree words Manitou (Great Spirit) and wapow acaule – Pink (narrows) or, in Ojibwe, Manitou-bau or baw. The narrows Lady’s-slipper, or referred to are the narrows of Lake Manitoba where strong Moccasin-flower, winds cause waves to crash onto the limestone shingles of in Nopiming Manitou Island. The First Nations people believed that this Provincial Park. sound was the voice or drumbeat of the Manitou. A look at the geological map of Manitoba reveals that the limestone bedrock exposures of Manitou Island have been laid down by ancient seas and underlies all of southwest Manitoba. As a result, the substrates throughout this region Lorne Heshka are primarily calcareous in nature. The Precambrian or Canadian Shield occupies the portion of Manitoba east of N HIS SSUE Lake Winnipeg and north of the two major lakes, to I T I ... Nunavut. Granitic or gneissic in nature, these ancient rocks create acidic substrates. In the north, the Canadian Shield Slippers of the Spirit .............................p. 1 & 10-11 adjacent to Hudson Bay forms a depression that is filled Loving Parks in Tough Economic Times ................p. 2 with dolomite and limestone strata of ancient marine Member Profile: June Thomson ..........................p. 3 origins. Encounters of the Natural Kind ..........................p. 4 With a geological map of Manitoba in hand, along with a New Replanters on the Block ..................... p. 5 & 23 plant hardiness map and an understanding of the ecologi- Nature in the News ............................................p. 6 cal preference of each of the Cypripedium species, one can establish a reasonable probability of the range for our six A.G.M. Agenda & Biographies .................p. 6 & 8-9 indigenous Lady’s-slippers. Outdoor Activities ....................................... p. 12-13 Bird News ................................................... p. 14-15 Cypripedium acaule, Christmas Bird Count ................................... p. 16-17 the Pink Lady’s-slipper Mantario Summer Program 2011 .....................p. 17 Demanding a low nutrient, acidic substrate, the Pink Notable Records from MB Bird Atlas ...p. 18-19 & 23 Lady’s-slipper prefers Jack Pine forests on a sandy or Nature Manitoba’s Workshop Series .......... p. 20-21 granite substrate. In mid-June, canoeists on rivers and Discovery Evenings ...........................................p. 22 lakes of the Canadian Shield east of Lake Winnipeg or (continued on page 10...) President’s Corner by Roger Turenne Loving Parks in Tough Canada Post Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0040069231. Economic Times n January I was invited to take part in a panel Issued 6 times a year as the official publication of Nature Manitoba. discussion on “Setting Park Management Priorities in Subscriptions are a benefit of membership. ITough Economic Times” at the Parks and Protected See backpage for membership details. Areas Forum of Manitoba. My first inclination was to Opinions are those of the writers and not turn down the invitation because it seemed like a real necessarily the organization as a whole. downer of a subject with a highly questionable premise. But then I thought it might be fun to go there and question the premise. Office and Library Even if we were in “tough economic times”, does it necessarily follow that parks and protected areas must suffer? I argued that, on the contrary, in times past parks have 401 - 63 Albert St. Winnipeg, R3B 1G4 thrived in economically difficult periods. During the Great Depression, national parks Phone/Fax: .......................(204) 943-9029 never had it so good. In the United States, new parks were created and there was major Email: [email protected] building of infrastructure in existing parks, as part of the job stimulus programs. The Website: ............www.naturemanitoba.ca same thing happened in Canada where, among other things, Riding Mountain National Park came into being. Office Administrator ............ Susan McLarty Hours: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Today, Nahanni National Park saw its area increase sixfold in the middle of the Monday to Friday recession. Closer to home, the province somehow found $10 million for the Foundation promoting the World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. Nature Manitoba News: I pointed to the effect that “tough economic times” had on park attendance in the two Newsletter Editor ................... Tommy Allen countries. National Park attendance in Canada went down. Park attendance in the United States broke all previous records on the upside. Why? Email: [email protected] Editorial Committee: Tommy Allen National Parks have a much higher profile in the cultural makeup of the United States Donna Danyluk than they do on this side of the border. They are, to use the subtitle of a recent PBS Roger Turenne documentary, “America’s best idea.” Americans consider the parks their birthright; visiting them Advertising Rates: Full page $200, half a ring on is a normal part of growing up. And doing so affordably. page $140. Contact the office for other One reason attendance rose during the recession is that a “B the love, sizes & rates. Rate reduced if ad appears vacation in a U.S. national park is seen as the best bang for I said, sounding 4 times. Classifieds are also available. the buck. This is not the case in Canada, where the fees are perhaps a bit higher and the services are simply not comparable. True, Submission deadline is the first day of the with a smaller population and smaller budgets, we can’t do too... American.” month prior to the newsletter publication. as much. But there is more to it than that. Deadline for the May/June 2011 issue is April 1st, 2010. I have been fortunate to have traveled extensively in U.S. national parks, most recently last September when a group of us visited Yellowstone, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and This newsletter is printed on Enviro 100 Sequoia. Those are among the most visited parks in the country, parks that were, and 20lb paper which is 100% Post Consumer may still be, in danger of being loved to death. We experienced first hand what 40,000 Recycled and FSC certified. visitors a day crowded into 7 square miles of Yosemite Valley looked like. And yet it all worked out. Somehow the National Park Service managed to keep order, 2010/2011 Executive direct traffic, efficiently handle tens of thousands of visitors daily, run an exemplary interpretation program, all with an apparently well run staff of over 1100 personnel for President ............................ Roger Turenne that park alone. “Tough economic times” do not appear to have been used as an excuse Past President ......................... Les McCann to cut back on those necessary services. Exec. Vice-President ....... Donald Himbeault Vice-President .................. James Whitelaw I have gathered enough anecdotal evidence over the years to convince me that a Treasurer ............................. Sean Worden greater proportion of Americans love their parks than Canadians, and the “park Secretary ................................Helen Leeds culture” this engenders goes a long way towards protecting parks from being starved of funds. Nature Manitoba members do love their parks of course, but there just 2010/2011 Board Members aren’t enough of us. Christian Artuso, Lewis Cocks, What I found problematic with the theme of the workshop was the implied defeatism, Donna Danyluk, Marilyn Hearn, with the old shibboleths of privatization and tinkering with fees being trotted out. I Carol Hitchon, Michele Kading, argued instead for more interpretation services and outreach to build up the constitu- Alain Louer, Michael Sykes ency for parks, to foster a greater “park culture”. Bring on the love, I said, sounding perhaps a bit too... American. Page 2 Nature Manitoba News Vol. 3, Issue 2 - Mar. / Apr. 2011 by Tommy Allen Photo: Pat Westheuser Welcome New Members! January 15th - February 15th, 2011: Pass le io Valerie Adams p n Charlene & Horst Erb o a Emily Franz-Lien e t Diane, Robert & Stephanie Gagnon e Jaime Governo P Patrick Graham Joan & Lorne Heshka Karlyn McFadyen Virginie Nayet David Newsom June Gerry Risser (Assiniboine Tipis) John Sas Grace Gillis & Greg Sliva Thomson Robert Vivian Elise Watchorn . Angela Wittmann & Family . A We apologize if you are a new member . and have not been listed; the process of b e generating this list has yet to be perfected. ou ur t Nat Nature Manitoba’s Email Our new official email address is eing close to nature wilderness adventure – [email protected], although the old isn’t new for June as she which she found rather address will still reach the same mailbox. Bgrew up on a challenging. farm in England, ’ve made many friends through June has now taken helping to raise the the Grey Hares – you become trips to all conti- animals including “I the inspiration for each other.” nents of the world, horses and ponies some with friends for riding. She went she has met through the MNS, her to boarding school on the coast, and came favorite being penguin watching in back to the farm in the summers, some- Antarctica. The photo above is of June times hearing stories about her dad and standing at the top of Mount Sinai in cousins working in Canada. After her Egypt watching the sunrise, an event that school years, she decided to train in you can only see if you start the trek at SPRING 2011 occupational therapy, an unconventional 1am. It sounds like she has had more than choice for a woman in those days. She a few unwelcome moments too, mostly also had the desire to come to Canada, during trips to Utah.