Appendix 2 Background Paper 2
AppendixBackgroundBackground 2 PaperPaper 2: Features Inventory2 Big Picture Feature Inventory: Big Picture Aspects
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with Application to Visitor Services in two or more sites in the David Thompson Corridor
District-wide aspects including geology, climate and climate change, watersheds, green infrastructure and cultural history.
Support Document for Visitor Services Development Plan for the David Thompson Corridor BP2.i EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Prepared by EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education Box D82, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0 email: [email protected] phone: (604) 947-0483 www.ecoleaders.ca Pages Sample
BP2.ii Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture Contents Introduction … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 1 Big Picture Aspects of Natural History The Lay of the Land Elevation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 5 Geology Composition … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6 The Rocky Mountains and Foothills Region … … … … … … … … … 6 The Main Ranges … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6 The Front Ranges … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6 The Foothills … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6 Focus on Major Rock Types in the David Thompson Corridor … … … … 7 Figure A1.3 Geological Time (Geochronology) … … … … … … … 7 Figure A1.4 How the Rocky Mountains and foothills in the David Thompson Corridor were formed … … … … … … 8 Rocky Mountains … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8 Interior Plains … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8 Main Ranges … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8 Front Ranges … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8 Foothills … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8 Formation of the Rocky Mountains and Foothills … … … … … … … … 9 Focus on Orogeny … … … … … … … … … … … 9 Focus On: Plate Tectonics … … … … … … … … … … 1… 0 Focus On: Putting Plate Tectonics to Work …Pages … … … … … … 1… 1 Focus on:Sample The Western Interior Seaway … … … … … … … 1… 2 Geology Watching Along the David Thompson Corridor … … … … … … … 1… 3 Foothills … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 1… 4 Front Ranges … … … … … … … … … … … … … 1… 5 Main Ranges … … … … … … … … … … … … … 1… 8 Past Glaciation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 1… 9 Focus On: The Wisconsin Glaciation … … … … … … … … … 1… 9 Focus On: David Thompson Corridor; Where Two Glaciers Met … … … … … 1… 9 Focus On: Glacial Lake Caroline … … … … … … … … … … 2… 0 Glacial Till … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 1 Glacial River Deposits … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 1 Glacial Features … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 1 Glacial Lake Deposits … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 2 Wind-Blown Deposits … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 2 Spillways … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 2 Erratics … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 3 The Foothills Erratic Train … … … … … … … … … … 2… 3 Climate Specific Climate Conditions … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 5 Drought Cycles in Alberta … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 5 The ENSO Cycle … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 5 Focus On: Chinooks … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 6
BP2.iii EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
What is Climate Change? … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 7 Climate Change is Happening … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 7 Rate of Climate Change … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 7 The Effects of Climate Change … … … … … … … … … … 2… 7 Effects of Climate Change in Canada … … … … … … … … 2… 7 What Does the Past Climate Tell Us? … … … … … … … … 2… 7 The Long Term Picture For Alberta is Uncertain … … … … … … 2… 8 There are Many Climate Models … … … … … … … … … … 2… 8 Greenhouse Gases … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2… 9 A Closer Look at Greenhouse Gases … … … … … … … … 2… 9 Focus On: Climate Change Predictions for Alberta … … … … … … 3… 0 What Factors Affect Canada’s and Alberta’s Levels Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions? … 3… 1 A Few Impacts of Climate Change … … … … … … … … … … 3… 1 Focus On: Droughts in Earlier Centuries … … … … … … … 3… 2 The Impacts of Climate Change on Water in Alberta … … … … … … … 3… 2 The Importance of Parks Division Properties … … … … … … … … 3… 3 Strategies to Reduce the Impacts of Climate Change … … … … … … … 3… 5 Aspect and Microclimate … … … … … … … … … … … … 3… 6 Peak Oil … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 3… 8 Watersheds A Simple Watershed Model … … … … … … … … … … … … 39… The Watershed Concept … … … … … … … … … … … … 3… 9 Watershed Components … … … … … … … … … … … 3… 9 Human Uses … … … … … … …Pages … … … … … 4… 0 Water Inputs are Finite … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 1 Forests and Wetlands Maintain Watersheds … … … … … … … 4… 1 Water Flows DownhillSample … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 1 Effects Can be Cumulative … … … … … … … … … … 4… 1 Figure A1. ZZ The North Saskatchewan River Watershed within the Saskatchewan River Basin … … … … … … … 4… 2 The North Saskatchewan River Watershed … … … … … … … … … 4… 3 A General Overview of the Saskatchewan River Basin … … … … … … 4… 3 The North Saskatchewan River Basin In Alberta … … … … … … 4… 3 The North Saskatchewan River Watershed and the David Thompson Corridor … 4… 3 Figure A1. CC The North Saskatchewan River … … … … … … 43… Figure A1. DD The Subwatersheds of the Headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River. … … … … … … … … 44… Slope … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 5 Source of Water … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 5 Key Facts … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 5 Dam Influence … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 5 The Importance of the Upper North Saskatchewan River Watershed … … … … 4… 6 Annual Precipitation … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 6 Runoff … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 6 Glaciers … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 7 Research on the North Saskatchewan River … … … … … … … … 4… 8 River Reaches … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 8
BP2.iv Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Criteria Used to Identify Reaches of A River … … … … … … … 4… 8 Table A1.QQ … … … … … … … … … … … … 4… 9 Reaches in the North Saskatchewan River within the David Thompson Corridor …4 9 River Ecology … … … … … … … … … … … … … 5… 0 Food Webs: Who Eats What In a Stream? … … … … … … … … 5… 0 Sources of Organic Matter … … … … … … … … … … 5… 1 Types of Organic Matter by Size … … … … … … … … … 5… 1 Focus on: Stream Biofilms (Aufwuchs) … … … … … … … 5… 1 Advantages of the Biofilm Way of Life … … … … … … … … 5… 1 Feeding Modes … … … … … … … … … … … … 5… 2 Aquatic Invertebrate Populations … … … … … … … … … 5… 3 Benthic Invertebrates (Macroinvertebrates): … … … … … … … … … … … … …53 Focus on: Adaptations of Stream Dwelling Insects … … … … … … 5… 3 Advantages of Living in Running Water … … … … … … … … 5… 3 Challenges Faced by Stream Dwelling Insects and Their Adaptations … … … 5… 3 Stream Invertebrates that Indicate Clean Water … … … … … … 5… 4 Studies of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in The Upper reaches of the North Saskatchewan River … … … … … … … … 5… 4 Information About The Reaches of the North Saskatchewan River That Lie Within the David Thompson Corridor … … … … … 5… 5 Banff National Park to Bighorn Dam … … … … … … … … 5… 5 Table A1.RR Fish in the North Saskatchewan River: Banff National Park–Bighorn Dam … … … … … … 5… 5 The Ecological Effects of Reservoirs … … … … … … … … 5… 6 Bighorn Dam to Rocky Mountain House … Pages… … … … … … 5… 7 Table A1.SS Fish in the North Saskatchewan River: Sample Banff National Park–Bighorn Dam … … … … … … 5… 7 Bull Trout … … … … … … … … … … … … 5… 8 Alberta’s Habitat Classification System Habitat Classification … … … … … … … … … … … … … 5… 9 Focus On: Natural Regions and Subregions in Alberta … … … … … 6… 0 Rocky Mountain Natural Region … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 1 Introduction … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 1 Alpine Natural Subregion … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 1 General Description … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 1 Climate … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 1 Geology and Geomorphology … … … … … … … … … … 6… 2 Water and Wetlands … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Glaciers … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Wetlands … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Soils … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Vegetation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Vegetation Zones … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Lower Zone … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Middle Zone … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Upper Zone … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3 Effects of Snow Accumulation on Vegetation … … … … … … 6… 3 Land Uses … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 3
BP2.v EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Montane Natural Subregion … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 4 Key Features … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 4 General Description … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 4 Climate … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 5 Geology and Geomorphology … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 5 Wetlands … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 5 Vegetation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 5 Land Uses … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 5 Subalpine Natural Subregion … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 6 General Description … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 6 Climate … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 6 Geology and Geomorphology … … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 Water and Wetlands … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 Soils … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 Vegetation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 The Upper Subalpine Zone … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 Lower Subalpine Zone … … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 Land Uses … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 7 Foothills Natural Region … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 8 Introduction … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 8 Upper Foothills Natural Subregion … … … … … … … … … … 6… 9 General Description … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 9 Climate … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 9 Geology and Geomorphology … … Pages… … … … … … … … 6… 9 Water and Wetlands … … … … … … … … … … … … 6… 9 Vegetation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 0 SamplePlant Diversity … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 0 Wet Areas … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 0 Dry Areas … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 1 South of the North Saskatchewan River … … … … … … … 7… 1 North of the North Saskatchewan River … … … … … … … 7… 1 Land Uses … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 1 Lower Foothills Natural Subregion … … … … … … … … … … 7… 1 General Description … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 1 Climate … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 1 Geology and Geomorphology … … … … … … … … … … 7… 2 Water and Wetlands … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 2 Vegetation … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 3 Plant Diversity … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 3 Dry Areas … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 3 Medium Moisture Areas … … … … … … … … … … 7… 3 Nutrient-poor Medium Moisture to Very Moist Sites … … … … … 7… 3 Rich, Moist Sites … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 3 Wet, Poorly Drained Areas … … … … … … … … … 7… 3 Land Uses … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 3
BP2.vi Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Forest Succession … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 4 Introduction … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 4 A General Example … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 5 Succession in the Subalpine Subregion … … … … … … … 7… 5 Fire … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 6 Whirlpool Point Prescribed Burn … … … … … … … … … … 7… 6 The Effects of Fire on Ecosystems … … … … … … … … … … 7… 7 Mosaic Patterns … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 7 Soil Conditions … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 7 Plant Populations … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 7 Animal Populations … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 7 Aging Forests … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 7 Controlled or Prescribed Burning: Renewal by Fire … … … … … … … 7… 7 Forest Insects … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 8 Insects and Forest Ecology … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 8 The Mountain Pine Beetle … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 8 Description … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 8 Life Cycle … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 8 The Tree’s Response to Beetle Attack … … … … … … … … 7… 9 The Problem … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 9 Population Phases … … … … … … … … … … … … 7… 9 Example of an Insect Predator of Mountain Pine Beetles … … … … 8… 0 Natural Population Control of Mountain Pine Beetle … … … … … … 8… 0 Reasons for the Population Explosion in Alberta … … … … … … 8… 1 Mountain Pine Beetle in The David Thompson CorridorPages … … … … … 8… 1 Ecological Goods and Services … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 2 Table A1.ww:Sample Ecological Goods and Services … … … … … … 8… 2 What are Ecological Goods? … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 2 What are Ecological Services? … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 2 Examples of Ecological Services … … … … … … … … … 8… 2 The Connection Between Ecological Goods and Services … … … … … … 8… 3 Threats to Ecological Goods and Services … … … … … … … … … 8… 3 Key Concepts in Habitat Protection and Restoration … … … … … … … … 8… 4 Biodiversity … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 4 Community Biodiversity … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 4 Species Biodiversity … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 4 Genetic Biodiversity … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 4 Interior Forest and Habitat Fragmentation … … … … … … … … … 8… 5 Habitat Fragmentation … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 5 Island Effect … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 5 Ecological Corridors … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 6 Wildlife Corridors … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 7 Greater Park Ecosystem … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 7 Invasive Species … … … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 8 Focus On The Importance of Invasive Species … … … … … … 8… 8
BP2.vii EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
What are Invasive Species? … … … … … … … … … … … 8… 8 Why Invasive Species are a Problem … … … … … … … … … 8… 8 What Can be Done About Invasive Species? … … … … … … … … 8… 9 Focus On: Classification of Alberta‘s Invasive Plants … … … … … 9… 0 Ecological Footprint … … … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 1 What Ecological Footprint Is … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 1 How Ecological Footprint is Used … … … … … … … … … … 9… 1 Ecological Footprint Calculators … … … … … … … … … … 9… 2 Big Picture Aspects of Cultural History Alberta’s Prehistory … … … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 4 Deep History … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 94 How Did First Nations People Come to North America? … … … … … … 9… 4 Siberian Origin and An Ice-Free Corridor … … … … … … … … 9… 4 Multiple Origins Including Europe and Asia … … … … … … … 9… 5 What is Known … … … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 5 Early Period … … … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 5 Clovis Technology … … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 6 Folsom Technology … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 6 Periods of Occupation … … … … … … … … … … … … 9… 7 The Plano Period (10,000 - 8,000 Years Ago) … … … … … … … 9… 7 The Middle Prehistoric Period (8,000-2,000 Years Ago) … … … … … 9… 7 The Late Prehistoric Period (2,000 BP– 1,750 AD) … … … … … … 9… 9 First Nations At and After First Contact … … … … … … … … … 100 David Thompson … … … … …Pages … … … … … … … … 101 SampleHis Connection with the David Thompson Corridor … … … … … … 101
BP2.viii Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
This Background Paper along with the Sitespecific Introduction Features Inventories (Appendices 3-7) were developed as This background paper is a support document for the a one-stop resources that can be used as a starting point Features Analysis Chapters for the Parks and protected for VS staff researching topics for incorporation into VS areas featured in this plan and for the David Thompson services within the David Thompson Corridor. Corridor in general. Here the ecological and cultural aspects that apply to more than one of David Thompson This Features Inventory is divided into two sections: Corridor’s parks and protected areas are reviewed. • Big-Picture Aspects of Natural History Included are concepts, processes, large scale features, • Big-Picture Aspects of Cultural History prehistory and current issues. These are the “big picture“ The information in this Background Paper is not aspects such as mountain building, glaciation, climate comprehensive. Readers should note that: change, watersheds, invasive species and more. They • new knowledge about the park’s features and include the forces and ideas that have shaped and history is being gained yearly continue to shape the landscape, natural and human • natural features of the park are changing over history of the individual properties within David time Thompson Corridor and their greater park ecosystems. • management and VS techniques and priorities adapt to meet these changes Note that this Background Paper only lists and describes natural and cultural features and concepts. Analysis and To keep current, park VS staff should review and update recommendations will be found in the Features Analysis the Feature Inventory and Feature Analysis regularly— chapters of the plan. approximately every five years.
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BP2.1 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Big Picture Aspects of Natural History
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BP2.3 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
The Lay of the Land These divisions are, however, also structurally and Elevation physiographically distinct. The David Thompson Corridor extends from the Front Range mountains in the west, through the upper foothills to the The boundaries between the Foothills, Front Ranges and Main lower foothills at the edge of the parkland to the east. Figure Ranges are gradational. 1 below shows the relative elevation of points along the David Thompson Corridor. The Rocky Mountains along the David Thompson Corridor on the basis of age of exposed strata into: • foothills 00 01 02 03 04 03 • front ranges Figure 1 03 • main ranges Elevation of major places along the David Thompson Corridor. 734
11 Crimson Nordegg Lake Provincial Park Fish Lake PRA North Saskatchewan RIver Crescent Falls Twin PRA Lakes PRA 02 734 Brazeau 02 11 Mountain Range Rocky Bighorn Mountain Dam Pages House
White Goat SampleAbraham Wilderness Lake
01 01
Kootenay Plains Ecological Thompson Creek PRA Reserve
Siffleur 93 Wilderness Area 00 01 02 03 04
Banff National Park Brazeau Range Crescent Falls PRA Cline Crimson Lake River Bighorn Valley Provincial Dam Park Main Ranges Front Ranges Foothills
BP2.5 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Geology Composition The Rocky Mountains and Foothills The Rockies and foothills are composed of the same sedimentary rocks as the plains; however, in the plains they lie flat. In the mountains and foothills, tremendous compression during mountain building has folded, faulted, and thrust the rocks eastwards forming a series of parallel, linear ridges. The Rockies in Alberta consist of three major belts. From west to east they are: • the Main Ranges • the Front Ranges • the Foothills Each has its own distinctive rock types and physical appearance. The David Thompson Corridor is located mostly in the Rocky Mountains and Foothills, but according to Mussieux and Nelson (The Traveller’s Guide to Geological Wonders in Alberta, Provincial Museum of Alberta, 1998) the section east of Windy Point lies in the Interior Plains region.
David Thompson The Main Ranges Corridor The sectionPages of the David Thompson Corridor between Saskatchewan Crossing and Whirlpool Point lies in the Main SampleRanges. • Alberta’s most westerly mountains • generally have the highest elevations • mainly quartzites, limestones, and dolostones • rock from the Hadrynian Era (1,000–540 Myr BP) and Cambrian (544 to 500 Myr BP) to Mississippian (360 to 325 Myr BP) strata • surface exposures are formed from the oldest rocks
The Front Ranges Figure 2 The Front Ranges expose a thicker and more complete The location of the David Thompson Corridor within the Geological regions of Alberta. succession sedimentary rocks from the Devonian to the Paleocene. • composed mainly of younger, more deformed limestones and dolostone • have lower elevations than main ranges
The Foothills The Foothills expose Devonian (408–360 Myr BP) to Paleocene (65–55 Myr BP) strata composed of limestone, shale, and sandstone.
BP2.6 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Focus on Major Rock Types in the David Thompson which were buried and fossilized in sedimentary source rocks. A few scientists maintain that some natural gas could have Corridor formed deep within the earth, where heat melting the rocks Sedimentary Rocks may have generated it inorganically. However, the weight of Sedimentary rocks form more than 90 per cent of Alberta’s evidence favors an organic origin, most petroleum. bedrock surface and cover about three-quarters of the earth’s surface. These rocks can be made up of rock fragments that Metamorphic Rocks have been eroded from one place and moved to another by Deep within the earth, intense pressures and temperatures water, ice, wind, or gravity. In time, the sediments are buried, alter the minerals in a rock usually without melting them. compacted and cemented together to form sedimentary rocks. Combinations of these new minerals form metamorphic, or “changed,” rocks. This type of rock can be formed: Rocks that are made up of sediments are called “clastic” sedimentary rocks, and include conglomerate, sandstone, • throughout large regions mudstone and shale. Other sedimentary rocks are of chemicalor - e.g., during mountain building organic origin. Chemical sedimentary rocks are formed by • within small areas the precipitation or evaporation of minerals from solution in - e.g., in rocks that surround a molten volcanic intrusion ancient seawater, and examples from Alberta include limestone, as magma from deep within the earth flows up faults and gypsum and halite (rock salt), and dolostone. Even though cracks dolostone can be formed by precipitation, it is usually formed Metamorphic rocks form a small percentage of rock in the when limestone is altered by the addition of a magnesium-rich David Thompson Corridor. Quartzite is one of the major rocks solution. in the Main Ranges of the Rocky Mountains. Coal is an organic sedimentary rock formed by the Metamorphic and igneous rocks were also strewn about the accumulation compacting of dead plants, which is then province by glaciers during the last Ice Age, and are also compacted together. commonly found in river gravel bars, and exposures along Most scientists agree that crude oil and natural gas are of rivers and roads. organic origin, coming from plants and perhaps also animals,
Figure 3 Geological Time (Geochronology) This Background Paper uses many terms relatedPages to geological time. This diagram show the major time periods, their duration and their relationships to each other. SampleKey Units of Geochronology Name Duration Eon • half a billion years or more • the earth’s life is divided into 4 eons Era • several hundred million years • there are 12 era Period • 28 to 80 million years Epoch • tens of millions of years Age • one to ten million years
BP2.7 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Figure 4 How the Rocky Mountains and foothills in the David Thompson Corridor were formed.
✑✒✓❑◗❄❆❇ ✑✒✓❑◗❄❆❇ Pages Mount SampleWilson Whirlpool Point Rocky Windy Point Mountain Nordegg House
Rocky Mountains Interior Plains Main Ranges Front Ranges Foothills Maximum Elevation Mt. Wilson 3,3192 m Mt. Michener: 2.462 m Mt. Coliseum: 2,014 m 975 m Shape of Mountains flat layer cake mountains with glacial steeply dipping layers, many with narrow parallel ridges, Brazeau Range is N/A sculpting complex folding a limestone anticline Age of Rocks mostly Precambrian and Cambrian middle Cambrian through Cretaceous Creaceaus and Paleozoic Tertiary Common Rock Types limestone, dolostone and quarttzite limestone and sandstone sandstone, shale, coal, limestone sandstone Angle of Beds flat to gently sloping often steeply dipping beds flat to steeply dipping beds nearly flat Rock Structure broad folds, few faults tight anticlines and synclines, many faults many anticlines and synclines no folds , few faults
BP2.8 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Focus On: Plate Tectonics sets up convection currents in the mantle. These currents An understanding of plate tectonics is key to move the plates in slow motion, several centimetres per understanding the formation of the Rocky Mountains. year. Geologists have found the earth is composed of a thin In some places the convection currents pull plates apart. hard crust that overlies a semi-fluid mantle of molten Magma from the mantle surges out of these cracks rock that itself overlays a core of very hot molten producing mid-ocean ridges that run along the edges of materials. The crust is not a single solid unit like an egg some plates. shell, instead it is made up of several plates which float In other areas of the globe, the convection currents upon the mantle like sheets of ice on a lake near break- drive plates together. One plate is driven under the other up time in the spring. Each plate can move relative to the in a subduction zone. This grinding of plates together others. In the early 1960s geologists began to uncover involves unimaginable forces of friction that in some irrefutable evidence that these plates have moved places melt the bedrock and result in volcanic eruptions throughout geological history and are still in motion. and in most cases buckle and fold and shatter the leading The engine for the movement of plates is a phenomenon faces of the plates to form mountains and foothills like called a mantle convection cell. Because the earth’s core those seen in western Alberta. is very hot molten rock and the crust and upper mantle is much cooler, there is a temperature differential that
PagesDavid Thompson Corridor Sample
BP2.10 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Geology Watching Along the David Thompson Corridor Mussieux and Nelson (The Traveller’s Guide to Geological The David Thompson Highway follows the North Wonders in Alberta, Provincial Museum of Alberta, 1998) Saskatchewan River valley which cuts the mountain ridges claim that the David Thompson Highway is one of the ten almost at 90º angles. Visitor can view many mountain most beautiful drives in North America. In the Corridor, ranges end-on and side-view. They can also view spectacular the David Thompson Highway passes from the plains geological features such as faults, anticlines, and synclines. through the three major zones of the Rockies (foothills, front Mussieux and Nelson‘s guidebook includes seven highway ranges, and main ranges). Each of these regions has its own stops between Rocky Mountain House and Saskatchewan characteristic geological properties, such as rock types, age of Crossing that provide excellent viewing opportunities rocks, attitude of rock beds (horizontal, vertical, or dipping) of characteristic geological features of the foothills and and type and degree of deformation (folding, faulting). mountains.
Interior Plains million years ago • relatively flat region that covers the central part of - was quarried in Calgary and Cochrane and North America used to build many government buildings, schools, and churches across Alberta • make up between ¹/³ to ½ of the eastern section of the David Thompson Corridor • rock beds appear horizontal • the few viewable geological features are discussed - actually dipping very gently westward below Jackfish Creek Rocky Mountain House • lies near the Ancona Thrust Fault, the boundary • lies near the western edge of this region between the foothills and plains • erratics - here in some roadside outcrops, visitors can see - a 500-tonne glacial erratic (the Rocky Mountain the first signs of the folded and tilted rocks of House Erratic ) just east of junction of the foothills Highway 11 and Highway 22 Pages - others at nearby Crimson Lake Provincial Park - part of the Foothills Erratics Train (see Glacial Features in laterSample in this Background Paper) • the North Saskatchewan River has exposed cliffs of sandstones of the Paskapoo Formation - Paleocene age, deposited between 65–58
Jackfish Creek
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Crimson Lake
View of the Interior Plane (foreground shaded red) looking westward from Rocky Mountain House.
BP2.13 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Foothills The foothills extend from just east of the Brazeau Range to windy point on Lake Abraham. The foothills are characterized by a series of parallel low ridges running in a north-south direction. Key viewable features include: The Brazeau Range at Nordegg • the massive limestone Brazeau Range dominates the skyline as visitors approach Nordegg - extends 55 kilometres - rises to 2,174 metres - this is still a range in the foothills, the front ranges are still another 35 kilometres to the west - an oddity in the foothills - isolated older anticline of Paleozoic limestones and dolostones uplifted along the Brazeau Thrust Fault surrounded by the younger Differences in the Use of the Term “Foothills” - millions of years of erosion of the softer overlying Cretaceous sedimentary rocks have The Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre (ANHIC)’s habitat classification system differs significantly from the left the folded limestone ridge way geologists use the term (see Geology section of this • composed of the Palliser and Banff Formations and Background Paper). In particular, the Foothills Natural Region the Rundle Group which form many peaks in the extends much further east than what geologists consider to be front Ranges the foothills. Nordegg Townsite • Coliseum Mountain - a gentle arch, or anticline of limestones and dolostone forms the summit Pages• Nordegg Lime Limited quarries pure limestone for ornamental rock lime conditioner for acidic soil • surface exposures of rocks of the Luscar Group Sample are located on the west side of the Brazeau Range include sandstones, shales, and economic coal seams - Brazeau Collieries was established in 1911 by Martin Nordegg to mine this bituminous coal as fuel for steam locomotives - mine produced until 1955 when Canadian railways switched to diesel power
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Foothills north of Nordegg. Note the series of low regular north-south ridges.
BP2.14 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Front Ranges - an unnamed mountain that look very similar to Mt. Rundle in Banff The Front Ranges occupy about ¹/³ of the David Thompson Corridor from Windy Point to several kilometres west of - the McConnell Thrust Fault lies under the Whirlpool Point. Like the foothills these mountains are east side of this mountain characterized by a series of parallel ranges running in a north- - exposes rocks as old as Upper cretaceous south direction. The rock strata in the front range mountains near the base of the mountain are typically steeply tilted with their lower edges dipping to - the steep cliff and slopes above these rocks the west with many complex folds. Key viewable features are the Palliser and Banff Formations include: - the summit is Rundle Group rocks - Mt. Michener Mt. Michener Viewpoint - further to the west • 33.8 kilometres west of Nordegg overlooking - is the larger and more structurally complex Lake Abraham than the un-named mountain • provides a view of the McConnell Thrust Fault - north face is folded into a series of tight - the fault extends 400 kilometres along the anticlines and synclines composed mostly mountain front of the Palliser, Banff, and Rundle formation - here traces of the fault is hidden by rock debris rock and vegetation • near the boundary between the foothills (to the Windy Point east) and the front ranges (to the west) • another spectacular view of Mt. Michener • most distinctive feature of the front ranges is a - features veins of Upper Cambrian-age massive, grey wall of Paleozoic limestones and limestones and dolostones dolostones that tower over the younger and softer -the oldest rocks exposed along the Mesozoic sandstones and shales of the foothills McConnell Thrust Fault in this area • rocks exposed along the road cut north of the - form a low ridge that projects southward viewpoint are 144 million year-old Luscar Group into Lake Abraham sandstones, shales, and coal seams - tough rocks that have been smoothed and • the summit is formed of thick, erosion-resistant polished by an advancing glacier 510 million year-old Cambrian limestone Pages- rock fragments in the base of the glacier - stone beds tilt to the southwest at 30° to 40° have also scratched grooves (striations) - underlying weakSample sandstone and shales are - bedrock surface was eroded by the buckled into a complex drag fold —a series advancing Saskatchewan glacier between 22 of anticlines and synclines and some minor and 15 thousand years ago faulting that underlies a major fault • looking south from the viewpoint, across Lake Abraham are two distinctive mountains:
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Side view of Rocky Mountain Front Ranges. Abraham Lake in foreground. Note the steeply tilted
BP2.15 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Kootenay Plains (Two O’clock Creek) • here are views of front range mountains - featuring steeply dipping thrust sheets - often composed of rocks with widely differing resistance to erosion - resulting in more complex mountain structures and more variable mountain shapes than in the main ranges - a landscape dominated by narrow, steeply dipping mountain ridges and narrow valleys paralleling rock beds • Kootenay Plains - a broad valley is in the rain shadow of the high ranges to the west - is warmer and receives less rainfall than the surrounding areas • Mt. Ernest Ross - dominates west side of the North Saskatchewan Typical Front Range mountain with steeply dipping River valley stratigraphy. - Highway 11 closely follows the surface trace of the Sulphur Mountain Thrust Fault along the east side of this mountain - main mass of the peak is a molded into a syncline-anticline pair made up of Palliser, Banff, and Rundle rock - distinctive weathered red siltstones makes up part of the summit Pages- deposited on a shallow ocean shelf during the Triassic Period (between 240 and 210 million Sample years ago)
Mt. Ernest Ross
BP2.16 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Spillways Spillways are typically valleys that are much wider than Spillways are large, wide valleys that were etched into the needed by present day rivers. The North Saskatchewan landscape by huge volumes of meltwater as the glaciers River valley is an examples of a glacial spillway. decayed and retreated at the end of the Wisconsinan ice age. The meltwater rivers mostly followed the beds of pre-glacial rivers such as the ancestral North Saskatchewan River.
The North Saskatchewan River Valley seen here at the Kootenay Plains area is valley dug by the Cordilleran glaciation and a glacial spillway.
Erratics
Pages Sample An erratic is a rock that is out of place because it was transported by a glacier from its original location and deposited upon dissimilar bedrock. The foothills erratics are hard and resistant grey to pink pebbly quartzite. Their source is half a billion year old rocks in the main ranges Glacial Erratic of the Rocky Mountains. They commonly rest on less resistant sandstone or mudstone formations that underlie of the Canadian Shield hundreds of kilometres to the the foothills (the bedrock of the foothills is one-fifth the age northeast. Sixty years later, Dr. A. M. Stalker demonstrated of the quartzite erratics). a source for the erratics within the Rocky Mountains. The Foothills Erratic Train This Albertan erratics train is more than 580 km long The David Thompson Corridor lies in an important erratic and snakes along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountain zone known as the Foothills Erratic Train. Here similar Foothills from McLeod River in the north to the US border types of erratics are distributed in a linear or ribbon-like in the south. pattern. The train is composed of thousands of quartzite and The first geologist to write his observations on this feature pebbly quartzite blocks between 1–41 m long. Erratics was Dr. James Hector with the Palliser Expedition of near Okotoks, Airdrie, and Glenwoodville are the largest. 1857–1860. Hector saw the massive Okotoks erratic (and The train documents the last and apparently the only misidentified it as granite). The most thorough early study coalescence of glaciers originating in the Rocky Mountains of the erratics was by the renowned Geological Service with the southwestern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet. of Canada geologist Dr. George Dawson in the 1880s. He Stalker and others deduced from the location of the erratics suggested that their origin was along the western edge that there was an east flowing mountain glacier transporting
BP2.23 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Focus On: Chinooks Before the air reaches Alberta, this air encounters two more Chinook is an Indian word meaning snow-eater. This is a warm sets of mountains in B.C.’s interior. The process of rising, losing winter wind that blows down the slopes of the mountain ranges moisture and gaining heat is repeated twice more. When the air in western North America. In Canada, these winds descend the does finally pass over the last mountain ridge and falls into the Rocky Mountains in Alberta and also in the states of Montana, foothills and prairies, it is now drier and warmer than when it Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota and Utah. was over the Pacific Ocean. In Canada, the affects of a chinook can reach as far north as Chinook’s Effect on the Landscape Edmonton and as far east as Swift Current, Saskatchewan. General Effects The strongest effects, though, are felt in southern Alberta. The • rapid, large temperature changes David Thompson Corridor lies on the northern edge of the most • snow will melt or sublimate active chinook zone where there is an average of twenty to • significant drops in humidity thirty chinook days each year. • rivers and lakes may lose ice Chinook-like winds are not limited to North America. In the Alps of Europe, these warm winter winds are called Effects On Soil, Vegetation and Wildlife schneefresser. In the Andes Mountains of South America, they • high winds may dry and erode soil are called zonda. • loss of trees - many trees, e.g., white birch cannot survive the rapid What Types of Weather Chinooks Bring temperature fluctuations As chinook winds descend the mountain slopes in western • dehydration stress on trees Alberta, they get warmer and warmer with every metre they - evergreens may begin to photosynthesize, losing moisture fall. Past chinooks have sent temperatures soaring from -10º and dehydrating Celsius to nearly 20º Celsius in a couple of hours. - deciduous tree buds may sprout, only to be killed by the Chinooks also bring high winds. Gusts reaching speeds up to next frost causing large waves of red, dead trees known 80 kilometres per hour are common. Some gusts have been locally as ‘Red Belt’ recorded at speeds up to 160 kph and can cause minor damage • loss of snow cover to property similar to a category one hurricane. - snow offers insulation and protection for plants and animals Before a chinook begins to blow, its formation can be seen in • icing the air above the Rocky Mountains as a chinook arch of wispy, - if the temperature drops rapidly following a Chinook, a white clouds following the mountain peaks. Pages crust of ice may form on the snow which makes grazing difficult and may result in injuries to the legs of large How Chinooks Form Sample animals Chinooks start to form out over the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of British Columbia. While over the Pacific, Chinook Effects on People? westerly winds pick up moisture and carry it toward the Chinooks can have adverse effects on people’s health. The British Colombia coastline. As the moisture-laden air reaches sudden changes in temperature often cause headaches, anxiety the coastal mountains, it is forced to rise. As the air rises, and irritability. it expands and begins to cool. Some of the moisture then condenses to form rain or snow. As this precipitation falls, some of the heat stored by the moist air is released. The air, now drier and warmer, flows over the mountain tops.
precipitation
cool rises dry air and cools flows down-slope and warms Cool moist Pacific air David Thompson Corridor
BP2.26 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Climate Change What is Climate Change? Rate of Climate Change According to Environment Canada, climate change is the It is the rate of warming that has scientists particularly change in climate over a time period that ranges from concerned. In all cases, the average rate of warming is decades to centuries. The term refers to both natural and probably greater than any seen in the last 10,000 years. human-induced changes. This is different from climate However, the actual change per year or decade includes variability which is shorter term fluctuations in climate considerable natural variability. Because of the thermal that occur over years to decades—e.g., El Niño. inertia of the oceans (oceans absorb heat over long time scales), temperature will continue to increase beyond The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 2100, even if concentrations of greenhouse gases were Change defines climate change as: stabilized by that time. “… a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the Climate change is occurring at different rates in different composition of the global atmosphere and which is in geographical areas. Not all weather and climate elements addition to natural climate variability observed over have been detected to be changing, at the time of writing comparable time periods.” (Canadian Climate Impacts and Scenarios Primer - Full Presentation, www.cics.uvic.ca/scenarios/primerfull.cgi). Key contributors to conditions causing climate change are greenhouse gases. The Effects of Climate Change Effects of Climate Change in Canada Much of this research suggests that the most significant Climate Change is Happening challenges would result from increases in the frequency There is strong consensus in the international scientific and intensity of extreme climate events, such as floods, community that climate change is occurring and that the droughts and storms. Extreme events, as well as rapid impacts are already being felt in some regions. It is also climate change, can cause critical thresholds to be widely accepted that, even after introducing significant exceeded,Pages often with severe or catastrophic consequences. measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some In contrast, given appropriate adjustments, many systems additional degree of climateSample change is inevitable and should be able to cope with, and at times even benefit would have economic, social and environmental impacts from, gradual temperature warming of limited magnitude. on Canada and Canadian communities. Although impacts For example, in some regions, higher temperatures could would vary on a regional basis, all areas of the country enhance plant growth rates, decrease road maintenance and virtually every economic sector will be affected costs and reduce deaths from extreme cold. (Warren, Fiona J. 2004. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective. Natural Resources What Does the Past Climate Tell Us? Canada, Ottawa). There have been times during the Holocene Period, from 10,000 years ago until today, when the earth was warmer There is growing evidence that climate change is than it is today. The maximum was about 6,000 years ago. already occurring. At the global scale, average surface temperatures rose about 0.6°C over the 20th century. About 6,000 years ago, Lake Manitoba was dry.There were Warming of minimum and maximum temperatures has few, if any, wetlands in the southern prairies in the dry also been detected in Canada. Correspondingly, there mid-Holocene. have been decreases in sea-ice cover, shifts in species distributions and an increase in global average sea level. The IPCC has also concluded that there have very likely been increases in annual precipitation, heavy precipitation events, cloud cover and extreme high temperatures over at least the last 50 years (Warren 2004).
BP2.27 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
accelerated than the 1-part-per-million annual increase a half- Focus On: Climate Change Predictions for Alberta century ago, when observations were first made here. General Predictions Every year humans add over 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide Scientists predict that a doubling in CO2 concentrations will in the atmosphere by these processes, and it is up thirty cause a 6 to 8°C warming of average annual temperatures percent since 1750 (www.envirolink.org/orgs/edf/sitemap. throughout most of Alberta. This will cause: • a decrease in soil moisture html). - between 30 and 40 percent for eastern and southern Forests and wooded areas are natural carbon sinks. This Alberta means that as trees absorb carbon dioxide, and release - between 20 to 30 percent for western Alberta oxygen, carbon is being put into trees. This process occurs • increase in the incidence of extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, heat waves, thunderstorms and naturally by photosynthesis, that occurs less and less as we tornadoes cut and burn down trees. As the abundance of trees declines, • increase in the incidence of forest fires and insect outbreaks less carbon dioxide can be recycled. As we burn them down, • changes in water quality and quantity carbon is released into the air and the carbon bonds with • loss of native species and biodiversity oxygen to form carbon dioxide, adding to the greenhouse • decline in local air quality effect. About 860 acres—about the size of Central Park in New Potential Impacts on Alberta Cities such as Calgary York—is destroyed every 15 minutes in the tropics. • longer summer recreational season and shorter winter Deforestation, forest fires, industrial animal farming and season 2 • increased heat stress and decreased air quality volcanoes contribute to an increase in CO levels. • increased demand for air conditioning but reduced winter heating demand Methane • decreased need for snow removal Methane is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas. It is • invasion of new insects and diseases often called swamp gas because it is formed when plants • greater demand for cool shady natural areas for local decay and where there is very little air.Bacteria that break recreation down organic matter in wetlands and bacteria that are Potential Impacts in Rural Areas found in cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, termites, and camels • increased risk of drought and dust storms produce methane naturally. Since 1750 methane levels • increased demand for irrigation have Pagesdoubled and could double again by 2050. Each year • increased risk of new insect pests on crops and forests people add 350-500 million tons of methane to the air by • change in crop yields due changes in growing season and raising livestock, coal mining, drilling for oil and natural soil moisture Sample gas, rice cultivation, and garbage sitting in landfills. • crop production may become possible at higher altitudes an in northern regions Nitrous Oxide Impacts on Rivers and Streams Nitrous oxide is another colorless greenhouse gas, Overall, climate change is expected to bring about more however, it has a sweet smell. People use it as an variation in precipitation which will result in greater variation anesthetic because it deadens pain and for this in the size of extreme flows in prairie rivers. This could cause characteristic is called laughing gas.Nitrogen based large flows to increase in size, but also cause low flows to fertilizer use has doubled in the past 15 years. These decrease. The impacts for a given river, however, will depend on the location and the source of water for the river. Potential fertilizers provide nutrients for crops; however, when they impacts include: breakdown in the soil, nitrous oxide is released into the Mountain-source rivers such as the Bow River: atmosphere. In automobiles, nitrous oxide is released at • greater risk of extreme spring flooding as a result of melt in a much lower rate than carbon dioxide, because there is high snow-fall years more carbon in gasoline than nitrogen. • lower average summer flow as mountain glaciers shrink and/or disappear This gas is also released naturally from oceans and by Prairie-source rivers: bacteria in soils. Nitrous oxide gas in the atmosphere has • lower but more variable flows risen by more than 15% since 1750. • possibility of larger extreme flows Each year people add 7-13 million tons into the atmosphere by using nitrogen based fertilizers, disposing of human and animal waste in sewage treatment plants, automobile exhaust, and other sources not yet identified. It is important to reduce emissions because the nitrous oxide we release today will still be trapped in the atmosphere 100 years from now.
BP2.30 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
More River Floods The Importance of Parks Division More severe summer storms and rainfall replacing some fall and spring snowfalls will increase the frequency Properties Alberta and the world have experienced climate change in of flood events which may stress the major dams and the past. However, geologists and paleontologists indicate reservoirs in the upper North Saskatchewan River that these historic changes took place at a much slower watershed (including the Bighorn dam and Lake Abraham pace than what is occurring today and what is predicted in the David Thompson Corridor). Increased frequency for the future. and magnitude of flood flows will increase the hazard to structures, buildings and humans. A great concern of many ecologists is that current climate changes are so big that many native species are finding Short-term storm-related flows are also likely to increase that they must either adapt or move if they are to survive. in the Southern Cordillera and eastern slopes of the Unfortunately, these changes are too big and rapid for Rocky Mountains. This will affect large foothill streams many to adapt. The only option is to move to locations of while smaller streams risk flooding from increases in suitable habitat. In mountains and foothills this can mean thunderstorm activity. While the most direct effect of migrations to different elevations movements from the predicted climate change will be to increase flood and south to the north. river erosion hazards, the impact will extend to the use and value of rivers for recreation, habitat, fisheries, water Unfortunately, climate change is occurring faster than supply, and transportation (Canadian Climate Impacts and many native plant species can move by natural means Scenarios Primer). of seed dispersal and vegetative propagation. As climate change takes place, parks and protected areas have the potential to play an important role as seed banks that can Longer Lake Renewal Times be used to move important native species to new locations As Alberta’s climate warms, evaporation increases in response to climate change. causing stream flows and lake levels to decline (even if precipitation remains constant). As a result, the water Valuing Nature in an Era of Climate Change renewal time (the time required to replace the entire volume of a lake) increases. The concentration of ions Biomass and soils—the living carbon of ecosystems —remove such as sodium and chloride, as well as biologically- andPages store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere naturally. One important nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, of the essential life support services provided by ecosystems is increasing in most AlbertaSample water bodies. This can is the protection of the climate through carbon sequestering significantly alter the living conditions of fish and the and cycling. Carbon stewardship is an important concept that aquatic organisms that they eat for food. needs to be incorporated into policies and planning for climate change. This includes protecting the carbon stored in natural Drying can greatly change the chemical composition of and semi-natural ecosystems. a lake, and some salts can reach maximum solubility. Typically, calcium bicarbonate waters can become Natural ecosystems provide a broad range of goods and dominated by sodium sulfate or other salts, depending on services that sustain our health and well-being (see Ecological local geology. Sodium chloride, that is more soluble than Goods and Services in this Background Paper). Recent global many other salts, becomes dominant during drying, and assessments of human impacts on the world’s ecosystems very few organisms are able to tolerate the high levels of indicate there has been a reduction of output of 60 percent salinity. of these services. This represents an estimated loss of $250 billion per year. Climate change will exacerbate the degradation of ecosystems and the loss of ecosystem services. Natural ecosystems provide key services related to climate change notably carbon dioxide absorption and carbon storage. Intact natural ecosystems are the most resilient to change. They provide the best opportunities for adaptation as the climate changes. They also sequester the most carbon. Alberta’s ecosystems play an important role in carbon cycling and storage. Forest and wetland ecosystems are huge reservoirs of carbon, storing it in living and dead plants and soil.
BP2.33 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba
North Saskatchewan River Watershed
Figure A1. ZZ The North Saskatchewan River Watershed within the Saskatchewan River Basin
British Columbia
Pages Sample
Figure 5 The North Saskatchewan River Watershed within Alberta
BP2.42 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
The North Saskatchewan River Watershed
A General Overview of the Saskatchewan River Basin The North Saskatchewan River Basin In Alberta Originating on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains of The North Saskatchewan River Watershed covers about Alberta and Montana, the Saskatchewan River basin extends 80,000 km² of the province. The watershed begins in the about 1,940 kilometres from the continental divide through icefields of Banff and Jasper National Parks and flows Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to Lake Winnipeg. about 1,000 km in a generally eastward direction to the It is the fourth longest river system in North America, and Alberta-Saskatchewan border. In Alberta, the watershed is drains a surface area of 405,864 square kilometres – almost divided into 12 subwatersheds (see Figure A1.ZZ on the the size of France. The North Saskatchewan River Watershed facing page). Each subwatershed is named after a major lies on the northern edge of the Saskatchewan River Basin tributary river that flows into the main stem of the North and spans the width of Alberta and extends half-way across Saskatchewan River. Saskatchewan (see Figure 5 on the facing page). Pages Most of the water that flows in the Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River Watershed and the originates in the Rocky Mountains.Sample The North Saskatchewan David Thompson Corridor and South Saskatchewan rivers are termed ‘exotic’ rivers in The North Saskatchewan River originates at the the State of the Saskatchewan River Report (2009) because Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields (see they “serve simply as large conveyance channels taking Figure A1. CC below). Headwaters tributaries include the Rocky Mountain water across the plains”. Cline, Brazeau, Ram, and Clearwater rivers. The David Thompson Corridor includes parts of these headwater watersheds except for the Brazeau (see Figure A1.DD on the following page).
Figure A1. CC The North Saskatchewan River begins at the foot of the Saskatchewan Glacier, part of the Columbia Ice Field in Banff National Park. White Goat Wilderness Area Saskatchewan Columbia Glacier Ice Filed North Saskatchewan River Saskatchewan Glacier Kootenay Plains David Thompson David Corridor Ecological Reserve North Saskatchewan River
BP2.43 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education 00 01 02 02 02 North Saskatchewan
22 Brazeau
734
David Thompson Corridor 01 11 Rocky 01 Nordegg Mountain Ram House Abraham Bighorn 734 White Goat Wilderness Lake Dam Area 22 PagesClearwater Cline SampleSiffleur Wilderness Area Figure 6 The subwatersheds of the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River.
00 01 02
BP2.44 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
River Ecology Every stream is the home of many unique life-forms and each is evolved to live in a specific habitat. Stream life include: plants (both visible and microscopic), fungi, insect larvae, adult insects, crustaceans, mollusks, worms, fishes, mammals, and many other life-forms. Diversity is key to the survival of a stream’s life-forms. Each stream contains many different habitats and microhabitats. A single species may require several different habitats to carry out its life functions, and each habitat is inhabited by its own species that cannot live elsewhere.
Food Webs: Who Eats What In a Stream? This is an enormously complex question. It is probably nearly impossible to make a completely accurate food web showing all possible relationships, because: • what each animal eats changes as it grows larger • many animals in a stream have adapted to eat many different kinds of food • different genera within each order of aquatic insects have adapted to eat different kinds of food The food web below, therefore, should be viewed as just one blurry look at a food web. It describes a small river in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Although you can see that it is quite complex, still a number of animals have Pagesbeen left out of it. A general stream food web typical Sample of a mountain stream in the Pacific northwest.
BP2.50 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Information About The Reaches of the North Land Use Saskatchewan River That Lie Within the David • primarily recreational Thompson Corridor • most significant human impact is the Bighorn Dam and reservoir (Abraham Lake) Golder Associates (2007) indicated that there is currently - constructed in the 1970’s for hydro power very little information focused specifically on the generation reaches that they identified. However, other sources such as Fisheries Management Objectives for the North Impacts Saskatchewan River (Alberta Fish and Wildlife, 2008), • Bighorn Dam provide some summary information about fish and fish - a barrier to the upstream movement of fishes habitat in the North Saskatchewan River. - has significantly changed the river and natural riparian functions for at least 30 km upstream In their report on fish in the North Saskatchewan River, - release of water below the dam has had Alberta Fish and Wildlife (2008) did not use the reach extensive impact as well see section Bighorn system devised by Golder and associates (2007). Instead Dam to Rocky Mountain House below they used a simpler system of numbered reaches that have • road crossings of tributaries no relation to the more scientific system used by Golder - increased sedimentation and blockage of fish and Associates. To avoid confusion the findings of Fisheries passage Management Objectives for the North Saskatchewan River • recreation activities are summarized below using descriptions rather than reach - most of this section of the river is highly numbers. accessible (Highway 11 is seldom more than Banff National Park to Bighorn Dam one kilometre away) - access allows easy angling which can Description increase both direct fish mortality (harvest) • a 62 km section of the river from its source at the and indirect mortality (damage from Saskatchewan Glacier to the Bighorn Dam hooking/handling) and illegal harvesting • includes Abraham Lake - a reservoir built by the province and TransAlta River Environment Utilities ExistingPages limitations on industry and development have - production of hydro power results in a vertical kept the area relatively undisturbed. However there draw-down of Sampleup to 38 m over the winter appears to have been little direct study of the in-stream • free-flowing portion is 32 – 40 km and riparian ecology of this section of the river. - is very dynamic (highly braided channel) - is characterized by one main channel and The Fish Community often several smaller channels This section of the river supports six species of game fish, - all are in a state of continual lateral and four species of non-game fish, as shown in Table 2. adjustment across the broad alluvial valley - the free-flowing portion of river varies in length as the reservoir varies in size: Table 2 - longest at low supply Level (late May) Fish in the North Saskatchewan River: - shortest during the annual full supply level Banff National Park–Bighorn Dam (fall) Cold Water Sport Fish - approximately 7.5 km shorter in length compared to when the reservoir is full bull trout mountain whitefish - because of the mountainous terrain in the lake trout cutthroat trout watershed, discharges can change quite rapidly - typically contain high amounts of silt and rainbow trout brook trout glacial fines during summer (during glacier Non-game Species melt) longnose sucker longnose dace - mean discharge at Whirlpool Point - winter low 5 m³/sec pearl dace spoonhead sculpin - summer high 169 m³/sec The reach has not been thoroughly studied for non-game species. Additional species - annual mean 53 m3/sec may exist. - river substrates are primarily cobble and gravel, Introduced species with a limited amount of sand and silt
BP2.55 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
According to Alberta Fish and Wildlife (2008) this section of the river provides all of the requisites (spawning, rearing, feeding, over-wintering) for the fish species listed. Known spawning sites for all species have not been mapped. Water depths in the free-flowing portions of this reach are suitable for over-wintering (>1.5 m). However these conditions are not common.
The Ecological Effects of Reservoirs
Pages Dams and reservoirs confer manySample benefits to humans, such as the reservoir in summer) sustainable power and a sure water supply. They also negatively - in many cases, they are replaced by smaller, shorter-lived affect many features of the ecological integrity of streams and species of midges which are often of less value for supporting riparian areas. River ecologists recognize that the form of stream fish year-round channels is a function of high flows, such as spring and early summer runoff from melting snowpack in the mountains and Downstream of the Reservoir foothills of Alberta. The elimination of high flow periods by • changes in or loss of riparian habitat downstream of the dam damming or diversion results in gradual changes to stream - periodic flooding adds new soil to riparian areas and helps to channels. These changes include: rejuvenate and sustain riparian forests • many species of macro invertebrates become less abundant or are Within the Reservoir extirpated as a result of disrupted thermal regimes • fluctuating water levels prevent the formation of stable riparian - typically, discharges from reservoirs are cooler in summer and zones around the edges of reservoirs warmer during winter than natural rivers, hindering hatching • high sediment loads deposited within the reservoir behind dams growth and emergence of many aquatic insects - reservoirs begin to fill with sediments requiring eventual dredging Current State of Knowledge • reduction of sediment load downstream of the dam results in According to Goler and Associates (2007) there have been few degradation of riverbeds studies that have looked directly at the original condition of the - lack of sediment in water released below the dam can result in North Saskatchewan River before or after the building of the increased erosion Bighorn dam and the formation of Lake Abraham. It is likely • dams whose water levels fluctuate widely annually often that studies of the ecology of the upper reaches of the North cause decreased production of stream and lake-bottom Saskatchewan River within and adjacent to the David Thompson macroinvertebrates e.g., caddisflies, mayflies, stoneflies and snails Corridor will take place as part of the implementation of the Land- - many species of these groups require a full year in cold water use Framework for the North Saskatchewan Region. For new to complete their life cycles information about the ecology and fisheries potential of the North - large seasonal lake level fluctuations can leave them high and Saskatchewan River within the David Thompson Corridor, Visitor dry or expose them to warm waters (heated at the surface of Services Staff should regularly refer to the province’s land-use framework websites.
BP2.56 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Bull Trout Bull Trout in Abraham Lake A study by Fontana et. al. (2004) looked at lake-living bull trout in Abraham Lake. The following are their key findings • in 200/2003, 47–49 percent of radio-tagged bull trout migrated to tributaries of Abraham Lake or further upstream in the tributaries of the North Saskatchewan River - 29 percent did not migrate in either year - 68 percent migrated in one year only, - 32 percent migrated both years • 27 percent of bull trout radio-tagged before the winter of 2002/2003 left tributaries to find suitable over-wintering Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), Alberta’s Provincial Fish, is areas in the mainstem upper North Saskatchewan River or a species of char native to western North America. It colonized Abraham Lake the major drainages of the eastern slopes of Alberta after the • timing of migrations to tributaries last glaciation. Since the early 1900s, this species has declined - earliest observed: 13 June in distribution and abundance, and is considered a Species of - latest observed: 11 September Special Concern in Alberta. The Fish and Wildlife Division of - most fall-migrant bull trout headed to over-wintering Alberta Sustainable Resource Development has determined locations that 81 percent of the core areas currently containing bull - started migrations to tributaries by late August trout in Alberta are at risk of extirpation. Bull trout have - remained in tributaries until early October been extirpated in three other core areas. Declines have been - migrations were observed as early as 8 August attributed to human activities including: • fall migration distances ranged from 1.0 to 63.5 km with a • dams and culverts (migratory barriers) mean of 25.2 • habitat degradation and fragmentation • spawning areas were four tributaries to the upper North • angling pressure Saskatchewan River and one tributary to Abraham Lake • past population management practices - Howse River • competition with introduced non-native game fish species - Siffleur River - Owen Creek - Murchison Creek Biology - Whiterabbit Creek Bull trout have complex habitat requirements, and in some - bullPages trout in the upper North Saskatchewan River area may cases very large home ranges. In Alberta they have three main undergo alternate-year spawning types of life history strategies:Sample • over-wintering areas • year-round living in small tributary streams - typical bull trout over-wintering and spawning habitat • living in large rivers but spawning in smaller tributary requires input of groundwater into a stream either from streams springs or as seepage • living in large lakes but spawning in smaller tributary - 34 percent were observed at Whirlpool Point, 11.0 km streams upstream of Abraham Lake A clearer understanding of the habitat requirements and - 31 percent in the Upper North Saskatchewan River up to population dynamics at all stages of growth and for the three the confluence of Owen Creek different life history strategies is required to determine the - main-stem over-wintering locations were distributed from potential impacts that human activity may have on these 2.5 to 28.0 km upstream of Abraham Lake populations. - only 11 percent in Abraham Lake
Bull Trout Are Sensitive Management They are found predominantly in cool, high-elevation To prevent further decline in their populations, a province-wide watersheds. They tend to select well-connected, structurally zero bag limit on bull trout harvest was introduced in 1994 by diverse streams. These provide protection against: Alberta Sustainable Resource Development as part of Alberta’s • high or low flow levels, the disruption of the stream bed Bull Trout Management and Recovery Plan. As of 2010, it • high water temperatures, freezing remains in effect. • the loss of pools and cover Bull trout are believed to be among the most thermally sensitive fish species in cold water habitats in western North America. They tolerate maximum water temperatures below 18°C. Optimal habitat appears to be below or at 15°C. They also require groundwater input into the streams that they spawn and over-winter in.
BP2.58 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture Rocky Mountain Natural Alpine Natural Subregion General Description Region This natural subregion extends north to south along the Continental Divide and features: • mountains Introduction - high elevation This natural region is defined by mountains, high -range 1900-3650 m foothills, and deep glacial valleys. Typically it has • harsh climates short, cool summers and cold and snowy winters. At its - highly variable microclimates produced by highest elevations, trees cannot survive. Shrubs grasses differing aspects, wind exposures, elevations, and herbs grow only in protected places. At its lower substrates, and snow deposition patterns elevations, coniferous forests are dominant. Grasslands • glaciers and snowfields and mixedwood forests thrive on lower elevations, south- • steeply inclined to vertical bedrock exposures facing slopes and on valley bottoms. • short, cold summers • strong winds Total area: 49,070 km2 (7.4% of province). • high snowfalls The Rocky Mountain Natural Region includes three • complex vegetation patterns reflecting the Natural Subregions: subregion’s matrix of microclimates • Alpine • no trees and limit plant growth to low growing • Subalpine shrubs, grasses and herbs in protected areas • Montane Natural Subregions - includes all areas above tree line in the Rocky These are located within and adjacent to the Front Ranges Mountain Front and Main Ranges and Main Ranges of the Rocky Mountains. Elevations • total area: 15,084 km2 range from approximately 825 m to over 3600 m. - 31 percent of the Rocky Mountain Natural Region The Rocky Mountain Natural Region is a region of extremes having: Pages Climate • coolest summers This natural subregion has the coldest summers, shortest • shortest growing season Samplegrowing season and highest snowfall of all the province’s • highest mean annual precipitation subregions. The front ranges tend to receive less • snowiest winters precipitation than the main ranges. of any region in Alberta. Strong winds are characteristic of this natural subregion, Vegetation in all three Natural Subregions is strongly and strongly influence where snow is deposited, influenced by: evapotranspiration and temperature regimes. • cordilleran climate • elevation Topography, parent material and regional climate interact • aspect to produce an exceptionally complex mosaic of micro • soil types climates.
BP2.61 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education Foothills Natural Region
Introduction The natural region is defined by gently undulating to rolling till-covered hills and plateaus. Typically it has a moist, cool climate. Vegetation is deciduous and mixedwood forests at lower elevations. At higher elevations its strongly rolling to steeply sloping hills support coniferous forests. Total area: 66,436 km2 (10% of province). Elevations range from 700 m to 1,700 m. The Region extends along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains north from the Bow River Valley to just south of Grande Prairie. In the David Thompson Corridor, this natural region occupies the eastern half from Nordegg to Rocky Mountain House. The Foothills Natural Region includes two Natural Subregions: • Upper Foothills • Lower Foothills
The natural region is characterized by a distinctive climate.Pages Vegetation and soils patterns reflect subregional climate typical of its two subregions. Both receive Samplerelatively high annual precipitation, and only the Alpine and Subalpine Natural Subregions are wetter. Note that average July precipitation is higher in the Foothills Natural Region than in any others region in the province.
BP2.68 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Upper Foothills Natural Subregion Geology and Geomorphology This subregion is characterized by very hilly terrain General Description associated with the foothills and high-elevation dissected plateaus of west-central Alberta. This natural subregion occurs at high elevations of the foothills just below the montane natural subregion. It Bedrock is composed mainly of Tertiary and Upper features: Cretaceous sandstones and mudstones. Coal seams are • a narrow belt between the Subalpine Natural common in the Cretaceous layers. Subregion and the Lower Foothills Natural Surficial materials are mostly thin veneers of glacial till Subregion with some colluvium and exposed bedrock on the steeper - a transition zone between the cold wet slopes. subalpine to the drier, somewhat warmer conditions of the lower foothills • occupies about 34 percent of the Foothills Natural Water and Wetlands Region and about ¼ of the David Thompson There is very little natural standing water (lakes and Corridor ponds). Many major rivers run eastward and northward • rolling to steeply sloping terrain through the subregion. The North Saskatchewan River is - average elevation: 1300 m (range 950-1750 m) the southern boundary of the David Thompson Corridor. • short, wet summers This river system includes Abraham Lake, the province’s • snowy, cold winters longest man-made reservoir. • closed canopy conifer stands of lodgepole pine, Wetlands occur over about 10 percent of the subregion, black spruce and white spruce and are confined to the major valleys. Here the land - lodgepole pine is usually dominant in pure is relatively flat and organic soil accumulations occur. stands on dry sites However, they are typically thin and often gently sloping. - white spruce and white-spruce-Engelmann Treed and shrubby fens occur on organic deposits. spruce hybrids at higher elevations along the boundary with the subalpine natural subregion - pure deciduous stands are generally restricted Pages to southerly aspects, and mixed conifer- deciduous stands are much less common in the Upper thanSample in the Lower Foothills Climate Compared to the lower foothills this natural subregion is: • on average cooler year-round - cooler summers - slightly warmer winters - shorter growing season • receives heavier summer and winter precipitation - has the highest July precipitation of any Natural Subregion. The natural subregions climate favour the growth of conifers over deciduous species. Evergreen needles begin photosynthesis early in the spring and continue late into the fall, and the growing season may not be long enough to allow the maturation of twigs and buds on deciduous tree species.
BP2.69 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Vegetation Dominant forests of this subregion are typically even-aged fire-origin lodgepole pine stands, often with an understory of black spruce. White spruce stands occur along river valleys and on lower slopes. Deciduous and mixedwood stands are restricted to southerly and westerly slopes. Here conditions are similar to those found at lower elevations. Shrubby grasslands occur on the driest sites,. Poor to rich fens dominated by black spruce, tamarack, shrubs and herbs occur on low, wet sites. Except on south facing slopes, the lower boundary of this subregion is often marked by the transition from conifer- dominated forests to mixedwood-dominated forests. At the upper limits of the Upper Foothills Natural Subregion, hybridization between white spruce, a low- elevation species, and Engelmann spruce, a subalpine Figure 14 species, becomes pronounced. There is also hybridization Common ecosystems arranged along environmental gradient, Upper Foothills Natural between the lowland balsam fir and the higher-elevation Subregion. subalpine fir at the upper transition zone. Also, shrubby From: Natural Regions And Subregions of Alberta, Compiled by D. J. Downing and W. W. subalpine indicator species such as white-flowered Pettapiece rhododendron, false azalea, crowberry and in the south, grouseberry begin to appear at the upper limits of the this subregion, particularly on northerly aspects. Plant PagesDiversity In general, plant communities in the upper foothills Sampleare less diverse than those on similar sites in the lower foothills. This reflects the subregion’s shorter, cooler growing season. Figure A1.AA shows the general sequence of communities commonly associated with dry to wet sites in the subregion. Wet Areas Wet areas support a diverse array of communities depending on nutrient conditions: • black and white spruce occur in pure or mixed stands, often with tamarack - horsetails, common Labrador tea, willows, bog birch and various mosses occur in the understory • shrubby or sedge-dominated fens occur in the wettest places
BP2.70 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Forest Succession
Introduction Except for lands within the Alpine Subregion, Abraham Lake and some limited wetlands, the David Thompson Corridor is mostly covered in forest. Forests are dynamic, ever changing biological entities. Agents of change in forests range from: Causes of Changes That Take Place Over Large Areas • competition between species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants for light, nutrients and space • aging of stands of trees which eventually die and are replaced by members of their own species or by other species • forest fires • insect pests • drought • climate change • erosion/landslides • high wind events causing blow-down
Pages Sample Climax Forest
Pioneer Trees
Shrubs Pioneer Herbs
BP2.74 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Fire
A forest fire is often thought of as a catastrophe. However, Whirlpool Point Prescribed Burn in forest types found in the David Thompson Corridor the occurrence of fire is an essential part of the natural cycle. Many North American ecosystems, including those of Alberta’sPages mountains and foothills, evolved under the influence of fire. SampleAccording to Robert E. Keaneet. Al. (in Simulating effects of fire on northern Rocky Mountain landscapes with the ecological process model FIRE-BGC, Tree Physiology 16, 319-33), fire is the principal disturbance process in most Northern Rocky Mountain ecosystems. Here, the interaction of fire with forests and the biophysical environment has shaped landscapes and dictated species composition and structure since the end of the most recent ice age. Direct effects of fire include: In 2009, the Alberta Government and Parks Canada did a • burning of trees and accumulated woody debris controlled burn of the forest north of the North Saskatchewan (fuel consumption) River between Saskatchewan Crossing and Whirlpool Point. • tree, understory and resident animal mortality It was intended to cover approximately 7,900 hectares. • smoke generation The objectives of that prescribed fire were to: Secondary fire effects include: • limit the spread of mountain pine beetles in the region • plant succession • reduce the threat of a large-scale wildfire • soil erosion • maintain the ecological integrity of the forest • changes in landscape pattern
Controlled Burn Area
BP2.76 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Controlled or Prescribed Burning: Renewal by Fire In many areas in Canada, the US and across the world, land managers are re-introducing fire into forest ecology. This is either done by allowing some naturally occurring fires to burn without suppression if conditions and locations don’t pose a threat to people and property. The second option is the prescribed burn. Here, fire managers determine when a particular area is overdue for fire and specialists light a prescribed fire when burning conditions are low to moderate. These fires are carefully controlled, taking into account weather, vegetation, fire behaviour and terrain. While some risk is involved, it is much less than the risk of letting a wildfire burn unchecked or trying to exclude all fires. Aspen and lodgepole pine burnt in 2009. Note the lush grass regeneration. The cost of this type of fire is orders of magnitude less than Photo taken in July 2010. the millions of dollars spent fighting a large wildfire.
Pages Sample
Figure 16 Part of the Whirlpool Point Controlled Burn Area adjacent to Whirlpool Point. Photo taken in July 2010
BP2.78 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Forest Insects
Actual Size Insects and Forest Ecology According to Danks (Canada and its Insect Fauna, 1979. Mem. ent. Soc. Can. 108.) nearly 68,000 species of terrestrial arthropods are estimated to inhabit Canada. Of these only several hundred have been identified as pests (creatures that cause economic damage, spread disease, have toxic bites or stings dangerous to people and livestock or annoy or pester livestock and people through taking blood meals). The rest of this staggering array of small creatures are classified by entomologists (insect scientists) as beneficial (pollinators of plants, natural predators of pest insects and weeds, agents of recycling of wood and dead animals, etc.) and non-economic (generally active members of food webs and ecosystems making contributions which are currently unknown to science). In general, the beneficial and non-economic insects outnumber insect pests by a huge margin. That said, there is one insect pest that is in 2010 likely to have an increasing impact on the forests within the David Thompson Corridor. This is the mountain pine beetle.
The Mountain Pine Beetle Adult Mountain Pine Beetle Description The mountainPages pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is a small (0.5 cm), inconspicuous black beetle. It is Samplenative to the southern Rocky Mountains and in areas west of the Continental Divide. However, in recent years it is extending its range over the continental divide into Alberta. The majority of its life cycle is spent under the outer bark of mature pine trees. In British Columbia and Alberta these are mostly lodgepole pine Mountain Pine Beetle Larvae Life Cycle Adult female beetles bore into the inner bark (phloem) and typically excavate a j-shaped vertical tunnel. This colonizing female releases a volatile chemical aggregation pheromone that attracts males to mate with her and other females to assist in overcoming the tree’s defenses. After mating the female lays eggs along the length of her under- bark tunnel. The eggs hatch and the larvae eat the living cambium forming side tunnels perpendicular to the tunnel excavated by their mother. Nearly full grown larvae over-winter in their tunnels in their host tree and develop into pupae. In the summer Beetle Galleries they emerge as adult beetles and search for another pine tree host, and the cycle continues.
BP2.80 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Ecological Goods and Services
Table 1.ww: Ecological Goods and Services Ecological goods and services are concepts that are becoming important in conservation biology. Human Terrestrial Water The following is modified from the Land Stewardship Centre Altered of Canada website: www.landstewardship.org/learnabout.asp Ecological goods and services are the basis of all natural resources that we depend upon for healthy living, recreation
Forests Forests Grasslands Alpine Lakes /Rivers Wetlands Cultivated Urban and culture, and for sustaining our economies. Ecosystem Goods Defining Ecology: Food 4 4 4 4 4 4 Ecology is a multidisciplinary study with a systems approach focusing on the individual and all the Fiber 4 4 4 4 interdependent parts that make up an ecosystem. This Timber 4 4 systems approach is necessary to understanding how one part of the environment may have significant effects on Fuel (e.g., wood) 4 4 4 other parts. Ecosystem Services fresh water 4 4 4 4 4 What are Ecological Goods? air quality regulation 4 4 4 Ecological goods are valuable and essential to our survival. Our cultural, social and economic lives are dependent upon 4 4 4 4 carbon sequestration these goods that come from the processes of ecological erosion control 4 4 4 4 4 systems and their services, some of that include: climate regulation 4 4 4 4 4 • clean atmospheric air Pages• fresh water local climate regulation 4 4 4 4 • food (including nutrients [vitamins and minerals] storm/wave protection 4 derived from plants and animals) Sample • fibre pest regulation 4 4 4 4 • timber pollution control 4 4 4 4 • other raw building materials waste processing 4 • genetic resources • medicines flood regulation 4 4 4 sediment retention 4 4 4 4 What are Ecological Services? disease regulation 4 Ecological services are the result of interactions among organisms and their natural environments, including the 4 4 4 4 nutrient cycling cycling of water and basic nutrients, that humans are able medicines 4 to use and capitalize on. These services are essential to life recreation & ecotourism 4 4 4 4 4 4 on earth. aesthetic values 4 4 4 4 4 4 Examples of Ecological Services Wetlands, through the complex interactions of micro and 4 4 4 4 4 4 spiritual values macro organisms, purify water and reduce flooding. Here, cultural heritage 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 water purification and flood control are ecological services education 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 provided by wetlands. An important feature of healthy, intact wetlands is that they are self-repairing and cost nothing to maintain.
BP2.84 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Key Concepts in Habitat Protection and Restoration Biodiversity Three different types of biological diversity coexist and create complex interactions. Each ecosystem and organism has different niches (functions) in the web of life:
Community Biodiversity • is the number and variety of ecological communities that exist in an ecosystem Species Biodiversity • is the number of species within a given ecosystem - it includes different types of species from soil bacteria to red foxes to the largest trees in the forest - is the kind of biodiversity that we usually think of Genetic Biodiversity • is the range of individual variation within a single species A region’s biodiversity is based on the variety of habitats located within it (community and species biodiversity) and the history and size of populations within a community (genetic biodiversity). Variations in habitat relate to a number of factors including variations in topography, aspect, slopes, soil types, and climate as well as the type of land use occupyingPages the area. Many ecologists consider high biodiversity as providing Samplerobustness to an ecosystem, making it more able to cope with environmental challenges (e.g., climate change and the effects of urbanization).
Biodiversity is Important Ecosystem diversity helps maintain the health of the planet. by Carey Booth 2009 Wetlands, forests, oceans, and polar ice all work in a complicated and irreplaceable way to provide oxygen and Ecosystem diversity refers to the variety of settings on earth water: the essential elements for all life on Earth. They provide such as grasslands, deserts, lakes, coral reefs, mountains and this invaluable service while filtering out toxins such as carbon their populations of plants and animals. An ecosystem consists dioxide. Without a diverse landscape of these ecosystems, the of biotic and abiotic features and the interactions between earth would be unliveable. them. Every ecosystem has different ingredients that distinguish it from others - so if an ecosystem disappears, so do all the Loss of diversity is not a new phenomenon. Over Earth’s species that can be found only in that ecosystem. history, life has undergone great periods of diversification and destruction. The Earth has had five periods of mass There is merit in protecting all of these levels of biodiversity. extinction, largely as a result of naturally occurring events. For Genetic diversity provides security for species to adapt to example, 250 million years ago, the planet endured the greatest changing environmental conditions. A species with a rich mass extinction ever, where nine out of every ten species variety of genetic material is well equipped to cope with disappeared. change. With the possibility of global climate change, genetic Many scientists believe we are currently living in the sixth diversity will be an important element for the survival of all mass extinction. species. While education and legislation may slow the loss of diversity, For humans in particular, species diversity ensures that there a fundamental shift in our thinking and consumption patterns is a healthy supply for potentially useful organisms to make can stop it. Otherwise, the sixth mass extinction will continue. materials, medicines, and even foods for future needs. Reducing biodiversity reduces the possibilities of discovery.
BP2.86 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Big Picture Aspects of Cultural History
Pages Sample
BP2.95 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
Alberta’s Prehistory Deep History Many people think of Alberta as being a new society or having little history. This is not true. The oldest inhabited sites in Alberta are more than twice as old as the oldest Egyptian pyramid. Alberta’s First Nations have a very long and rich history in the David Thompson Corridor.
How Did First Nations People Come to North America? The time and circumstances surrounding the arrival of the first human inhabitants of North and South America has become a lively topic for debate. The following are some of the most well-known origin theories.
Siberian Origin and An Ice-Free Corridor This is the oldest and most strongly supported theory. During the advance of the glaciers, modern people crossed the Bering Land Strait, probably while hunting the large game animals that would have found the conditions there ideal. The migration could have occurred any time after 50,000 years ago and probably before 25,000 years ago. This crossing was probably leisurely, taking place over a long period and involving many hundreds or even thousands of people. Some archeologists believe that the movement of people could have been Pagesso gradual that individuals travelled no more than a few kilometres east in their lifetimes. SampleThe likely rout of immigration from Asia was via the unglaciated Beringia Refugium that included most of Alaska and the northern Yukon. It is still not clear how these first immigrants to North America made their way from the Beringia Refugium into the interior of North America south past a wall of glacial ice to the south. Two routes have been proposed. One theory is that a corridor east of the Rocky Mountains opened between the receding cordilleran and Kiwatan glaciers. This corridor would have run from just north of modern-day Edmonton to south of modern-day Calgary and the first peoples may have travelled this route into the New World right through the eastern section of the David Thompson Corridor. Some paleontologists believe that the corridor’s climate may have been too severe to accommodate people for the period it would have taken them to travel through it and some geologists don’t believe that an ice free corridor existed. However, three archaeological sites in Alberta support the theory of a migration route through an Alberta corridor. Stone scrapers and choppers have been discovered at sites in Grimshaw, Bow River, and in Lethbridge. These stone tools were found under glacial sand and gravel that are believed to be pre-glacial and therefore indicate humans occupied the area
BP2.96 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
20,000 to 40,000 years ago. The verification of the early dates, What is Known however, is dependent upon geological interpretation. Around 8000 BCE (Before Common Era), a thaw occurred A second theory suggests that the first peoples travelled down that caused the glacial ice to recede. The oceans rose and the coast of British Columbia hunting abundant sea mammals the landmass of Beringia was entirely submerged. The thaw and fishing. The would have travelled down a different was part of climatic changes throughout the North American coastline than can be seen today because sea level was continent and diverse geographic regions were created that significantly lower (much of the earth’s water was sequestered have remained fundamentally the same to the present day. on the northern continents of the world as mile-thick glacial As the climatic and land conditions changed to support ice). This newer theory lacks some critical evidence, such as vegetation and animal life, humans migrated, settling always proof of sea-going technologies of these first peoples and also further east and south. evidence of ancient campsites along the coast (all sites are There is factual evidence that First Nations people arrived currently underwater as sea levels have risen after the melting in interior North America before 20,000 years ago and of the glaciers). that they quickly spread as far as South America.
Multiple Origins Including Europe and Asia Early Period The Solutrean hypothesis has been advanced by Dennis The evidence available indicates the Paleo-Indian were Stanford of the Smithsonian Institution and Bruce Bradley primarily hunters of big game. Archaeological sites in of the University of Exeter. This theory does not dispute the Alberta and the United States have produced clear evidence importance of migration from Asia, but it suggest a connection of Paleo-Indian hunting and scavenging mammoth and with Europe. Stanford and Bradley noted that Clovis extinct species of bison. This evidence usually consists of technology (the stone tool set thought to have been brought diagnostic artifacts, such as distinctively shaped stone tips of to the new world by the first people to immigrate to North spears, javelins, etc .,(projectile points), in association with America from Siberia) does not resemble stone tools found the bones of these animals. Also, bones at kill sites show from that time in Siberia, but more closely resembles the scratches and gouges characteristic of butchering using stone stone tool technology of the Solutrean culture in prehistoric tools. Kill sites were natural traps such as canyons. Other Europe. animals may have been scavenged after natural deaths, such In this hypothesis, peoples associated with the Solutrean as winterPages starvation. culture migrated from Ice Age Europe to North America, In addition to these large game animals, Paleo-Indian bringing their methods of making stone tools with them probably also relied on smaller game and plant foods. and providing the basis for Samplelater Clovis technology found throughout North America. Some supporters of this theory Changes in styles of projectile points are used as one method suggest that this stone tool technology was superior to that of determining the relative ages of sites. Early Paleo-Indian brought to North America by people immigrating from Siberia sites are easily recognized by the presence of distinctive and that the European-based Clovis technology was quickly forms of projectile points called “fluted points”, characterized adopted by people across North America. The hypothesis rests by a channel flake, or “flute”, that runs up the centre of the upon particular similarities in Solutrean and Clovis technology tool, probably to aid in hafting as well as thinning. that have no known counterparts in Eastern Asia, Siberia or The oldest known sites in Alberta date from about Beringia. 11,500 years ago. The occupants of these sites hunted The Solutrean hypothesis proposes that Ice Age Europeans mammoths, bison, horses and other Ice Age animals could have crossed the North Atlantic along the edge of the using stone tipped spears. The points for these spears are pack ice that extended from the Atlantic coast of France very distinctive Clovis and Folsom technologies and have to North America during the last glacial maximum. The been found throughout the western United States and the model envisions these people making the crossing in small Canadian Prairies. watercraft, using skills similar to those of the modern Inuit people, hauling out on ice floes at night, getting fresh water by melting ice and catching seals and fish for food, and using seal blubber as heating fuel. Much additional research is required before one or both of these theories are proven to be true or false.
BP2.97 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education
First Nations Before First Contact The Stoney Nation (Nakoda Nation) are descendants of the Sioux Nation who moved into southwestern Alberta approximately 500 years ago. The traditional hunting areas of the Stoney bands ranged as far north as the valleys of the Brazeau River, including one Stoney band whose hunting area ranged from the Bow River valley north to the valleys of the Red Deer, Clearwater, North Saskatchewan and Brazeau Rivers. This band became known as the Wesley Band of the Stoney Nation. The Wesley Band hunted and settled within the North Saskatchewan River Valley, particularly around the Kootenay Plains, for many generations prior to exploration and settlement by Europeans.
First Nations After First Contact Prior to the arrival of Anthony Henday in central Alberta in 1754, First Nations people in southern Alberta were trading with Europeans either directly by visiting posts to the north and east, or indirectly by trading with Cree and Assiniboine groups. These aboriginal traders exchanged goods they had acquired from fur trade posts for furs, horses, food and other products. In turn, they then traded furs and other goods at posts for more goods that they could trade later. In this way European Pagestrade goods reached Alberta in unknown quantities for at least half a century before Sample the first European arrived in person to trade. The map on this page shows the traditional territory of southern and central Alberta First Nations after contact with European fur traders.
Map showing the regional distribution of southern Alberta’s Native population. Kainai (Blood), Peigan, Siksika (Blackfoot proper), Assiniboine (Stoney), Tsuu T’ina (Sarcee), and Plains Cree.
BP2.102 EcoLeaders Interpretation and Environmental Education 00 01 02 03 04 03 03
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Waspiabi PRA Upper Shunda Creek PRA Harlech PRA Shunda Jackfish Lake 3 2 Viewpoint PRA PRA 11 Beaver Dam PRA 1 Crimson 4 Lake 5 Nordegg Goldeye PRA Saunders PRA Provincial Chambers Park Dry Haven PRA 6 Fish Creek Snow Creek PRA Lake PRA 7 PRA North Saskatchewan RIver Crescent Falls Twin Horburg PRA Lakes PRA PRA 8 02 734 02 9 11 Rocky 10 Mountain 11 House 12 13 14 White Goat 15 Abraham Wilderness Lake
16 17 Pages 18 01 Sample 01 19 Kootenay Kootenay Plains PRA 20 Plains Cavalcade PRA 21 Ecological Banff Thompson Creek PRA 22 Reserve National 28 27 24 26 2325 Park Siffleur 93 Wilderness Area 00Potential viewpoints along the David Thompson Highway (Hw 11)01 in the western1 half of the David Thompson Corridor. 02 03 04
BP2.106 Background Paper 2: Features Inventory Big Picture
Viewpoints Along the David Thompson Corridor
to the Banff Park border and requiring several extra Introduction hours for the trip because this seasoned vetran scenery The western half of the David Thompson Highway photographer demanded that they stop multiple times so offers some of the most spectacular mountain scenery that he could capture the beauty of the area on film. in Alberta. Some say that this is one of the best kept Pages secrets of the David Thompson Corridor. One long-time The following is a series of key viewpoints located along Alberta Parks manager tellsSample a story of driving a National the western half of the David Thompson Highway that Geographic photographer from Rocky Mountain House could be developed into wayside interpretation sites.
BP2.107 00 01 EcoLeaders02 Interpretation and Environmental03 Education 04 03 03 Major Viewpoints
734 These are the viewpoints that provide the widest and most spectacular views. They provide the big picture of what this landscape has looked like for thousands of years. Waspiabi PRA Viewpoint 2: Upper Westward View of the Brazeau Range Shunda Location: Harlech PRA ViewpointJack 2:fi Highwaysh Lake 11, just west of Saunders PRA Creek PRA Shunda Beaverdam PRA. 3 2 PRA Viewpoint PRAViewpoint1 2a: Approximately11 1 km west of viewpoint 2 Beaver Dam PRA 2a on a rise on the south side of the highway. Crimson 4 Lake 5 Nordegg Goldeye PRA SaundersDirection(s) PRA of View: Provincial Generally westward toward Nordegg. Chambers Park Dry Haven PRA 6 Fish Creek Snow Creek PRA Lake North Saskatchewan RIver PRA 7 PRA Range of view (pink shading) from Viewpoint 2. Crescent Falls Twin Horburg PRA Lakes PRA PRA 8 02 734 02 Viewscape 2: Panorama looking westward 9 11 W Pages➡ Rocky 10 Sample Mountain 11 House 12 13 14 White Goat 15 Abraham Wilderness Lake
16 17 Viewscape 2a: Panorama looking southward and westward 18 Brazeau Range s
01 ➡ 01 19 Foothills Kootenay Kootenay Plains PRA 20 Plains Cavalcade PRA 21 Ecological Banff Thompson Creek PRA 22 Reserve BP2.108 National 28 27 24 26 2325 Park Siffleur 93 Wilderness Area 00 01 1 02 03 04