MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN BACKGROUND DOCUMENT DRAFT 4P Prepared for Ministry of Environment Environmenta

MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK

MANAGEMENT PLAN BACKGROUND DOCUMENT DRAFT 4P

Prepared for

Ministry of Environment Environmental Stewardship Division Kootenay Region

November 2005 Wildland Consulting Inc.

Table Of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... II Figure 2: Summer and Winter Mean Temperatures (in ºC) 15...... 0 MAP #5: CULTURAL SITES, EXISTING FACILITIES AND TRAILS 55...... 0 MAP #6: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK LAND TENURES 77 ...... 0 PREFACE...... 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 1 INTRODUCTION...... 3 PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT HISTORY ...... 3 PARK ESTABLISHMENT, LEGISLATION AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTION ...... 6 1989 Master Plan Highlights...... 7 Direction from the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan and Implementation Strategy ...... 9 NATURAL VALUES...... 13 CLIMATE...... 13 PHYSIOGRAPHY ...... 15 Ecoregion Representation...... 15 GEOLOGY ...... 17 LANDFORMS ...... 19 SOILS...... 23 WATER AND HYDROLOGY ...... 24 VEGETATION ...... 25 Biogeoclimatic Zones ...... 25 The Engelmann Spruce -Subalpine Fir Zone ...... 26 The Alpine Tundra Zone (ATun) ...... 29 Rare and Sensitive Plants and Ecosystems ...... 29 FISH...... 30 WILDLIFE ...... 32 Inventory and Research...... 32 Birds ...... 32 Amphibians...... 33 Reptiles...... 33 Butterflies and Moths ...... 33 Mammals ...... 33 Species of Specific Note ...... 38 Rare and Sensitive Species...... 38 ECOSYSTEM REPRESENTATION, BIODIVERSITY AND DYNAMICS...... 39 Representation...... 39 Natural Disturbance Types ...... 40 Predator/Prey Relationships...... 42 Wildlife Movements and Connectivity...... 42 Identified Threats and Stressors to Ecological Integrity ...... 43 Conservation Risk Assessment ...... 44 INTRODUCTION ...... 45

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

PREHISTORIC RESOURCES – FIRST NATIONS...... 45 HISTORIC RESOURCES – NON-ABORIGINAL ...... 46 Overview...... 46 Site Types and Information Gaps...... 49 FLEABANE HUT, NAISET CABINS ...... 50 OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM FEATURES...... 52 OUTDOOR RECREATION FEATURES ...... 52 VISUAL VALUES ...... 52 OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES...... 53 EXISTING FACILITIES AND SERVICES ...... 54 Permanent Accommodation Structures...... 54 Campgrounds ...... 56 Roads and Trails ...... 56 Services ...... 57 Other...... 58 PARK ACCESS ...... 58 PARK VISITOR PROFILES...... 62 Introduction...... 62 Visitor Use Levels ...... 63 Visitor Origins and Patterns of Use...... 64 Park User Attitudes ...... 65 Existing Use and Occupancy ...... 68 Future Trends...... 69 LAND ...... 72 TENURES, OCCUPANCY RIGHTS AND RESOURCE USES...... 72 TENURES, RIGHTS, PERMITS, INHOLDINGS AND RESOURCE USES...... 72 PARK USE PERMITS ...... 72 GUIDE TERRITORIES ...... 72 Map #6: Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Land Tenures ...... 73 TRAPLINES...... 74 INHOLDINGS, LEASES, RIGHTS OF WAY AND RESERVES ...... 74 Water Rights...... 74 Mineral Tenures ...... 74 Grazing...... 74 FIRST NATIONS INTERESTS ...... 74 LAND USE PATTERNS ADJACENT TO THE PARK...... 75 OTHER AGENCY INTERESTS...... 76 LOCAL GOVERNMENT INTERESTS...... 76 STAKEHOLDER INTERESTS...... 76 BC PARKS AND PROTECTED AREAS OPERATIONS...... 78 OPERATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES ...... 78 SPECIAL REGULATIONS ...... 80 KEY MANAGEMENT ISSUES...... 81 NATURAL VALUE ISSUES...... 81 Ecological Conservation...... 81

iii

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 Vegetation ...... 81 Wildlife ...... 82 CULTURAL HERITAGE ISSUES...... 82 Archaeological Resources...... 83 Post-Contact Heritage ...... 83 The character of all structures representative of early tourist use within the South Core Area of Assiniboine should be preserved. More emphasis should be placed on presenting this history to the public, particularly in and around the Naiset Cabins...... 83 OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM ISSUES ...... 83 LAND TENURE AND ADJACENT LAND USE ISSUES...... 84 Boundaries ...... 84 Adjacent Land Management ...... 85 MANAGEMENT SERVICES ISSUES...... 85 Community Appreciation/Support...... 85 APPENDICES...... 86 APPENDIX ONE – CONTACT LIST (DRAFT)...... 86 Organizations Contact ...... 86 APPENDIX TWO – MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK LEGAL DESCRIPTION ...... 88 APPENDIX THREE - SPECIES LIST AND ASSOCIATED INFORMATION FOR MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK...... 90 Introductory Notes (Haider & Piccin, p. 45-46)...... 90 APPENDIX FIVE - MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK BUTTERFLY, MOTH, DRAGONFLY, BIRD AND PLANT FIELD SURVEY REPORT ...... 96 Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Field Survey Report...... 96 APPENDIX SEVEN – REPRESENTATION CONTEXT OF MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK 108 A) Protected Area Representation of Southern Park Ranges Ecosection (by Area)...... 108 B) AT unp BEC Representation within Kootenay Region...... 108 C) ESSF dk BEC Representation within Kootenay Region...... 109 APPENDIX NINE – SIGNIFICANCE AND VIABILITY OF CONSERVATION VALUES IN MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PARK ...... 113 APPENDIX TEN: DETAILED HISTORY OF THE MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK LODGE 115 APPENDIX ELEVEN – MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK VISITOR DATA ...... 118 2. Annual Attendance Records for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, 1989-2001 (Individuals) ...... 118 3. Summary of Total South Core Area Use from 2. above (Lodge, Magog & Naiset Combined), 1989-2001 (Individuals) ...... 119 4. Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Visitor Survey Response, 2004 ...... 120 APPENDIX TWELVE: PARK USE PERMIT HOLDER INFORMATION ...... 123 APPENDIX THIRTEEN - BIBLIOGRAPHY OF REFERENCES ON MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK ...... 126

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Summary History of Land Additions and Deletions, Mount Assiniboine Park 7

Figure 2: Summer and Winter Mean Temperatures (in ºC) 15

Figure 3: Mount Assiniboine Park BEC Representation 43

Figure 4: Historic Structures Found In Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park 54

Figure 5: Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Opportunities, Mount Assinibine Provincial Park 57

LIST OF MAPS

MAP #1: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK REGIONAL CONTEXT ...... 6

MAP #2: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK BOUNDARY AND RECREATIONAL FEATURES ...... 14

MAP #3: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK BEDROCK GEOLOGY ...... 21

MAP #4: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PARK BIOGEOCLIMATIC ECOSYSTEM CLASSIFICATION ...... 31

MAP #5: CULTURAL SITES, EXISTING FACILITIES AND TRAILS 55

MAP #6: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PROVINCIAL PARK LAND TENURES 77

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Preface

Note: Until the current Mount Assiniboine Management Planning process completes its agency and public review, this Background Document remains a “work in progress”. While Wildland Consulting has made every effort to bring together correct and current information relevant to the Mount Assiniboine Park management planning process, some material remains unavailable and the knowledge and input from all participants in the planning process has yet to be received and incorporated. Readers are encouraged to support the consultant’s efforts to ensure completeness and accuracy of the document by offering comments and additional relevant information.

This Background Document provides an information resource base on Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. It summarizes known information on the natural and cultural resources and recreational opportunities. Sources include records and documents on file within various government agencies, as well as relevant studies and materials made available by interested stakeholders and community organizations.

This Background Document also identifies key management planning issues, some of which have arisen through the Land and Resource Management Planning process. The information provided is intended to be used by BC Parks, stakeholder groups, and other public agencies as an information base from which future planning and management may be developed.

In reviewing the previous Background Report (1987) and subsequent Master Plan (1989), it becomes clear that many of the recommended actions were never or only rudimentarily carried out in the years following. This can be attributed to a number of factors, including the inherently long-term scope of the plan, unrealistic or overly ambitious targets, changing emphasis of successive managers, shifting political visions and priorities, and significant limitations and constrictions in capital and staff resources. Despite these challenges, some progress can be seen in our understanding of natural processes and managing for changing recreational patterns. The current Background Document attempts to sum up our current state of knowledge and associated gaps. Any implications or suggestions for further discussion or planning are to inform the management plan update process.

Acknowledgements

This Background Document was prepared by Phil Whitfield and Dave Kaegi of Wildland Consulting Inc., Revelstoke, B.C. It draws extensively from an original May 1987 background report prepared by J.S. PEEPRE & ASSOCIATES (2110 West 12th Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V6K 2N2), which was revised by Mount Assiniboine Park Senior Park Ranger W.T.Roos in January 2005.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Thanks are due to the many people and organizations that contributed valuable information to this project, including the experienced and knowledgeable staff of the Ministry of Environment. A complete list of those involved is provided in Appendix One.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

INTRODUCTION

This Background document provides an information base for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and identifies key issues for management planning. The background document will be used in the updating of the 1989 Management Plan for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.

As the 21st century dawns, the reasons for designating protected areas in the province have often been refined and re-defined, yet they always have and still include both preservation and recreation. In what follows, it will be seen that both sets of values protected here are as significant today as when the park was first proposed eight decades ago.

Planning and Management History

The Canadian Rocky Mountains contain some of the most spectacular peaks in the world, including 54 over 3353 m (11,000 ft), yet even amongst these Mount Assiniboine’s classic “Matterhorn” profile has made it a Canadian icon and a world-famous image worthy of official protection. Rising to 3618 m on the crest of the Continental Divide and fanning out and down to a setting of striking peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes, meadows and ancient forests, Mount Assiniboine is the focal point for one of British Columbia’s oldest and finest protected areas.

Originally comprising only 5200 ha in the vicinity of the mountain and Lake Magog, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park was established in 1922 as British Columbia’s fifth provincial park. Flanked by Kootenay and Banff National Parks on the west and east respectively, the park was enlarged in 1973 to 38,600 ha to protect the integrity of the surrounding alpine areas and watersheds, and in so doing to provide a more complete provincial complement to the four national parks already representing the Canadian Rockies.

By 1976, an Interim Policy Statement was drafted which recognized existing and historically entrenched patterns of use and management but proposed incremental changes. For example, it acknowledged the desirability of prescribed burning for wildlife habitat enhancement (although not yet for overall ecosystem restoration), and the need to modify traditional patterns of horse use, specifically their presence and grazing in the core area which was creating an unacceptable level of ecological degradation. The possible future restriction of human activity levels was considered, dependent on ongoing impact assessments. The intention at that time was also to take over the Mount Assiniboine Lodge when its private lease expired in 1978 and to use it as the park headquarters. Delineation of the entire park into zones with different levels of management was anticipated (Interim Policy Statement for Mount Assiniboine Park, 1976).

A full Management Plan was completed in 1989 after public consultation and input. That document summarized and identified gaps in the available knowledge base and put forth prioritized recommendations in the areas of capital development, resource management, visitor services, and planning (Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Master Plan, 1989). Although it has

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 guided the management of the park up to the present, very few of its recommendations have been fully implemented, and only a handful have even been started.

The context in which the park is managed has been affected by a number of planning, management and policy developments since the first Management Plan was completed in 1989. • Parks and Wilderness for the 90s o In 1988, BC Parks and the Ministry of Forests began planning processes intended to rationalize and expand the Provincial Park system and a new system of MOF Wilderness Areas. In 1992, the two agencies produced a map/brochure listing study areas for Parks and Wilderness Areas for the 90s. This list included a 1985 proposal to expand Mount Assiniboine Park further southward to include 5,100 hectares in the Assiniboine and Aurora Creek drainages. Endorsed by the 1989 Master Plan, the proposed addition was intended to rationalize the original south park boundary, increase the natural diversity of the park, and encourage access and use from British Columbia. • Protected Areas Strategy, 1993 o In 1993, the Provincial Government initiated a Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) as one component of a provincial land use planning process intended to put an end to “valley- by-valley” conflicts over preservation versus resource extraction by using a rational, roundtable approach to obtain stakeholder consensus. The target of the PAS was to protect 12% of the province in the course of achieving two goals. The first goal, Representative Areas, was to protect viable, representative examples of natural diversity in the province, representative of the major terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems, the characteristic habitats, hydrology and landforms, and the characteristic backcountry recreational and cultural heritage values of each ecosection. The second goal, Special Features, was to protect the special natural, cultural heritage and recreational features of the province, including rare and endangered species and critical habitats, outstanding or unique botanical, zoological, geological and paleontological features, outstanding or fragile cultural heritage features and outstanding outdoor recreational features such as trails. o The Protected Areas Strategy modified the BC Parks “Landscape Unit” planning framework of the 1980’s into an inter-agency Ecosection model and refined the criteria for evaluating and comparing existing and proposed protected areas. Mount Assiniboine Park was included in the Southern Park Ranges Ecosection within the Western Continental Ranges Ecoregion of the Southern Interior Mountains Ecoprovince, an ecosection which was already 26.65% protected in 1993, largely owing to the presence of national parks1. o A 1993 “Koootenay Boundary Best PAS Report” placed Mount Assiniboine Park into this planning context, but dropped the proposed Assiniboine/Aurora Creek addition in order to include other protected area candidates with higher representative values. • Strategic Land Use Planning, 1992-Present o The Province’s Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE) initiated a strategic East Kootenay Land Use Plan (EKLUP) in 1993. A framework Plan was

1 1993 Gap Analysis Report #2, SPK 4

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

approved in 1995 and a Kootenay/Boundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy (KBLUP/IS) was completed in 1997. As a result of this planning, the Assiniboine Creek addition was rejected, but seven new protected areas were approved. The former Height Of The Rockies Wilderness Area was elevated to Class A Park status and the size of Elk Lakes Provincial Park was increased. The designation of these areas brought the total amount of area protected within the Southern Park Ranges Ecosection to 32.6%. As a result, Mount Assiniboine Park gained greater flexibility in meeting protected area objectives for conservation and recreation representation within the ecosection, as management decisions about issues such as recreation opportunities, general biodiversity maintenance and protection of key habitat areas could henceforth be taken in the context of a larger landbase.

• BC Parks Legacy Project, 1997-1999 o In August 1997, the provincial government appointed a panel to canvass the public and recommend appropriate strategies to care for and sustain the rapidly expanding protected areas system. A key recommendation of this panel in 1999 was that the protection and preservation of natural and cultural values and ecological integrity should be the dominant features of management decisions within protected areas. This recommendation initially encouraged the completion of Conservation Risk Assessments in parks generally and strengthened the case for specific Impact Assessments, but its long-term influence on management directions is uncertain. A Conservation Risk Assessment was completed for Mount Assiniboine Park in 2002.

• Resource Management Issues o Information from vegetation and wildlife inventories conducted in and around Mount Assiniboine Park since 1989 must be considered in updating management directions for the park. In addition, the catastrophic wildfire season of 2003 and the rapid spread of forest pest infestations, notably the mountain pine beetle, have raised questions about the vegetation management policies in protected areas.

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Map # 1:Regional Context

Hwy. Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park 93 Park Boundary A l B b Lake . e

C r . t a River/Stream Banff National Park Highway

Lake Louise

Scale:1 : 7 000 000 Map Projection: BC Albers Yoho National Park Datum: NAD83 R

1 Map Produced by Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management . Kootenay Region GIS Centre -- February, 2005 y 0510 w Kilometers H File path and name: /fs/u04/ofs/arcproj/plots/park/mt assinib_rc_050201.rtl

Hw y. 1

Banff Canmore

Kootenay National Park H Mount Assiniboine w y . 9 5

Bugaboo Park 3 . 9 y w

H Height of the Rockies Park Radium Hot Springs 3 Invermere 3

Prince George 3

Kamloops 3 Nelson Vancouver 3 3 Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Map #1: Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Regional Context

Park Establishment, Legislation and Management Direction

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park was established in 1922. It was British Columbia’s fifth provincial park, comprising 5200 ha in the vicinity of the mountain and Lake Magog. In 1973, the park was enlarged to 38,600 ha in order to protect the integrity of the surrounding alpine areas and watersheds, and in so doing provide an important linkage to the four national parks already representing the Canadian Rockies.

The most recent legislation affirming the park with its current boundaries was the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act (SBC 2000, Chapter 17) in 2000, Schedule C of which described it as having an approximate area of 39,013 ha.2 Under that legislation, it is designated a Class A Park pursuant to the Park Act. A Class A park is Crown land designated under the Park Act or, since 2000, included in a schedule to the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act. Management and development are constrained by Sections 8 and 9 of the Park Act which direct that a park use permit must not be issued respecting an interest in land or natural resources “unless, in the opinion of the minister, to do so is necessary to preserve or maintain the recreational values of the park involved.”

Figure 1: Summary History of Land Additions and Deletions, Mount Assiniboine Park

O.I.C. # 174/22 Establishment of Park -February 6, 1922 O.I.C. # 185/27 50 acres of land -Subject of survey being made (Lot 10555 K.D.) Leased to Canadian Pacific Railway - February 18, 1927 O.I.C. # 541/33 Lot 10555 K.D. excluded from Park - April 28, 1933 O.I.C. #2784/55 Lot 10555 K.D. added to the Park - December 5, 1955 O.I.C. #2843/71 Donation of Lot 10552 K.D. from the Alpine Club of Canada for addition to Mount Assiniboine Park - August 13, 1971 O.I.C. # 264/72 Lot 10552 K.D. added to the Park - January 25, 1972 O.I.C. #1205/73 - Addition of a large section of Crown land to Mount Assiniboine Park - 1973

Mount Assiniboine Park is located in the Continental Ranges of the Rocky Mountains Natural Region. Its representational significance to the provincial protected areas system will be elaborated in the “Ecoregion Representation” section of this report. The park is bordered by Banff National Park on the north and east, Kootenay National Park on the west, and Provincial Forest land to the south.

2 See Appendix 1: Legal Description. 6

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

The setting of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park includes a core southeastern valley surrounded by a group of striking high peaks and alpine lakes along the Continental Divide, and a western portion characterized by forested creek and river valleys rising to gentler mountains. Highlights of the park include its scenic beauty, focused on Lake Magog and the views of Mount Assiniboine. Those features are complemented by an extensive area of alpine and subalpine meadows, and by forested creek drainages used for hiking or horseback access.

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is both a wilderness area and a tourist destination, protecting a landscape of provincial, national and international significance. In 1991, UNESCO added this park (along with Mount Robson and Hamber Provincial Parks) to the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site which includes the group of four contiguous national parks in the Canadian Rockies, thereby internationally recognizing the exceptional natural and cultural values associated with this region of British Columbia.

Management direction of Mount Assiniboine Park to date has come from the approved 1989 Master Plan, with limited influence from the 1995 East Kootenay Land Use Plan and from the 1997 KBLUP Implementation Strategy.

1989 Master Plan Highlights

• Mount Assiniboine Park was identified as maintaining an important role in the BC Parks system as an area which conserves superlative Rocky Mountain natural features and an outdoor recreational resource of international calibre. The park supplies a range of very significant outdoor recreation opportunities which contribute to the international attractiveness of the Rocky Mountain park system. • Two high-use Core areas were identified in the plan, the South Core around Lake Magog and the North Core surrounding the Rock Isle Basin, accessed via Sunshine Village Resort. Hiking use of the Central Corridor between the two park core areas was expected to increase. • The park was zoned to reflect three management levels: Intensive Recreation use within the vicinity of Mount Assiniboine Lodge, Naiset Cabins, the helicopter landing area and the Sunshine Village Ski area; Natural Environment throughout the two Core areas and Central Corridor; and Wilderness zoning in the remainder. The importance of special natural and cultural features was recognized in the plan; park zoning highlighted particular management objectives for such features as sub-alpine flower meadows, heritage buildings, fossil beds and grizzly bear habitat. • To conserve important recreation features associated with Assiniboine Creek and Aurora Creek, extension of the park southward was proposed. • The elimination of commercial water use within the park was stated as a management objective; however, the plan fully recognized obligations to the existing water licence issued to Sunshine Village. The provision of dependable water supplies was expected to increase summer camping use at Magog Lake and hiking use in the Central Corridor, and to support winter operations at Assiniboine Lodge.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

• Formulation of a comprehensive Vegetation Management Plan was recommended to address issues related to natural forage supplies, sensitive sub-alpine vegetation, firewood availability, and the consequence of natural wildfire. • Park fisheries were to be protected and enhanced to promote recreational use within the South Core area. Park wildlife was to be protected and managed to ensure abundant populations and a natural balance of species; a special grizzly bear habitat was recognized along the Simpson River. • All buildings in the park were to maintain rustic architectural design. • Hiking, helicopter, horse and bicycle were identified as acceptable means of access to Mount Assiniboine Park, although bicycles were not to be used for day-touring within the park. Helicopter landings and flight routing were to be tightly regulated to protect the back-country atmosphere. • Redevelopment, relocation and/or redesign of park accommodation facilities were proposed to increase park use and visitor satisfaction. Support for private sector operations in the park was continued, and several concession opportunities for recreation services and outdoor recreation opportunities were identified. • A park operations building was planned to serve visitors from a site near Mount Assiniboine Lodge and the Naiset Cabins. A Park Communications Plan was to be formulated to identify key interpretive features, in-park sign requirements and out-of-park information strategies to promote awareness of and/or visits to Mount Assiniboine Park. • "Backcountry" and "Natural and Cultural Resource Appreciation" were identified as the two marketable product lines associated with the park. The promotion of outdoor recreation opportunities was expected to encourage visitors to participate in the range of activities presented in the park: weekend backcountry camping, 5 day lodge holidays, backcountry hiking, fall fishing, weekend skiing, and week/weekend seminars, among others. • Public participation in the formulation of the Master Plan included meetings with associate groups of the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C., in-park and out of park planning issue surveys, discussions with permittees and their clients, as well as general public opinion expressed through the Four Mountain Park planning program undertaken by the Canadian Park Service.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Direction from the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan and Implementation Strategy

As noted above, a regional land use planning process was conducted in the Kootenays between January 1993 and June 1997. The East Kootenay Land Use Plan is a higher level planning document that was approved in 1995 by the provincial government and an Kootenay-Boundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy (KBLUP/IS) was completed two years later.

The KBLUP/IS provided no specific direction for Mount Assiniboine Park, but included general guidelines on new protected areas, as well as some specific management direction for Provincial Forest lands adjacent to the park, both of which may offer useful context to the Management Plan update,.

Park Planning (New Provincial Parks) • Park master plans will be developed with the benefit of extensive public and inter-agency participation. Among other things, the plans will define park-specific management objectives, acceptable levels of use, accepted uses, zoning, and other strategies that will minimize conflicts, help ensure the integrity of important park values. • Park master planning processes will consider existing uses and management objectives and strategies (as identified in this regional plan and in operational level plans) for lands that are adjacent to the protected areas. • Provincial park master planning processes will include consultation with tourism industry representatives in order to examine potential commercial opportunities within provincial park land, subject to the prime goal to protect the conservation, recreation and cultural heritage values within the parks. Commercial opportunities will be assessed with a view towards limiting / locating the development of physical commercial infrastructure (e.g., roads, lodgings, staging areas, etc.) on the periphery of park boundaries in order to minimize park impacts.

Biodiversity Emphasis • Cross River Landscape Unit #23, consisting of all of the Cross River drainage and tributaries; including area into Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park: high biodiversity emphasis for reasons of connectivity, grizzly bear and old growth3.

3 Kootenay/Boundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy, Kootenay Inter-Agency Management Committee, June 1997: Appendix 5, Land and Resource Management Direction within the Invermere Forest District, June 1997, Appendix E, Invermere: Rationale for size, boundary locations and biodiversity emphasis assignments, http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/kor/rmd/kblup/app5.htm#3 . 9

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Wide Ranging Carnivores4 • Ensure the existing wolf populations in the upper Kootenay [drainage] are maintained or enhanced by maintaining sufficient prey habitat and, therefore, adequate prey populations. • Grizzly Bears o The following direction appears in the KBLUP/IS, Chapter 3, Section 3.4 Grizzly Bear Management Guidelines, and would have general application to Mount Assiniboine Park and its environs.5 Much of the detail reproduced below is relevant to consideration of park use levels and facility development and management elsewhere in the planning process. Provide the amount and distribution of habitat required to maintain suitable population levels and distributions of grizzly bears, except in recovery areas where populations appear to be too small or too restricted in distribution to remain viable. In such recovery areas, the intent is to provide the amount and distribution of habitat needed to allow the populations to recover in size and distribution, to the point they are self-maintaining. Minimize bear-human interaction so as to avoid human injury and/or mortality as well as the displacement of grizzly bears either through forced relocation or mortality resulting from past human conflicts, over-harvesting or poaching. The above intent will be achieved by applying the following general measures: - conserving highly productive and/or critical feeding and breeding habitats, and ensuring bear access to these habitats - avoiding residential and recreational development-related conflicts - eliminating improperly managed carnivore attractants (e.g.,, uncontrolled landfills) - using landscape-level forest ecosystem networks (FENS) and regional connectivity corridors to provide dispersal corridors between areas of population concentrations (such as parks) These guidelines apply to the Grizzly Bear Priority habitats, identified on map 3.4, which represent areas of high grizzly bear density and priority recovery areas.All Ministry of Forests, BC Parks and private campsites should eliminate waste disposal containers and require users to independently store and remove their waste from the site.Within Grizzly Bear habitats, environmental impact assessment for new construction or expansion of resorts, backcountry cabins, trails and other recreational developments should include an evaluation of potential impacts on carnivores. Development plans may include monitoring of activities and impacts on carnivore habitat and populations to ensure that limits of acceptable change are not exceeded. Hunting regulations for grizzly bears and prey species, including hunting access restrictions, should be coordinated with the both Provincial Grizzly Bear Strategy and the BC Environment Harvest Strategy.

4 Op. cit.: Appendix 5, Land and Resource Management Direction within the Invermere Forest District, June 1997, 3.0 Resource Management Zone Objectives & Strategies, Kootenay-White River, I-I03 5 Op. cit., http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/kor/rmd/kblup/3.htm#3.4 10

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Recreation • Manage Kootenay, White and Cross Rivers as Backcountry River Corridors consistent with the Backcountry Recreation Guidelines (Table 1.2, Chapter 3, section 3.9.) Apply for non- motorized use restriction through Transport Canada.6 According to these guidelines: o Backcountry river corridors should be managed for limited access and non-motorized recreation. River corridors should be managed to achieve an ROS setting of semi- primitive non-motorized. o Any logging within 200m of the river should be designed such that modification may be discernibly but not clearly evident from the trail. Any logging visible from the river, but more than 200m distant should show evidence of good visual design. o Where practical, no new, permanent roads should be constructed within 500m of backcountry river corridors. Where practical, existing roads within 500m of backcountry river corridors should be decommissioned

6 Kootenay/Boundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy, Kootenay Inter-Agency Management Committee, June 1997: Appendix 5, Land and Resource Management Direction within the Invermere Forest District, June 1997, 3.0 Resource Management Zone Objectives & Strategies, Kootenay-White River, I-I03, http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/kor/rmd/kblup/app5.htm 11

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Timber cutblocks immediately south of park boundary, Mitchell Creek

Map #2: Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Boundary and Recreational Features

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Map # 2: Park Features Pass 5 Peak Banff Minor Road National Major Road Park Highway (AB) Stream Park Boundary

N o Scale:1 : 160 000 r Map Projection: BC Albers th Datum: NAD83 Rock Isle S R im Grizzly Lk. Map Produced by Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management p Lk. s Kootenay Region GIS Centre -- February 2005 o 012 n Larix File path and name: R i Lk. /fs/u04/ofs/arcproj/plots/park/base_mtassinib_2_feat.rtl Kilometers ve r Quartz5 Hill Fatigue5 Mtn. Citadel Pass impson Citadel Peak S R iv 5 er Ve rda nt C r.

r. e C ris Kootenay rp Su Og National Lk. Cave Mtn. Park 5 Nestor5 Peak Ferro Pass

I Nub Peak n d 5 Assiniboine Pass i a Indian Peak n 5 Elizabeth Lk. Mt. Cautley

C 5 r . Cerulean Lk. Sunburst Lk. L Lk. a

r Sunburst Peak Magog C e 5 Wonder h iv i The Towers n R Pass Octopus Mtn. ll Wedgewood Peak e 5 5 e 5

C h Mt. Watson tc Terrapin Mtn. r i 5 Mt. Magog . Mt. Strom 5 M 5 5 The Marshall 5 Mt. SturdeeMt. Assiniboine LaChine Mtn. 5 5 5 Mt.5 Sam

en Ext sio n C r. er Cr. A De s s in r. i b a C o or in ur e A C r. Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

NATURAL VALUES

Climate

Most of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is in the "Humid Continental -Cool Summer" climate region, according to the Koppen-Geiger system of climate classification. Portions of the park above tree line (about 2,200 m) are included in the "Alpine Tundra" climate region. Data for the nearest climate station, Banff, are given in Table 2.1.1 in the Appendix. These data are reasonably indicative of the climate for low-elevation valleys in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, although Banff is slightly drier and more continental than the park. It was noted in a recent report (Rogeau, 2002) that establishment of two weather stations in the park (one at the park headquarters, a second remote telemetry site at the Surprise Creek cabin) would provide more worthwhile data.

Janz and Storr (1977) provide a detailed analysis of climate data for Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, and Yoho National Parks. Their analysis enables a reasonably accurate interpretation of the climate of adjacent areas for which climate data are not available, including Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. The climate of the Rocky Mountains, including the park, is dominated by Pacific air masses moving from the west across British Columbia, although Arctic air masses moving from the north and east also influence the climate. The moist Pacific air masses produce a zone of relatively high precipitation on the western flank of the Rocky Mountains as they are forced to rise over the range, followed by a drier zone on the east side of the mountains. In general, precipitation increases and temperature decreases with increasing elevation, and the highest precipitation occurs in the vicinity of the highest mountains.

In winter, the weather is controlled by moist, relatively mild Pacific air masses which alternate with cold, dry Arctic air masses. In summer, the local radiation balance and convective air movement play a more important role, resulting in weather which is often locally variable.

Mean temperature conditions can be estimated from temperature-elevation graphs given by Janz and Storr (1977). Approximate January and July temperature estimates are given below for two elevations: 2,200 m, the elevation of Mount Assiniboine Lodge; and 1,600 m, the average elevation of the lower Simpson and Mitchell River valleys.

Figure 2: Summer and Winter Mean Temperatures (in ºC)7

2200 m 1600 m January mean monthly -11 -11 mean daily maximum -8 -7 mean daily minimum -13 -13 July mean monthly 8 12

7 From: Canadian Climate Normals, 1951-1980, Temperature and Precipitation, Prairie Provinces. (Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service.)

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

mean daily minimum 3 6 mean daily maximum 15 19

In general, summer temperatures are strongly dependent on elevation. In winter, mean temperature conditions are relatively independent of elevation; colder temperatures at high elevations during stormy weather are compensated by inversion conditions during clear cold weather, when colder air accumulates in the valley bottoms. Temperatures are more variable on a week-to-week basis in winter, due to alternating Pacific and Arctic air masses.

Extreme low temperatures recorded in Yoho and Kootenay National Parks are typically about - 43°C; this is probably typical of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park as well. Extreme low temperatures are likely to be lower in the valley bottoms than at high elevations, although they are not likely to be as low as in valleys east of the continental divide. Mid-winter thaws are rare at high elevations, but may be relatively common in the lower valley bottoms.

Extreme high temperatures recorded in the valley bottoms of Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks range from 34 to 37°C. Summer maximum temperatures tend to be highest in the valley bottoms and decrease with increasing elevation. However, summer maximum temperatures show great local variability and are strongly affected by aspect; south and southwest facing slopes at high elevations may experience temperatures as high as nearby valley bottoms.

Total annual precipitation in the Rocky Mountains generally increases with elevation, and is greater on the west side of the continental divide than on the east side. However, there is considerable local variability due to topography. Based on the regional precipitation map given by Janz and Storr (1977), annual precipitation in the park probably ranges from slightly over 1,000 mm near Mount Assiniboine, to slightly under 1,000 mm along the continental divide further north, to about 750 mm in the western portion of the park.

Precipitation at climate stations near and west of the continental divide typically shows a well- defined winter maximum, around December-January, and a secondary summer maximum around June-July. The winter maximum is generally more pronounced at higher elevations. Above about 2,000 m, approximately 75 to 80% of the annual precipitation falls as snow. Precipitation is quite frequent near the continental divide; climate stations typically report an average of 11 to 16 days with measurable precipitation in June, and 12 to 14 days in December.

The maximum 24-hour rainfall at most stations near the continental divide is about 50 mm. Maximum 24-hour snowfall is strongly dependent on elevation; for example, the maximum recorded 24-hour snowfall is 58 cm at Lake Louise (1,524 m) and 33 cm at Field (1,238 m).8

8 Source: Water Survey of Canada, Historical Streamflow Summary, British Columbia and Alberta. Stations: Kootenay River at Kootenay Crossing; Albert River, Vermilion River, Brewster Creek, Spray River near Spray 14

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

A snow course was maintained near Mount Assiniboine Lodge from 1969 into the 1980s. Janz and Storr (1977) analyzed the records of snow courses throughout the Rocky Mountains; according to their statistics, the Mount Assiniboine snow course records a somewhat lower snowpack for its elevation than most snow courses on and west of the continental divide. The snow course at Sunshine ski area at the north end of the park has an average May 1 snow water equivalent of 762 mm (2,225 m elevation) compared with 690 mm at Mount Assinboine (2,230 m). (The figures given in Janz and Storr include the record only to 1975; the average snowpack to 1985 is lower because winters since 1975 tended to be considerably drier than those in the early 1970s.)9 Snow accumulation is highly variable from place to place, especially above timberline, because of redistribution of snow by wind. Therefore, snow course measurements may not give an accurate estimate of the snowpack of the surrounding area.

Although at timberline elevations the maximum snow water equivalent is usually recorded on the May 1 reading, maximum snow depths usually occur on the April 1 reading. This is because of increasing density of the snowpack during the spring. According to elevation-snow depth graphs given by Janz and Storr, average April 1 snow depth at timberline and valley bottom elevations would be expected to be about 200 -220 cm at 2,200 m and 100 -120 cm at 1,600 m.

Wind measurements are scarce in the Rocky Mountains, except for a few valley bottom locations. In general, however, prevailing winds are from the west, wind speeds increase with increasing elevation, and wind speeds are greater in winter than in summer. In many parts of the Rocky Mountains, strong winds occur in east-west oriented valleys, due to funneling of the prevailing westerly winds, while north-south valleys have relatively low wind speeds (this seems to be borne out in the Lachine Creek drainage, where relatively high incidence of lightning strikes does not result in corresponding rates of fire spread; Rogeau, 1994). Based on this principle, the strongest winds in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (other than at mountain-top level) might be expected in the Cerulean Lake -Assiniboine Pass valley. Other major valleys in the park tend to be oriented north-south or northwest-southeast.

Physiography

Ecoregion Representation

In the Ecoregion Classification of British Columbia by Demarchi (1996), Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is in the Humid Temperate Ecodomain, the Humid Continental Highlands Ecodivision, the Southern Interior Mountains Ecoprovince, and the Western Continental

Lakes. Mean annual runoff discharges given in cubic metres per second. Runoff is calculated as discharge divided by drainage area.

9 From: Snow Survey Measurements, Summary, 1935-1985. Ministry of Environment.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Ranges Ecoregion. Within the last, it is part of the Southern Park Ranges Ecosection. Demarchi’s system is based on macroclimatic processes and physiography, which is a fundamental difference between this and all other regional ecosystem classifications, e.g. the BEC system described below in the “Vegetation” section. A given ecoregion is characterized by a particular combination of climate, landforms, bedrock geology, soils, and plant and animal distributions.

Physiographically, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park lies within the Park Ranges and Front Ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The Park Ranges, which include most of the high peaks of the continental divide, consist primarily of flat lying to gently dipping sedimentary rocks of upper Precambrian (Proterozoic) and lower Paleozoic age. The Front Ranges, lying east of the Park Ranges, consist of a succession of overthrust, southwest dipping sheets of sedimentary rock, primarily limestone, of upper Paleozoic age. In the park, the two physiographic subdivisions are separated by a line extending roughly from Wonder Pass north to Simpson Pass; the Front Ranges within the park are thus confined to a narrow band along its eastern border.

The Mount Assiniboine massif, including Mount Assiniboine and its outliers Mount Magog, Mount Sturdee, The Marshall, Aye Mountain, Eon Mountain, and several lower summits, forms a compact group of peaks on the southeastern boundary of the park. Mount Assiniboine, at 3,618 m, is the sixth highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and the highest peak south of the Columbia Icefields. It stands 300 m higher than its immediate neighbours, and fully 600 m higher than any other summit for almost 30 km in any direction. With its unusual height and its symmetrical Matterhorn shape, Mount Assiniboine dominates its surroundings possibly more than any other peak of the Rockies with the exception of Mount Robson.

Magog Lake, Mount Magog and Mount Assiniboine

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Because of its elevation, the Mount Assiniboine massif has been deeply dissected by alpine glaciation, and its landforms are dominated by nearly vertical cirque walls and sharp aretes. Relief from the summit to Lake Gloria, in the floor of the cirque to the east, exceeds 1,700 m, and the relief in other cirques in the massif is commonly 1,000 m or greater. There are numerous cirque glaciers in the massif; the largest of these on the north side of Eon Mountain, is outside the park.

Apart from the Mount Assiniboine massif, the mountains in the remainder of the park are relatively low in elevation and relief, and gentle in profile. Many peaks do, however, have near- vertical cliffs up to 800 m high, and well-developed cirques, on their northeast faces. Summits are generally accordant at 2,800 to 3,000 m. Only one summit, Naswald Peak (3,043 m), exceeds 3,000 m. With the exception of two small cirque glaciers on Simpson Ridge, there are no glaciers outside the Mount Assiniboine massif.

The park, except for a small area in its southwest corner (Daer Creek) is comprised of the watersheds of the Simpson and Mitchell Rivers. In most of the park, these rivers and their major tributaries flow in deep U-shaped valleys, with floor elevations typically about 1,600 m, and as low as 1,400 m in the lower Simpson River valley. In the eastern part of the park, the upper Simpson River heads in a broad, plateau-like, subalpine basin which includes the Valley of the Rocks and the valley of Lake Magog. This basin has no surface drainage, although it is nominally part of the Simpson River watershed.

Geology

Geologically, the park is underlain in its entirety by sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic and Proterozoic age, typical of the Park Ranges.10 Map #4 summarizes the available geological mapping.

The park is divided geologically into three approximately equal portions. The eastern division is formed by a major thrust fault (the Simpson Pass Thrust) which extends from Simpson Pass south and southwest along Simpson Ridge to Lake Magog and Wonder Pass. East of (below) this fault are found formations of middle Cambrian to Mississippian age, mostly limestone. West of (above) the fault, rocks of Hadrynian and lower to middle Cambrian age have been thrust over the younger rocks to the east. On the northeast side of Mount Assiniboine a complete sequence of these rocks is exposed from Hadrynian (Precambrian) rocks at the base of the headwall near Lake Magog to middle and upper Cambrian limestone in the summit pyramid.

In the western part of the park, a line following the Mitchell River, Indian Creek, and Verdant Creek valleys separates the predominantly limestone formations to the east from the Chancellor Formation, which underlies the western third of the park and consists primarily of slate, thinly

10 The Banff map sheet (north of 51°) has been mapped in detail at a scale of 1:50,000 by the Geological Survey of Canada, and the Mount Assiniboine map sheet, which includes most of the park, has been covered by unpublished preliminary mapping at a scale of 1:125,000. 17

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 interbedded with lesser amounts of limestone. Both groups of rocks are of similar age; the dividing line represents a zone of facies change, that is, at the time of deposition, the rocks formed east of the zone were mainly limestone, while those formed to the west were mainly shale.

View down Mitchell River toward southerly park boundary

Map #3: Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Bedrock Geology

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Map # 3: Bedrock Geology Park Boundary Streams CO:Cambrian/Ordovician; COm:Cambrian/Ordovician; McKay Group Banff Cot: Upper-Mid Cambrian; Ottertail formation National DF: Devonian; Fairholme group Park Dp: Devonian; Palliser group (AB) Mb: Mississippian; Banff & Exshaw formations Ogw: Ordovician Qal: Quaternary lCG: Lower Cambrian; Gog group mCch: Upper-Mid Cambrian; Chancellor form. muC: Upper-Mid Cambrian, Jubilee formation uPM: Upper Proterozoic, Miette group

Scale:1 : 160 000 Map Projection: BC Albers Datum: NAD83 R Map Produced by Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Kootenay Region GIS Centre -- February 1, 2005 012 File path and name: /fs/u04/ofs/arcproj/plots/park/base_mtassinib_3_bedrock.rtl Kilometers

Kootenay National Park Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

The major formations represented in the park are (from youngest to oldest): Mississippian: (Exshaw and Banff Formations). Limestone, shale. Upper Devonian: (Palliser Formation). Massive dolomitic limestone. Devonian: Dolomite, limestone, shale, sandstone. Ordovician: Dolomite, limestone, quartzite, shale. Upper Cambrian: Limestone, shale. Middle Cambrian: Limestone, dolomite, shale. Middle and Upper Cambrian: (Chancellor Formation). Shale, limestone. Lower Cambrian: (Gog Group). Sandstone, quartzite. Hadrynian (Precambrian): (Miette Group). Sandstone, shale, conglomerate. The upper five are massive cliff-forming formations, and typically form resistant ridges and rock faces. They are separated by several less resistant formations including clastic sedimentary rocks and thinner limestone members, which commonly form valleys and underlie gentler slopes.

Two fossil localities have been mapped in the Lake Magog area (Mount Assiniboine Park: Policy Statement). The exact location is not disclosed so as to minimize the possibility of disturbance by the public. Undoubtedly, there are many more unmapped fossil localities.

Landforms

Landforms of note in the park include11:

• Glaciers and recent glacial landforms o Mount Assiniboine and its neighbouring peaks support a complex of small cirque glaciers. The largest of these, about 2.5 km2 in area, is on the north side of Eon Mountain outside the park. In the park, there are several glaciers of about 0.6 km2 in area or smaller on the flanks of Mounts Assiniboine, Magog, Sturdee, and Strom. These glaciers occupy a prominent bench at about the 2,600 to 2,800 m level. On the northeast side of Mounts Assiniboine and Magog, the glaciers terminate in ice cliffs, from which ice avalanches fall over the rock bluffs below to form an accumulation of ice and rock debris at the base of the bluffs. The complex of debris and terminal moraines which fills the valley south of Lake Magog, and forms part of the shoreline of the lake, is likely a debris-covered glacier fed by ice avalanches from the hanging glaciers above. o There are two small glaciers in cirques on Simpson Ridge. Otherwise, the remainder of the park outside the Mount Assiniboine massif lacks glaciers. The scarcity of glaciers in the park probably reflects the relatively low winter precipitation in the southern Rockies, in contrast to the heavily glacier-covered mountains north of Kicking Horse Pass. o In the Mount Assiniboine massif, and to a lesser extent in the cirques on Simpson Ridge, there are well-developed terminal and lateral moraines, formed during the recent period of glacial advance which culminated in the 19th century.

11 Terrain maps at a scale of 1:50,000 are available for the area of the park (Ryder, 1981). These were prepared from air photos, with little or no field checking in the park itself. The description below is based on this source, and on air photos of the park. 19

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

• Landforms resulting from Pleistocene glaciation o The Rocky Mountains (except for small areas in the southeastern foothills) were repeatedly covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene glaciations, the most recent of which terminated about 11,000 years ago. The physiography of the park is dominated by landforms resulting from the glaciations. The most obvious of these are the deep U- shaped valleys of the Simpson and Mitchell Rivers and their tributaries, and the broad, glacially eroded passes which cross the continental divide and other ranges. Mountains which protruded through the level of the ice sheets (those higher than about 2,500 m) were eroded and steepened by local cirque glaciation. Ridges and shoulders of mountains below this elevation are generally rounded and subdued in their relief, having been overridden by ice. o At elevations below about 2,000 m, the valley bottoms and sides, on slopes less than about 25°, are blanketed by glacial till. This ranges in thickness from a metre or less on higher and steeper slopes, to many metres in the bottoms of the broad upper valleys of the Simpson and Mitchell Rivers. At higher elevations, morainal deposits are generally thin or discontinuous, or else have been removed or altered by subsequent colluvial processes. However, in some broad alpine and subalpine valleys, especially the Lake Magog- Assiniboine Pass area, the Mitchell River headwaters, and the Sunshine Meadows, extensive morainal deposits are found on slopes of less than about 15°. In the valley between Magog and Og Lakes, glacial till is interspersed with fluvial and lacustrine deposits.

• Colluvial landforms o Most rocks in the park, except for some formations of massive limestone and quartzite, are quite friable. Steep rock slopes (greater than about 35°) are therefore subject to frequent rockfall, and fractured rock derived from such slopes forms extensive aprons of talus on many valley sides. Also, thin colluvial deposits derived from fractured rocks and morainal material, formed by processes such as soil creep, small-scale slumping and debris flows, and solifluction, cover many steep valley sides at lower elevations, and many areas including gentle slopes above treeline. o Except for possibly the Valley of the Rocks (discussed below) there are no known locations in the park where large landslides have occurred. There appears to be some minor landslide activity in the lower Simpson River valley where glacial deposits are undercut by the river. Avalanche paths are abundant on steep valley sides, and often extend to valley bottoms. Snow avalanches in some areas are significant in transporting colluvial material downslope.

• Landforms due to periglacial processes o Many areas above treeline, especially on north-facing slopes and on exposed ridgetops which are kept free of deep winter snow by wind, are affected by periglacial processes.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

These include solifluction (slow movement of saturated overburden over frozen ground), nivation (formation of hollows due to the creeping action of snowbanks), and the formation of patterned ground due to frost heaving. The most dramatic periglacial features in the park are rock glaciers, which are slowly creeping lobes of rock debris in cirques or at the base of talus deposits. The movement may be due to the creep of interstitial ice in colluvial debris, or to a core of buried glacier ice. Rock glaciers are especially well developed in talus deposits above Cerulean and Gog Lakes, and are found in a number of cirques, especially in the western part of the park .

Rock glacier, east side of Mitchell River

• Karst topography o Massive limestone rock formations can be eroded by chemical solution into a distinctive landscape of sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage known as karst topography. Several extensive areas of karst topography are known in the Rocky Mountains. The Valley of the Rocks, and two smaller areas along the continental divide, are mapped as karst topography on the terrain map. The massive Devonian limestone formations which underlie the area are generally favourable to the development of karst features. There are known caves at the base of Cave Mountain (Parks staff, pers. comm.) and southeast of Nub Peak (Phil Whitfield, pers. comm.). The numerous rocky depressions, the lack of surface water, and the underground drainage and fluctuating water levels of Og and Magog Lakes, suggest the possible presence of extensive cave systems. Also, vents in the snow, from which relatively warm air flows, have been reported by skiers (R. Blacklaws, 21

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

pers. comm.). However, the Valley of the Rocks is mapped on the preliminary geological map (Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 634, 1979) as a landslide deposit. Although there is no obvious source of a landslide of such huge dimensions, it is possible that the hummocky topography of the valley could have been formed by a landslide which predated some or all of the Pleistocene glaciations. The landslide material may have been subsequently altered by karst processes. Whatever its origin, the Valley of the Rocks is a highly unusual and significant physiographic feature in the park.

Og Lake

• Fluvial and glaciofluvial landforms o Most rivers and creeks in the park flow in narrow channels, confined by colluvial or morainal deposits in bedrock, and fluvial landforms are not abundant. Some areas of narrow gravel floodplain are found in the larger valleys, especially the Simpson River valley. Small alluvial fans at the mouths of steep tributary creeks are common in the major river valleys. Glaciofluvial landforms are not abundant; however, some glaciofluvial deposits have been mapped in the Lake Magog -Assiniboine Pass area. The most obvious of these is a large kame terrace on the west side of Lake Magog.

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Soils

The soils of neighbouring Kootenay and Banff National Parks were mapped and described in detail in the Ecological Land Classification series (Achuff et al., 1984; Holland and Coen, 1983). The soils information contained in these references can be applied to adjacent areas of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. Within any ecoregion, soil development depends on parent material physical properties and chemistry, microclimate and vegetation, drainage, and active geomorphic processes.

The most widespread soil order in the park is the Brunisolic order. Eutric brunisols are the most common, and are widespread in all regions of the park; dystric brunisols are somewhat less common, but are also widespread. Eutric brunisols are neutral to basic (pH greater than 5.5), and are developed on calcareous parent materials, which includes material derived from limestone bedrock (which underlies most of the central and eastern portion of the park), and glacial till in most major valleys. Dystric brunisols are more acidic and are developed on noncalcareous parent materials; such materials are derived from quartzite, shale, and slate, which are common in the central and western part of the park.

Melanic and sobric brunisols differ from eutric and dystric brunisols in that they have thick Ah (humic) horizons. They form under nonforest vegetation, such as alpine meadows or shrubland in the Alpine and Subalpine biogeoclimatic zones.

Gray luvisols occur infrequently in the park’s lower elevations, especially under lodgepole pine forest.

Humo-ferric podzol soils occur in association with brunisols in cool, moist environments in the upper Subalpine and Alpine subzones. They tend to occur on noncalcareous parent materials which are geologically stable (i.e., not subject to erosion or slope movement), and are found under heath tundra or Englemann spruce -subalpine fir -subalpine larch forest.

Gleysols and gleyed brunisols or podzols occur locally in poorly drained depressional or seepage areas.

Regosols are widespread in areas of active geomorphic processes, such as active colluvial slopes, avalanche slopes, alpine areas subject to solifluction, and river floodplains.

There is no simple relationship between soil type and susceptibility to soil erosion; however, soil erosion was found to be related to poor soil drainage and to the presence of late-lying snow.

In the Lake Magog, area, the most abundant parent material is basal till, on which gleyed eutric and dystric brunisols are the most common soil type. Ablation till and glaciolacustrine deposits tended to be somewhat better drained than basal till, and to have brunisol and podzol soil types.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Water and Hydrology

Streamflow conditions in the park can be inferred by examining the record of several streams near the park which are gauged by the Water Survey of Canada. Of the streams examined, the Albert and Vermilion Rivers probably most closely resemble conditions in the park, as they drain watersheds on the west side of the continental divide a short distance to the north and south.

Based on these data, runoff from the two main watersheds of the park, the Simpson and Mitchell Rivers, is probably about 750 mm per year, in reasonably good agreement with the estimated annual precipitation of 750 to 1,000 mm.

On all five streams examined, June is in the highest runoff month, and about 90% of runoff occurs in the six months from May to October. Maximum discharges invariably occur from late May to early July, and most frequently occur in mid-June. Runoff from spring and early summer snowmelt controls streamflow; summer and fall rain seldom or never causes discharge as high as that which occurs during the snowmelt season. It is possible, however, that rainstorms in June, which is the rainiest month in the year, could cause unusually large floods when combined with snowmelt.

Ice conditions can be expected on rivers from November through March, with rivers frequently being frozen over except in rapids.

There are numerous lakes in alpine areas near the continental divide. Almost all the lakes in the park are located in broad alpine valleys and plateaus, where they typically occupy glacially- scoured depressions in resistant limestone bedrock. Only two lakes, Wedgwood Lake and Rock Lake, are found in valley bottoms below timberline. Except for Rock Lake, a small lake on Surprise Creek, there are no lakes in the southwestern half of the park.

Lake Magog and Og lake are unusual in that they have no outlets and show considerable fluctuation in their water levels. These fluctuations are at least 6 m for Lake Magog and at least 12 m for Og lake (Norris, 1985). The presence of a large area of possible karst topography in the Valley of the Rocks downvalley from Og Lake indicates that both lakes probably drain underground into the Simpson River drainage; however, underground drainage into the Spray River watershed or, less likely, the Mitchell River watershed is also possible.

Fisheries surveys of the lakes (Norris, 1985) provide physical and chemical data for the lakes in the southeast part of the park, near Mount Assiniboine. All the lakes in the area have clean, unpolluted water, although the water in Gog Lake is slightly silty. All the lakes are quite deep, with maximum depths ranging from 9 m (Sunburst) to 51 m (Magog).

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Vegetation

Biogeoclimatic Zones

Earlier, reference was made to the Ecoregion classification system for British Columbia, which is one landscape mapping scheme. However, there is another level of ecological complexity that occurs within mountainous regions, due to changes in climate with elevation (“topo-climatic zonation”). Within each terrestrial region generally influenced by climatic processes and landform parameters, there are smaller climatic subzones that are reflected by the plant and animal communities present, and this is the basis for the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) scheme. The two systems complement one another but it is the latter that will be used here.

Thus, the clearest picture of the overall vegetation patterns in Mount Assiniboine Park emerges when it is seen as associations of characteristic plant communities. The Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification divides the province of B.C. into four Regions, and then further, into fourteen Zones (Meidinger, 1997). Differences in climate within a Region are reflected in different soil and vegetation patterns. These patterns are the basis for subdivision of the Regions into Biogeoclimatic Zones.

A specific biogeoclimatic zone will have a unique combination of identifiable climatic patterns, soil types, geographic features, and climatic climax (or indicator) plant species. A climatic climax tree species is one which is a dominant member of the mature plant community (i.e. one which evolves without major natural disturbaces such as fires or avalanches). Biogeoclimatic zones and subzones are named after the climatic climax tree(s) found in that area. An indicator plant species helps to identify the particular zone, as it rarely occurs in other zones. In Mount Assiniboine Park, however, topography influences the occurrence of plant species and in particular controls the treeline elevation. Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park includes areas of the Alpine Tundra Undifferentiated (ATun) and the Engelmann Spruce- Subalpine Fir (ESSF) Biogeoclimatic Zones; within the latter, there are three subzones found.

The data presented in this background report are a summary of available information. No new field work was undertaken for the purposes of this study, although previous work in the park is noted for reference. A partial list of plant species expected in the park is presented in Appendix Three.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

The Engelmann Spruce -Subalpine Fir Zone

The Engelmann Spruce -Subalpine Fir Zone (ESSF) extends from a lower limit of about 1500 m up to 2500 m in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (and throughout southeastern B.C.; the elevation of this zone varies in other parts of the province). This zone is subject to high precipitation in the form of snow, low temperatures, and a cool, short growing season. The ground is often frozen before winter snowfall, and only plants that can survive extended periods with their roots frozen are found. Approximately 40% of the park is in this BEC Zone.

Ecosystems in the ESSF Zone are dominated by two trees, Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) and Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa). Of these two climatic climax species, the Subalpine Fir tends to be found on a greater variety of sites than the spruce. Engelmann Spruce, however, may dominate stands in rich valley bottom and valley side sites. At elevations near tree line, Subalpine Fir is the dominant species, and Engelmann Spruce is found in small amounts, or it is absent altogether. Alpine Larch (Larix lyallii), Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis), Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), and Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) are also found at these elevations (Lea, 1984).

Shrubby components of the understorey vary with elevation, but False Azalea (Menziesia ferruginea), Grouseberry (Vaccinium scoparium), White Mountain Rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum), Black Mountain Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) , Red Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis), and White Moss Heather (Cassiope mertensiana) are common.

Herbs and mosses form a continuous soil cover. Wood Betony (Pedicularis bracteosa.), Mountain Valerian (Valeriana. sitchensis), Indian Hellebore (Veratrum viride), and Meadow Spirea (Luetkea pectinata) are commonly found.

As a result of disturbances such as fire, additional forest types may occur in the park (Lea, 1984). The first type is dense, single species stands of Lodgepole Pine, and the second is deciduous Alder stands. In both cases, such areas are first colonized by the opportunistic herb Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and the shrubs Black Swamp Gooseberry (Ribes lacustre) and Black- berry Elder (Sambucus racemosa var. melanocarpa).

Communities of wetland species may be found in depressed areas or valley bottoms. The decomposition of all organic material is slow in the wet areas at these high elevations.

Treeless subalpine meadows occur at elevations above 2,200 m. Melting snow provides moisture, but tree growth is limited by the cold temperatures, long snow duration, and the thick carpets of herbs and sedges. Sunshine Meadows extend across an upland plateau from the northern tip of Mount Assiniboine Park to Banff National Park. These meadows are of significant botanical, visual, and recreational interest to park users.

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In his study of the Magog area of the park, Hans Roemer (1975) found extensive alpine meadows both above and below timberline. The meadows below timberline are located in depressions apparently created by the collapse of limestone caves. The resulting surface depressions collect cold air and have localized climates too severe for tree growth. The lowest of these meadows is 700 feet below timberline (1,750 m).

View of Wonder Pass and The Towers showing Alpine Larch and meadows

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Map # 4: Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification Park Boundary AT unp: Alpine Tundra unproductive parkland ESSF dk: Englemann Spruce Subalpine Fir dry & cool Banff MS dk: Montane Spruce dry & cool National Stream Park Lake (AB)

Scale:1 : 160 000 Map Projection: BC Albers Datum: NAD83 R

Map Produced by Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Kootenay Region GIS Centre -- February 1, 2005 012 File path and name: /fs/u04/ofs/arcproj/plots/park/base_mtassinib_4_BEC.rtl Kilometers

n Rive o r s p im S

Kootenay National Park

er iv R ll e h c it M Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Map #4: Mount Assiniboine Park Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification

Subzones of the Engelmann Spruce -Subalpine Fir Zone

Forest distribution is easily influenced by variations in topography, soil, and microclimate; hence, localized vegetation patterns indicate the presence of subzones within the ESSF Zone. The ESSF Zone found in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is divided elevationally into three subzones: Dry Cool (ESSFdk); Upper Dry Cool (ESSFdku); and Dry Cool Parkland (ESSFdkp). These delineations and their elevation ranges are taken from a recent Predictive Ecosystem Mapping study (Ketcheson, 2003).

• ESSFdk o This is the lowest subzone of the ESSF Zone, occurring between 1550 m and 1920 m in the park. On south and southwest slopes, evidence of this subzone tends to extend from 1650 to 2050 m. South-facing slopes tend to experience more extreme heating and wind drying conditions than north-facing slopes, thus have a different microclimate than other aspects. o The characteristic tree is the Douglas-fir, which tolerates the warmer, drier climate of the lower subzone, but is rarely found in the higher ESSF subzones. Other trees include Lodgepole Pine and Western Larch (Larix occidentalis). Developing forest stands, or seral stands, are usually dominated by Birch-leaved Spirea (Spiraea betulifolia), Soopolallie (Shepherdia canadensis), Rose (Rosa spp.) and Grouseberry in their shrublayer. Common herbs are Pine Grass (Calamagrostis rubescens), Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Heart-leaved Arnica (Arnica cordifolia), and Northern Twinflower (Linnaea borealis).

• ESSFdku o This subzone extends from 1920 m to 2380 m. On south or southwest-facing slopes, the subzone may be found between 2050m and 2300m. Below 2,100 m, the dominant tree of this subzone is usually the Lodgepole Pine. Whitebark Pine may dominate open stands on steep, rapidly drained sites at higher elevations. Alpine Larch is also found at the upper limits of the subzone, often as a pioneer on recently deglaciated and avalanche sites. o The understorey is dominated by False Azalea, Black Mountain Huckleberry, and Black Twinberry (Lonicera involucrate). Common herbs are Grouseberry, Heart-leaved Arnica, Northern Twinberry, Canadian Bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis), and White-flowered Rhododendron.

• ESSFdkp o The upper limits of the ESSFdk subzone give way to ESSFdkp parkland where open stands tend to be mixed with alpine meadow and tundra comrnunities (Lea, 1984). The meadows associated with the Lake Magog, Og Lake and the Sunshine area are of

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

provincial significance, and are the most important vegetation feature in the park from the perspective of recreation. o Characteristic of this subzone are “Krummholz” communities, with clumps or islands of stunted trees less than 3 m high. This subzone occurs from 2380 to 2500 m (2300 to 2500m on warm aspects) and is the uppermost subzone of the ESSF Zone. Trees are established only during the better, milder years. Much of the area is unvegetated. o The climatic conditions are extreme and the krummholz communities represent the uppermost limits of tree growth. The dominant tree species is the Subalpine Fir, with some Engelmann Spruce, Whitebark Pine, and Alpine Larch. Grouseberry, Red Mountain Heather, and grasses and sedges are found in the understorey (Lea, 1984).

The Alpine Tundra Zone (ATun)

The Alpine Tundra Biogeoclimatic Zone is found above 2500m, comprising almost 60% of the total area of the park. The severe climate of this zone prevents the establishment of trees. The ground is steep and rocky, and soil is very thin or absent. Alpine tundra vegetation occurs in Mount Assiniboine Park in small, scattered, high elevation locations (Lea, 1984).

Availability of moisture is significant to the types of vegetation found. On dry, rapidly drained sites, White Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala), Alpine Bluegrass (Poa alpine), Moss Campion (Silene acaulis), and lichens are common. On medium or averagely drained sites, Willows (Salix glauca and S. barrattiana), Red Mountain Heather, Broad-leaved Willow Herb (Epilobium latifolium),and Mountain Forget-me-not (Myosotis asiatica) are common. On moister sites within the Alpine Tundra Zone, the species composition is similar to that of the alpine meadows in the ESSFdkp Subzone. The vegetation profile of any subzone will directly influence the species of herbivorous wildlife that can live there, and so in turn the carnivorous predators as well. This will be discussed further below as it relates to management for wildlife values.12

A study of the environmental impact of recreational use in the popular Lake Magog area of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, carried out in the summer of 1974 by Hans Roemer, illustrates the relationships between the small plant communities of the Magog area. Roemer’s study area was located at 2133m, near the upper limit of the ESSFdku Subzone. This study predates and anticipates the Biogeoclimatic System by which we now recognize the association of plant species. A summary of his groupings can be found in Appendix Four.

Rare and Sensitive Plants and Ecosystems

While many species of plants are adapted to the harsh, high elevation environment of Mount Assiniboine Park, even these are susceptible to potentially irreversible damage. Roemer (1975) was able to identify potential problems within the park by studying these plant communities, the soil moisture and parent material, and snow duration. For example, Western Anemone, Yellow

12 A complete species list as compiled by Haider and Piccin (2002) is found in Appendix Three 29

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce glanduliflora), Grouseberry, Mountain Valerian, and Pussy toes (Antennaria lanata) are five plants most susceptible to trampling. Sustained trampling destroys alpine plant communities in just one to eight weeks. Where these and other delicate alpine plants occur, care must be taken to avoid trampling. The effects of trail “braiding” will be discussed further in “Management of Natural Values”.

Alpine meadow ecosystems in the park are as sensitive and fragile as they are beautiful. The most notable and extensive of these communities are in the Sunshine-Citadel Pass area as far as Eohippus Lake, in Terrapin Bowl, and on Mount Cautley. On the northwest slopes of Cautley (above Assiniboine Pass) there is purportedly a colony of rare Arctic poppies (Papaver lapponicum).

Under the recent federal Species At Risk Act (SARA), not just plant species but also plant communities may be so classified. No such communities have been identified in Mount Assiniboine to date, but such an inventory would be worthwhile.

As of 2002, under the provincial risk classification system, one red-listed (endangered) plant species, Banff Bluegrass (Poa laxa spp banffiana), and ten blue-listed (threatened) species had been identified in the park (see Appendix Three). A 2004 survey in the south core area observed over 111 plant species, including five trees, eleven shrubs and over ninety flowers, of which three were red-listed and five were blue-listed (Nicholson, 2004 – see Appendix Five).

Fish

No recent comprehensive or systematic field surveys of fish populations have been conducted in Mount Assiniboine, however a 2001 report (Amos and Wright) summarized previous knowledge and clearly identified critical gaps therein. Information including species presence, fish distribution, population dynamics, stocking history and Park management policies, as well as recommendations for future studies to address information gaps, were compiled in that synopsis in working toward a fish management plan for the park (Amos and Wright, 2001).13

It is believed that with the possible exception of Rock Lake in the Surprise Creek drainage, all the lakes in the park were “barren” in their pristine condition. Fish were stocked in a somewhat haphazard and quite unscientific manner sporadically from 1935 until 1988. At the earlier time, there was little conception of ecological integrity or the possible consequences of such introduction of non-native species; the practice was entirely recreation-driven. The natural absence of fish stocks can be attributed to both physical barriers (waterfalls, steep stream gradients) which prevented the inward migration of fish prehistorically and the low productive capacity of the subalpine bodies to support sustainable recruitments to the populations.

13 Information on fish resources from the 1989 Background Document is included for reference as Appendix Six. 30

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Westslope (or Yellowstone) Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri), a blue-listed species, is confirmed in the Mitchell watershed (Mitchell River, Wedgwood Creek and Lake, probably Coney Lake, Cerulean Lake, Sunburst Lake, and Elizabeth Lake) and the Simpson watershed (Simpson and North Simpson Rivers, Verdant Creek, Surprise Creek, Indian Creek, Lachine Creek, Gog Lake Creek, Magog Creek, and possibly Og Lake Creek, Lake Magog, Rock Lake, Gog Lake, and Og Lake.

Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are found in the Mitchell watershed (Mitchell River, Cerulean Lake, and Sunburst Lake) and Simpson (Surprise Creek, Rock Lake, and possibly Lake Magog). There is a possible misidentification as Rainbow of what are actually Cutthroat in Rock Lake. Moreover, these two species may hybridize where their spawning time coincides as is suspected in Sunburst, with the likely consequence of the Cutthroat population disappearing (Norris, 1985).

At the time of writing of the previous Master Plan (1989), it was believed that Dolly Varden Char (Salvelinus malma malma) lived in the lakes of the north core area, but these are now believed to have been Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus), another blue-listed species. However, to further illustrate the imprecision of current knowledge, Fernet et.al. (1987) suggested that the bull trout were actually Eastern Brook (Speckled) Trout (Salvelinus fontalis). Even if both species are present, Eastern Brook Trout tend to ultimately outcompete Bull Trout, as well as Rainbow and Cutthroat (Amos and Wright, 2001).

Mountain Whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) are known to occur in lower reaches of the Simpson River but have not been recently confirmed within the Park boundaries. A report of the species in Cerulean Lake is the only one in the Mitchell system and must be considered suspect at this time.

Species misidentifications are only one of a number of gaps emphasizing the need for much more thorough and up-to-date data to guide parks management policies with respect to fish. For example, the last comprehensive field survey was done twenty years ago (Norris, 1985). Historic reports of species presence do not necessarily provide an understanding of natural viability or sustainability of populations. There is poor understanding of the effects of angling pressure, winterkill, spawning and rearing habitat, and species competition (Amos and Wright, 2001).

In the summation of their 2001 survey, Amos and Wright made several recommendations, including: • Confirmation of species presence or absence, particularly in Rock Isle, Grizzly and Larix Lakes. If Parks personnel are to do that sampling, it is essential that they be trained and tested if more uncertain identification is to be avoided; • Conduct fish and habitat inventories by watersheds throughout the park, making GIS note of gradient (>20%) and other physical barriers; • Where feasible, do higher-level analysis and reporting of fish survey data; especially document estimates of significant or imperilled species or populations; identify areas in the

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

park where angling’s contribution to mortality is significant and recommend changes in the fishing regulations; • Assess spawning and redds, and where natural recruitment isn’t sustainable, determine whether a stocking program would be worthwhile (according to Mike Gall (pers. comm., 2005), current stocking policy is linked to the historical antecedents along with ecosystem and recreational goals); • Study competition and hybridization. If competition from less-valued species is found to be serious, look at what’s being done elsewhere for mitigation; and • Review current management practices and policies, and adjust to harmonize with the results and conclusions of the field studies and analyses recommended.

At this time, Rock Isle, Grizzly and Larix Lakes in the north core area remain closed to fishing due to previous angling pressure and damage to sensitive shoreline areas. Cerulean Lake is designated “catch and release” and Sunburst has a special catch quota. Other lakes are subject to the general regulations for the management unit.

Wildlife

Inventory and Research

The resident wildlife of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park are creatures adapted to the harsh environment of the high country. Many of the birds and mammals that occur there spend much of their time outside the park in locales more suitable for reproduction or winter survival. As a result of the severe climatic conditions, the diversity of wildlife in the park is low although the large mammals are quite well represented. The following is an overview of the current knowledge of the park's wildlife.

Birds

The avifauna of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is characterized by species that inhabit the subalpine, alpine, and heavily forested habitats of the northern Rocky Mountains. Many of the species 1isted for the park are no doubt migrants. Information on the birds of Mount Assiniboine is scanty, much of it having been compiled by park rangers while performing other duties. Consequently, most of the records are of a simple presence or absence nature; there is little information on abundance, distribution, seasonal occurrence, or breeding status of the various species.

As of 1987, the occurrence of eighty-four species of birds were considered confirmed for the park despite the lack of birding experience of some observers. The presence of a further five species was considered possible. The apparent sighting of two species, the Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) and the Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Aimophila ruficeps) were rejected, the first on the basis of a comment in a ranger's report, the second on the basis of known range. A later survey (Ketcheson, 1994) resulted in the addition of six more species to the list. The 32

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 species found include the blue-listed Bald Eagle and the red-listed Peregrine Falcon.14 A 2004 study observed thirty-five bird species, of which three can be considered significant records (Nicholson, 2004).

A noticeable feature of the bird checklist is the paucity of species dependent upon marshy habitats. There are no grebes, geese, swans, bitterns, or coots and only two species of dabbling ducks, these being the Mallard and Northern Pintail. Although there are a number of small lakes in the park, they are oligotrophic in nature, with little aquatic vegetation available for these types of birds.

The eighty-four species of birds recorded for the park is probably considerably less than actually occurs. In neighbouring Kootenay National Park, 182 species have been confirmed. Most of the sightings in Mount Assiniboine have come from alpine habitats at an elevation near 2300 metres; the bird life of lower elevations (down to 1500 metres) is poorly documented. Some species which are common in Kootenay National Park, such as the Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus), Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), and Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) have not been recorded for Mount Assiniboine.

Amphibians

The only species of amphibian known for the park is the western toad (Bufo boreas). Five individuals were observed by Parkin and Gunvi11e (1974), and the species was confirmed by Ketcheson (1994). L. Halvorsen (pers. comm.) describes the wood frog (Rana sy1vatica) as probable for the park and the spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) as possible.

Reptiles

No reptiles are known to occur in the park, although L. Halverson (pers. comm.) suggested there may be some western terrestrial (wandering) garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans vagrans).

Butterflies and Moths

A field study conducted by an experienced amateur lepidopterist in the summer of 2004 observed 26 butterfly species of which three are blue-listed. Twenty-eight moth species were recorded, of which at least three can be considered rare in B.C. (Nicholson, 2004 – see Appendix Four).

Mammals

14 Refer to species list in Appendix 3. 33

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

The presence and population health of the smaller mammals has not been inventoried for many years; thus most of what follows is based on the previous Master Plan Background Report (1987). There are some more recent findings on larger mammals included.

• Shrews and Moles (Order Insectivora) o Cowan and Guiget (1965) identified three species of shrew in Mount Assiniboine, these being the masked shrew (Sorex cinereus), dusky shrew (Sorex monticolus.), and northern water shrew (Sorex palustris). There are no other records of insectivores for the park.

• Bats (Order Chiroptera) o Only the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) has been recorded for the park (Cowan and Guiget, 1965), although the long-eared bat (Myotis evotis) probably occurs as well, as it is widespread in Kootenay National Park, being found as high as the lower subalpine ecoregion (Poll et al., 1984).

• Hares and Pikas (Order Lagomorpha) o The American pika (Ochotona princeps) was reported as common but not abundant on talus slopes by Parkin and Gunville (1974) and as plentiful in the Simpson River drainage by A. Cooper (pers. comm., 1986). The distribution of the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), which occurs within the park, is unknown although the species is widespread in Kootenay National Park (Poll et al., 1984). Hares’ abundance is cyclical in nature.

• Rodents (Order Rodentia) o Fifteen species of rodent have been reported for the park. Cowan and Guiget (1965) collected specimens of the least chipmunk (Eutamias minimus) at Mount Assiniboine, and Parkin and Gunville (1974) recorded the species at Magog and Cerulean Lakes. The yellow-pine chipmunk (Eutamias amoenus) has not been recorded for the park, but can be expected as it is widespread, although uncommon, in Kootenay National Park (Poll et al., 1984). o Hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) occur in the park, but may not be abundant. Gain and Erdman (1975) recorded the species and A. Cooper (pers. comm.) noted that there were "quite a few" in the core area as well as a small colony in The Nub basin. The Columbian ground squirrel (Spermophi1us columbianus) is very common in the park, particularly in the core area where in the absence of predation they are seen everywhere around Mount Assiniboine Lodge (pers. observation, 2004).The golden-mantled ground squirrel (Spermophi1us 1atera1is) is rather uncommon according to Parkin and Gunvi11e (1974), who recorded only three specimens of the latter species, one each at Sunburst, Cerulean, and Elizabeth Lakes. The red squirrel (Tamiasciuras hudsonicus) also occurs in the park, but information on the distribution and abundance of the species is not available, although red squirrels are common and widespread in Kootenay National Park (Poll et a1, 1984). The northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) has not been reported in

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Mount Assiniboine, but may be expected as it is widespread in Kootenay National Park (Poll et a1., 1984). o The beaver (Castor canadensis) is an uncommon park visitor. According to A. Cooper (pers. comm., 1986) they occasionally make their way up the Simpson River into the park, but do not appear to survive over winter due to low water levels, severe temperatures, and predation. C. Christensen (pers. comm., 1986) reported that there are no beaver in the upper Mitchell River. o There are eight species of small rodents known for Mount Assiniboine. Parkin and Gunville (1974) collected one deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and eight Gapper's red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) in 28 trap-nights. Cowan and Guiget (1965) collected specimens in the park of northern bog lemming (Synaptomys borealis), heather vole (Phenacomys intermedius), meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus), long-tailed vole (Microtus longicaudus), Richardson’s water vole (Aryicola richardsoni), and western jumping mouse (Zapus princeps). The bushy-tailed wood rat (Neotoma cinerea) has not been recorded, but may be expected as it is widespread in Kootenay National Park and occurs as high as the upper subalpine ecoregion (Poll et al., 1984). o Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) are reported as common in the upper Simpson drainage by A. Cooper (pers. comm.) and as present in the core area by Parkin and Gunville (1974).

• Carnivores (Order Carnivora) o There are ten species of carnivore reported for Mount Assiniboine. In the 1980’s, coyotes (Canis latrans) were reported as being “occasional” in the upper Mitchell River drainage by C. Christensen (pers. comm.) and “fairly common” in the Simpson drainage by A. Cooper (pers. comm.); recent guide/outfitter reports suggest that situation persists. Most coyotes move out of the park to lower elevations during periods of heavy snow accumulation, although some remain on the bighorn sheep winter range (Jones, 1984). o Wolves (Canis lupus) Wolves are a species whose current status in Mount Assiniboine isn’t clear but may be inferred from neighbouring areas where there has been more recent study. According to veteran guide-outfitter Albert Cooper, wolves in the Simpson River valley were rare until about 1980 (pers. comm., 1987 Background Report), but he reported a pack of at least eleven animals along the upper Simpson in the winter of 1981-82. Eight wolves were also observed at Daer Pond (just outside Mount Assiniboine’s southwest boundary) in early 1983 (Poll et.al., 1984). These reports correlate with federal parks researchers’ findings that wolf populations in Kootenay National Park began to grow in the early 1980’s. There is a Kootenay pack numbering around ten individuals whose movements have been followed by radio telemetry since 1992. They appear to require a range of approximately 2800 km2 and are known to travel beyond the park, so some activity in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park may be assumed (Parks Canada Website, 2005). Recovering packs in Banff National Park may also range into Assiniboine. One wolf was observed on the Og Pass trail in August, 1977 (Park files). There was an unconfirmed report of eleven wolves at Magog Lake in early 1983(C. Christensen, pers. comm.). 35

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o Black bears (Ursus americanus) are not considered plentiful in Mount Assiniboine. Guide/outfitter Albert Cooper generally sighted one or two black bears in a seven-week period in the fall. B. Warkentin (pers. comm.) gave a rough populaton estimate of 25 black bears for the park. Competition with grizzly bear may be a limiting factor. o Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) appear to be fairly numerous, at least in some areas of the park. A. Cooper (pers. comm.) normally sights ten to twelve grizzlies in the fall in the upper Simpson drainage. C. Christensen (pers. comm.) observed eight grizzlies in the upper Mitchell drainage in the spring of 1986 and knows of four grizzly bear young-of- the-year in that area. Grizzly were scarce in the core area up to 198915, but have been observed more frequently in recent years, particularly in September.16 o Weasels (Mustelidae). There are four species of the weasel family in Mount Assiniboine Park. Marten (Martes americana) are likely fairly common throughout the park. A. Cooper (pers. comm.) stated that marten were very common in the 1960’s and then declined, possibly in response to their predation on red squirrels. Short-tailed weasels (Mustela erminea) were reported for the park by Cowan and Guiget (1965) and are common according to A. Cooper (pers. comm.). There are a few wolverine (Gulo luscus) in the park according to A. Cooper and C. Christensen (pers. comm.), although according to Cooper, there were more in the past. Parkin and Gunville (1974) observed a wolverine at Larix Lake. The American badger (Taxidea taxus) is apparently quite uncommon, with observations having been made by A. Cooper (pers. comm.) in the core area and by Gain and Erdman (1975). Badgers are a red-listed species as this is the northern tip of their range, and are only known in the O’Brien Meadows area of the park. o Cougar (Felis concolor) is one of the two species of cat found in the park. Cougar are quite uncommon (A. Cooper and C. Christensen, pers. comm.) and had always been so during Cooper's 50+ years of hunting experience in the park. Cougar follow the elk and mule deer out of the park in winter. o Canada lynx (Lynx lynx). There are a few lynx in the park (A. Cooper, pers. comm.), their numbers varying closely with the population of snowshoe hare.

• Ungulates (Order Artiodactyla) Six species of ungulates inhabit the park. o Elk (Cervus elaphus) range into the high elevations of the park in summer and are common in the core area during the fall rut (M. Hanry, pers. comm.). They generally winter in Kootenay National Park or at lower elevations beyond Kootenay Park (M. Hanry, pers. comm.), although bull elk have been observed on the bighorn sheep winter range on the east side of the park in late winter (B. Warkentin, pers. comm.). Warkentin also noted that studies have shown that elk move from Banff National Park to Mount Assiniboine Park in the summer. By the late 1980’s there were fewer elk in the park than the veteran guide-outfitters had known in the past (A. Cooper and C. Christensen, pers. comm., Background Report, 1987) with numbers being down substantially from 15 years

15 M. Hanry, personal communication, in Peepre (1987), p.38 16 Sepp & Barb Renner and Glenn Campbell, personal communication, September 2005. 36

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before (A. Cooper, pers. comm.). Cooper estimated a population of 35 to 40 elk maximum in the upper Simpson River in the late 1980’s, compared to approximately 100 in the late 1960’s. It has been suggested then and since that the replacement of elk winter range by forest succession is a factor in the decline, which if significant would be another argument for prescribed burning in the park (see below). It is also likely that the re- invigoration of wolf populations, discussed below, in the Central Rocky Mountains has impacted the elk. o Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) have historically always been rather uncommon in the park (A. Cooper and C. Christensen, pers. comm., Background Document, 1987). They range throughout the park in summer (M. Hanry, pers. comm.) and winter outside the park (A. Cooper, pers. comm.). o White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) inhabit lower elevations than mule deer and are very uncommon in Mount Assiniboine. Cooper (pers. comm.) observed one every four to five years. No recent inventories have been done. o Moose (Alces alces) are fairly common in the upper Simpson River drainage (A. Cooper, pers. comm.) and uncommon but apparently increasing in the upper Mitchell River drainage (C. Christensen, pers. comm.). Cooper observes ten to twelve bull moose every fall and estimates a population of 25 to 30 moose in the upper Simpson. Christensen observes two to three moose every fall. o Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are apparently widespread in the park in areas such as Simpson Ridge and the upper Mitchell River. There are no recent records of goat surveys in the park and the status of the population is unclear at this time. According to A. Cooper (pers. comm.) the goat population in the upper Simpson River had declined considerably by fall, 1986. He observed approximately 30 goats at that time compared to 50 to 70 goats in previous years. Cooper suggested that severe weather the previous winter may have been the cause of this apparent decline, although Warkentin (pers. comm.) stated that the winter of 1985-86 was not a severe one. Cooper gave a rough estimation of approximately 40 goats in the upper Simpson River now, as opposed to about 100 goats in that area in previous years. Mountain goats are fairly common in the upper Mitchell according to C. Christensen (pers. comm.) who observed groups of five or six frequently. B. Warkentin (pers. comm. 1986) estimated a population of 300 goats in M.U. 4-25, zones D and E, of which Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park comprises about three-fifths. o Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) Sheep occur in Mount Assiniboine year round, although most, if not all, spend part of the year outside the park. The main sheep winter range occurs on the east slopes of the continental divide between the Alberta border and the upper Simpson River, i.e. the Quartz Ridge area. Snow accumulation on the winter range is less than in neighbouring areas. Many of the sheep on this winter range summer in Banff National Park, although bighorns from Kootenay National Park are also known to winter in the upper Simpson and Mitchell River drainages (Poll et al., 1984). C. Christensen (pers. comm.) stated that sheep move into the upper Mitchell River drainage in spring and depart in mid-October. According to Christensen, these sheep move toward Banff National Park and may be wintering on the east slopes of the 37

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

continental divide within Mount Assiniboine Park. A. Cooper (pers. comm.), who hunted this winter range, did not begin sheep hunting until the end of October when the bighorns arrive. A study done for BC Parks (1994) concluded that the amount of forage on this critical winter range probably is not the factor limiting population size. At least five sheep surveys were conducted in the park between 1971 and 1987 (Table 2.3.3). Surveys indicated approximately 50 sheep except in 1985, when 108 were counted. B. Warkentin felt that about 20 sheep were double counted in that survey (R. Quilter, pers. comm.). The 1986 survey was not an attempted complete count (R. Quilter, pers. comm.) but the 1982 and 1984 surveys were (Park files). From 1992 through 2002, an aerial count of the herd on the winter range was made every March; and appear to show the population to be stable. A rudimentary analysis of this multi- year data suggests a direct correlation between the ratio of lambs to ewes and the size of the populaton in the following year’s count. Because of that apparent stability and in the interest of most effectively utilizing resources, it was decided to scale the count back to a triennial cycle. The current size of the population is probably around 50 animals. More will be said about this in the section on hunting as sheep are the favourite target of resident and guided (non-resident) hunters in the park, and hunting may well be more of a population-limiting factor than range size, predation or disease. Also, in discussing ecosystem restoration below, it is noted that the absence of natural wildfire cycles has allowed forest ingrowth to reduce potentially productive sheep winter range. The population of sheep in other parts of the park is poorly understood. In the late 1980’s, A. Cooper (pers. comm.), while not emphasizing any decline in sheep numbers, observed that forest succession was encroaching on the sheep winter range. There has never been any observation of the lungworm/pneumonia complex that has in the past decimated the sheep population near Radium in Kootenay National Park.

Species of Specific Note

Fish and wildlife species of note include those at risk of extirpation (red-listed Badger and Peregrine Falcon, blue-listed Bull Trout, Bald Eagle, Grizzly Bear) and the “charismatic megafauna” associated so strongly with the Rocky Mountains in the minds of residents and tourists alike, e.g. Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Bears, Elk, Wolves, Cougars and the large birds of prey.

Rare and Sensitive Species

As this is a protected area, the species of concern already mentioned above are not threatened by infrastructure development, but may be impacted by recreational activities including helicopter overflights and human backcountry traffic. Several measures have already been taken or are under consideration to reduce recreational impacts where problems have been identified. Hiking traffic through the prime Grizzly habitat between Surprise Creek and Porcupine Camp is specifically discouraged, the north core lakes have been closed to fishing, Limited Entry Hunting

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

(LEH) quotas on sheep have been incrementally reduced, and burning had been prescribed for ecological restoration (including restoration of sheep range). However, recent volunteer studies of insects and plants in the South Core Area17 have identified red and blue listed species not previously known to be in the park, highlighting how incomplete current species data actually is.

Ecosystem Representation, Biodiversity and Dynamics

Representation

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park contributes to representation goals within the Protected Areas System both as a component of the internationally significant Canadian Rocky Mountain World Heritage Site and as the fourth largest of twelve protected areas representing the Southern Park Ranges (SPK) Ecosection. Fully 31% or 344,684 ha of this 1,107,272 ha ecosection falls within national parks or provincial parks and ecological reserves, and Mount Assiniboine Park contains 3.5% of the total ecosection area and 11.3% of the total area protected18. Particularly because of its location between other protected areas to the east and west, the park’s representation is both significant and viable.

As noted in the Vegetation section above, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park contains an elevational sequence of three Englemann Spruce-Subalpine Fir subzone variants (dk, dku, dkp) and one Alpine Tundra subzone (unp) within the Biogeoclimatic Ecological Classification (BEC) zoning system. The following table indicates the proportions of these zones relative to the park area, to the zones’ area within the regional protected areas system and to the zones’ presence within the East and West Kootenay Region as a whole. The representational qualities of Mount Assiniboine Park relative to other protected areas in the ecosection and region is detailed in Appendix Seven.

Figure 3: Mount Assiniboine Park BEC Representation

BEC Total Amount Total area Amount % PA Amount of Total Amount (Ha) of BEC of PA (ha) (Ha) of that is BEC within amount of (Ha) within within BEC this BEC regional BEC in the region regional within this PAS that is region rep in PAS PA within this this park % PA % ESSFdk 1,034,524.00 222,703 38,993.454 15,950.139 40.9% 7.2% 1.5% AT unp 690,213.32 209,977 38,993.453 23,043.314 59.1% 11.0% 3.3%

17 Nicholson, W. Dean, 2004 18 BC Parks Conservation Risk Assessment, Mount Assiniboine Park, 39

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Natural Disturbance Types

Natural disturbances are defined as relatively distinct events in time that disrupt ecosystem, community, or population structure and that change resources, the availability of suitable habitat, and/or the physical environment. Wildfire, wind, drought, insects, and disease cause some of the most widespread landscape disturbance. However, a relatively minor disturbance, involving tree death or treefall gaps, would affect only one or a few individuals.19 Two of the five Natural Disturbance Types in the Province’s classification system apply to the Park’s biogeoclimatic subzones and variants.20 These have been described by Haider and Piccin (2002) as follows:

One is NDT 3, which denotes ecosystems with frequent stand-initiating events, most common of which are wildfires. The last wildfire occurred in 1922 (Rogeau, 1994), however prescribed burns have been conducted in the vicinity of Mount Assiniboine, near the Simpson River, by Kootenay National Park (Rogeau, 2002). These ecosystems are moderately resistant to disturbances and so tend to regenerate quickly. Land classified within this NDT will usually be even aged stands with patches of more mature and less mature plant communities interspersed. The second natural disturbance type is NDT 5, which denotes Alpine Tundra and Subalpine Parkland ecosystems. These ecosystems are very sensitive to disturbances. Vegetation will often be severely damaged or killed when disturbances occur in this NDT, and because of the short growing season do not regenerate quickly. For the most part, NDT 3 is found in the more vegetated valley bottoms and at the lower elevations, while NDT 5 is found at the higher elevations where vegetation is scarce. The core area is comprised of roughly half of each of these NDT types. For a complete summary of the fire history of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park see the 1994 report by M-P Rogeau (Rogeau, 1994).

These natural disturbance types will indicate the frequency and intensity with which natural disturbances can be expected within the park. This information will provide insight as to the structure of the floral and faunal communities and their sensitivity to disturbance by visitor use. As ecosystems within NDT 5 are more sensitive to disturbances, the use of trails in this NDT should be monitored closely. The ecological impact of recreation project completed (Roemer, 1975) can provide considerable insight with respect to this, as maps of the carrying capacity of soil parent materials and plant communities for camping use in addition to the condition of the trails within the core area

19 Parminter, John and Patrick Daigle, Extension Note 10: Landscape Ecology and Natural Disturbances: Relationships to Biodiversity, Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Forests, Research Program, July 1997. 20 Province of British Columbia, Forest Practices Code Biodiversity Handbook, September 1995 (http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/tasb/legsregs/fpc/fpcguide/biodiv/biotoc.htm). See Appendix Eight for detailed descriptions. 40

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were some of the products. A current map of the trail conditions within the core area is not available. 21

As throughout the Canadian Cordillera, in Mount Assiniboine Park the combination of steep terrain and heavy winter precipitation in the form of snow leads inevitably to regular avalanche activity. Moreover, these occur in predictable locations repeatedly. The result there is frequent termination of vegetation succession and return to herbaceous and shrubby plant forms, and these zones are very favourable habitat for both species of bear found in the park. Avalanche paths also act as natural barriers to the spread of wildfire.

Except perhaps infrequently in very localized settings, flooding does not play a role in disturbance or interruption of natural processes in the park.

There is a small mountain pine beetle infestation in the lower Mitchell drainage. While this is truly a natural disturbance, it can be addressed by park management through prescribed burning. The following paragraphs relate to the use of fire as treatment for such outbreaks.

Wildfires: One natural disturbance factor of which more may be seen in the future is wildfire. It is now generally recognized that many decades of active suppression of any outbreak of fire, regardless of how remote the area of the park, has disturbed the natural, cyclical restoration of montane ecosystems. A study based on “stand origin mapping” or “time-since-fire” in Mount Assiniboine (Rogeau, 1994) concluded that while significant ignitions and burning tended prehistorically to be infrequent, when they happened they were usually “stand-replacing”. Much of the park is in a lightning-strike “shadow”, accounting for the low incidence of wildfire, and in fact only 8% burned in the past century. However, it is significant that fires when they did occur tended to wipe out entire forest landscapes before the advent of human suppression. Many wildlife species ultimately (if not immediately) thrive when a mature, closed forest gives way to open range and all its herbaceous and shrubby growth. This would include the ungulates in general, and their predators in turn.

Prescribed Burning: Given the above, it follows that consideration is now being given to deliberately setting fire to parts of the park to effect ecosystem renewal. Rogeau (2002) did a detailed study in which the entire park was divided into Ecological Management Areas (EMA), Landscape Management Units (LMU) based mainly on individual drainages within the EMAs, and Fire Risk Zones (FRZ). The latter form the basis for assigning different response policies to different parts of the park. These range from full suppression in the core area through “assess” in about half of the park to “monitor and let burn” in the rest, where there are no significant values at risk. Ultimately, Rogeau believes that it is desirable to let everything outside the core area burn, but only with some specific fuel reduction/fire guards in place beforehand.

21 Haider, Wolfgang and Candace Piccin. Visitor Use and Ecological Values Assessment of the Core Area of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, Draft Report Prepared for BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Environmental Stewardship Division, Kootenay Region, May 31, 2002, p. 44-45. 41

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The recommendations for an Ecosystem Based Fire Management Plan for Mount Assiniboine Park may be summarized as: • Establish Memoranda of Understanding with adjacent and potentially impacted others, e.g. the towns of Banff and Canmore, Banff and Kootenay National Parks, BC Ministry of Forests, local forest licensee (currently Canfor), Baymag Mine (lower Mitchell River); • Safeguard structures within the park by clearing and brushing in the immediate vicinity; this includes in the core area (Mt. Assiniboine Lodge, Naiset Cabins, BC Parks Ranger Station, Sunburst Cabin), Sunshine Village, and guide/outfitter cabins at Mitchell River, Surprise Creek, and Police Meadows; • Pre-establish fire guards (exact locations mapped in report): two in the lower Mitchell, one at the confluence of the Simpson and North Simpson, one below Quartz Ridge, and one at the height of land between Daer and Extension Creeks; • Establish weather stations within the park, as none of the regional stations are adequately representative of the local environmental conditions. One should be set up at the park headquarters and one remote telemetry station at Surprise Creek cabin to represent the park’s lower elevations; • Add brush and meadow areas to the fire cycles map (stand origin map), as only forested areas were mapped previously (Rogeau, 1994); these could be arbitrarily assigned based on topographical location, flammability characteristics, and common knowledge of fire behaviour in these mountains; • There is a need for a landscape-level view of the fire regime as a natural disturbance. Mt. Assiniboine Park is too small to draw firm conclusions; management would be better informed if the occurrence and distribution of fire was also known for, e.g., Height of the Rockies and Elk Lakes Provincial Parks.

Predator/Prey Relationships

In Mount Assiniboine these relationships follow patterns observed in other North American mountain locations, that is, they tend to be cyclical where there is a close correspondence between species: as predators deplete the population of their main prey, the predators’ numbers decline, which allows the prey to rebound, and so on. Such tight correspondence can be seen between lynx and snowshoe hare and between marten and red squirrel (A. Cooper, pers. comm.). Cooper also observed frequent wolf kills of moose and elk in the Simpson drainage, and it is known that the resurgence of wolf populations in this part of the Rocky Mountains has been at the expense of their favourite food sources. Cougar tend to be rare in the park in winter as they follow elk and mule deer into Banff National Park then. The birds of prey feed on the many species of small rodents, etc., in the park.

Wildlife Movements and Connectivity

Many of the larger species move within and beyond the park on a seasonal basis. Ungulates move in search of the better grazing and browsing, and the carnivorous predators follow suit. In summer, elk are known to move into Mount Assiniboine Park to forage in Cautley Meadows and 42

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 around Lake Magog; they winter at lower elevations in both Banff and Kootenay Parks (B. Warkentin and M. Hanry, pers. comm.). Bighorn Sheep prefer the outstanding south-southwest facing slopes of Quartz Ridge above the upper Simpson River as winter range, but many spend the summer in Banff. Grizzly bears, which are known to need a large range, begin in spring in the valley bottoms, moving upslope as the snow recedes and back down as winter approaches again. They also range beyond the borders of Mount Assiniboine.22 The movements of the Kootenay wolf pack are currently being researched.

Mount Assiniboine Park’s situation as a triangle bounded on two sides by National Parks ensures excellent connectivity to the west, north and east of the park. As noted above, many species regularly move seasonally among the three protected areas. To the south, even though the Provincial Forest lands in Landscape Unit 123 are actively harvested and contain a major magnesite mining operation, the Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan Implementation Strategy calls for them to be managed for high biodiversity emphasis, limited access and non-motorized recreation.23

Identified Threats and Stressors to Ecological Integrity

Assuming that Landscape Unit 123 outside the park is indeed managed with high biodiversity emphasis and continuing restrictions on general public access and motorized recreation, the ecological integrity of Mount Assiniboine Park may continue to be relatively unthreatened from the south. However, a number of activities could affect this situation in future: • BC Timber Sales and Canfor operate in the Cross Landscape Unit 123. There is considerable road access up the Mitchell, almost to the park boundary. The park will be used to contibute to the KBLUP and Forest Practice Code targets for landscape unit biodiversity. There are some approved blocks for BC Timber Sales in the area. There are also some untapped drainages in the Landscape Unit. Some of the timber harvesting up the Aurora Creek valley has been beetle salvage. The lower drainage of Corell Creek is scheduled for imminent logging with continued activity over the next 5 years. Current cutblocks in the area are generally dispersed. (MOF/WLAP District staff, 2002) • In addition to the activity around the Mount Brusiloff magnesite mine, there are other mineral claims off the Cross River, as well as new prospects and interest in the general area. (MOF/WLAP District staff, 2002) • Overall public access is limited given that road closures lower down make it difficult to get into the area. Future access depends on how far the roads will be maintained, given the changing mandate of MOF. There is increasing use up to Marble Pass and proposed Commercial Backcountry Recreation activity in the area. (MOF/WLAP District staff, 2002)

22 Herrero, Stephen, David Poll, Mike Gibeau, John Kansas, and Barry Worbets. The eastern slopes grizzly bear project: Origins, organization and direction. Conference Proceedings of Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (CCEA), 1998. 23 See details in section on KBLUP/IS direction, p. 9-10. 43

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To the north, outside the park, the continuing growth of Canmore and Calgary is increasing the base population of the general area and steadily increasing use levels may be expected from that quarter (Annual Mgmt Plan, Oct 2001). In addition, intensive resort development at Sunshine Ski area increases direct user pressure on the sensitive alpine north core of the park (Annual Mgmt Plan, Oct 2001).

Conservation Risk Assessment

In summary, the greatest conservation risks to Mount Assiniboine Park are probably posed by the impacts of human use in the relatively fragile alpine areas, notably the North and South Cores of the park (Rock Isle Lake and Magog Lake areas). A detailed assessment of the significance and viability of conservation values in Mount Assiniboine Park appears in Appendix Nine.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

CULTURAL VALUES

Introduction

While no heritage studies have been completed within the defined study area, such studies have been conducted to the east in the Bow River valley and to the west in the Columbia River valley. These studies reveal a general low density of both prehistoric and historic sites, but do document occupation in the region as far back as 10,000 years before the present time.

Heritage sites, whether historic or prehistoric, are not distributed at random. Their location is closely determined by the environment and subsequent availability of food resources. The greater the knowledge available to the archaeologist concerning these factors, the greater potential exists to develop a model for predicting heritage site location. Within the Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park region, the availability of this information is limited. This limited availability has required that data interpretations be kept at a general level. For the most part, fieldwork is required to validate all predictions of site occurrence, and none of that has been documented since the last Master Plan.

Prehistoric Resources – First Nations

The land now designated Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is part of the asserted traditional territory of the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council. From early historic records, their land ranged from the northern portions of what is now the state of Idaho to southeastern British Columbia between the Rocky Mountains and the Selkirks, from about latitude 49 degrees north to 52 degrees north (Jenness, 1972). Economically and socially, the Ktunaxa people were composed of two subgroups or tribes: Upper Ktunaxa and Lower Ktunaxa. It was the Upper Ktunaxa people who spent time in the region that is now Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. Locally, the tribe was composed of small autonomous bands dependent on a hunting, gathering, and fishing subsistence.

The Ktunaxa were a mountain people who maintained socioeconomic relations on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. The journals and notes of early explorers and anthropologists reveal that the Ktunaxa were a semi-nomadic people who traversed the mountains to hunt buffalo on the foothills and plains of Alberta, and returned to the Columbia River valley of British Columbia to pursue elk hunting and trout fishing. This trip traversing the Rocky Mountains would be made three to four times per year.

The Ktunaxa lived in semi-subterranean, mat-covered, rectangular lodges or longhouses. A teepee structure was used during the historic period. The ethnographic literature suggests that the Rocky Mountains themselves presented few resources for the Ktunaxa people (Jenness, 1972). Rather, the mountains were traversed following established travel corridors while en route to one

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 of two primary destination points, the plains and foothills of Alberta or the (relatively) lush Columbia River valley of British Columbia. It is probable that the two routes taken by the native people over the millenia corresponded to those taken by the early explorers, one over White Man's Pass and the second over Simpson Pass. This interpretation of the ethnographic literature does not imply that Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park was devoid of use during the prehistoric or ethnographic periods. Undeniably, the region was used by native people. It is likely, however, that any use was by a small number of people on a seasonal basis, and any archaeological sites found will probably reflect that.

A review of the natural history reveals no particular food resource in the Assiniboine region for the native people to exploit. It is probable that any use of the area would have been camping while en route to either the Alberta prairies or the Columbia River drainage.

As previously stated, heritage studies conducted in neighbouring regions have revealed a low density of both prehistoric and historic sites (Christensen, 1969, 1970, 1971; Poole and Anderson, 1975; Porter, 1979; and Steer 1981 for the Banff region; Mitchell, 1972; and Mitchell and Choquette, 1973, for the Kootenay region). In these studies, the most common evidence of prehistoric activity included ceremonial sites consisting of pictographs, butchering or kill sites consisting of fragments of burnt bone and worked lithic flakes, or temporary campsites containing a considerable amount of fire-broken rock. No prehistoric sites of significant size or material content have been reported in the Assiniboine region.

The Simpson River was an established east-west communication route predating the fur trade. Confluence sites of the Simpson River with its tributaries Indian Creek, Surprise Creek and North Simpson River, as well as the north end of Magog Lake have been identified as locales that may potentially retain evidence of aboriginal occupation. Field reconnaissance would have to be undertaken to verify their existence. However, it should be noted that only eight prehistoric sites were located in adjacent Kootenay National Park in three seasons of field work.24

Historic Resources – Non-aboriginal

Overview

The first non-Native person to travel in the region of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park was Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who in 1841 travelled between the Bow River and the Columbia River via Healy Creek, Simpson Pass, the North Simpson and Simpson Rivers, Vermilion Creek and the Kootenay River (Simpson, 1847). In this same year, James Sinclair led a group of settlers through the area via White Man's Pass while en route to homestead in Oregon Territory. Neither of these men reported seeing Mount Assiniboine. The

24 J.S. Peepre and Associates, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Background Report, BC Parks, Ministry of Environment and Parks, May 1987, p.46. 46

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 first view of the mountain is credited to Father de Smet, who travelled over White Man’s Pass in 1845 (Gest, 1979).

In 1884, Assiniboine peak was named by geologist George Dawson, who viewed it from the Banff area (Gest, 1979). The name Assiniboine is a Cree word derived from "Assini pwa:t" meaning "Stoney Sioux," which translates into either the phrase "people who cooked with stones," or "people who lived in a stoney place" (Shaw, pers. comm., 1986).

The first visit to the Mount Assiniboine area by a non-Native person was possibly by the Jesuit missionary Father Pierre-Jean de Smet in 1845, who made the first historical reference to the imposing pyramid, noting in his diary, "the monuments of Cheops and Chephren dwindle into naught before this great architectural cliff of nature" (Kariel, 1986). R. Barrett and T. Wilson approached the area via Simpson Pass in 1893, and were the first to visit the foot of the mountain. Following this route, the mountain was visited on a regular basis by mountaineering adventurers between the years 1894 and 1901. At the turn of the century, the C.P.R. undertook a campaign to promote the tourist facilities and potential of the Canadian Rockies. To this end, they imported a number of European mountaineering guides to lead tour groups in the mountains. It is this promotional campaign that spawned several first ascents in the Banff region, including Mount Assiniboine.

Travelling by horse, mountaineer Walter Wilcox, accompanied by Barrett and J.F. Porter and led by Bill Peyto, another early Banff outfitter, made the first circuit of Mount Assiniboine. Despite noting at that time that it appeared too formidable to climb, Wilcox returned to make an attempt in 1899, but was repulsed by foul weather (Karie1, 1986). The following year, 1900, two brothers from Chicago, accompanied by three Swiss guides, were turned back by the vertical cliffs of Mount Assiniboine. Aided by two Swiss guides, Wilcox again challenged Assiniboine in August 1901, but was thwarted 1,000 feet short of the summit by heavy snow and rain. Just five weeks later, on September 3, Sir James Outram, accompanied by two Swiss guides, Christian Hasler and Christian Bohren, finally summited via the southwest face and traversed the peak, descending by the north ridge (Karie1, 1986).

Regular use of the Assiniboine region started in 1920 with the Wheeler Walking Tours (Gest, 1979). These tours, which were an annual event until 1926, guided tourists on a 75-mile circular trip through the region. It was after the advent of these tours that the first historic buildings were built within what was to become Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (Gest, 1979). Though these tours ceased in 1926, news of the beauty of the Assiniboine region had spread to the outside world and its tourist opportunities were soon realized.

The importance of Mount Assiniboine was recognized in 1922, when the British Columbia government established a provincial park in the area around the mountain and Lake Magog. In 1924, the Alpine Club of Canada purchased 44.4 acres of land (D.L. 10552) at the north end of Magog Lake and built one large and five small log cabins; they were named the Wheeler Cabins, after the pioneering mountain surveyor and early Alpine Club enthusiast, A.O.Wheeler (Gest, 1979). 47

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1920s Walking-Riding Tour Route Map displayed in Mount Assiniboine Lodge

In 1927, management of this property passed to Nicholas Albizzi from New York. Albizzi and a friend, Erling Strom, also from New York, completed the first ski trip to Assiniboine in the spring of 1928 (Strom, 1977). In this same year, the Brewsters from the Seebe area built a cabin at Sunburst Lake, situated a few kilometres from Lake Magog.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

The earliest record of the lodge is from correspondence dated November 15th 1926 between the C.P.R. and the B.C. Provincial Deputy of Lands regarding the procedure for leasing land in the park. This parcel of land (D.L. 10555) had apparently been registered as a homestead by Mr. Howard Gibbald. Unfortunately, no further information is available concerning this homestead, which was cancelled by 1926. The lease and lodge operations were subcontracted to Erling Strom. Though a draft of the lease arrangement between the province and the C.P.R. was prepared in 1927, it was not finalized until 1933. The lodge facility consisted of one lodge and six guest cabins. Over the subsequent years, the lodge was managed by either Pat Brewster, owner of the Sunburst cabins, usually during the summer months, or Strom, during the winter months.25

In 1949/50, Brewster sold the Sunburst cabins to Ms. Elizabeth Rummel from the Banff area, and an additional cabin was built in the early 1960s. Ms. Rummel retired in 1970 and the Sunburst camp became a boys' camp; it was subsequently taken over by BC Parks. Finally, in 1971, parks management arranged the placement of a prefabricated cabin (R.C. Hind Hut) in the bowl between Mount Assiniboine and Mount Wedgwood in exchange for the cabins at the Wheeler camp. The Wheeler camp name was subsequently changed to Naiset camp.

Site Types and Information Gaps

Tourist or recreational development predominated during the historic period in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. There is no evidence to suggest any development relating to mining, homesteading, or industrial enterprises. The absence of such historic sites can probably be explained by the high altitude of the park and the absence of precious metals in the immediate park area.

Surprisingly, no evidence of the early exploration or fur trade within the park has been documented. One would expect that during the latter decades of the 1800s and the early 1900s, some trapping activities occurred within the modern boundaries of the park. This absence of historic sites relating to activities other than the tourist trade may also result from the Mount Assiniboine core area being "off the beaten track" of transportation and communication. However, evidence of historic activity within the park may be located along the Simpson River drainage, which was a traditional east-west transportation corridor.

Log cabins are the dominant site type found within the park. Field reconnaissance within the park would undoubtedly identify less visual sites such as corrals, trails, campsites, or markers. One historic feature that should be highlighted is the trail from the Bow River drainage to the Columbia River drainage. Historically, this trail was followed in 1841 by Sir George Simpson of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and probably was a significant transportation route throughout the prehistoric period.

25 See Appendix Ten for a full history of the lodge. 49

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Figure 4: Historic Structures Found In Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (Numbers below are referenced on Map #5: Cultural Sites, Existing Facilities and Trails

Structure Location Date Built Builders

1) Mount Assiniboine Benchland north of ca. 1929 Original structures by Lodge and Cabins Lake Magog Howard Gibbald 2) Five Naiset Cabins Northeast of Lake Originals 1924 Alpine Club of Canada (originally called Magog (ACC) Wheeler Camp) 3) Sunburst Cabins East corner of Sunburst 1928 Brewster Brothers Lake 4) R.C.Hind Hut Cirque between Mts. 1971 BC Parks and ACC Assiniboine and Wedgwood 5) Police Meadows Upper Simpson River Original: 1930 Original: unknown Cabin Present: 1957 Present: A. Cooper 6) Mitchell Cabin Mitchell River near ? ? Companion Creek 7) Surprise Creek Cabin Surprise Creek at Original: 1920’s Original: ? Simpson River Present: 1960 Present: A. Cooper 8) Surprise Creek Spanning Simpson R. at 1970s? BC Parks? Suspension Bridge Surprise Creek

Fleabane Hut, Naiset Cabins

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Map #5: Cultural Sites, Existing Facilities and Trails

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Map # 5: Cultural Sites, Existing Facilities, and Trails A4 Shelter @3 Historic Site 3W Camp Banff Trail National Minor Road Park (AB) Major Road Highway

N Stream o r th Park Boundary S im p s o n Scale:1 : 160 000 R i Map Projection: BC Albers ve Datum: NAD83 r R Shelter and Historic Site numbers refer to Table X in background report. 3W Map Produced by Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management Kootenay Region GIS Centre -- February 2005 012 File path and name: /fs/u04/ofs/arcproj/plots/park/base_mtassinib_5_exist.rtl Kilometers Sim 3W pso n Ri ver

3W 3W

Kootenay A45 e Cr A48 ris k. National @373W urp 3W Park S 3W

3W 3W 3W @33 @31 @32 er 3W iv 3W R ll he itc M @36

A44 Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

OUTDOOR RECREATION AND TOURISM FEATURES

Outdoor Recreation Features

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park has many nationally, provincially, and regionally significant recreation features. These generally derive their significance from the particular overall setting and location. The climate lends itself to outdoor recreation all year round, with spikes of use in mid-summer and mid-winter. The recreation features also appeal to all levels of age, fitness and athletic ability.

Primary outdoor recreation features include: • Nationally significant peaks along the Great Divide, highlighted by Mount Assiniboine but also including Mt. Magog, Mt. Strom, Terrapin Mtn., The Towers, and others; most of the rest of the mountains in the park are provincially significant; • Nationally significant alpine and subalpine meadows, featuring wildflowers,sweeping viewscapes and kruppelholz vegetation communities; these are found especially above the rim of Lake Magog (Mt. Cautley, Nub Peak, Wonder Pass, and at the north end of the park from Citadel Pass to Eohippus Lake; • Nationally significant subalpine lakes, renowned for their sublime scenic value and photogenicity, including Magog, Sunburst, and Cerulean; others such as Rock Isle, Gog, Wedgwood, and Eohippus are provincially significant; • Nationally significant recreational trails, notably the route from the south core area through Valley of the Rocks to Citadel Pass and Sunshine Meadows, and the trail through Wonder Pass; provincially or regionally significant other routes, mainly as travel corridors to the more spectacular settings of the subalpine and alpine; • Significant wildlife values, both for conservation and recreation; • Provincially (nationally?) significant heritage structures in Mount Assiniboine Lodge and the Naiset Cabins; • Recreational and conservation significance as a link to the other contiguous National Parks.

Visual Values

The visual resources of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park are key components of its national and provincial recreation significance. As mentioned already, the high scenic quality is a result of the rugged mountainous terrain marked by rock ridges and summits, glaciers, subalpine lakes, and extensive kruppelholz and alpine meadows. The landscape diversity and the contrasting scale of features are also primary reasons for the park's outstanding scenic quality.

The visual highlights of the park are the same recreation features identified as nationally and provincially significant in the previous section. These are mostly clustered in the southeastern 52

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 heartland of the park around Mount Assiniboine and Lake Magog, and continue north along the alpine and subalpine meadows corridor to the Rock Isle Lake and Simpson Pass area.

Visual sensitivity (defined as the ability to absorb the impacts of change) within the park is highest in the vicinity of Mount Assiniboine and Lake Magog and in open alpine and subalpine areas. Vertical rock faces and steep slopes are the most vulnerable to change since they are usually focal points. Moderate slopes generally would have a moderate visual sensitivity, whereas level or gently sloping areas would either not be visible from distant points or visual impacts would be reduced.

Open alpine and subalpine vegetation areas have a high visual sensitivity throughout due to their lengthened line of sight, and the fact that many of these areas are viewed from the higher points of passes, peaks, and adjacent ridges.

Viewsheds outside of the park are protected by Kootenay National Park to the west and Banff National Park to the east and north. The visual impact of possible future landscape change to the south of current Mount Assiniboine Park boundaries is unknown. Views from Mount Assiniboine or the upper part of Mitchell River could be affected by landscape change in the lower Mitchell River drainage.

Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Opportunities

Some years ago, BC Parks attempted to define “Recreational Opportunities” by grouping various human activities under “product lines”. While this classification scheme is little used today, it can still serve as a guide to what might be seen as opportunities for recreation by the public.

(It should be noted that, since helicopter transport to the Lake Magog area is now a routine method of accessing the park, “day use” includes activities based from there, which may contrast with practice in other protected areas.)

Figure 5: Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Opportunities, Mount Assinibine Provincial Park

General Activity Type Description Location/Area/Terrain

Day Use Easy walking and Trails in Sunshine Meadows, trails near Mount hiking, sightseeing Assiniboine Lodge Fishing Numerous lakes in core area; Sunshine area lakes closed to fishing Horseback Riding Limited day use accessible in lower Mitchell and Simpson River valleys Natural and Cultural Interpretive hikes Sunshine Meadows and Lodge areas, viewing Resource Appreciation mountain rock formations, plants, and wildlife Photography South and north core areas: views of Mount 53

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Assiniboine etc., Lake Magog, Wonder Pass, Nub Peak, Sunburst Lake, Sunshine Meadows, Citadel Pass Overnight, Multi-day Backpacking To core area from any of: Sunshine via Valley of the Rocks; Spray Lakes via Bryant Creek or Wonder Pass; Kootenay Nat. Park via Simpson R., Surprise Creek, Ferro Pass; Mitchell R. via Wedgwood and Cerulean Lakes Camping Naiset Cabins, Hind Hut, Magog Rim campground, several backcountry campgrounds Mountaineering Mount Assiniboine, associated peaks, accessed from Magog or Assiniboine Creek Caving Known caves below The Nub and at Cave Mtn.; little activity to date, but good potential throughout the park owing to extensive karst. Horse Trips Outfitter or self-guided, via Simpson, Mitchell, or Assiniboine Pass Hunting Spring or fall, Limited Entry self-guided for residents or outfitter-guided for non-residents, in season and outside two core areas Snow Sports/Winter Classic cross- Day trips from Sunshine ski area, Lodge or Recreation country skiing Naiset Cabins Ski Touring and Same as above Telemarking Winter Many of same routes as in summer mountaineering

Existing Facilities and Services

The park has a well-developed and broad range of facilities. The lodge and its six cabins provide full-service roofed accommodation for up to 30 visitors, the five Naiset cabins and the R. C. Hind Hut offer basic roofed accommodation for a total of 40, and there are a total of approximately 75 campsites and 19 pit toilets throughout the park.

Permanent Accommodation Structures

In the south core area, where the most intensive recreation use of the park takes place, there are two options for public accommodation in roofed shelters. One is the venerable Mount Assiniboine Lodge, owned by the Province of British Columbia but managed on a long-term lease by a private concessionaire. This operation consists of the main building and six separate cabins; total accommodation is 24 in winter and 30 in summer. The main lodge building has a shower and flush toilet and a separate building contains flush toilets and showers (summer operation only), as well as a sauna. Additional pit toilets serve both the cabin and lodge. A composting toilet was constructed behind the lodge but is no longer maintained as such. The

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 lodge’s summer availability is from June through Thanksgiving, and winter approximately mid- February to mid-April. The current permit expires in 2007.

Mount Assiniboine Lodge (1928 structure on right, 1963 addition on left)

The second option is the complex of five cabins at Naiset. One of these is a 1955 Forest Ranger cabin originally situated near the Magog Campground but moved to Naiset around 1978 to provide public accommodation. The others were constructed by the Alpine Club of Canada in 1922 and, though refurbished in 1978, they are the oldest buildings in the Park and remain very basic. Total sleeping capacity of the huts is 28 and each cabin is heated by a small stove intended to burn only Presto-Logs, which are purchased from the lodge concessionaire. The stoves and sleeping platforms leave little space and cooking is not officially permitted in any of the cabins. A central bear-proof storage box system serves as a food cache for the cabins, and there is a central water tap, but there is no designated cooking area or shelter. Since 1998, the Naiset Cabins have been managed by the Lodge’s concessionaire both summer and winter. In summer reservations are not required but are recommended.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

From the mid-1970s until its destruction by fire in 1993, the largest of the Naiset Cabins, known as “Wheeler’s Wonder Lodge”, served as the park headquarters and provided park staff accommodations in the south core area. Prior to this use, the building had both provided public accommodation and a common area for occupants of the other cabins.

High above Lake Magog in the cirque below Mount Assiniboine itself is the R.C.Hind Hut, suitable for 12-15 climbers. Overnight accommodation must be booked through the lodge operators.

Overnight cabin fees are currently $15/person with no reservation, and an additional $5 is charged for reservations.

There are three rudimentary cabins in the outlying areas of the parks (Mitchell River, Surprise Creek, and Police Meadows), each associated with guide-outfitter operations. They are presently being co-maintained by the permittees and BC Parks, and are available for use by the recreating public, free of charge, outside of the traditional fall hunting period when they are for the exclusive use of the guides and their clients.

Campgrounds

Camping is permitted in the park at designated sites only. The most popular location is the large site on a bench above the western shore of Lake Magog. There are officially 28 sites, but an overflow area ensures that no one is turned away. The current food cache poles are poorly situated very close to some of the tent pads and an adjacent creek is the only available drinking water supply. There is no designated cooking area or shelter. The fee for camping $5/person/night), is currently collected by the lodge concessionaire during the summer season. The only other camping areas where fees are charged are at Og Lake (no fixed sites or numbers) and the O’Brien Meadows group use area, where reservations are also required. Horse parties have their own designated camping area in O’Brien as well. Letters of permission from BC Parks are required for such travellers.

Aside from the above-mentioned, there are seven camping locations with pit toilets in the park. Three of these are associated with the guide-outfitters’ cabins Surprise Creek, Police Meadows, Mitchell River), and the others are at Mitchell Meadows, Rock Lake, Scoup, and Porcupine.

Roads and Trails

There are no roads in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. In recent years, resource-extraction access roads have been extended to within a kilometre of the southern boundary along Mitchell River and within a few km along Aurora Creek (see further under “Park Access”).

The park has approximately 160 km of trails in various conditions. As mentioned, those in the Sunshine area (Rock Isle, Grizzly, and Larix Lakes) are maintained under permit by the commercial ski

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 operation as a summer adjunct to their business. The condition of trails in the remainder of the park largely depends on the quality of their earlier construction as there have been few resources allocated to their upkeep for several years. In the south core, trails are generally good because work was done to harden the surfaces and improve drainage in the early 1990’s; moreover, the Lodge operator annually clears deadfall on the popular routes as guiding recreational hikers is an integral part of their business operation. These trails include Assiniboine Pass, Wonder Pass, Magog Campground and beyond as far as Elizabeth Lake and Mitchell Meadows, and as far as Og Lake.

Trails primarily associated with the guide-outfitter operations (Mitchell River to Mitchell Meadows, Simpson River to Police Meadows via Scoup Camp) are informally maintained by those operators. An implicaton of this arrangement is that there are frequently unbridged stream crossings and muddy sections unsuitable for foot-travellers. Finally, there are the routes beyond the Sunshine Meadows day use radius whose remoteness precludes regular attention. In the case of Eohippus Lake at the top of the North Simpson, the impact of such neglect is unknown and possibly insignificant; but the trail through Citadel Pass and beyond to Porcupine Camp, Valley of the Rocks, and on to the south core is a classic backpackers’ route where recent lack of regular maintenance has provoked negative letters from members of the public to the agency.

Services

The following services are offered commercially under permit in the park: • Accommodation – The Mount Assiniboine Lodge and cabins (Sepp & Barb Renner) provide full service accommodation for 24-30 guests and also operate the public Naiset Cabins and the Magog Campground. The lodge also offers guided tours for guests and handles all bookings for the scheduled helicopter flights into and out of the south core area. In these capacities, the lodge concessionaires play a significant role in establishing the public image of the park. The fact that the lodge operators have maintained and emphasized the rustic and historical character of the original lodge and Alpine Club cabins has done much to establish the distinctive identity of the Mount Assiniboine south core experience. • Tours and Recreational Guiding – Thirteen guiding services (including the lodge and two guide-outfitters), ranging from mountaineering through hiking to skiing (See Appendix Eleven for details) • Air transportation – Alpine Helicopters (Canmore) – Scheduled flights with bookings through the Mount Assiniboine Lodge

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Other

In the north core area of the park there is a network of trails, outhouses, and a viewing platform all accessed from and maintained by Sunshine Village Ski Area under permit (Ninga Enterprises).

Rock Isle, Larix and Grizzly Lakes, showing trail access from Sunshine Village (Simpson River Valley in background)

Park Access

As stated above, no roads enter Mount Assiniboine Park. Thus, there are three methods of entering or leaving the park: • By helicopter. o The helicopter flight schedule used to include only Friday and Sunday, with Monday substituted for Sunday on long weekends. In the late 1980’s a Wednesday flight day was

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added. The current flight schedule is Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, with Mondays substituted for the Sunday flight day on long weekends. o Prior to 1998, visitors flying to stay at Mount Assiniboine Lodge had their flights booked for them by the lodge operators while other visitors would make their own flight arrangements directly with the helicopter companies. In 1998, at the request of the helicopter company, the lodge operators took over the booking of all flights into and out of the park. o Flights only follow the Bryant Creek-Assiniboine Pass corridor. These limitations have been made as an attempt to minimize the disturbance caused by helicopter operations while recognizing their necessity for many visitors. More on this under “Park Visitor Profiles”. o This information does not pertain to helicopter sightseeing flights, which occur directly adjacent to the core area of the park and are often mistakenly identified as occurring within the park. Helicopter sightseeing flights do not take place within Mount Assiniboine Park in keeping with a verbal agreement between BC Parks and the helicopter company (J. Paterson, Pers. Comm.). • On foot. There are at least eleven routes into the park, although the majority of these are obscure or little-used at best. Patterns of use do not appear to have altered greatly since monitoring began in 1975. Accesses from Alberta are by far the most heavily used (over 65% via Sunshine and Bryant Creek alone). In approximate order of their level of use, they are: o Sunshine Meadows: Accessed from Sunshine Village, Banff National Park, by bus in summer and by gondola during winter ski area operations. Via day use trails around Rock Isle, Grizzly and Larix lakes (high summer use but very low ski touring use) Via Sunshine Meadows and past Howard Douglas Lake in Banff National Park, over Citadel Pass to Porcupine Camp and through the Valley of the Rocks to Og Lake and the Magog Lake area (28.4 km, preferred route if Bryant Creek access is closed by bear activity) o Assiniboine Pass: Shark Mountain, Bryant Creek to the Mount Assiniboine Park boundary and directly to the Magog Lake area (22.5 km overall, preferred as the shortest and easiest route into the south core) o Wonder Pass: Shortest route from park boundary to Magog Lake area. Trailhead accessed by road from Canmore to Spray Lakes, thence on Banff National Park trails via Bryant and Marvel Creeks past Marvel Lake and up to the Mount Assiniboine Park boundary. Preferred as a route out owing to steep descent on east side of Wonder Pass. o Simpson River: Trailhead on Highway 93 at Simpson Monument in Kootenay National Park, BC. Distance of trailhead from population centres and length of hiking access have tended to discouraged use. Via Simpson River, Surprise Creek, Rock Lake, Ferro Pass, Mitchell Meadows and Cerulean Lake to the Magog Lake area (30 km); not a preferred route owing to distance. Via Simpson River, Scoup Camp, Golden Valley, Porcupine Camp, Valley of the Rocks, Og Lake to the Magog Lake area (35 km); longest access to the core area; in order to offer a more primitive experience, the trail from Surprise Creek junction to Porcupine Camp is not maintained except by the guide-outfitter. 59

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o Mitchell River: Via Mitchell River past Wedgewood Lake and Cerulean Lake to the Magog Lake area (~25.1 km). Trailhead at park boundary, accessed by Highway 93 along Settlers’ Road and logging roads up the Cross and Mitchell rivers. Logging to park boundary has shortened hiking access since 1987, but the trail is not maintained except by the guide-outfitter in order to offer a more primitive experience. The industrial road access and distance from population centres has tended to discourage this hiking access route, but it has long been considered to have potential as the best approach from British Columbia. o Og Pass: Accessed from either Bryant Creek or Brewster Creek via Allenby Pass in Banff National Park. Route descends above Og Lake into the south core area. o Fatigue Pass: Accessed from Brewster Creek and Fatigue Creek in Banff National Park. Trail traverses to Citadel Pass, intersecting the Sunshine-Magog trail route. o Assiniboine Creek: Relatively short route on Forest Service trail from Assiniboine Creek/Mitchell River logging road system to park boundary at Assiniboine Lake. Appears to be receiving increasing use by mountaineers as a fairly straightforward access to the base of Mount Assiniboine itself. o Simpson Pass: Accessed from the Healy Creek trailhead in Banff National Park. Route only (no maintained trail) down the North Simpson River and then up the Simpson guide- outfitter trail to Porcupine Camp and thence on maintained trails to the core area o Verdant Creek: Possible but very little used route to access Mount Assiniboine Park. Extends to the park boundary from Hwy. 93 at Vermilion Crossing via Honeymoon Pass Trail in Kootenay National Park or from Egypt Lake via Redearth Pass and North Verdant Creek Trail. The route down Verdant Creek from the Mount Assiniboine Park boundary connects with the Simpson River trail above Surprise Creek. o Daer Creek: A trail extends up Daer Creek through Kootenay National Park from Hwy. 93 south of Kootenay Crossing. Though unmaintained in Mount Assiniboine Park, the trail extends over the height of land and descends down Extension Creek to the Mitchell River immediately south of the park boundary. Any use through the park is not recorded but is likely to be negligible. • On horseback. o Access by horseback and horseback tours of the park began in the 1920s and became a major access mode. By the mid-1970s, particularly in the north and south core areas, it was obvious that horse use on the trails and free-range grazing caused considerable trampling of vegetation and led to significant trail degradation in the form of braiding, mucking, deepening and water erosion. As a result of a 1975 study on the ecological impact of recreational use in the core area (Roemer, 1975), horse use in the north and south core areas was banned. Since this activity was restricted, the vegetation and trails have been successfully rehabilitated to repair earlier impacts and prevent new damage. o Current routes (as outlined above for foot traffic) include Simpson, Mitchell, Og Pass, and Assiniboine Pass. Horses are not allowed at Sunshine Meadows, Wonder Pass, or in the core area near the lodge (trails divert equestrians to a horse camping area at O’Brien Meadows).

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• A ban on mountain bikes was imposed in 1997 after Banff National Park banned mountain biking in the Bryant Creek area. This ban was brought about in an effort to reduce the number of user events in the Bryant Creek Trails and thereby uphold their mandate to maintain ecological integrity (Waltho, 1998). As this is the main access route used by people coming in on the ground, BC Parks also banned the use of mountain bikes within Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.

Assiniboine Pass and Bryant Creek

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Visitor Activity Areas

There are some areas of Mount Assiniboine Park that never see human visitation, and others very little. Use is concentrated in the north and south core areas, with the next busiest areas being the corridor that joins them and the southeast accesses, i.e. Assiniboine Pass and Wonder Pass. In the winter this concentration centered on the Lodge/Naiset Cabins and Sunshine Meadows is even more pronounced, as frequent avalanche activity discourages venturing much beyond these areas. The most heavily travelled part of the park outside the Sunshine Meadows is the trail between the lodge and the campground at Magog Lake. Next most frequently used is the trail from Magog Lake to Elizabeth Lake. Other frequently used routes are the one north of Cerulean Lake, the one to Og Lake, the one to Gog Lake and Wonder Pass, and the area around Nub Peak.

The Simpson and Mitchell valleys receive the bulk of horseback use, both as summer recreational riding/camping trips and guided fall hunting trips. Hiking is less frequent in these areas, following the general trend that the greater the effort involved, the fewer people do it.

Mount Assiniboine is a classic Rocky Mountain climb for mountaineers, and a number of climbing routes are found on other peaks within and immediately adjacent to the park.26 It is not known what percentage of climbing aspirants approach the Hind Hut from the south (Assiniboine Creek) side; anecdotal evidence suggests that people do that for both the relative directness and to avoid the Lodge operators and the hut fee.

Park Visitor Profiles

Introduction

Mount Assiniboine Park visitor use data has been collected since the 1970s and has been analyzed in some detail for the periods up to the 1989 Master Plan and from 1981-2001.27 Since 2001, changes in the BC Parks systems for recording attendance have made it more difficult to compare pre- and post-2001 data. Various user surveys have been carried out in the park since the early 1970s. The figures used in this report include information from all these surveys, although emphasis is placed on more recent work. Earlier survey results are useful to indicate how the user has changed, while more recent information will help to project future use.

Mount Assiniboine provides a backcountry destination area relatively close to the major "front- country" corridors of Banff National Park, but it has traditionally been underutilized by B.C.

26 Including some summits immediately south of park boundaries, The Alpine Guide to the Rock identifies Mt Gloria, Mt Eon, Mt. Aye, Mt. Cautley, Wonder Peak, The Towers, Naiset Peak, Mt Terrapin, Mt Magog, Lunette Peak , Mt Sturdee, Mt. Strom, Wedgwood Peak, Sunburst Peak, Centurion Peak ,The Marshall and Mt Watson.

27 Detailed data and analysis are found in the Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Master Plan Background Document (1987) and Haider & Piccin, (2002). See Appendix Eleven. 62

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 residents due to both perceived and actual access difficulties from the western side. However, its well-developed trail system and accommodation infrastructure create a high-profile and memorable mountain experience for a wide range of visitors. The Sunshine Village Ski Resort provides hiking and ski touring access; helicopters, and to a lesser degree, horses, give easy access for the less athletic. The major attraction is obvious: "Mount Assiniboine, the Matterhorn of the Canadian Rockies."

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is located on the borders of the major international destination areas of Banff and Lake Louise, yet does not necessarily draw the same clientele except for specific groups such as mountaineers. Substantial numbers of travellers from east of the Rockies bypass the B.C. Rocky Mountain Tourism Region altogether, while the frequent travellers of U.S. origin along the Columbia Valley corridor on Highway 95 are usually en route to Banff or Lake Louise (TIDSA, 1979). The major attractions of the region within British Columbia are linked to the natural features, including the Central Purcell Mountains, Columbia and Windermere Lakes, and Kootenay National Park. Mount Assiniboine, although well known by residents, is not perceived as a major tourism opportunity in the region, with the exception of hunting and guiding (TIDSA, 1979). This is because its most “obvious” access is from beyond Canmore, Alberta. The continued rapid expansion of Canmore and Calgary populations is likely to increase the proportion of users from the eastern side of the park.

Other alternative destination areas in the BC Rocky Mountains do not compete directly with the park because it is perceived internationally as a famous and unique "wilderness" destination. The park has some good but lengthy access routes from its western side, but its primary market base suggests that the park will continue to be accessed via Banff National Park. Since access through the BC side of the park is somewhat inconvenient, only a small percentage of its use is by residents of the East Kootenays or others travelling in British Columbia. In effect, although it is “right next door”, it doesn’t feel that way.

Visitor Use Levels

Use in the South Core Area of Mount Assiniboine Park averaged 7,428 visitors from 1989 to 2001, with a low of 6,216 in 1995 and a high of 8,417 in 2001. Naiset cabin use, which stood at 2,838 in 1989, declined to a low of 1,455 in 1998 and has since recovered to 2238 in 2001. Lodge use, which stood at 3,798 in 1989, dropped slightly to a low of 3,330 in 1995 but has since climbed to an average of 4,660 in the years from 1998 to 2001. Use of the Magog Campground, at 1,449 in 1989, climbed to an exceptional peak of 2,546 in 1994, crashed to a low of 870 the following year, and has since shifted erratically from year to year, with a high of 1791 in 1996 and a low of 855 in 2000.

The South Core Area accounted for most of the visitor use in Mount Assiniboine Park before the Sunshine Meadows were developed for intensive summer day use in 1984. Since that time, during the period that Sunshine Village was in full summer operation, day use in the North Core Area (Sunshine Meadows) reached annual levels as high as 40,000. More recently, with

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Sunshine Meadows summer use dependent upon bus access rather than the Sunshine gondola lift, annual visitation has dropped to around 11,000.28

Visitor Origins and Patterns of Use

The origin of park users to the South Core Area in the mid-seventies affirmed the park’s international reputation (Gain and Swanky, 1975). Albertans made up the largest proportion of users at 37%, followed by Americans at 35%. Only 14% lived in British Columbia, with most of these residing in Vancouver. In 1975, 76% of Albertans, 63% of Americans, and 86% of Vancouverites came to hike. The remainder came to ride horses, while a smaller proportion came to climb. This early study showed that the farther away a user's origin, the more likely they were to be climbers. From 1995-2001, the percentage of Albertans visiting the core area remained the same, approximately 37%. All international core area visitors comprised 30% of the total, while the remaining 33% were divided equally between BC and the other Canadian provinces. A 2004 survey indicated a slight change, with Alberta visitors up to 44%, international visitors down to 19%, British Columbia up doubling to 31% and other provinces accounting for only 6%.29

These data indicate clearly that the origin of users has shifted slightly, even as the activity emphasis in the park has changed. Present day users are unlikely to travel in the park by horseback, and most likely travel by helicopter or foot. Use of the lodge and cabins as a means to view the scenery from a base of relative comfort seems to have replaced to some extent the backpacking trend of the 1970s. As of 2001, Albertans were the predominant clientele at both types of accommodation available during the winter season. During the summer, non-Canadian visitors were the majority at the lodge, closely followed by Albertans. At the Naiset Cabins, over half of the visitors were from Alberta and another 25% are from outside Canada. The highest percentage of visitors camping within the core was from outside Canada, with the second highest percentage being from Alberta. From 2001 to 2005, visitors to both the lodge and Naiset cabins have been primarily from Alberta, although the origins of the lodge visitors are more evenly distributed among the four categories. The percentage of Albertan visitors to the lodge does vary from year to year while visitors from outside Canada are increasing slightly, and visitors from British Columbia appeared to be decreasing, at least prior to 2004. British Columbian visitors to the Naiset cabins are also decreasing slightly, while visitors from Alberta are increasing. Those from other parts of Canada are variable and visitors from outside Canada are decreasing.

There was a slightly higher percentage of Canadians other than British Columbians camping.

Horse packing continued to occur in the western drainages of the park associated with the big game guiding permit holders in the Simpson and Mitchell River drainages. There has been very little demand for general public horse use in the park as authorized under letter of authority.

28 Glenn Campbell, personal communication, September 2005. 29 Weber-Roy, Amanda & Rozak, Stephanie. Mount Assiniboine Year End Ranger Report 2004

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As noted previously, any demand for day use in the Sunshine Meadows area has been limited by the capacity of the access road and bus system.

Park User Attitudes

Park use patterns have evolved over time, and traditional types of access to the South Core Area have been replaced with mechanized transport. Yet the position of Mount Assiniboine relative to major airports, highways, and trail access routes has remained relatively unchanged. Most park users continue to enter the park through Alberta while the recreational opportunities sought have changed over time.

The existing park facilities and marketing continue to be based on traditional use patterns established by the late 1970s. A study conducted by Gain and Swanky (1975) for the Parks Branch compiled detailed statistics on visitor use at a time when horse users still comprised 23% of visitors, compared with 73% hikers and 4% climbers. Riders tended to be American, while hikers were more likely to be Canadian. Riders complained about helicopters, enjoyed meeting park staff and hoped that hores use would continue to be supported. Hiker concerns about horse use were reflected in suggestions that management consider permits, separate trails for riders and hikers, designated campgrounds and group campgrounds. A number of other visitor characteristics seem to have remained consistent from that survey at least into the mid-1980s. • All users were relatively experienced and most had visited the park more than once. • Visiting was evenly distributed in July and August, but Americans produced a weekday pattern in July and Albertans produced a weekend pattern in August. • Assiniboine Pass and the Sunshine route were the most popular ways in, while Wonder Pass was the most popular way out of the south core. • The trail between the Lodge and the Magog Lake campground were the most frequently used within the park. • Visitors arrived well equipped with rain gear, maps, first aid kits and stoves. • Most visitors knew which park they were in and who operated it. • Friends were the usual source of information about the park. • 65% did not think the park was a wilderness area. • Hikers enjoyed meeting park staff but commented on the inadequacy of trail signage.

A 1986 Visitor Satisfaction Survey, conducted in Mount Assiniboine Park as part of a provincial program, was able to retrieve 33 respondents out of a desired 100. Even though the sample size was small, the study revealed numerous aspects of park use. A less exhaustive and more site- specific 2004 survey by Mount Assiniboine Park Rangers received 178 responses30, and the results are compared below.

30 Weber-Roy, Amanda & Rozak, Stephanie. Mount Assiniboine Year End Ranger Report 2004, Appendix 1.

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In 1986, • The majority of respondents considered park environment, facilities, and services to be "excellent" or "above average" (80.6%). However, a significant number considered the park "average" (17.9%) in the same categories. The areas where lowest ratings were given by the greatest number of respondents included trail signs, value for fee, and trails. • Most respondents considered the natural surroundings the most important aspect of the park, while trails, helpful park rangers, trail information and tent sites were also valued. The things most enjoyed by respondents included unspoiled country, peace and quiet, and friendly staff. Clean facilities were mentioned often, while fewer people indicated that lack of people, good hiking, or wildlife were things enjoyed. • Most respondents (72.2%) did not use the park in the previous year (1985), while 19.4% had used the park in the previous year. Respondents tended to view the quality of management as the same or better than previous years. • The mean length of stay in the park was 3.18 days. Day use accounted for 16.7%, while larger proportions stayed in the 2-5 day range. Longer stays were less frequent. • Most respondents were well equipped for backcountry travel, including tents, maps, stoves, and first aid. Only 30% of the sample carried fishing equipment, while 39% carried a guidebook and 72% a park brochure. Climbing equipment was carried by 9% of respondents. • When questioned on items that would keep them from using the area, the largest response was "nothing, not a thing," while "being charged a fee" was the second most frequent answer. 27% noted other reasons for possibly not using the area, but the causes are unknown. Close to 6% observed that poor trails or campsites may keep them from using the area. • Most respondents travelled in the park in groups of 2, with a mean party size of 2.71. Almost 14% travelled alone, 8.3% with 3, and 16.7% with 4. Larger groups were rare. The most significant origin of respondents was Alberta, accounting for 50% or more, while B.C. accounted for approximately 33%. • Respondents were very frequently "empty nesters", or people whose children had left home (61%), while close to 14% were young adults. A smaller proportion consisted of young families (8.3%) or old families (5.6%). • The majority pf respondents tended to be male, while 35% were female.

In 2004, • Satisfaction with park environment and facilities was comparably high. Respondents rated the trails overwhelmingly good to excellent, the Naiset Huts satisfactory to good, the campground good, and the lodge and its cabins good to excellent. The park’s level of resource protection was rated good to excellent. • The survey did not seek respondents’ opinion of what they valued most about the park, but responses to other questions and comments indicating general satisfaction with their experiences imply that they were attracted to the Core Area’s character as a spectacular but well-serviced and supported backcountry recreation opportunity. • No information was collected on previous useage or length of stay.

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• While no information was collected on visitor equipment or preparedness for the backcountry, 7% of 2004 visitors had come for mountaineering, 44% for backpacking, 46% for the lodge experience and 3% for other reasons. Combining this information with comments of the lodge operators and park staff, it is likely that core area visitors have generally tended to be somewhat less self reliant and well-equipped for the backcountry since the 1970s and 1980s. • The 2004 survey made no attempt to ascertain what might discourage respondents from returning to the park. However, given that an increase in fees was cited as a possible deterrent by a number of 1986 respondents, and that core area users appear to be less prepared for the backcountry, it may be that more self-reliant or less affluent backcountry enthusiasts are opting for less regulated backcountry opportunities elsewhere. • Party sizes were not recorded in 2004, but staff observations suggest that there may be a slight increase in average party size as a result of increases in the number of guided hiking opportunities offered through the lodge or other commercial operators. • Again, though the 2004 survey collected no information on visitor household or age or gender demographics, staff believe that current demographics appear to be similar to those of 1986, except that the average age of visitors may now be somewhat higher.31

The 1975 Visitor Use Survey included interviews in which people were asked how many other groups they had met in the park and whether or not they felt crowded. Seventy-four groups replied to the questions. Fewer than five other groups were met by 28; six to ten by 27; eleven to fifteen by 15; and more than sixteen by four groups. Crowding was perceived by most of those in the last category and some in the eleven to fifteen category (Gain and Swanky, 1975).

When asked to suggest an approximate number of other groups they could meet without feeling crowded, 45 percent said they could meet fewer than 20; 31 percent fewer than 50; and 24 percent more than 50. Taken with the above information this indicates that in 1975, Assiniboine Park visitors began to feel crowded when they met around 15 other groups in the park. Meeting other people, however, seemed to be subjective. There was a sizeable segment which could meet many more than 15 and still be satisfied with their experience. At the same time, two of the groups meeting less than five others said they felt crowded (Gain and Swanky, 1975).

A more limited visitor attitude study undertaken by Leavers (1986) suggested that mechanized use including helicopters and mountain bikes was creating a reaction from park visitors. Most visitors in the Leavers study opposed mountain bike use, while the majority perceived limited helicopter and horse use to be acceptable. Most people did not find campgrounds too crowded, while opinions were split on whether the park was underused.

Although no comparable attitude surveys have been taken recently, staff observations suggest that visitor attitudes have changed relatively little since the 1970s.32 This stability may be due to several factors. Facility levels have remained consistent over that time, limiting any significant

31 Sepp and Barb Renner, Glenn Campbell and Amanda Weber-Roy, personal communication, September 2005. 32 Ibid. 67

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 increase in core area use or visitor density. Because the majority of visitors now use helicopter flights to support their activities, and because flight frequency continues to be regulated, helicopter use is generally accepted. Indeed, helicopter access, the moderate level of contact with other visitors, the availability of roofed accommodation and other supportive backcountry services, probably contributes to the appeal of Mount Assiniboine Park for visitors preferring a sense of security in their backcountry experience.

Existing Use and Occupancy

Significant changes in usage patterns occurred in the early 1980s after implementation of elements of the 1975 Policy Statement. Following the closure of the core area to horse use, facilities for horse camps were developed at O’Brien Meadows. However, as of 2005, only a very small number of parties had been using use horses to access the core area, in vivid contrast to the use patterns of the decades before 1975. Current access patterns appear to be similar to those of 1986, at which time 70% to 80% of overnight visitation was by helicopter, and 20% to 25% was hike-in.

There were 350 helicopter flights into the park during the winter of 1986, and about the same number in the summer of 1986. Total individuals flown in the 1986 winter were about 1,500; about 1,800 were flown in summer (Parks Data Handbook and Roger Tierney, BC Parks, 1987), An additional Wednesday flight was added to the regular Friday and Sunday flights in the summer, providing more flexibility in length of stay.

Changes in the nature of visitation have been brought about by the extensive use of helicopters. Day use flying is not permitted under the existing Park Use Permit but helicopter support of all levels of core area activity has tended to increase. As noted above, most summer and winter overnight lodge and Naiset Hut users fly into the park. The lodge operations are completely supported by helicopter, and hikers can have packs transported by air for a fee. The current flight schedule (Sunday/Wednesday/Friday) allows for varied lengths of stay. The fact that the lodge permittee has had responsibility for booking all flights as well as lodge, cabin and campground accommodations in the core area since 1998 has streamlined these functions but may have reduced the earlier flight cost competitiveness which existed when several different helicopter companies provided air access services.

Patterns of use recorded in the mid-1980s seem to have remained fairly consistent to the present time.33 Backcountry visitor counts taken in 1985 and 1986 at the park campsites, cabins and lodge indicated clearly that the park was underutilized most of the year except for a few weeks in August. The total number of parties using accommodation facilities in the core area during August of 1985 and 1986 suggest that this area was operating at or near capacity. Maximum capacity is the total number of individuals able to stay at Magog Rim and Og Lake campground, and at the Naiset cabins and Assiniboine Lodge. However, even during these peak use times, many of the campsites or cabins outside the core area were not close to capacity.

33 Glenn Campbell, personal communication, September 2005. 68

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

For the months of July and September, the core area and most other facilities are often underutilized in comparison to the peak use during August. The shoulder seasons of May, June, and October have low use, although the preferred accommodation is obviously the cabins during these periods. During the winter months, weather limits park use, but the lodge and Naiset cabins usually operate at capacity during March, with somewhat less use in April, and less again in February. The months of December and January attract light use.

Magog Lake campground receives the heaviest use of tenting areas, but this is concentrated into August, with July operating at half or two-thirds capacity. Of the remaining backcountry camping areas, Og Lake receives the heaviest use. Use at Rock Lake (west of Ferro Pass) seems to have fallen, reflecting less backpacking access via Surprise Creek and Ferro Pass. Once again, these sites operate at less than capacity in July, but whether visitors consider them to be crowded or not is unknown. Observations of camper density at Magog Lake Campground were undertaken for 50 days during the summer (Gain and Swanky, 1975). Tent areas appeared crowded when there were more than 11 there at one time. The average for the summer was 7.4 a night. Crowding was observed on 16 nights, with the most tents counted being 20. These nights tended to occur in mid-week, especially Wednesdays and Thursdays. The 1975 attitudes survey provides some information in this regard, suggesting that people feel crowded when they meet more than 15 people. However, the literature suggests that recreationists are more concerned about meeting people on the trails than they are about camping with others.

Though much reduced from the time of summer gondola access to Sunshine Village, day use continues to be heaviest in the Sunshine Meadows, with low levels of day use in other areas of the park. Mountain bike use in the park has apparently ceased altogether following the Banff Park closure of Bryant Creek to mountain bike use in 1997.

There is no specific information available on what types of people are using various sites, although some general conclusions may be made. Young and single users are likely more interested in tenting, while family groups are possibly more interested in the cabins or lodge. Older "empty-nesters" are more likely to seek the comfort of cabins or the lodge as well. The choice of accommodation will depend on the motives for visiting the park and the personal desires of different users for specific kinds of camping experiences. Weather can change people's intentions, since many who plan to camp will use the cabins if space is available. There is a discernible provincial trend toward the use of cabins in the backcountry, however, and this demand is sharpened by the easy access provided by helicopters. It is also apparent that there will always be a proportion of people deliberately seeking the more self-reliant tenting experience.

Future Trends

Future trends are difficult to predict, but may be modified by marketing strategies to allocate use according to management plans. The following summary of possible future trends in recreational

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 use of the park only includes simple expected projections of existing patterns, and does not account for management options. • Helicopter access to backcountry places has grown throughout the province in recent years. Air access will continue to be a preferred method of getting to Mount Assiniboine Park. • Based on current trends, the demand for cabin and lodge accommodation will likely remain strong and may even increase as the “baby boom” generation ages. • The provincial trend toward packaged backcountry or nature tours has already been reflected historically in the park’s guide-outfitting operations and more recently in the packaging of visitor experiences in the Sunshine Meadows and south core area. This trend was strengthened after 1998 by Mount Assiniboine Lodge’s assumption of responsibility for all travel and accommodation within the south core area. There may be potential to develop other packaged opportunities in the park, but in the longer term it will also be important to retain public options for independent experiences as part of the responsibility to manage parks as a public trust. • The park will continue to serve the Alberta market through the Banff/Spray lakes and Sunshine Village area. Most markets will continue to lie east and south of the park, particularly as the populations of Calgary and Canmore continue to expand. • Because of access constraints and intense competition from other well-known Rocky Mountain destinations, the park will likely continue to be relatively unknown to the majority of international visitors unless summer access to Sunshine Meadows improves and the meadows are distinctively promoted as part of the Mount Assiniboine Park experience. Historically, promotion of the lodge and south core area has been low-key and has kept visitor levels within sustainable environmental, social and facility capacities. • Most overnight use of the park will continue to focus on the south core area, especially in high summer and the month of March. The area is used at capacity during August and March. There is little room for growth during these months, although there is considerable opportunity to increase use in July and September without exceeding the capacity of existing facilities. • Within the Rocky Mountain Tourism Region of B.C., the park will continue to present few opportunities unless management and marketing suggest specific backcountry experiences on the western side, coupled with road and trail access improvements. • The park will continue to serve as a specific destination for backcountry travel and viewing of scenery, but will not be used as often by self-contained backpackers and those seeking a remote wilderness experience. Climbers will continue to be a proportionally small but important market for the park, but they may increase their use of the Assiniboine Creek access to obtain a more solitary and less regulated experience. • Hunting and fishing growth in the province is relatively stable, and there is no unusual increase in demand forecast for the park. Fishing will continue to serve Canadian resident markets and represent a small proportion of total activity days. • Horse use wi1l continue to form part of the use mix, but, with more accessible opportunities available in adjacent Rocky Mountain areas, it is currently below facility capacity levels and is not likely to increase in the park without specific management direction.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Access limitations imposed by trail route distances and helicopter schedules have helped to limit use volumes in the focal south core of the park. Peak use is also limited by the availability of overnight accommodation. Campground, and long-established huts and lodge accommodations disperse use nodes around the core, offer three types of backcountry experience and cater to a wide cross-section of users. Opinion surveys suggest that most visitors of all kinds value the uncrowded backcountry feel of the south core but also appreciate the security afforded by the presence of others. Well-maintained, hardened trails in both Sunshine Meadows and the south core have allowed both areas to sustain relatively intensive use without significant vegetation impacts. Low levels of human activity outside the core areas of the park have minimized wildlife impacts. The result of this combination of factors is a park with wide diversity of accessibility and visitor experience, a tangible heritage of mountain tourism use unique among British Columbia protected areas and a sustainable balance of backcountry recreational use with environmental conservation.

Early light on Mount Assiniboine and Wedgewood Peak

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

LAND TENURES, OCCUPANCY RIGHTS and RESOURCE USES

Protected Area designation ensures that existing liens, charges and encumbrances (other than those for commercial logging, mining or energy exploration and development), will continue to be authorized through issuance of park use permits (PUPs). This policy recognizes all existing Land Act Tenures, Special Use Permits (SUPs), water rights, trapping licenses and other legal tenures and rights.

Tenures, Rights, Permits, Inholdings and Resource Uses

Park Use Permits

Park Use Permits in Mount Assiniboine Park cover all private/commercial structures and works as well as all commercial guiding operations and transportation (see list in Appendix Twelve). Structures covered by permit are: • Mount Assiniboine Lodge, cabins and associated structures – Sepp & Barb Renner, lodge operators • Surprise Creek Cabin – John Niddrie, guide-outfitter • Mitchell River Cabin – Chuck Shewin, guide-outfitter • Rock Isle Lake water supply system (intake and pipeline) and downhill ski chair lift and runs – Sunshine Village Corporation

In addition to a helicopter access permit, the two guide-outfitting permits and the Mount Assiniboine Lodge permit, which provides for commercial guiding, there are nine commercial guiding permits for operations within the park. Most commercial guiding operators visit the park fewer than half a dozen times a year. One permit, for the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, covers all members of the association.

Guide Territories

Hunting has traditionally been permitted in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park. The major emphasis is on sheep, goat, and elk hunting, although deer, moose, grizzly bear, and black bear have also been taken. There are two guide-outfitter territories within the park (P.U.P. KO9710005 and P.U.P. KO9710004 - refer to Map #6). The Simpson River drainage was permitted to Albert Cooper for over 50 years, and is now in the name of John Niddrie. Chuck Christensen guided in the Mitchell River drainage for 30+ years; the permit holder is now Vince Cocciolo. The north and south core areas are closed to hunting.

Between 1982/83 and 1985/86 guide-outfitters brought in a mean of 13.8 hunters per year to the park who hunted a mean of 113.3 days per year. Cooper generally killed two sheep per year, 72

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 while Christensen did not taken any in the early 1980s, results which probably reflect the distribution of the species in the two areas. Their kill of mountain goat averaged 3.4 per year from 1981-86, whereas their elk kill averaged 4.3 per year from 1982-86. Deer and moose were seldom taken. Black bear kill was low (except in 1984/85) and the number of grizzly bear taken was even lower.34

Map #6: Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Land Tenures

Information for resident hunter kills was available only for sheep, goat, and grizzly bear in 1985 and 1986. Residents killed eight goats, one sheep, and no grizzly bear. Difficulty of access may considerably limit the number of resident hunters although the number of goat licenses available

34 Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Background Document, 1987, p. 42. 73

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 may have resulted in increased numbers of resident hunters. Christensen (pers. comm.) noted "quite a bunch" of resident hunters in 1987. Most resident hunters tended to go into the park for goat or sheep (B. Warkentin, pers. comm.)

Traplines

Trapline #0425T005 formerly included the upper Mitchell River, but the portion within the park was relinquished in 1986. A former trapline along the Simpson River within the park was extinguished earlier.

Inholdings, Leases, Rights of Way and Reserves

Although there are two surveyed lots the park south core area, original private titles have been extinguished and both are now included in the park. Within the park, there are no inholdings, i.e., private lands or Crown lands under jurisdiction other than the Park Act.

Water Rights

Sunshine Village Corporation has an annually renewable Park Use Permit (#K09710002) to draw up to 15,240 m3 /year of water from Rock Isle Lake, and has a water line from the lake to the Village located under the Sunshine Meadows trail.

Mineral Tenures

The Park contains no mineral claims or leases. Under surface rights are held by the Crown.

Grazing

There are no grazing permits within the park. The two guide-outfitting permitees and non- commercial horse users are required to carry feed for horses to avoid grazing around designated horse camps.

First Nations Interests

With the emergence of treaty negotiations in British Columbia and the growing awareness of aboriginal rights and interests, the Environmental Stewardship Division has begun to forge stronger relationships with First Nations across the province. The provincial park system contains cultural and natural values that are highly significant to First Nations. Some parks are important as sources of natural medicines, foods or as sacred sites. The Environmental Stewardship Division needs to consider the traditional knowledge and concerns of First Nations.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park lies within the asserted traditional territory of the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council (Cranbrook), which has a Memorandum of Understanding with BC Parks on the planning and management of parks in the Kootenay Region. As noted previously (Prehistoric Resources – First Nations, p. 44), no specific archaeological sites have been recorded within the park, although areas of higher potential have been identified. Under these circumstances, First Nations interest in the park and its management is expected to remain general unless new archaeological investigations are planned or new discoveries are made.

Land Use Patterns Adjacent to the Park

The park is surrounded by National Parks (Kootenay and Banff) on all but the southerly side, creating a pattern of land use generally compatible with that of the Provincial Park. However, independent visitor or resource management actions by either jurisdiction may have impacts on the other. Two notable examples are Banff Park’s permanent closure of Bryant Creek to mountain bike use and the periodic closure of Bryant Creek because of grizzly hazards, a direct effect of which is to close the shortest foot-access route into the Mount Assiniboine South Core Area. The presence of the major Sunshine Village Ski Resort within a kilometre of the northern boundary of the park has provided a base for very high day use levels in the Sunshine Meadows area while the resort operated in the summer. The 1985 Sunshine Summer Use Plan recognized the potential to provide a high profile, uniquely accessible alpine experience to large numbers of visitors with minimal infrastructure inside the park. Winter day use of Mount Assiniboine Park has been significantly lower from this base and is mostly related to the several downhill skiing runs which cross the park boundary. Mining and forest harvesting occur on the Provincial Forest lands to the south of the park. Magnesite35 reserves estimated to be in excess of 50 million tons were discovered in 1966 near the junction of Assiniboine Creek and the Mitchell River at the foot of Mt Brussilof. In 1980, Baymag Mines Company Limited commenced trucking ore from the mine site to a plant in Exshaw, Alberta, and has continued to mine magnesite at an annual rate of approximately 175,000 tonnes per year. As a result, a high-quality industrial road connects the mine site via the valleys of the Mitchell and Cross Rivers and up the Settlers Road along the Kootenay River through Kootenay National Park to Highway 93. Between 1987 and the present, timber harvesting extended virtually to the park boundary in the Mitchell River drainage, shortening the trail access to the south core area by several kilometres. Similar expansion of harvesting into the lower reaches of Assiniboine and Aurora creeks and Ministry of Forests improvement of the trail route up Assiniboine Creek to Assiniboine Lake on

35 Magnesite or magnesium oxide (MgO) has a wide range of industrial uses, primarily as a base used to neutralize acids. Baymag Magnesium Oxide is used in pulp and paper production, magnesium compounds, Epsom and other magnesium salts, and the production of magnesium metal. 75

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 the park boundary have made direct access to Mount Assiniboine from the south considerably easier.

Other Agency Interests

The Ministry of Forests and Range has interests based on activities related to wildfire, prescribed burning, weed management and forest health issues such as pine beetle.

The Ministry of Environment and its various branches have interest in wildlife and ecosystem issues.

The Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts now has responsibility for the former Ministry of Forests Recreation Program, which managed public recreation on Crown forest land, including the Assiniboine Creek Trail and other recreation sites and trails in the Mitchell River valley.

Parks Canada has a strong interest in coordinating management policies for vegetation, wildlife and visitors. However, as noted above, National Parks policies and management decisions can have direct effects on Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, as in the case of the permanent closure of Bryant Creek to mountain bike access and annual closures owing to potential grizzly bear hazards.

Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and Kananaskis Country in Alberta have adjacency interests as they include access routes into Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park.

Local Government Interests

• The Villages of Radium Hot Springs and Invermere • The East Kootenay Regional District • The Towns of Banff and Canmore, Alberta

Stakeholder Interests

Stakeholders in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park include: • Park Use Permit holders (15 permits - see Appendix Twelve for details): o Facilities – 3 permits: Sunshine Village Corporation water supply; Sunshine Village Corporation downhill ski lift and runs; Mount Assiniboine Lodge (permit includes commercial guiding and operation of Naiset Cabins and Magog Campground) o Commercial - 9 operators (not counting Mount Assiniboine Lodge) o Guide-Outfitters - 2 o Helicopter companies - 1 • Local Chambers of Commerce with general economic interests • BC Timber Sales and Canfor have active forest harvesting operations adjacent to the Park.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

• A number of mineral claim holders have active claims to the south of the park (Baymag – Mt Brusilloff Mine) • Organizations such as: o Alpine Club of Canada o Backcountry Horsemen’s Association o BC Floatplane Association o BC Wilderness Tourism Association o BC Wildlife Federation, Parks Committee o Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society o Federationof BC Naturalists (Rocky Mountain Naturalists) o Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC o Outdoor Recreation Council of BC o Tourism Action Society of the Kootenays o Wildsight (formerly East Kootenay Environmental Society)

Mount Assiniboine

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

BC PARKS AND PROTECTED AREAS OPERATIONS

Operations Infrastructure and Facilities

BC Parks has used the Sunburst Cabin (1928) for management purposes since acquiring it from Elizabeth Rummell in the early 1970’s. It was used seasonally by Parks Youth Crews until the Youth Crew program ended in 1981, and it has been used since for staff accommodation and other management purposes since that time.

Sunburst Cabin

1955, while provincial parks were still under Forest Service administration, a ranger cabin was built in the south core area and was staffed seasonally until the mid-1970s. Known as “Ken Jones’s Cabin” for its last regular occupant, this structure was moved into the Naiset Cabin complex when the other cabins were refurbished in 1978 and it was subsequently used for public accommodation.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

One of the original 1922 Naiset Cabins, known as “Wheeler’s Wonder Lodge” was used as the main administrative base from 1978 until it was destroyed by fire in 1993. It was replaced the following year by a purpose-built, two storey log ranger cabin situated a few hundred metres from the Naiset Cabin complex. This structure, with sleeping accommodations for 3 or more, hot and cold piped water and propane cooking, refrigeration and heating, currently serves as the primary staff summer and winter base in the park. Current BC Parks staffing consists of two rangers running staggered shifts from July to mid-September.

Mount Assiniboine Park Ranger Cabin, Naiset Point

In the initial period of Sunshine Meadows summer use, Sunshine Village provided accommodation for a BC Parks ranger who had responsibility for ensuring public and operator compliance with the terms of the Sunshine Summer Use Plan. Since the gondola ceased summer operations in the 1990s, no BC Parks staff have been assigned specifically to the north core area.

Seasonal Parks staff generally access the south core area via helicopter flights regularly scheduled by the lodge concessionaire. These fly from Shark Mountain in Kananaskis Country, to the east of the park. Other helicopter flights for management purposes frequently originate

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 from Invermere, and management freight flights usually stage from the end of the Mitchell River logging road system immediately south of the park boundary.

Revenues generated from the lodge operation permit have proven sufficient to cover park management and facility maintenance costs as well as some resource management activities. Significantly, this situation makes Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park virtually self-sustaining at its current level of development and use.

Special Regulations

Other than for management purposes, helicopter landings in the park are currently restricted to the lodge landing site on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays (or Mondays on Long Weekends).

Helicopter landing site for management purposes, between Naiset Cabins and Ranger Cabin

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KEY MANAGEMENT ISSUES

The following have been identified as key issues.

Natural Value Issues

Ecological Conservation

Information - Lack of baseline ecological information limits strategic conservation planning, precludes defining operational-level management direction and may result in further impacts due to uninformed decisions.

Climate Change – Nicholson (2004) identifies some implications of global warming as follows: Global warming in the East Kootenay area brings with it the potential for decreased snow pack, overall decreased participation, and overall higher annual temperatures. These changes have the potential of seriously altering the alpine habitat.

Decreased precipitation will directly affect the plant life in the Park, both by increasing the risk of fire and by putting increasing stress on moisture-sensitive species. Some plant species will likely decrease or disappear altogether. Increasing temperature will allow the tree and vegetation line to move higher in elevation, effectively allowing for increased vegetation on alpine slopes and ridges, as well as allowing subalpine plants to move higher into alpine areas. These changes have the potential of drastically changing plant diversity and habitat, both in the subapline and alpine areas of the Park.36

With increasing scientific and political concern about climate change and its implications, it may be appropriate to link ecological inventory and monitoring work at the park level with studies of climate change. Mount Robson Provincial Park and the National Parks have done some analysis in this area. In Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, such linkages could help to project risks to vegetation and wildlife based on warming and drying trends, as well as providing models of what “natural ecological progressions” might mean for this specific park.

Public Support - Public education is the most cost-effective means of supporting the ecological conservation roles of the park, and management needs to build this support.

Vegetation

Natural Disturbance Regimes –

Mountain Pine Beetle - The mountain pine beetle infestation currently affecting all parts of the British Columbia Interior has not significantly impacted Mount Assiniboine Park to date, but it can be expected

36 See Appendix Five for complete report. 81

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 to take hold in coming years. The massive scale of this natural disturbance could have very far-reaching effects. Affected areas will have increased susceptibility to wildfire from the red-top phase until the needles finally drop. From that point until some new surface cover develops, there will be a high risk of heavy soil erosion, as precipitation will not be absorbed by root systems, runoff will occur rapidly, and soil will not be held in place by vegetation. Increased turbidity will affect water quality and fish habitat far down the drainage systems. Although Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park contains only a very small proportion of susceptible pine by comparison with adjacent jurisdictions, detailed planning is appropriate to identify potential impacts and appropriate management actions, in the broader context of National Parks and Provincial responses to the mountain pine beetle in the area.

Wildfire – Other than a burn up the Simpson River from the Kootenay to the vicinity of Indian Creek, major wildfires have not affected the park to any great extent owing to the longstanding policies of fire suppression. A vegetation management plan should update the park’s approach to wildfire.

Human Impacts – Although trail hardening and restoration of vegetation has been undertaken since the mid 1970s in heavily used areas of the Park, these actions must be continued as necessary to sustain the natural vegetation. Particularly with the reduction of horse use since the 1970s, there appears to be no obvious intrusion of non-native species and noxious weeds, but specific monitoring of vegetation in use areas should be undertaken to ascertain the present situation and to provide a basis for any necessary management actions. Management policy based on good science should be a priority, but recent studies (Nicholson, 2004) have clearly indicated the need for continuing species data collection throughout the park.

Wildlife

Rare, Endangered and Sensitive Species -

More baseline studies and more knowledge of the species’ tolerances is needed to identify and avoid unacceptable impacts. Although some wildlife species such as bighorn sheep have been studied fairly consistently, information on most other species is inconsistent and heavily dependent upon studies undertaken by the adjacent National Parks. Given the amount of helicopter use and recreational hiking throughout the main corridors of the park, updated inventory work is needed for species other than sheep, such as grizzly bears, mountain goats, and wolverine. The commercial recreation sector should be encouraged to continue to support resource related monitoring programs, given that the ecological health of the area is part of what they are selling to their clients.

Fisheries - Fisheries management in the Park must include consideration of the sport fisheries in the rivers and upland lakes and protection of the blue-listed shorthead sculpin. Information on which to base management of fish resources appears to be lacking, suggesting that conservative strategies should be adopted to ensure viable populations.

Cultural Heritage Issues

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Archaeological Resources A Traditional Use Study and archaeological study would be appropriate to improve the presently very limited knowledge of prehistory within the park. The KKTC TUS should be checked for relevant information. Studies of prehistoric cultural sites within the park should be encouraged and any additional historical remains discovered should be investigated. Exploration for the purpose of historical research should be permitted. The focus for interpretation should be upon traditional areas and sharing resources with other tribes (trades).

Post-Contact Heritage The character of all structures representative of early tourist use within the South Core Area of Assiniboine should be preserved. More emphasis should be placed on presenting this history to the public, particularly in and around the Naiset Cabins.

Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Issues

Access –

Helicopter access - Although somewhat controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, helicopter access appears now to be accepted as the main means of accessing the south core area of the park. The current schedule, booking system and costs should continue to be monitored to ensure that they meet the needs of the three types of users (campers, hut users and lodge guests) as well as the lodge operators. Trail access – Four issues need to be considered in the updated management plan: 1) whether reliability of access can be improved via Bryant Creek in light of the intermittent closures of that route by Parks Canada; 2) whether to continue the current policy under which the upper Simpson River trail is essentially unmaintained in order to offer a more primitive access experience for park visitors who may prefer it; 3) whether any coordinated management actions between BC Parks and the Ministry of Forests are needed regarding direct access to Mount Assiniboine via Assiniboine and Aurora creeks; 4) whether or not the Mitchell River trail should be improved and promoted as a major British Columbia access route into the south core area.

Accommodation Facilities – The park presently offers four fairly distinct levels of accommodation: camping at designated sites (including horse and group camping at O’Brien Meadows), public cabin accommodation (Naiset Cabins and RC Hind Hut), guide-outfitter cabin/camp accommodation, and full-service lodge accommodation. In the south core area, operation of three of these opportunities by the lodge concessionaire creates some risk of blurring the distinctions among them and possibly favouring the lodge opportunity, which generates the highest returns. The updated management plan should consider ways of maintaining and supporting the four distinctive accommodation types and their associated recreational opportunities. The plan also needs to consider whether or not present accommodations are satisfactory and appropriate, and whether any additional roofed or camping accommodations are needed and appropriate anywhere in the park.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Commercial Recreation – The Mount Assiniboine Lodge is currently the principal commercial operation in the park. By virtue of its operation of the Naiset Cabins and Magog Campground and the helicopter flight booking service, its staff play a major role in defining the public image of the park. Because of the iconic character of Mount Assiniboine, the park attracts a significant number of commercial recreation guiding services based outside the park. The largest such operation is White Mountain Tours, which buses summer visitors to Sunshine Village for hikes into the north core area, but most operate in the park less regularly with very much smaller parties. In addition, two guide outfitters provide horse accessed hunting and some other guided recreational opportunities outside the core areas. The updated management plan will have to consider what may be the most appropriate level of commercial activity in the park and what effect commercial operations may have on the character of the park. In particular, it should respond to expressed interest by Sunshine Village in establishing a lodge in the north core area of the park.

Development Levels/Zoning – Mount Assiniboine Park experience since the 1970s suggests that the development levels and zoning established in the 1987 Master Plan have created a highly sustainable balance between use and environmental conservation in the focal north and south core areas, while preserving most of the park area as wilderness with little human impact. Key elements in this balance are the levels, types and locations of accommodation, the types of access and the standards and conditions of the trails. It is likely that, beyond fine tuning, any changes to any of these elements could upset the established balance, resulting in deterioration of the backcountry experience through overcrowding, unacceptable impacts on vegetation and wildlife or loss of the heritage atmosphere of the roofed accommodations. The updated management plan must consider whether current development levels and zoning are appropriate and ensure that any recommended changes include strategies to maintain the essential balance between conservation and public use and appreciation.

Use Levels – As noted, south core area use levels appear to have remained fairly stable over the past thirty years. Existing accommodation capacity would permit greater use in shoulder seasons. Sunshine Meadows summer use has dropped considerably since its initiation in the mid 1980s and also has additional capacity as a result. The updated management plan should consider whether it is desirable to try to fill these capacity gaps and whether any upward or downward adjustment of current peak use levels may be appropriate.

Land Tenure and Adjacent Land Use Issues

Boundaries

Additions – As noted previously, the 1985 proposal to add the Assiniboine and Aurora creek drainages to the park was not accepted in the East Kootenay Land Use Plan Protected Area Strategy. Given that forest development has since occurred in much of the proposal area, the

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 original values of the addition are now compromised. There appear to be no other boundary issues to address in the updated plan.

Adjacent Land Management

It is important to coordinate planning for commercial and non-commercial uses surrounding the park (particularly in the Sunshine Meadows area). Equally important is the coordination of park management with management and land use planning outside the park. As noted elsewhere, management actions in the adjacent national parks can affect Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park vegetation, wildlife and visitor access. While there is currently no new logging activity on the Provincial Forest lands to the south, access management issues have arisen because the good quality Forest Service trail up Assiniboine Creek to the park boundary appears to be receiving increasing use.

Management Services Issues

Community Appreciation/Support

As noted, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park visitors include a larger segment of international visitors than many other British Columbia parks, and the base of support for the park is correspondingly broad. Unlike many other provincial parks, however, Mount Assiniboine Park lacks an adjacent base of community support, owing in part to its remoteness from population centres and in part to the fact that it tends to blur into the higher profile of the surrounding National Parks, both of which are closer to communities. The updated plan should explore the potential for strengthening community support in the nearest British Columbia population centres, primarily Invermere and Radium.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

APPENDICES

Appendix One – Contact List (Draft)

Contributors to the Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Background Document

Agencies Contact MOE, Cranbrook Greg Chin MOE, Cranbrook Glen Campbell MOE, Cranbrook Mike Gall MOE, Cranbrook Gary Glinz MOE, Cranbrook Roger Tierney MOE (Parks), Victoria Brett Hudson MOE, Nelson Per Wallenius Parks Canada Jamie Fennel Kananaskis Country, AB Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, AB Don Cocherton (sp?) East Kootenay Regional District (Villages of Radium & Invermere)

Permittees Contact Alpine Helicopters Dave Gubbles Association of Canadian Mountain Guides Boreas Backcountry Adventures Don Hay Exalta 21 Kathy McCormick

Organizations Contact Alpine Club of Canada Backcountry Horsemen’s Association BC Floatplane Association

BC Wilderness Tourism Association BC Wildlife Federation, Parks Committee Ed Mankelow Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Federationof BC Naturalists (Rocky Mountain Naturalists) Greg Ross Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC Outdoor Recreation Council of BC Tourism Action Society of the Kootenays - Eileen Fletcher Wildsight (formerly East Kootenay Environmental Society) Ellen Zimmerman Consultants 86

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Wildland Consulting Inc Dave Kaegi (PRW Consulting Services) Phil Whitfield

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Appendix Two – Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Legal Description

Note: With the advent of accurate digital mapping from geographical positioning systems, the Province commenced a conversion of protected area legal descriptions from the traditional detailed metes and bounds description to designation of a digitized map “Official Plan” filed in the Crown Land Registry. Park areas changed slightly as they were calculated digitally instead of by more traditional methods.

The most recent legal description for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park is that listed immediately below, as posted in September 2005 on website http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/P/00017_05.htm#mountassiniboine .

PROTECTED AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA ACT, [SBC 2000] CHAPTER 17 Assented to June 29, 2000

Schedule C MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PARK All those parcels or tracts of Crown land, together with all that foreshore or land covered by water, situated in Kootenay District and contained within the described boundaries as shown on the Official Plan deposited in the Crown Land Registry as Plan 13 Tube 1927. The whole park containing approximately 39 013 hectares.

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The following earlier legal description, also posted in September 2005 on website http://www.legis.gov.bc.ca/2000/3rd_read/gov17-3.htm , is now obsolete but has been included to provide a metes and bounds reference for information only.

BILL 17 — 2000 PROTECTED AREAS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA ACT

Schedule C: # 238 MOUNT ASSINIBOINE PARK All that parcel or tract of Crown land, together with all that foreshore or land covered by water, situated in Kootenay District and lying within the following described boundaries; Commencing at Boundary Monument number 14C being a point at the intersection of the British Columbia-Alberta Boundary with the easterly boundary of Kootenay National Park; thence in a general southerly direction along the easterly boundary of Kootenay National Park to the summit of Mount Daer, being a point on said easterly boundary, and being also a point on the southerly boundary of the watershed of Daer Creek, as shown on Plan 7 Tube 312 on deposit with the Surveyor General Branch of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Victoria;

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 thence easterly along the southerly boundary of the watershed of Daer Creek to its intersection with the westerly boundary of the watershed of Extension Creek; thence northerly and southeasterly along the westerly and northerly boundaries of the watershed of Extension Creek produced to its intersection with the natural boundary of Mitchell River, on the right bank thereof; thence northeasterly in a straight line, on a bearing of 72°, a distance of 2.62 kilometres; thence due East to the British Columbia-Alberta Boundary; thence in a general northwesterly direction along the British Columbia-Alberta Boundary to Boundary Monument number 14C, being a point thereon, and being also the point of commencement. The whole containing approximately 39 050 hectares.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Appendix Three - Species List and Associated Information for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

Reproduced from Haider, Wolfgang and Candace Piccin. Visitor Use and Ecological Values Assessment of the Core Area of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, Draft Report Prepared for BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Environmental Stewardship Division, Kootenay Region, May 31, 2002

Introductory Notes (Haider & Piccin, p. 45-46)

A species list for this park was compiled from numerous sources. A list from 1977 that was on file at BC Parks, information from the Conservation Risk Assessment (CRA, 2001/2002) process that is currently being completed for all parks in the Kootenay District, lists from the Vancouver Natural History Society summer camp that was held in Mount Assiniboine in the summer of 2000, the Rare and Endangered Species books from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks (Cannings, et al., 1999; Douglas, et al., 1998; Fraser et al., 1999)) and the Database for Wildlife Diversity in British Columbia (Stevens, 1995) were all used.

Since some of the resources did not place species specifically in Mount Assiniboine, the BEC information displayed within this report and species accounts were used to come up with an indication of occurrence within the park. For this purpose, the Peterson Field Guides on Mammals and Birds were used as aids. Ratings of likelihood of occurrence include Known, Probable and Possible. ‘Known’ indicates that some source placed the species within Mount Assiniboine Park. ‘Probable’ indicates that on the basis of the species’ life requisites and known range, it is very likely to exist within this park, although its presence has not been confirmed. ‘Possible’ indicates that this species could feasibly exist within this park; however, it would be at the extent of its known range and are therefore less likely to be present. This list is not considered complete; rather it is an initial listing intended to provide a starting point for further inventory.

For each species the Scientific and Common Names were listed with the RIC Class and Species Code, its current provincial status, documented presence within the SIM Ecoprovince and SPK Ecosection, and BEC subzone association. Additional columns within the spreadsheet contain Wildlife Guidelines for Recreation on Crown lands in BC, for species at risk and species of concern (as delineated by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks), Comments on the specific habitat requirements and the Occurrence of each species within this park. This information was stored in an excel spreadsheet which may be viewed in Appendix C. This spreadsheet was created such that it can be attached to the current biophysical coverage and queried to display the potential locations of each species. At this time the BEC mapping within this park as well as the species information are very general. As these data sets are expanded and more detailed information becomes available, mapping exercises can be performed to display more accurately where each species is likely to occur.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Species Name RIC Code Current Scientific Name Common Name Class Code Status Sub_zone Occurance Bufo boreas Western Toad A BUBO Yellow ESSF Known Accipiter gentilis Northern Goshawk B NOGO Red ESSF Probable Anas acuta Northern Pintail B NOPI Not Listed ESSF Possible Anas americana American wigeon B AMWI Not Listed ESSF Possible Anas clypeata Northern shoveler B NOSH Not Listed AT Possible Anas cyanoptera Cinnamon teal B CITE Not Listed ESSF Possible Anas discors Blue-winged teal B BWTE Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Anas platyrhynchos Mallard B MALL Not Listed ESSF Possible Anthus spinoletta Water Pipit B WAPI Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Aquila chrysaetos Golden Eagle B GOEA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Asio flammeus Short-eared owl B SEOW Red ESSF Possible Aythya affinis Lesser scaup B LESC Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Aythya collaris Ring-necked duck B RNDU Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Branta canadensis Canada goose B CAGO Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Bubo virginianus Great horned owl B GHOW Not Listed ESSF Probable Bucephala albeola Bufflehead B BUFF Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Bucephala clangula Common goldeneye B COGO Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Bucephala islandica Barrow's goldeneye B BAGO Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Buteo jamaicensis Red-tailed Hawk B RTHA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Buteo lagopus Rough-legged hawk B RLHA Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Buteo swainsoni Swainson's hawk B SWHA Red ESSF Possible Calidris minutilla Least sandpiper B LESA Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Carduelis pinus Pine Sisken B PISI Not Listed ESSF Known Catharus guttatus Hermit Thrush B HETH Not Listed ESSF Known Catharus ustulatus Swainson's Thrush B SWTH Not Listed ESSF Known Clangula hyemalis Oldsquaw B OLDS Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Colaptes auratus Northern Flicker B NOFL Not Listed ESSF Known Corvus corax Common Raven B CORA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Dendragapus canadensis Spruce grouse B SPGR Not Listed ESSF Known Dendragapus obscurus Blue grouse B BLGR Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Dendroica townsendi Townsend's Warbler B TOWA Not Listed ESSF Known Falco columbarius Merlin B MERL Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Falco mexicanus Prairie Falcon B PRFA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Falco peregrinus anatum Peregrine falcon subsp. anatum B PEFA-AN Red ESSF Known Falco sparverius American kestrel B MAKE Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Gavia immer Common Loon B COLO Not Listed ESSF Possible Halaeetus leucocephalus Bald Eagle B BAEA Blue AT/ESSF Known Hirundo rustica Barn Swallow B BASW Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Histrionicus histrionicus Harlequin duck B HADU Red AT/ESSF Possible Ixoreus naevius Varied Thrush B VATH Not Listed ESSF Known Junco hyemalis Dark-eyed Junco B DEJU Not Listed ESSF Known

Species Name RIC Code Current Sub_zone Occurance

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Scientific Name Common Name Class Code Status Lagopus lagopus Willow ptarmigan B WIPT Not Listed ESSF Known Lagopus leucurus saxastilis White-tailed Ptarmigan B WTPT Blue AT/ESSF Known Lagopus mutus Rock ptarmigan B Not Listed AT Known Lanius excubitor Northern shrike B NOSL Not Listed ESSF Possible Larus philadelphia Bonaparte's Gull B BOGU Not Listed ESSF Known Leucosticte arctoa Rosy Finch B ROFI Not Listed AT Known Lophodytes cucullatus Hooded merganser B HOME Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Melanerpes lewis Lewis's Woodpecker B LEWO Blue BG, PP, IDF, ICH Probable Melanitta fusca White-winged scoter B WWSC Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Melanitta perspicillata Surf scoter B SUSC Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Mergus merganser Common merganser B COME Not Listed AT/ESSF Possible Myadestes townsendi Townsend's Solitaire B TOSO Not Listed ESSF Known Nucifraga columbiana Clark's Nutcracker B CLNU Not Listed ESSF Known Nyctea scandiaca Snowy Owl B SNOW Not Listed AT Known Oporornis tolmiei MacGillivray's warbler B MACW Not Listed ESSF Probable Parus atricapillus Black-capped Chickadee B BCCH Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Parus gambeli Mountain Chickadee B MOCH Not Listed ESSF Known Passerella iliaca Fox Sparrow B FOSP Not Listed ESSF Known Perisoreus canadensis Gray Jay B GRJA Not Listed ESSF Known Phalaropus lobatus Red-necked phalarope B RNPH Blue AT/ESSF Possible Picoides tridactylus Three-toed woodpecker B TTWO Not Listed ESSF Possible Pinicola enucleator carlottae Pine Grosbeak B PIGR Blue ESSF Probable Regulus satrapa Golden-crowned Kinglet B GCKI Not Listed ESSF Known Selasphorus rufus Rufous Hummingbird B RUHU Not Listed ESSF Known Sialia currocoides Mountain Bluebird B MOBL Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Sitta canadensis Red-Breasted Nuthatch B RBNU Not Listed ESSF Known Spizella passerina Chipping Sparrow B CHSP Not Listed ESSF Known Tachycineta bicolor Tree Swallow B TRSW Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Tringa flavipes Lesser Yellowlegs B LEYE Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Tringa solitaria Solitary Sandpiper B SOSA Not Listed AT Known Turdus migratorius American Robin B AMRO Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Wilsonia pusilla Wilson's warbler B WIWA Not Listed ESSF Known Zonotrichia leucophrys White-crowned Sparrow B WCSP Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Oncorhynchus clarki Cutthroat Trout F ONCL Not Listed N/A Known Oncorhynchus mykiss Rainbow Trout F Not Listed N/A Probable Canis latrans Coyote M CALA Not Listed ESSF Probable Canis lupus Wolf M CALU Not Listed ESSF Known Cervus canadensis Elk M CECA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Citellus columbianus Columbia Ground Squirrel M CICO Not Listed ESSF Known Citellus lateralis Golden-mantled Squirrel M CILA Not Listed ESSF Known Clethrionomys gapperi Boreal Redback Vole M CLGA Not Listed ESSF Known Clethrionomys gapperi galei Southern Red-backed Vole M CLGA-G Blue ESSF Probable Erithizon dorsatum Porcupine M ERDO Not Listed ESSF Known Felis concolour Cougar M FECO Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Gulo gulo luscus Wolverine M GUGL Blue AT/ESSF Known Lepus americanus Snowshoe Hare M LEAM Not Listed ESSF Known

Species Name RIC Code Current Sub_zone Occurance

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Scientific Name Common Name Class Code Status Lynx canadensis Lynx M LYCA Not Listed ESSF Known Marmota caligata Hoary Marmot M MACA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Martes americana Marten M MAAM Not Listed ESSF Known Martes pennanti Fisher M MAPE Blue AT/ESSF Possible Microtus longicaudus Longtail Vole M MILO Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Microtus pennsylvanicus Meadow Vole M MIPE Not Listed ESSF Known Mustela rixosa Least Weasel M MURI Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Myotis lucifugus Little Brown Myotis M MYLU Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Neotoma cinerea Bushytail Woodrat M NECI Not Listed AT/ESSF Probable Ochotona princeps Common Pika M OCPR Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Odocoileus hemionus Mule Deer M ODHE Not Listed ESSF Known Odocoileus virginianus Whitetail deer M ODVI Not Listed ESSF Known Oreamnos americanus Mountain Goat M ORAM Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Ovis canadensis canadensis Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep M OVCC Blue AT/ESSF Known Peromyscus maniculatus Deer Mouse M PEMA Not Listed AT/ESSF Known Sorex cinereus Masked Shrew M SOCI Not Listed ESSF Known Sorex obscurus Dusky Shrew M SOOB Not Listed ESSF Known Synaptomys borealis Northern Bog Lemming M SYBO Blue AT Known Tamias minimus oreocetes Least Chipmunk oreocetes M TAMI-OR Blue AT/ESSF Probable Tamias ruficaudus ruficaudus Red-tailed Chipmunk ruficaudus M TARU-RU Red AT/ESSF Probable Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Red Squirrel M TAHU Not Listed ESSF Known Taxidea taxus Badger M TATA Red BG, IDF, PP Known Ursus americanus Black Bear M URAM Yellow AT/ESSF Known Ursus arctos Grizzly Bear M URAR Blue AT/ESSF Known Zapus princeps Western Jumping Mouse M ZAPR Not Listed AT/ESSF Probable Agoseris lackschewetzii Pink Agoseris P AGOLAC Blue ESSF Known Braya purpurascens Purple Braya P BRAPUR Blue AT Known Delphinium bicolor Montana Larkspur P DELBIC Blue AT Known Draba ruaxes Coast Mountain Draba P DRARUA Blue AT Known Erigeron lanatus Wooly Daisy P ERILAN Blue AT Known Juncus arcitcus ssp. Ala Arctic Rush P JUNARC-A Blue AT/ESSF Known Phacelia lyallii Lyall's Phacelia P PHALYA Blue AT Known Physaria didymocarpa var. didymocarpa Common Twinpod P PHYDID Blue AT Known Poa laxa spp. Banffiana Banff Bluegrass P POALAX-B Red AT Known Ranunculus eschscholtzii Snowpatch Buttercup P RANESC Blue AT Known Trisetum wolfii Wolf's Trisetum P TRIWOL Blue AT Known Allium validum Swamp Onion P ALLVAL Blue AT/ESSF Probable Androsace chamaejasme Sweet-flowered fairy candelabra P ANDCHA Blue AT/ESSF Probable Anemone canadensis Canada Anemone P ANECAN Blue ESSF Probable Carex geyeri Elk or Geyer's sedge P CARGEY Blue AT/ESSF Probable Carex sychncephala Many-headed Sedge P CARSYN Blue ESSF Probable Castilleja gracillima Slender Paintbrush P CASGRA Blue ESSF Probable Draba porsildii Porsild's Draba P DRAPOR Blue AT Probable Epilobium leptocarpum Small-flowered willowherb P EPILEP Blue AT/ESSF Probable Hypericum scouleri ssp. Nortoniae Western St. John's wort P HYPSCO-N Blue ESSF Probable

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Species Name RIC Code Current Scientific Name Common Name Class Code Status Sub_zone Occurance Minuartia austomontana Rocky Mountain Sandwort P MINAUS Blue AT Probable Papaver alpinum Dwarf Poppy P PAPALP Blue AT Probable Platanthera dilatata White Bog Orchid P PLADIL Blue CWH/IDF/SBS Probable Scolochloa festuacacea Sprangle Top P SCOFES Blue ESSF Probable Sphenopholis obtusata var. obtusata Prairie Wedgegrass P SPHOBT-O Blue IDF, PP Probable Woodsia glabella Smooth cliff's Fern or Woodsia P WOOGLA Blue ESSF Probable

Red List: Includes indigenous species or subspecies that have, or are candidates for Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened status in British Columbia. Extirpated taxa are no longer existing in the wild in British Columbia, but do occur elsewhere. Endangered taxa are facing imminent extirpation or extinction. Threatened taxa are likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.

Blue List: Includes indigenous species or subspecies considered to Vulnerable in British Columbia. Vulnerable taxa are of special concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Blue-listed taxa are at risk, but not Extirpated, Endangered or Threatened.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Appendix Four - Groupings of Small Plant Communities of the Magog Area, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (Roemer, 1975)

The five major species groups that Roemer (1975) studied are listed here in the order of their frequency of occurrence.

Potentilla Group Cinquefoil -Potentilla diversifolia Mountain Timothy -Phleum alpinu Alpine Bluegrass -Poa alpina Sibbaldia -Sibbaldia procumbens These plants are present in all sites except a few forested ones. They are apparently resistant to grazing. It is uncertain whether their commonness is a result of grazing. Anemone Group Western Anemone -Anemone occidentalis Grouseberry -Vaccinium scoparium Alpine Fir -Abies lasiocarpa Alpine Larch -Larix lyallii These species are characteristic associates of the open parkland vegetation near timberline. Trollius Group White Globeflower -Trollius albiflorus Triangle-leaf Ragwort -Senecio triangularis Sedge -Carex spectabilis These species distinguish wet meadows (very wet when combined with White Marsh Marigold -Caltha leptosepala). Picea Group Engelmann Spruce -Picea engelmannii Heart-leaved Arnica -Arnica cordifolia Bracted Lousewort -Pedicularis bracteosa Wide-leaved Arnica -Arnica latifolia Liverwort -Barbilophozia hatcheri Red Mountain Heather -Phyllodoce empetriformis These are species of closed forests and of relatively well-drained soils unless otherwise indicated by members of the preceding group. Danthonia Group Wild Oat-grass -Danthonia intermedia Snow Willow -Salix nivalis Moss -Dicranum fuscescens These are typical species of dry, exposed meadow areas with not very deep snow cover and well-drained soil.

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Appendix Five - Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Butterfly, Moth, Dragonfly, Bird and Plant Field Survey Report

Prepared for Mike Gall, BC Parks, Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection, Kootenay Region by Dean Nicholson, Volunteer Researcher, Cranbrook, B.C., December, 2004

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Field Survey Report

Introduction

Between July 25 and July 30, 2004 the author, at the request of B.C. Parks, conducted a field survey of the core area of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, to determine the butterfly species present. The author also surveyed moth and odanata (dragonfly) species, as well as kept a record of bird species observed or heard in the Park. The author’s partner, Valerie Harris, participated in the collection or observation of the above, while at the same time keeping a record of the plant species observed in the area. BC Parks staff participated in the survey as well as provided a safety check in system. Mt. Assiniboine Lodge was also informed of the field work so that lodge guests were aware of this research project.

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park (MAPP) lies at the south end of Kootenay and Banff National Parks along the B.C. side of the B.C.– Alberta border. The core area of the Park is comprised of subalpine and alpine habitat, and a number of subalpine lakes. The subalpine habitat is dominated by forests of Englemann Spruce, Subalpine Fir and Subalpine Larch intermixed with meadows of wildflowers and various dwarf willows. The alpine habitat is dominated by various sedges, mosses, lichens and wildflowers. The bulk of the area surveyed was between 2200 and 2800 meters in elevation.

The survey was conducted during the last week of July as this was considered to be the time of year when the most butterfly species would be flying in adult form. It was also considered to be the best time of year to observe the most species of wildflowers.

Methodology

Butterflies, moths and dragonflies were collected in a standard butterfly net and killed in a poison jar primed with ethyl-acetate. Dead specimens were stored in paper envelopes with data recording the date and location of the collection. In some cases species were observed but could not be collected. Where it was possible, these species were identified on the wing. In general, one to three specimens of each species were collected, to a maximum of five species of each sex for each species. Birds were identified by visual observation and/or by their call. Plant species

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 were identified where they grew. The record of birds and plants indicates their presence in the Park, but not the specific location at which they were observed.

Collecting Locations

The following are specific sites where butterfly and moth specimens were collected. Many butterfly species could be observed at a number of sites or over wide areas. The following locations are representative of the habitat they could be found in.

Location UTM Coordinates Elevation a) Mitchell Meadows 5641500 x 592500 2000m b) Cerulean Lake 5641500 x 594800 2250m c) Scree, Elizabeth Lake 5641900 x 594200 2400m d) The Nub 5642300 x 594400 2600m e) Sunburst Lake 5640100 x 595000 2350m f) Magog Lake 5640000 x 596000 2200m g) Cautley Meadow 5639700 x 598500 2300m h) Cautley Slope 5640000 x 599400 2400m i) North Cautley Ridge 5640900 x 599000 2800m j) South Cautley Ridge 5640000 x 600300 2800m k) Wonder Basin 5639000 x 600000 2450m l) Wonder Ridge 5638700 x 599400 2500m m) Wonder Pass 5639000 x 599000 2400m n) Gog Lake 5639500 x 598000 2250m

Specimens collected will be sent to the Conservation Data Center as per the conditions of the Research permit. Specific information on species collected will also be shared with other researchers as well as the Endangered Species Specialists in the Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection and National Parks located adjacent to Mt. Assiniboine National park. BC Parks is also interested in having display case set up for interpretation use in the park. BC Parks will be responsible for distributing this report to the appropriate agencies and organizations.

Specimen Record

The following shows the moth, butterfly and dragonfly species collected or observed, as well as the locations they were collected or observed.

A rough estimate of abundance is also given by the following codes: V = very common, easily observed, more than 15 specimens observed C = common, 3 to 15 specimens observed U = uncommon, 1-2 specimens observed These abundance codes are not necessarily an accurate indicator of relative abundance. Some butterflies, which were not found in abundance, are likely more common than the observed

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 numbers indicate. Limited sightings could be the result of not surveying in more suitable habitat, or the fact that the major flight period was already over at the time of the survey.

Butterfly species that are red or blue listed in B.C. are marked by *R and *B respectively. In the case of moths, which do not yet have red or blue listing in B.C., an * indicates a rare or uncommon species. With the birds, an * indicates a significant record. Plants that are red or blue listed are noted accordingly.

Moths: Unidentified micro-moths: 13 species (13 specimens): c, d, g, j, m Unidentified geometridae moths: 2 species (2 specimens): b, f Macaria simplex: 1 specimen: f, U, * Rheumaptera hastata: 1 specimen: b, n, C Holoarctia sordida: 1 male, 1 female: d, j, U, * Neoarctia beanii: 1 female: k, U, * Unidentified noctuidae moths: 3 species (5 specimens): b, d, f Anarta macrostigma: 1 specimen: f, U, * Anarta melanopa: 1 specimen: b, C Syngrapha alticola: 1 specimen: f, U Alypia langtoni: 1 specimen: b, U Drasteria hudsonica: 1 specimen: a, b, f, g, n, V Drasteria petricola: 1 specimen: f, U

Butterflies: Common Branded Skipper (Hesperia comma manitoba): 1 female: a, b, U Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus centauraea): 1 male: b, c, e, f, g, k, n, V Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon): 1 observed: i, U Western White (Pontia occidentalis): 1 male: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, m, V Pelidne Sulphur (Colias pelidne): 3 males, 1 female: f, g, k, C, *B Labrador Sulphur (Colias nastes): 4 males, 1 female: d, i, C Mead’s Sulphur (Colias meadii): 2 males: g, h, U, *B Lustrous Copper (Lycaena cuprea): 4 males, 1 female: c, d, e, h, j, k, l, V Western Tailed Blue (Everes amyntula): 3 males: b, f, C Northern Blue (Lycaeides idas): 1 male: a, b, U Arctic Blue (Agriades glandon): 1 male: e, U Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus): 1 male: b, U Field Crescent (Phyciodes pratensis): 1 male: b, n, U Edith’s Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha): 3 males: c, e, f, g, i, V Whitney’s Checkerspot (Charidryas damoetas): 2 males, 2 females: c, C Northwestern Fritillary (Speyeria hesperis): 1 female: f, U Purple Fritillary (Clossiana chariclea): 3 males: a, b, e, f, g, n, V Bog Fritillary (Clossiana eunomia): 5 males: a, b, e, f, g, n, V Albert’s Fritillary (Clossiana alberta): 5 males, 2 females: d, i, j, l, C, *B Astarte Fritillary (Clossiana astarte): 1 males, 2 females: c, j, C 98

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Admiral species (Liminitis sp.): 1 observed: a, U Milbert’s Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis milberti): 1 male: b, e, f, g, n, V Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis milberti): 1 observed: a, U Chryxus Arctic (Oeneis chryxus): 2 observed: f, g, U Jutta Arctic (Oeneis jutta): 2 females: a, n, U Melissa Arctic (Oeneis melissa): 3 males, 1 female: d, i, j, C

Dragonflies: Unidentified Aeshna species, e, U Somatachlora semicircularis: 1 male, a, U

Birds Observed: Goldeneye species (Bucephala sp.) Common Loon (Gavia immer) Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) * Merlin (Falco columbarius) Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia) Spruce Grouse (Dendragapus canadensis) White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucurus) Calliope Hummingbird (Stellula calliope) Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Boreal Chickadee (Parus hudsonicus) Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) Clark’s Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) American Robin (Turdus migratorius) Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) Horned Lark (with juvenile) (Eremophila alpestris) * Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) Brewer’s Sparrow (Spizella breweri) * Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) 99

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus) Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) Grey-crowned Rosy Finch (Leucosticte arctoa)

Plants observed: Trees: Subalpine Fir (Abies bifolia) Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) Subalpine Larch (Larix lyallii) Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) Ferro Pass Trail Whitebark Pine (Pinus albiculis) Shrubs: Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) Arctic Willow (Salix arctica) Scrub Birch (Betula glandulosa) Numerous unidentified Salix species Northern Gooseberry (Ribes oxyacanthoides) Red-listed Shrubby Cinquefoil (Pentaphylloides floribunda) Soopolallie (Shepherdia canadensis) Small Bog-Laurel (Kalmia microphylla) Wonder Pass ponds White Mountain Heather (Cassiope mertensiana) Pink Mountain Heather Phyllocode empetriformis) Yellow Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce glanduliflora) Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) Grouseberry (Vaccinium scoparium) Dwarf Blueberry (Vaccinium cespitosum) Unidentified Vaccinium species False-Azalea (Menziesia ferruginea) White Rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum) Wildflowers: Orange Agoseris (Agoseris aurantiaca) Pink Agoseris (Agoseris lackswitzii) Blue-listed Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) Slender Hawksbeard (Crepis atrabarba) Red-listed Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Sweet Coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus) Cut-leaved Daisy (Erigeron compositus) Red-listed Golden Daisy (Erigeron aureus) Subalpine Daisy (Erigeron peregrinus) Unidentified Erigeron species Unidentified Aster species Heart-leaved Arnica (Arnica cordifolia) Meadow Arnica (Arnica chamissonis) Blue-listed Mountain Arnica (Arnica latifolia) 100

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11

Unidentified Arnica species, perhaps gracilis Arrow-leaved Grounsel (Senecio trangularis) Black-tipped Grounsel (Senecio lugens) Rocky Mountain Butterweed (Senecio streptanthifolius) Rayless Mountain Butterweed (Senecio indecorus) Possible other unidentified Senecio species Northern Goldenrod (Solidago multiradiata) Hooker’s Thistle (Cirsium hookerianum) Dwarf Sawwort (Saussurea densa) Alpine Pussytoes (Antennaria alpina) Umber Pussytoes (Antennaria umbrinella) Rosy Pussytoes (Antennaria microphylla) Racemose Pussytoes (Antennaria racemosa) Showy Pussytoes (Antennaria pulcherrima) Woolly Pussytoes (Antennaria lanata) Yellow Hedysarum (Hedysarum sulphurescens) Alpine Milk Vetch (Astragalus alpinus) Common Red Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata) Alpine Paintbrush (Castilleja rhexifolia) Thompson’s Paintbrush (Castilleja thompsonii) Multiple colour hybrids in Castilleja species. Quite stunning. Bracted Lousewort (Pedicularis bracteosa) Alpine Lousewort (Pedicularis sydetuca) Mountain Rainier Lousewort (Pedicularis Contorta) Alpine Speedwell (Veronica wormskjoldii) Round-leaved Violet (Viola orbiculata) Early Blue Violet (Viola adunca) Mountain Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis alpestris) Four-parted Gentian (Gentianella propinqua) Silky Phacelia (Phacelia sericea) Unidentified Microsteris species Showy Jacob’s-Ladder (Polemonium pulcherrimum) Alpine Rock Jasmine (Androsace chamaejasme) Blue-listed Sitka Valerian (Valeriana sitchensis) Mountain Sorrel (Oxyria digyna) Alpine Bistort (Bistorta vivipara) Montana Larkspur (Delphinium bicolor) Blue-listed Yellow Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) Subalpine Buttercup (Ranunculus eschscholtzii) Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris) Unidentified Ranunculus species Western Meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale) Western Pasqueflower (Anemone occidentalis) Alpine Anemone (Anemone drummondii) Blue-listed 101

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Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) Sibbaldia (Sibbaldia procumbens) White Mountain-Avens (Dryas octopetala) Lyall’s Rockcress (Arabis lyallii) Drummond’s Rockcress (Arabis drummondii) Littleleaf Rockcress (Arabis microphylla) Alpine Smelowskia (Smelowskia calycina) Yellowstone Draba (Draba incerta) Golden Draba (Draba aurea) Unidentified purple Draba species Unidentified white Draba species Alpine Willowherb (Epilobium anagallidifolium) Small-flowered Willowherb (Epilobium minutum) Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) Broad-leaved Willowherb (Epilobium latifolium) Unidentified white Epilobium species Sharptooth Angelica (Angelica arguta) Alpine Sandwort (Minuartia obtusiloba) Boreal Sandwort (Minuartia rubella) Field Chickweed (Cerastium arvense) Alpine Chickweed (Cerastium beeringianum) Moss Campion (Silene acaulis) Western Spring Beauty (Claytonia lanceolata) Roseroot (Sedum integrifolium) Lance-leaved Stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum) Unidentified Sedum species Fringed Grass-of-Parnassus (Parnassia fimbriata) Round-leaved Alumroot (Heuchera cylindrica) Five-stamened Mitrewort (Mitella pentandra) Leatherleaf Saxifrage (Leptarrhena pyrolifolia) Red-Stemmed Saxifrage (Saxifraga lyallii) Green Wintergreen (Pyrola chlorantha) Pink Wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia) Single Delight (Moneses uniflora) One-sided Wintergreen (Orthilia secunda) Bronze Bells (Stenanthium occidentale) Mountain Death-Camus (Zigadenus elegans)

Summary of Records:

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In total, 26 butterfly species were observed, of which three are blue-listed. Twenty-eight moth species were recorded, of which at least three can be considered rare in B.C. Thirty-five bird species were observed, of which three can be considered significant records; and over 111 plant species were observed, including five trees, eleven shrubs and over ninety flowers, of which three were red-listed and five were blue-listed.

Significant butterfly records include the Albert’s Fritillary (Clossiana alberta) which has few B.C. records, all of which are along the ridge-line of the B.C.-Alberta border. The discovery of this species at a number of sites, including on the Nub, some four kilometers west of the border, is a significant find. Similarly, the Pelidne and Mead’s Sulphurs (Clossiana pelidne and meadii) were also found to be relatively common in the alpine meadows below Cautley Ridge. The finding of the moth Holoarctia sordida at two locations represents only the second time it has been found in B.C., and only the fourth known site in the world. Neoarctia beanii is also known from only a few other sites in B.C. and has a very restricted world range. The record of Macaria simplex is only the third B.C. record.

There are undoubtedly other species of butterflies in the Park that were not observed during the survey. The lower elevations of the Park, outside the core area, were largely unexplored, and would definitely have species that are not found in the subalpine and alpine areas. Similarly, large areas of the north-eastern area of the Park were not explored, and could contain species which were not observed. As well, some species of butterfly had likely already passed their flight period or were at the very end of their period. These species could have been missed altogether because they were not on the wing or were present in very small numbers. The moth collection was largely an auxiliary endeavour to the butterfly collection. A more comprehensive survey of the moths would take more time and equipment than was available during this survey.

According to the Birds of British Columbia, the Prairie Falcon, Brewer’s Sparrow and Horned Lark have not been observed previously in the Park. The observation of a juvenile and adult Horned Lark , represent the first breeding record of the species in the Park, and in the southern trench. Similarly, the late sighting of a subalpine form of the Brewer’s Sparrow suggest the possibility that it may also breed in the Park.

Lastly, the discovery of eight blue or red listed species of plants in the Park underscores the significance of the Park as a site of botanical importance.

Conservation Concerns:

The observation of so many red, blue or uncommon species in the Park demonstrates its importance as a site of biological diversity and as a haven for threatened species. Overall, the Park’s management strategy seemed to be of ensuring that habitat critical for these species is protected. In particular, it was noted that there are not many trails in the Park, allowing for large areas of habitat to be undisturbed. In addition, it was observed that visitors to the Park in general seemed to keep to the trails, minimizing disturbance or damage to sensitive areas.

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In terms of the butterfly and moth species, there were no obvious signs that habitats were being threatened by human use of the Park. Butterflies were readily observed throughout the core area. Species with specific habitat requirements appeared at a number of sites. Species that are most vulnerable to human disturbance are the species that occur in the area of the high alpine ridges, such as the Albert’s and Astarte Fritillary (Clossiana alberta and astarte), the Melissa Arctic (Oeneis melissa) and Holoarctia sordida, Neoarctia beanii and Macaria simplex. These species have very specific larval host plants, which occur in small, scattered colonies or as disparate individuals on relatively exposed slopes. Human disturbance, in the form of people uprooting or trampling the plants, could affect breeding success.

In terms of the plants, some of the red and blue listed species where only observed as single plants on the edge of an established trail. Because the survey was not specifically looking for the overall abundance of these plants, deliberate attempts were not made to determine how common they might be. Nonetheless, a number of these individual plants were at high risk of being killed or damaged by hikers inadvertently picking the plants or trampling them by going slightly off the trail.

A more serious long-term concern for butterflies and plants alike, is the impact of global warming. Global warming in the East Kootenay area brings with it the potential for decreased snow pack, overall decreased participation, and overall higher annual temperatures. These changes have the potential of seriously altering the alpine habitat.

Because the alpine butterflies and moths have evolved to live in a very specific habitat, and are dependent on a small variety of plants for their larvae to feed on, any changes to the alpine conditions could have a serious affect on alpine butterfly and moth populations. As the vegetation line rises and the plant population shifts, these butterfly species could be effectively pushed right off the mountain, resulting in local extinctions.

There is some evidence to suggest these changes may already be happening. Local Park and Lodge staff commented that the Park was in its third year of drought. The subalpine meadows were noticeably drier than would be expected. Similarly, Lodge staff commented that the vegetation line had moved up the mountains in the 20 years that they had been in the Park.

Conclusion:

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The survey, which was primarily intended to create a preliminary database of butterflies present in the Park, was successful, both in terms of the butterfly species recorded, but also in terms of the moth, bird and plant species that were also recorded. The survey found that in general, at-risk species, with the exception of some plants, did not appear to be in immediate danger from human disturbance. The long-term implications of global warming pose a greater threat to the Park and its species diversity.

Further research that would be of benefit would include:

Continued field research to determine the butterfly and moth species present, particularly in areas not researched. More detailed field research into the plant species present in the Park, with a particular focus on the red and blue listed species. The research should include assessing the range and abundance of the at-risk species, making records of precise locations of isolated plants or communities, and suggesting possible conservation measures to protect these plants. A longitudinal research project to determine the impact of global warming on alpine butterfly communities. This research could assess such issues as changing plant communities at the alpine and subalpine levels, vegetation and tree lines moving further up in elevation, and the impact of reduced annual precipitation. The Nub would potentially be an excellent ‘field laboratory’ as it is easily accessed, has known and apparently stable butterfly populations, and is geographically separated from the surrounding ridges and peaks.

In conclusion, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park was shown to be an important and biologically diverse area, in terms of butterflies, moths, birds and plants. Current management strategies did not seem to be having a negative impact on most vulnerable species. Further research would help further determine the various butterfly and plant species in the Park, as well as assess the risk that global warming poses to these species.

Prepared by: Dean Nicholson, December, 2004. The author can be reached at: (250) 489-3339 [email protected]

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Appendix Six– Fishery Information from 1987 Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Background Document

The capacity of the lakes in the park to produce fish is low to moderate in most cases (Table 2.3.2 in the Appendix). Natural reproduction appears to be adequate in Gog, Magog, Rock, Larix, and Rock Isle Lakes, although local residents reported a consistent decline in the number of spawners at Magog lake (Parkin and Gunville, 1974). Norris (1985) believed they had seen evidence of beach spawning in Cerulean and Sunburst Lakes, which lack suitable spawning streams, but he questioned the ability of Cerulean to sustain a large fish population. Reproductive capability of Elizabeth, Og, Wedgwood, and Grizzly lakes is low or absent, although fishing success was very good in Wedgwood (Parkin and Gunvil1e, 1974). Og Lake appears to be barren, as does Elizabeth Lake, although the latter was stocked years ago and produced fish weighing 1.5 kilograms. No information was available on the fisheries status of Eohippus Lake.

The time of spawning of fish in the various lakes of the park is unclear. Gain and Erdman (1975) observed rainbow or cutthroat or both spawning in Sunburst Lake near the outlet on July 9th, but Parkin and Gunville (1974) observed rainbow and cutthroat in or near spawning condition in the same lake in the third week of August. Norris (1985) observed cutthroat nearing spawning condition on September 7th in Magog Lake and suggested the fish would overwinter in mature condition in order to be prepared for spawning as soon as the ice leaves in spring. local guides noted that cutthroat spawn in Magog in late June or early July (Norris, 1985), but Gain and Erdman (1975) observed cutthroat spawning in Magog Creek at the beginning of August. Parkin and Gunville (1974) observed Dolly Varden char in or approaching spawning condition at Larix and Rock Isle Lakes the third week of August.

Cerulean and Sunburst Lakes have produced some very large trout, with weights of rainbow and cutthroat in Cerulean Lake having exceeded 4.5 kilograms and rainbow up to 75 centimetres in fork length having been recorded from Sunburst Lake. The relatively low fish reproductive capacity of Cerulean and Sunburst Lakes in comparison to neighbouring Magog and Gog Lakes may have resulted in fewer offspring, more resources per individual, and consequent larger sizes of fish in Cerulean and Sunburst. Elizabeth Lake, which is also marginal in fish-producing capability, has produced relatively large trout as well.

Angler effort in the park was historically low, but had increased considerably in the mid- seventies (Parkin and Gunville, 1974) and has probably increased further in the past decade. According to Parkin and Gunville (1974), Gog Lake is the favourite fishing spot in the park, which likely reflects the high angler success rate there. A. Martin (pers. comm.) also noted that fishing pressure in the lakes at the north end of the park is quite heavy during the summer. Rock Isle, larix, and Grizzly Lakes are now closed to fishing. Angler success is reported as good or very good in most lakes where such information is available. The poor success rate in Cerulean

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Lake probably reflects a small fish population. Sunburst Lake is closed to angling to enhance fish viewing opportunities for visitors (Norris, 1985).

Little information is available on the fishery in Daer Creek or the Simpson and Mitchell Rivers and their tributaries. Fish can be caught in the upper Simpson in winter by recreationists gaining access from Alberta (R. Blacklaws, pers. comm.). L. Halvorsen (pers. comm.) reported that there is now on the Simpson River a kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) spawning run which may reach into Mount Assiniboine Park. The kokanee were accidentally released in Lake Koocanusa on the U.S. border.

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Appendix Seven – Representation Context of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

A) Protected Area Representation of Southern Park Ranges Ecosection (by Area)

Park Amount (ha) of Percent of the Percent of total park that is within Southern Park Ranges Southern Park Ranges the Southern Park Ecosection that is Ecosection Ranges Ecosection within the regional represented within the PAS that is represented respective park in the respective park Kootenay 137,809 40 12.4 Yoho 106,404 30.9 9.6 Height of the Rockies 48,604 14.1 4.4 Mt Assiniboine 38,972 11.3 3.5 Top of the World 8,767 2.5 0.8 Whiteswan Lake 2,371 0.7 0.2 Elk Lakes 1,599 8.9 0.1 Ram Creek ER 122 0.0 0.0 Columbia Lake ER 16 0.0 0.0 Columbia Lake 7 0.0 0.0 Mt Sabine ER 7 0.0 0.0 Premier Lake 6 0.0 0.0

B) AT unp BEC Representation within Kootenay Region

Protected Area Total area of Amount Total Amount (Ha) % PA Amount Total Name (PA) PA (ha) (Ha) of Amount (Ha) of AT unp that is AT of AT amount of AT unp within the within this unp unp AT unp within region PA within in region regional regional rep in this PAS PAS that park % is within this PA % Purcell Wilderness 200,189.30 209,977 690,213.32 96412.782 48.2 45.9 14.0 Conservancy Height of the 54170.651 209,977 690,213.32 23463.564 43.3 11.2 3.4 Rockies Mount Assiniboine 38,993.453 209,977 690,213.32 23,043.314 59.1 11.0 3.3 Kootenay 138,084.305 209,977 690,213.32 22,166.89116.1 10.6 3.2 Goat Range 78,771.790 209,977 690,213.32 12,056.308 15.3 5.7 1.7 Kokanee Glacier 31,904.978 209,977 690,213.32 11,251.400 35.3 5.4 1.6 Bugaboo 13,817.445 209,977 690,213.32 8,216.65359.5 3.9 1.2 West Arm 25,087.712 209,977 690,213.32 4,497.030 17.9 2.1 0.7 Top of the World 8,766.743 209,977 690,213.32 3,132.263 35.7 1.5 0.5 108

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Protected Area Total area of Amount Total Amount (Ha) % PA Amount Total Name (PA) PA (ha) (Ha) of Amount (Ha) of AT unp that is AT of AT amount of AT unp within the within this unp unp AT unp within region PA within in region regional regional rep in this PAS PAS that park % is within this PA % Kianuko 11,658.323 209,977 690,213.32 2,820.63624.2 1.3 0.4 Purcell Wilderness 200,189.300 209,977 690,213.32 1,532.159 0.8 0.7 0.2 Conservancy Lockhart Creek 3,734.440 209,977 690,213.32 970.360 26.0 0.5 0.1 Glacier National 135,827.515 209,977 690,213.32 402.087 0.3 0.2 0.1 Park Elk Lakes 17,950.115 209,977 90,213.32 6.753 0.0 0.0 0.0 St. Mary's Alpine 9,317.139 209,977 690,213.32 4.350 0.0 0.0 0.0 Total 100.0 30.4

C) ESSF dk BEC Representation within Kootenay Region

Protected Area Name Total area of Amount Total Amount (Ha) of % PA Amount Total (PA) PA (ha) (Ha) of Amount (Ha) ESSF dk within that is of ESSF amount ESSF dk within the this PA ESSF dk within of ESSF within region dk regional dk in regional PAS that region PAS is within rep in this PA % this park % Kootenay 138,084.306 222,703 1,034,524 67,339.14648.8 30.2 6.5 Yoho 128,280.587 222,703 1,034,524 56,076.72343.7 25.2 5.4 Purcell Wilderness 200,189.300 222,703 1,034,524 43,020.000 21.5 19.3 4.2 Concervency Height of the Rockies 54,170.652 222,703 1,034,524 19,549.506 36.1 8.8 1.9 Mount Assiniboine 38,993.454 222,703 1,034,524 15,950.139 40.9 7.2 1.5 Elk Lakes 17,950.116 222,703 1,034,524 6,814.775 38.0 3.1 0.7 Akamina-Kishinena 10,779.830 222,703 1,034,524 6,497.001 60.3 2.9 0.6 Bugaboo 13,817.446 222,703 1,034,524 4,309.69031.2 1.9 0.4 Top of the World 8,766.744 222,703 1,034,524 3,143.275 35.9 1.4 0.3 Mount Sabine - (ER) 7.439 222,703 1,034,524 2.376 31.9 0.0 0.0 Total 100.0 21.5

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D) Southern Park Ranges Ecosection Representation (All Protected Areas within Kootenay Region)

% of the province- % of the wide Total total % of protected Total province- Ecosection province- Number of Area of this % of this area in this Ecosection wide / BGC wide protected Ecosection Ecosection Ecosection / BGC protected Code area protected areas in / BGC / BGC / BGC Code Code area area in this within the area in this this Code in Code in that is in within the Ecosection province Ecosection Ecosection this this this BGC province / BGC that is / BGC / BGC Provincial Provincial Provincial PA Name Code (ha) Code (ha) protected Code Code PA (ha) PA PA Mount Assiniboine Park AT unp 182167 71605.29 39.30749 0.60294 5 22853.08 12.54512 31.91535 Mount Assiniboine Park ESSFdk 438426.9 153968.9 35.1185 1.29648 7 15907.09 3.62822 10.33136 Mount Assiniboine Park WATER 4551.271 2279.693 50.08914 0.0192 6 252.8701 5.55603 11.09229 Premier Lake Park MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 6.11454 0.00285 0.01141 Top of the World Park AT un 53150.01 36168.65 68.05013 0.30455 5 187.068 0.35196 0.51721 Top of the World Park AT unp 182167 71605.29 39.30749 0.60294 5 3130.825 1.71866 4.37234 Top of the World Park ESSFdk 438426.9 153968.9 35.1185 1.29648 7 3529.848 0.80512 2.29257 Top of the World Park ESSFdkp 51409.49 23891.97 46.47386 0.20118 5 1092.458 2.12501 4.57249 ESSFdk Top of the World Park w 37289.17 3349.996 8.98383 0.02821 3 805.4502 2.16001 24.04332 Top of the World Park WATER 4551.271 2279.693 50.08914 0.0192 6 21.09357 0.46347 0.92528 Elk Lakes Park AT un 53150.01 36168.65 68.05013 0.30455 5 810.3804 1.5247 2.24056 Elk Lakes Park AT unp 182167 71605.29 39.30749 0.60294 5 0.00149 0 0 Elk Lakes Park ESSFdk 438426.9 153968.9 35.1185 1.29648 7 15.41258 0.00352 0.01001 Elk Lakes Park ESSFdkp 51409.49 23891.97 46.47386 0.20118 5 540.4227 1.05121 2.26194 ESSFdk Elk Lakes Park w 37289.17 3349.996 8.98383 0.02821 3 231.2111 0.62005 6.90183 Whiteswan Lake Park MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 1878.722 0.87702 3.50665 Whiteswan Lake Park WATER 4551.271 2279.693 50.08914 0.0192 6 492.4323 10.81966 21.60082 Columbia Lake Park IDF dm 2 9503.74 255.8836 2.69245 0.00215 3 0.02491 0.00026 0.00974 Columbia Lake Park MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 7.11761 0.00332 0.01329 Mount Sabine Ecological Reserve ESSFdk 438426.9 153968.9 35.1185 1.29648 7 2.37588 0.00054 0.00154 Mount Sabine Ecological Reserve MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 5.06292 0.00236 0.00945 Columbia Lake Ecological Reserve IDF dm 2 9503.74 255.8836 2.69245 0.00215 3 0.00518 0.00005 0.00202 Columbia Lake Ecological Reserve MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 16.13084 0.00753 0.03011 Ram Creek Ecological Reserve MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 121.7932 0.05686 0.22733 Height of the Rockies Park AT un 53150.01 36168.65 68.05013 0.30455 5 2847.594 5.35765 7.8731 Height of the Rockies Park AT unp 182167 71605.29 39.30749 0.60294 5 23327.64 12.80563 32.57809 Height of the Rockies Park ESSFdk 438426.9 153968.9 35.1185 1.29648 7 16258.31 3.70833 10.55948 Height of the Rockies Park ESSFdkp 51409.49 23891.97 46.47386 0.20118 5 2590.801 5.03954 10.84381 ESSFdk Height of the Rockies Park w 37289.17 3349.996 8.98383 0.02821 3 2313.335 6.20377 69.05485 Height of the Rockies Park MS dk 214216.3 53575.93 25.0102 0.45113 9 937.564 0.43767 1.74997 Height of the Rockies Park WATER 4551.271 2279.693 50.08914 0.0192 6 336.305 7.38925 14.7522

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Appendix Eight – Natural Disturbance Types within Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

The following descriptions from the 1995 Biodiversity Handbook are useful in understanding natural progressions in Mount Assiniboine Park’s vegetation:

NDT3 Natural disturbance type 3: ecosystems with frequent stand-initiating events Applies to ESSFdk and ESSFdku Description: Historically, these forest ecosystems experienced frequent wildfires that ranged in size from small spot fires to conflagrations covering tens of thousands of hectares. Average fire size was likely 300 ha in some parts of the BWBS biogeoclimatic zone, but went as high as 6000 ha in other parts of the zone where topographic features did not limit fire spread. The largest fires in the province occur in this NDT, often exceeding 100 000 ha and sometimes even 200 000 ha. Natural burns usually contained unburned patches of mature forest that were missed by fire. Consequently, these forests produced a landscape mosaic of even-aged regenerating stands ranging in size from a few to thousands of hectares and usually containing mature forest remnants. There were also frequent outbreaks of defoliating insects and an extensive presence of root diseases caused by Armillaria and Phellinus (especially in the ICH biogeoclimatic subzones). The impact of these infections on tree survival and stand structure ranged from low to severe. Tree mortality within mature forest remnants and regenerating stands resulted in dead trees, decaying logs, and canopy gaps. Riparian areas within the forest landscape provided special habitat characteristics not found in the upland areas. The ESSF, ICH and MS units in this NDT experience a mean disturbance return interval of about 150 years. The presence or absence of Douglas-fir does not influence the disturbance frequency, but determines the number and size of mature remnant stands that survive extensive crown fires to provide structural diversity. Douglas-fir is the most fire-resistant tree species in this NDT. Landscape connectivity (NDT3): In this natural disturbance type, wetland complexes, riparian stands, and the mature forests between them account for most of the connectivity among old seral stage stands. This disturbance type covers a very broad ecological range and has a large degree of variation in the natural connectivity of old and mature forests. Unlike the SBPS zone, the MS, some SBS, ICH, and ESSF biogeoclimatic subzones in this disturbance type historically had a higher proportion of mature and old forests and a greater degree of old seral stage ecosystem connectivity. Species composition (NDT3): Natural forest succession provides for a mosaic of different successional stages in this NDT. Species composition within these successional stages varies from early seral communities to climax communities. Maintaining that variety of species composition within seral stages is an important component of maintaining biodiversity. Where fire has historically been an important part of ecosystem processes, prescribed burning may be used as a management tool to assist regeneration of fire-adapted species. Rare ecosystems within the landscape unit also contribute significantly to the richness of species composition and to the maintenance of diversity. NDT5 111

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Natural disturbance type 5: alpine tundra and subalpine parkland Applies to ESSFdkp and ATun Description: The ecosystems in this natural disturbance type occur above or immediately below the alpine treeline, and are characterized by short, harsh growing seasons. The vegetation is strongly patterned by variations in local topography. Fire can have a dramatic effect in this disturbance type, weakening or killing plants and causing long-term shifts in the position of the tree line. The harsh climate and short growing season restrict the rate of plant growth that can take place following a stand-initiating disturbance. Windward slopes and exposed ridge crests remain free of snow for extensive periods during the winter. They also tend to be dry during the growing season and have low fertility, which limits plant growth. These dry conditions favour a high proportion of deep-rooted cushion and rosette plants. Snow often forms deep drifts on lee slopes, remaining there well into the growing season. This limits vegetation growth, but because moisture is less of a limiting factor, forbs, bunchgrasses and dwarf evergreens generally dominate the vegetation. Level areas and depressions, often collecting meltwater, are free of late- lying snow and less prone to desiccation. These areas tend to support the most productive vegetation, dominated by sedges, grasses, forbs, and lush forbs, often along with deciduous shrubs. Because parkland variants at the upper limit of the ESSF and MH biogeoclimatic zones often have extensive areas of unforested vegetation similar to that in plant communities within the AT, they are included in this disturbance type. Grazing by wildlife and non-native species drives ecosystem change in many areas within NDT5. The most noteworthy large grazers include bighorn sheep, mule deer, elk, moose, and cattle. Mountain sheep often calve and winter on exposed slopes and favour more productive sites for summer range. Mule deer, elk, and moose generally make lighter use of the disturbance type, primarily for summer range. Cattle are often grazed here in late summer. Given the short, harsh growing season and generally infertile soils of this disturbance type, vegetation can be rapidly altered by grazing animals. Plants with large reserves of nutrients and energy below ground may leaf out quickly after being grazed, but it may take years to replenish their root reserves. Repeated grazing, or a mixture of grazing and other stresses, can therefore exhaust plant reserves and cause plants to die out several years after the onset of intensified grazing. Species with small reserves may die out quickly in response to increased grazing pressure. Late-season grazing generally has the least effect on plant reserves, but because many species form their flower buds in the season before flowering, it may have a negative effect on seed production. Trampling by large herbivores can also greatly affect some ecosystems. Sites that remain waterlogged well into the growing season are susceptible to trampling damage during early- season grazing; dry sites are susceptible to such damage during fall grazing, after the first snows have moistened soils. Some areas used to graze domestic sheep still show substantial impacts decades after sheep use was discontinued. Landscape connectivity (NDT5): Ecosystems in this disturbance type continue to exist as contiguous tracts of late seral to climax vegetation. Major stand-initiating events are still infrequent. Livestock grazing can reduce large portions to early or mid-seral states, but most areas within this type are not currently used to support livestock.

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Appendix Nine – Significance and Viability of Conservation Values in Mount Assiniboine Park

From BC Parks Conservation Risk Assessment (2002)

Conservation Known Information Highlights, Comments on Values including spatial references Significance/Viability Alpine meadows Sunshine Meadows Sensitive vegetation Mt. Cautley alpine Terrapin Bowl Alpine meadows in the Rock Isle- Extensive Eohippus Lake area range to Citadel Extremely fragile and already Pass. damaged Hydrology Hydrological World Heritage site Grizzly Along Simpson river Exceptional grizzly bear habitat Wolf Big Horn Sheep Winter range Southwest-facing slopes of Citadel Peak between the elevations of 6,000 ft and 7,500 ft represent wintering range Sheep lambing area on Quartz mountain and Nestor Ridge. Mineral lick at Ferro Pass Numerous red and blue-listed species (see attached) Fossils Two fossil beds exist in the South Core, others probably exist Karst Around Og lake, Valley of the Rocks topography and Cave mtn. Massif Mt. Assiniboine is the highest peak in the Southern Rockies, the 6th highest peak in the Rockies Watersheds Mitchell River drains the south half, Simpson River drains the north half, both flow from the Continental Divide

Conservation Known Information Highlights, Comments on Values including spatial references Significance/Viability

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Yellowstone All south core lakes, Wedgewood Lake All fish populations in the park cutthroat trout and Rock lake descend from artificial stocking programs Natural park fishery is considred moderately productive and eincorpo to high-use pressure and over-harvesting because of limited spawning environment and slow growth rates. Rainbow trout Cerulean Lake, Sunburst Lake Dolly Varden North core lakes char Eastern brook North core lakes trout Carnivores 10 species: wolves, black bear, grizzly, weasel, cougar, lynx Ungulates • 6 species: elk, mule deer, white- tailed deer, moose, mountain goat, Rocky Mtn bighorn sheep • open meadowlands within the south cores are important summer range for Banff National Park elk herds • Lower slopes of Quartz Hill from 5,200’ to 6,500’ elevation represent a marginal wintering area for elk trapped in the Simpson Valley by early deep snows. • Moose are reported to winter in Lachine Creek. • Seasonal migration of elk take place up the valleys of Simpson and Mitchell Rivers and their tributaries in spring to subalpine and alpine areas. Late fall migrations occur down and out to winter ranges. Assiniboine Pass is also a migration route for elk from Bryant Creek.

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Appendix Ten: Detailed History of the Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Lodge (From 1987 Background Document, Appendix 3.3)

The Mount Assiniboine lodge is located within Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, which is situated on the British Columbia/Alberta border between Kootenay and Banff National Parks. The lodge itself is situated on District lot 10555 near the eastern end of lake Magog in the southeastern corner of the park.

The earliest recorded reference to this site is a November 15, 1926 letter from the Superintendent of Construction and Repairs for Canadian Pacific Hotels to the Deputy Minister of Lands, which enquires about the procedure required to lease acreage for a bungalow camp at Mount Assiniboine. According to the letter, the site they were interested in had been homesteaded somewhat earlier by a Mr. Howard Gibbald, but this had been subsequently cancelled.

On February 18, 1927, a lease was issued to the Canadian Pacific Railway for 50 acres adjoining the existing D.L. 10552, owned by the Alpine Club of Canada. Lot 10552, which had been surveyed as early as June 1922, had, according to that survey, already contained a lodge which the surveyor in 1922 described as a “log buiding erected for the accommodation of tourists – value $500.00.” This lodge was, according to the survey map, located in the northeastern corner of D.L. 10552, adjacent to the trail from Banff via Wonder Pass to Banff via Healey Creek and Assiniboine Pass.

The C.P.R. property, meanwhile, was surveyed in July of 1927 as D.L. 10555. The surveyor noted the location of the Wonder Pass-Assiniboine Pass trail but indicated no improvements on buildings on D.L. 10555. He did, however, show four buildings now located in the northeastern corner of the adjoining D.L. 10552 property.

In November of 1927, a 21-year lease for the D.L. 10555 property was drawn up and the C.P.R., believing that a lease would be officially issued, proceeded immediately with its plan of building a bungalow camp on the property. According to a later, March 23, 1933 letter, they spent a considerable amount of money on the improvements.

On January 17, 1928, the C.P.R. applied to the Provincial government for a lease covering the whole 20 square mile Mount Assiniboine Park Reserve area, including the Alpine Club of Canada’s property, to create a proposed Canadian Pacific Park. This was never approved. In fact, in late 1929, correspondence between the C.P.R. and the Superintendent of Lands indicates that the original November 1927 lease for Lot 10555 was never executed. The Park Act of 1911, which had facilitated the earlier establishment of the Mount Assiniboine Park reserve by Order- in-Council, made authorization of such a lease impossible.

On March 23, 1933, a letter from the C.P.R. to the Deputy Minister of Lands summarized the confusing situation regarding the unexecuted lease for D.L. 10555 and made reference to the 115

Management Plan Background Document Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Draft 4P 2005/11 structural improvements made to the property in 1927-28. In order to rectify the “unsatisfactory” nature of this situation, the C.P.R. requested that the park reserve O.I.C. be amended to omit D.L. 10555. This was subsequently done under O.I.C. (April 27, 1933).

On July 4, 1933, a fully executed 2l-year lease was signed between the C.P.R. and the Government.

In December of 1935, the C.P.R. indicated in correspondence to the Superintendent of Lands that it wished to sublease Lot 10555 to a Mr. Erling Strom, who was at that time the Sports Director of the Lake Placid Club in New York. The C.P.R. indicated that it had had previous dealings with Mr. Strom (including perhaps his earlier involvement in the operation of the Mount Assiniboine Lodge) and that they would continue as in the past their support of the lodge itself through their corporate literature and advertising. Approval by the Deputy Minister of Lands of the sublease to Erling Strom was given on November 17, 1936.

Correspondence after this date between Mr. Strom and the government was on the following letterhead –“Mount Assiniboine Lodge, Banff, Alberta.” Though located in British Columbia, the main access to the Lodge was via trails from Banff. Its main use was during the summer months. Mr. Strom at the same time seems to have also had a second lodging operation, “Strom’s at Mount Mansfield,” in Stowe, Vermont, which he worked at during the winter months.

Between 1936 and 1955, correspondence indicates the regular payment of lease rentals but no mention of structural changes to the lodge itself. An undated but pre-1954 description of the improvements at the lodge by Assistant Forester C.P. Lyons is as follows:

Mr. Strom’s improvements consist of a large one storey cabin used as a combination kitchen-dining room and 6 small guest cabins. Besides this he uses 4 cabins on the Alpine Club property for staff quarters arid storage purposes. Mr. Strom’s cabins were originally built by the C.P.R. around 1928.

Future improvements: Mr. Strom plans to build an extension to his main building next season. This will provide additional sleeping accommodation as well as dining room and kitchen space.

Another undated brochure for the Mount Assiniboine Lodge gave the following description of its facilities:

Mt Assinibone Lodge is situated at an elevation of 7,000 feet on the shores of Lake Magog. The Lodge faces the south and looks squarely on Mt. Assiniboine …(it’s accessible by a 20 mile ski trip from Sunshine Lodge) …The Lodge consists of a group of seven log cabins. The main cabin has a combination living room and dining room with a kitchen attached. There are five cabins with 3 beds and one cabin with 6 bunks. Two cabins are petitioned into a double and single room. An air tight heater in each cabin furnishes heat and hot water … 116

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A second undated brochure, however, described 12 cabins at the Lodge instead of the seven indicated above.

In 1955, correspondence indicates that Mr. Strom attempted to renew the 21-year lease, which expired July 4, 1954, but was unsuccessful. Due to various legal technicalities and changes in government policy it was eventually decided that a park use permit rather than a lease was the appropriate approach to the land tenure. Such a park use permit was issued to Erling Strom and Albert Johnson on February 7, 1957.

It was also determined at this time that because the Lodge had originally been built on 1eased property it was owned by the Crown and not by Mr. Strom as he had apparently believed. D.L. 10555 was subsequently officially eincorporated in Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park by Order-in-Council #2 (December 5, 1955).

The final written indication of improvements to the lodge is found December 1958 edition of the “Assiniboine Wrangler”, a lodge newsletter. It refers to the new log building addition being constructed by Dave Leske: …first floor to have a good sized sitting room with corner fireplace and an entrance hall with shower and toilet at one end and a stairway at the other. Upstairs will be 4 single and 2 double rooms, we hope. Eventually we will build a connecting gangway between the old and new part …

The December 1959 issue of the same newsletter had the following description: …the new building to be finished by next season. It’s taken 130 head of horses to pack in all the materials, lumber, etc. 25 miles from the nearest road …

The 1961 newsletter, however, indicated the new building was still being completed. Though research after 1962 has not been undertaken, it would seem the building was nearing completion at that time.

A final note of interest in the history of the Mount Assiniboine Lodge relates to a September 1960 letter from the Director of the Parks Branch to the Chief Geographer of the Department of Lands, which recommended that two of the unnamed parks in Mount Assiniboine Park be named “Erling Strom” and “Elizabeth Rummel,” the latter being the operator of another lodge in the park. This request was implemented in December of 1960.

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Appendix Eleven – Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Visitor Data

1. Summary matrix of known data sets for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and the scale at which they were collected. (From Haider & Piccin, 2002, p. 52)

Data Set Date(s) Scale Comments Collected from each Annual Attendance 1989-2005 Site Specific overnight facility Not consistently Visitor Origins 1995-2001 Site Specific collected Inconsistent Data Prior Helicopter Flights 1989-2001 Site Specific to 1998 Submitted by each Commercial Guiding 1989-2001 Inconsistent Commercial Operator Raw Data unavailable, Visitor Survey 1993 Site Specific available summary not in digital format

2. Annual Attendance Records for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, 1989- 2001 (Individuals)

Location Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Naiset 1989 135 267 606 255 0 39 477 507 252 0 0 300 2838 Naiset 1990 186 324 564 270 0 9 249 543 270 0 0 312 2727 Naiset 1991 75 243 584 189 0 3 318 417 285 0 0 243 2357 Naiset 1992 102 219 432 51 0 33 312 471 348 0 0 168 2136 Naiset 1993 9 195 297 48 48 36 255 315 162 0 0 360 1725 Naiset 1994 87 213 378 126 0 30 369 453 324 45 0 174 2199 Naiset 1995 144 117 459 159 9 63 306 453 204 0 0 102 2016 Naiset 1996 0 510 279 138 0 6 258 474 258 0 0 75 1998 Naiset 1997 0 165 333 0 0 39 336 432 276 0 0 42 1623 Naiset 1998 0 0 357 0 0 69 372429 144 0 0 84 1455 Naiset 1999 30 180 327 72 0 60 213 507 234 0 0 57 1680 Naiset 2000 0 162 348 30 0 36 330 606 198 0 0 0 1710 Naiset 2001 0 78 759 42 0 39 822 246 252 0 0 0 2238 Lodge 1989 0 651 732 375 0 30 810 882 318 0 0 0 3798 Lodge 1990 0 300 783 360 0 66 762 867 546 0 0 0 3684 Lodge 1991 0 270 774 126 0 126 828 879 597 0 0 0 3600 Lodge 1992 0 255 609 198 0 120 855 888 621 0 0 0 3546 Lodge 1993 0 195 636 138 0 117 909 891 495 0 0 0 3381

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Location Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Lodge 1994 0 240 558 102 0 96 897 924 612 15 0 0 3444 Lodge 1995 0 234 237 99 0 199 900 922 739 0 0 0 3330 Lodge 1996 0 0 807 232 0 235 930 930 858208 0 0 4200 Lodge 1997 0 243 0 0 0 564 899 932 930 90 0 0 3658 Lodge 1998 0 348 601 154 0 332 951 988 874 150 0 84 4482 Lodge 1999 0 555 789 211 0 328 920 946 861 160 0 58 4828 Lodge 2000 25 483 770 318 0 284 914 924 822 145 0 0 4685 Lodge 2001 0 352 754 276 0 419 911 933 816 182 0 0 4643 Lodge 2004 1577 Magog 1989 0 0 0 0 0 15 600 705 129 0 0 0 1449 Magog 1990 0 0 0 0 0 3 522 645 333 0 0 0 1503 Magog 1991 0 0 0 0 0 0 462 1155 87 0 0 0 1704 Magog 1992 0 0 0 0 0 42 567 552 102 21 0 0 1284 Magog 1993 0 0 0 0 0 54 654 570 36 0 0 0 1314 Magog 1994 0 0 0 9 0 33 10441196 258 6 0 0 2546 Magog 1995 0 0 0 0 0 18 312 255 285 0 0 0 870 Magog 1996 0 0 0 0 0 0 459 1194 138 0 0 0 1791 Magog 1997 0 0 0 0 0 30 240 570 93 0 0 0 933 Magog 1998 0 0 0 0 0 36 765 702 120 0 0 0 1623 Magog 1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 468 462 252 0 0 0 1182 Magog 2000 0 0 0 0 0 0 327 327 201 0 0 0 855 Magog 2001 0 0 0 0 0 0 804 468 222 0 0 0 1494

3. Summary of Total South Core Area Use from 2. above (Lodge, Magog & Naiset Combined), 1989-2001 (Individuals)

June –October November-May Annual Total 1989 8085 1990 7914 1991 7661 1992 6966 1993 6420 1994 8189 1995 6216 1996 7989 1997 6214 1998 7560 1999 7690 2000 7250 2001 8417 13-year average 7428

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Lodge Permittee Attendance Records, 1999-2004 (Recorded as parties of 3 individuals) 1999 2000 2001 Average2004 % Change Lodge attendance 1,536 1744 1464 1581 1577 -0.27 Magog attendance 394 285 498 392 415 +5.78 Magog Revenue 5,660 2,960 4,780 4,473 3,840 -14.16 Naiset attendance 550 570 746 622 695 +11.74 Naiset revenue 21,087 22,990 16,618 20,232 11940 -40.98 Total Attendance 2,480 2,599 2,708 2,596 2,687 +3.52

4. Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Visitor Survey Response, 2004 (Appendix A, Mount Assiniboine Year End Ranger Report 2004 by Amanda Weber-Roy & Stephanie Rozak)

3 Where are visitors from: British Columbia: 31% Alberta: 44% Other Provinces: 6% International: 19%

3 What are the reasons for visiting Mount Assiniboine: Backcountry camping and hiking: 44% Mountaineering: 7% Mount Assiniboine Lodge guest: 46% Other: 3%

3 Conditions of trails in core area are: Unacceptable: 0% Poor: 0% Satisfactory: 3% Good: 25% Excellent: 72%

3 The condition of the Naiset Huts are: N/A: 63% Poor: 1% Satisfactory: 13% Good: 16% Excellent: 7%

3 The campground facilities are: 120

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N/A: 65% Poor: 0% Satisfactory: 1% Good: 17% Excellent: 17%

3 The condition of Mount Assiniboine Lodge and cabins are: N/A: 39% Poor: 0% Satisfactory: 2% Good: 9% Excellent: 50%

3 The level of conservation (protection of natural resources) within the park is: Unacceptable: 0% Poor: 0% Satisfactory: 3% Good: 29% Excellent: 68%

3 How would you rate the density of visitors in the park? Unnoticeable: 8% Widespread: 19% Comfortable spacing: 68% Crowded: 5% Overcrowded: 0%

3 The Naiset Huts have been sheltering park users for decades, what changes if any would you like to see? No changes: 47.5% Existing cabins revitalized and a separate cooking cabin built: 34.7% Other: 17.8%

Comments: Visitors happy with their stay: 27% No changes: 17% Happy with Assiniboine Lodge: 10% Signage improvements: 7% Friendly and courteous staff: 7% Extremely well managed: 5% Cooking shelter at Magog: 4% Comments regarding Renners: 3% Interpretive programs: 2% Helicopter traffic concerns: 2% 121

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Other: 15%

Note: Percentages are derived from 178 surveys completed by park visitors. All surveys are available from the Columbia-Revelstoke Area Supervisor.

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Appendix Twelve: Park Use Permit Holder Information

Company Permit Type Specific # of # of Trip Restrictions/ Details Details Areas People Trips/ Duration Comments Used Year Total Outdoor KO9710005 Non-Exclusive Hunting N/A N/A 3-5 days No horses or Adventures Ltd. Commercial Guiding Territory hunting in (successor to – Big Game Guiding: core Mitchell-Cross trophy hunts, Outfitters) - Chuck photography, Shewen, summer pack trips, [email protected] fishing, X-Country 250-887-3444 Skiing

John Niddrie KO9710004 Non-Exclusive Hunting N/A N/A N/A No horses or (250) 342-6490 Commercial Guiding Territory hunting in – Big Game Guiding: core hunting Mount Assiniboine KO9710007 Accommodation; Mount Restricted N/A 2, 3, 4, 5 Lodge 1997- ski touring, hiking, Assini- by or 7 (Barb or Sepp 2007 climbing boine capacity nights Renner) Lodge (403)678-2883/ (403)6784194 assinilo@telusplan et.net www.canadianrock ies.net/assiniboine /index.html Sunshine Village K09710002 Water supply up to Sunshine N/A N/A N/A Corporation 15,240 m3 /year and Meadows water line from Rock Isle Lake Sunshine Village Ski chair lift and runs Sunshine N/A N/A N/A Corporation Meadows Exalta 21 KO0110210 Non-Exclusive Magog, N/A N/A N/A only (Kathy McCormick) Commercial Guiding Lodge requested (403) 762-5366 – General trips approved Recreational Guiding: day hikes, heli in Rockies Adventure KO0110206 Non-Exclusive Magog 4 5 days Tours Commercial Guiding (Patrick Cais) – General (403) 678-1231 Recreational Guiding: day hikes, heli in Explore Holidays Inc. KO9810142 Non-Exclusive Camp- 9 4 3 days (403) 609-4101 Commercial Guiding grounds Clients: (1-888-932-8333 – (land) Recreational 1 www.exploreholida Guiding: day hikes, Guide ys.com/fifty/mount. heli in htm

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Company Permit Type Specific # of # Trip Restrictions/ Details Details Areas People Trips/Y Duratio Comments Used ear n White Mountain KO9710089 Non-Exclusive Sunshine 9 Clients: N/A 1 day Adventures Commercial Guiding Meadows 1 Guide (Michelle Bynoe) – (land) Recreational (403) 678-4099 Guiding: guided info@canadiannat walks from Sunshine ureguides.com gondola, advertise www.canadiannat skiing to lodge ureguides.com/su bpages/xcski.htm Sea to Sky (Len KO9710093 Non-Exclusive Magog, 9 Clients: N/A 6 days Webster) Commercial Guiding Og 1 Guide 1-800-990-8735 - (land) Recreational [email protected] Guiding: a Backpacking www.canadianexp editions.com/rocki. php Yamnuska KO9710037 Non-Exclusive Magog, Max 9 N/A 3 days (Dave Beggs) June 1’01- Commercial Guiding Naiset Clients: 1 (403) 678-4450 May 31’06 - (land) Recreational Cabins, Guide yamnuska@teluspla Guiding: hiking, Hind Hut net.net climbing www.yamnuska.com Alpine Helicopters KO9710057 Commercial Land air space restricted restrict 12 Landing in (Dave Gubbles) June 1’98- Use/Occupancy and heli by days/ ed by minutes Designated (403) 678-4802 May 31’03 - Transportation pads only times days 1 way Site Only dgubbels@alpineh (air/land/water)- elicopter.com helicopter use: www.alpinehelicop helicopter ter.com transportation for visitors to lodge,

sightseeing outside park Association of KO9710103 Non-Exclusive Magog, 9 Clients: N/A N/A Group Canadian Mountain Commercial Guiding Hind Hut 1 Guide Permit Guides - (land) Recreational available for (403) 678- Guiding: guided use by all 2885(4164) hiking, climbing, ACMG [email protected] mountaineering, ski members www.acmg.ca touring, etc. Boreas Backcountry KO0110205 Non-Exclusive Magog 9 Clients: 3 8 days Adventures Commercial Guiding Camp- 1 Guide (Don Hay) - General ground 1-888-395-1133 Recreational Guiding: (427-7200) guided backpack info@boreasbackc trips ountry.com www.boreasbackc ountry.com/rockies .htm Willards KO9710118 Non-Exclusive Magog N/A N/A N/A

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1-888-290-9884 Commercial Guiding Camp- [email protected] - (land) Recreational ground m Guiding: group www.muskoka.co backpacking, hiking m/backpacking/ etc.

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Appendix Thirteen - Bibliography of References on Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park

Achuff, P.L., Holland, W.D., Coen, G.M. and Van Tighem, K. (ed.). Ecological Land Classification of Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. Environment Canada / Alberta Institute of Pedology. 1984.

Alberta Environment, Voluntary Helicopter Flight Guidelines for the Canmore / Kananaskis Area, unpublished report, 1999.

The Alpine Club of Canada. The Canadian Alpine Journal Volume 1, No.1. 1907.

Banff National Park, Discussion Paper: Working Towards A Strategy for Human Use Management in Banff National Park, Parks Canada internal document, 2001.

BC Heritage Conservation Branch. Mount Assiniboine Park Lodge. Unpublished report. 1986.

BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, BC Parks, East Kootenay District. Master Plan for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, 1989.

BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, BC Parks. Visitor Services Plan for the South Core Area of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, 1992.

BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, BC Parks. A Survey of Mt. Assiniboine Provincial Park Visitors, Unpublished summary statistics, 1993.

BC Ministry of Forests, Recreation Opportunity Spectrum Inventory: Procedures and Standards Manual, Version 3.0, 1998. http://142.36.141.130/webrec/documents/download/ROS98.pdf.

B.C. Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing, Parks and Outdoor Recreation Division. o Attendance Data, 1980-1984. 1985. o Background Report for Hamber Provincial Park Master Plan. Undated. o Mount Assiniboine Park Visitor Use Study -Survey Results. Unpublished. Undated. o Park Data Handbook, 1980. 1981. o Park Data Handbook, 1981. 1982. o Park Data Handbook, 1983. 1984 o Park Data Handbook, 1984. 1985. o Park Proposal: Assiniboine-Aurora, Mount Assiniboine Park Addition, 1985. o Recreation Capability Study: Assiniboine-Aurora, Mount Assiniboine Park Addition, 1985. o Terms of Reference for Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park Master Plan. 1986. o Visitor Satisfaction Survey. 1986.

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Boles, G.W., Kruszyna, R. and Putnam, W. The Rocky Mountains of Canada - South. The American Alpine Club, New York; The Alpine Club of Canada, Banff. 1979

Burt, William H., Richard P. Grossenheider, A Field Guide to the Mammals of North America, Third Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.

Campbell, Glenn. Personal Communication, Former Area Supervisor for the Windermere Area, BC Parks, Wasa, BC, 2002.

Canada -British Columbia Travel Industry Development Subsidiary Agreement (TIDSA). The_B.C. Rocky Mountain Tourism Region. Canada Department of Regional Economic Expansion/B.C. Ministry of Industry and Small Business. Undated.

Cannings, Sidney G., Leah R. Ramsey, David F. Fraser, Mark A. Fraker. Rare Amphibians, Reptiles and Mammals of BC, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. 1999.

Collins, L.E. Biophysical Resources of the East Kootenay Area: Outdoor Recreation. B.C. Ministry of Environment, APD Bulletin 8, 1981.

Cowan, I. McT. and Guiget, C.J. Provincial Museum Handbook No. 11, The Mammals of British Columbia, 1965.

Dearden, P. & Rollins, R (Eds.) Parks and Protected Areas in Canada – Planning and Management. 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press, Don Mills, Ontario. (2002)

Demarchi, Dennis A., An Introduction To The Ecoregions of British Columbia, Wildlife Branch, BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, 1996.

Douglas, George W., Gerald B. Straley, Del V. Meidinger. Rare Native Vascular Plants of BC, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, 1998.

Environment Canada - Parks. Park-Use Statistics, 1985-86. 1986.

Farley, A.L. Atlas of British Columbia. The University of British Columbia Press, 1979.

Fraser, David F., William L. Harper, Sidney G. Cannings, John M. Cooper, Rare Birds of BC, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, 1999.

Fraser, E. The Canadian_Rockies: Early Travels and Explorations. Edmonton, Alberta: Hurtig Publishers. 1969.

Gain, S. and Erdman, K. Mount Assiniboine Ranger Report., B.C. Provincial Parks Branch. Unpublished Report, 1975.

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Gain, S. and Swanky, T.. Mount Assiniboine Visitor Use Study. Provincial Parks Branch, Planning Division, Planning Report #41, 1975

Geological Survey of Canada. o Open File 634 (Kananaskis Lakes). 1972. o Maps 1294A, 1295A (Banff, E 1/2, W 1/2). 1979.

Gest, L. History of Mount Assiniboine in the Canadian Rockies. The Alpine Club of Canada, Banff, Alberta. 1979

Gibeau, M.L. Grizzly Bear Habitat Effectiveness Model for Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks, Canada. Ursus 10:235-241, 2000

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