Coulees Cottonwoods& Nature Field Guide for Lethbridge Table of Contents Introduction ................................................2 History .........................................................3 Geology .......................................................6 Climate and Chinooks ...............................8 Plants ..........................................................9 Lichens, Mosses & Rusts ....................... 12 Mammals ................................................. 13 Birds ......................................................... 16 Amphibians & Reptiles ........................... 19 Urban Parks ............................................. 22 Map of Lethbridge Parks ........................ 24 Fish ........................................................... 27 Invertebrates ........................................... 27 Species at Risk ........................................ 29 Invasive & Introduced Species .............. 29 Conclusion ............................................... 30 Checklists ................................................. 31 Websites ...................................................47 Notes ........................................................ 48 Background In 1978, members of the Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society produced “The Lethbridge Nature Reserve Field Guide”. After the City of Lethbridge acquired new river valley parkland, the Naturalists’ Society produced an updated version in 1986, “The Lethbridge River Valley Nature Field Guide”. Since 1986, our knowledge and understanding of the river valley has grown, as has City parkland. In 1998, 20 years after the original version was written, members of the Naturalists’ Society collaborated with the Helen Schuler Nature Centre and produced an updated guide called “Coulees and Cottonwoods”, which has been distributed widely throughout Alberta, across Canada, and internationally. This second version of “Coulees and Cottonwoods” is a cooperative effort, bringing together the vast knowledge of local naturalists, past and present. 1 Introduction Acknowledgments The Oldman River meanders through the City of Lethbridge, bringing with it a We acknowledge the contributors to this edition of the Field Guide: Linda Cerney, diversity of landforms and ecosystems. Much of the valley has been designated Coreen Putman, Jessica Deacon-Rogers, Becky Little, Teresa Dolman, Terry as parkland, ranging from high-use areas, such as Indian Battle Park and Botterill Clayton, Leo Dube, Lloyd Bennett, Ken Orich, Jim Wood, Ken Moore, and Dr. Dan Bottom Park, to Nature Reserves, such as Alexander Wilderness Park and Johnson. Cottonwood Park. The Lethbridge river valley parks encompass an area of over 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres). Previous contributors are also thanked: the late Dr. Alan Roberts, Witek Gierulski, Linda Cerney, Elizabeth Saunders, Reg Ernst, Teresa Dolman, Caroline Wieser, Grasslands, coulees, wetlands, and the river floodplain each have their own Adrien Corbiere, Bill Sharp, Sherry Feser, Danna Schock, Joyce Wilkinson and the distinct plant and animal life. The valley is one of contrasts. In just a few steps, you late Paul Wilkinson, the late Dr. Alex Johnston, Dr. Chester Beaty, Dr. Job Kuijt, can walk from a lush, moist, cottonwood forest, up to dry, cactus-covered coulee Dr. Stewart Rood, Dr. Robert Bullock, the late Elizabeth Hall, Dr. Alex Harper, Bill slopes. Brown, and Michael O’Shea. This Field Guide is an invitation for you to explore Lethbridge’s river valley. It will help you understand the landforms, plants and animals you might find here. If History you wish to learn more, further sources of information are listed at the end of this guide, along with checklists of common plants, mammals, birds, amphibians, Cultural History reptiles, and fish that can be found in the area. Since 1870, the river valley has heard the war cries of the Blackfoot and Cree plains people, the rhythmic sound of miner’s picks, the bustle of commercial coal The Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society mining, and the pounding of pneumatic riveting hammers during construction The Lethbridge Naturalists’ Society is an organization of people interested in our of the High Level Bridge. Today, the valley resounds with the sounds of courting natural environment and concerned about its protection. The Society’s goals great horned owls, squeaking ground squirrels, musical songbirds, and flying include the development of knowledge and appreciation of natural aspects of grasshoppers. southern Alberta, as well as to provide a forum for amateur and professional naturalists to discuss questions relating to conservation of the natural The First Americans environment. During the summer, the Society organizes field trips and nature Beginning about 11,000 years ago, small groups of nomadic walks. In winter, monthly meetings feature guest speakers and workshops on hunters probably travelled through Lethbridge in their search for a wide range of topics. The Society organizes winter and spring bird counts in woolly mammoths and other of the last, large ice-age mammals. Lethbridge, and also collaborates on wildlife activities within the province. Over time, the Pleistocene mega-fauna was replaced by herds of plains bison so vast the number staggers the imagination. The Helen Schuler At their peak, before the arrival of Europeans, over 50 million Nature Centre bison roamed the prairies from northern Mexico to the northern prairies of Canada. The Helen Schuler Nature Centre is Lethbridge’s urban nature centre and is The Native peoples who occupied the prairies – the ancestors located in the Lethbridge Nature Reserve, of the Blackfoot, Sioux, and others – developed a way of life just north of the CPR High Level Bridge. The dependent on the bison. The bison provided food, shelter, Centre offers a variety of nature interpretive clothing, tools, and utensils. In the Lethbridge area, tipi rings, programs and hands-on exhibits. Volunteer stone cairns, hunting tools, and remnants of long-ago campfires naturalists greet visitors to the Centre can still be found. and assist with many of the programs and The effects of European settlement were profound, including services. Staff and volunteers have been the introduction of horses by the Spaniards when they invaded Helen Schuler Nature Centre Tour recording plant and animal sightings since Mexico. When horses were introduced to the northern plains, 1991, and have built up a comprehensive the Native peoples were able to expand their territories, become knowledge of the Lethbridge River Valley. more efficient hunters, and increase their trade networks. Bison 2 3 But the arrival of Europeans also marked the beginning of the end of a lifestyle Initially, coal was taken to Medicine Hat by steam paddle boats along the Oldman followed for centuries. Before the Native peoples saw their first ‘White Man’, his River. These were soon replaced by a narrow gauge railway. diseases had spread across the continent, killing up to 90 per cent of the Native peoples of North America. Valley Homes Riverside 1930’s, The Galt Museum & Archives Along with disease came shifts in populations. The Cree began moving westward By 1884, the hamlet of Coal in their quest for furs to trade with the Hudson Bay and Northwest companies. Banks had a population of 250. To the south, American notions of manifest destiny resulted in a flood of settlers However, in 1885, many families moving west along the Oregon and other trails. In the process, the US government moved to the prairie level above hired buffalo hunters, who began the systematic slaughter of the bison herds in an the river floodplain. After serious effort to destroy the culture of the region’s Native inhabitants. floods in 1902 and 1908, still more left. In 1912, the area was Disease, population shifts, and cultural upheavals created tensions on the prairies subdivided into market gardens, never before experienced by the Native peoples. Tensions led to conflicts – not called the River Bottom Tracks, only between Natives and the new settlers, but also among Native groups. and settlement was encouraged. By the early 1950s, the Indian Battle community was called Riverside, The last inter-tribal conflict in North America occurred in 1870 between the and supported 83 families. Blackfoot and the Cree in an area extending from near the original site of Fort Flooding in 1953, however, Whoop-Up, past the present location of the University of Lethbridge, into the area forced the Lethbridge city council to move all families out of the river valley and to now called Indian Battle Coulee and across the river to Indian Battle Park. The designate the area as “parkland recreation”. battle was won by the Blackfoot, who gave the name Asinaawa-iitomottaawa, or By 1960, the present-day Indian Battle Park had been created. Reminders of “Where We Slaughtered the Crees”, to the general locality. previous settlements can still be seen close to the Nature Centre. When walking This battle also marked the end of a culture that had existed for over 9,000 years. on the trails, look for lilac bushes, caragana rows, climbing hops, absinthe Drying hides, tipis, and Native ceremonies were replaced with Europeans seeking wormwood, and old building foundations. new resources, economic expansion and wealth. The High Level Bridge Coal Mining In 1905, the Canadian Pacific Railway decided to relocate the railway to run west In 1874, an American Civil War veteran, Nicholas Sheran, came to the area and through Fort Macleod and the Crowsnest Pass.