EBA File No. 5330005 March 2005 CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH ELEVATION GRASSLANDS IN THE UPPER ELK VALLEY Submitted to EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. Creating and Delivering Better Solutions CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH ELEVATION GRASSLANDS IN THE UPPER ELK VALLEY Project No.: 0335-5330005 MARCH 2005 Riverbend Atrium One, #115, 200 Rivercrest Drive SE, Calgary, Alberta T2C 2X5 Tel: (403) 203-3355 - Fax: (403) 203-3301 Internet:[email protected] - Web Site: www.eba.ca EBA Engineering Consultants Ltd. Creating and Delivering Better Solutions CHARACTERIZATION OF HIGH ELEVATION GRASSLANDS IN THE UPPER ELK VALLEY Submitted to: TEMBEC British Columbia Division 220 Cranbrook Street North P.O. Box 4600 Cranbrook, BC V1C 4J7 Prepared by: EBA ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LTD. Calgary, Alberta Project No.: 0335-5330005 MARCH 2005 Riverbend Atrium One, #115, 200 Rivercrest Drive SE, Calgary, Alberta T2C 2X5 Tel: (403) 203-3355 - Fax: (403) 203-3301 Internet:[email protected] - Web Site: www.eba.ca 0335-5330005 - 1 - March 2005 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY High elevation grasslands in the upper Elk River and Fording River valleys are considered to be unique in the Front Ranges of the Rocky Mountains in the East Kootenays. TEMBEC identified these areas as having high conservation value and proposed a literature review and mapping study. The objectives of the study were as follows: 1. identification and digital delineation of grasslands in the Fording and Elk River watersheds north of Highway 3 and east of the Elk River; 2. a literature review and summary of biological information on the plants, vertebrates and invertebrates in the study area; and 3. the development of a plant and butterfly sampling program. The results of the literature and mapping exercise are summarized below. • Preliminary grassland mapping resulted in the creation of 613 grassland or grassland/shrubland/herb polygons with a total area of 4,792.13 and a mean area of 7.82. A total of 64 grassland polygons are, or potentially will be, affected by industrial activities in the upper Elk River and Fording River valleys. • Based on the review of the ecological data for the study area, none of the correlated or non-correlated site series currently listed for ESSFdk, ESSFdkw, ESSFdkp and ATun subzones in the Southeast Kootenays characterize adequately the high elevation grassland ecosystems within the study area. • Because most of the studies have been conducted in support of coal mine development, very little sampling has been completed in grassland ecosystems associated with calcareous parent materials or that are unrelated to mining activities. • The impacts of forestry activities on grassland ecosystems in the study area are unknown at this time. However, approved or proposed forest harvest activities in the study area may result in greater forest harvesting related influences in the future. • A review of the published literature as well as a several internet searches revealed that there is inadequate autecological information available for several of the species present within the high elevation grasslands of the study area. • No evidence of forest species encroachment or weedy species ingress into the subalpine grasslands was recorded in the previous studies documented in this report. Q:\Secretary\0335\Projects\5330005\R01 0335-5330005 - 2 - March 2005 • The grasslands within the study area may be classified as rare or uncommon (21 to 100 occurrences) or frequent to common (> 100 occurrences). Based on limited data, Idaho Fescue and herb/grass ecosystems are relatively common within the study area but rough fescue dominated grasslands appear to be restricted in their distribution. • Four vulnerable wildlife species, one mustelid (American badger), one large carnivore (grizzly bear), one raptor (Swainson’s hawk) and one ungulate (bighorn sheep) utilize grassland habitats within the study area. Two vulnerable plant species (Wyoming besseya and elk thistle), both forbs, are present or potentially present within grassland ecosystems as well. • Little or no knowledge of butterfly occurrences has been documented for the study area. • Knowledge of the impacts of resource extraction industries on high elevation grasslands is well documented for the mining industry, is limited for the forest industry and is poorly documented for recreational users such as hunters and guide outfitters. Several recommendations are proposed as a result of the literature review and mapping activities. Further field sampling that employs a stratified sampling design should be conducted to better characterise the high elevation grassland ecosystems within the study area. As well, the existing sensitive ecosystem mapping should be updated based on field sampling and improvements in polygon delineation. Additional studies include an assessment of grassland ecosystem viability, woody forest species encroachment and weedy species ingress into subalpine grasslands, species at risk (SAR) distribution mapping, plant autecological studies, butterfly sampling and an impact assessment of industrial activities on grassland ecosystems in the study area. Q:\Secretary\0335\Projects\5330005\R01 0335-5330005 - 3 - March 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors of this report acknowledge the assistance of Kari Stuart-Smith and Marcie Belcher of TEMBEC in the preparation of the report. The report also benefited greatly from the review comments of Mark Hall of Majestic Resource Consulting. Q:\Secretary\0335\Projects\5330005\R01 0335-5330005 - 4 - March 2005 DISCLAIMER The grassland mapping provided in this report should be considered preliminary because of incomplete air photo coverage and inadequate polygon ground-truthing. Only the minimum coding and map attribute file information portions of the draft Sensitive Ecosystems Mapping protocol were applied. Q:\Secretary\0335\Projects\5330005\R01 0335-5330005 - 5 - March 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. i 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 2.0 STUDY OBJECTIVES.....................................................................................................2 3.0 METHODS .......................................................................................................................2 3.1 Literature Review..................................................................................................2 3.2 Analysis of Existing Grassland Data ....................................................................3 3.3 Ecosystem Mapping..............................................................................................4 4.0 HISTORY OF MAPPING IN THE STUDY AREA........................................................4 5.0 STUDY AREA DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................5 5.1 Climate..................................................................................................................5 5.2 Bedrock Geology..................................................................................................6 5.3 Surficial Geology..................................................................................................6 5.4 Soils.......................................................................................................................7 5.5 Vegetation.............................................................................................................7 5.5.1 Engelmann Spruce – Subalpine Fir...........................................................7 5.5.2 Alpine Tundra...........................................................................................8 5.6 Wildlife (Invertebrates and Vertebrates) ..............................................................9 5.6.1 Engelmann Spruce – Subalpine Fir...........................................................9 5.6.2 Alpine Tundra...........................................................................................9 6.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.......................................................................................9 6.1 Grassland Species Autecology and Perturbation Response..................................9 6.2 Vegetation – Environment Relationships ...........................................................10 6.3 Grassland Phytosociology...................................................................................11 6.3.1 Plant Community Type Classification....................................................11 6.3.2 Plant Community Type / Site Series Comparison ..................................18 Q:\Secretary\0335\Projects\5330005\R01 0335-5330005 - 6 - March 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 6.4 Grassland Ecosystem Responses to Perturbation and Forest Ingress .................18 6.5 Wildlife (Invertebrates and Vertebrates) Habitat Interactions............................19 6.5.1 Ungulates ................................................................................................19 6.5.2 Bears .......................................................................................................20 6.5.3 Birds........................................................................................................21 6.5.4 Butterflies................................................................................................21 6.6 Grassland Ecosystem Mapping...........................................................................22