Waterton Lakes National Park

Park News

Christmas Bird Count Results 2011

Despite an incredibly windy day (gusts of up to 90 km/hr) 18 people participated in the Waterton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Saturday, December 17th.

Participants counted 31 species - an achievement since the average is 27 - and highlights included an American Pipit, counted for the first time during the Waterton CBC.

Also a Hooded Merganser and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches were counted for only the second and third times respectively.

Another feature was a family of four Trumpeter Swans spotted in the Waterton River right near the entrance kiosk.

Parks Canada would like to thank the Lethbridge Naturalist Society for running and organizing the Waterton CBC and thanks to all who participated. We hope to see you again in December!

More About Birds in Waterton

Volunteers Help Plant 600 Seedlings

On October 11, 2011, five volunteers joined Parks Canada restoration staff to plant whitebark pine trees in the Summit Lake area of Waterton Lakes National Park.

Despite the rain, cold weather, and patches of snow, the crew managed to put 600 seedlings in the ground.

Whitebark pine is threatened by white pine blister rust, an introduced fungus that has killed over 90% of trees in many stands.

Parks Canada is leading efforts to restore this important tree species in Waterton by protecting the cones of surviving trees and using the seeds to grow and plant healthy seedlings.

Although the recent cold, wet weather made planting a little less comfortable, it also provided Parks Canada fire experts with an opportunity to complete prescribed fires in an additional 16 plots around Summit Lake.

The fire helps to create optimal conditions for planting whitebark pines and for Clark's nutcrackers to cache seeds. The recent precipitation will ensure that the seedlings enter winter dormancy with good moisture content.

In 2010, volunteers assisted in planting 1,200 seedlings in the same general area and survivorship after the first year was over 90%.

Cycling the Red Rock Parkway

A successful ‘Ride the Red Rock’ event brought out about 175 cyclists to Waterton Lakes National Park on October 1, 2011.

This event provided cyclists the chance to ride up the Red Rock parkway without vehicles, and also marked 'Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day'. The 175 cyclists who participated in the event included 40 children. A highlight for many was the opportunity to view bears from their bikes.

It was also a sneak peak at enjoying the Red Rock Parkway when the road is normally closed to motorized vehicle traffic between November and April each year.

After the ride, participants were treated to a pay-what-you-can BBQ and draw prizes, with a special prize for kids. Almost $500 was raised for a new bike rack for the renovated community centre.

This event was a success because of the support from our community. Technical support was provided by Headwinds Cycling from Lethbridge. Hot dogs were cooked up by Wieners of Waterton. Waterton Outdoor Adventures provided the bike shuttle. Cardston EMS attended and volunteers from the Waterton Foundation also assisted with the event.

Ecosystem Investigators Camp  

Camilla Dalglish, director of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation and Parks
Canada's Tracy Thiessen, Executive Director of Mountain Parks ©Parks Canada

This fall over 450 grade 5 kids from southern Alberta schools will enjoy a two-night, three-day camp in Waterton Lakes National Park.

They will spend time in nature learning how the different parts of the ecosystem, including people, have shaped the landscape and how Waterton is restoring the health of its ecosystems.

While learning about threatened whitebark pines and the importance of prairie fescue grasslands, they will hike, pull knapweed, do skits and take part in interpreter-led activities. Most of all, they will have fun!

The project is designed to give the grade 5 students an opportunity to investigate Waterton’s ecosystem, and then link their experiences to their school work in Social Studies, Science, Drama, Health and Life Skills, Physical Education and Art.

On September 22, it was formally announced that The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is providing $462,790 in funding to support the Parks Canada’s Ecosystem Investigators Camp for three years. The grant supports transportation, accommodation and meals for all participants.

The Foundation is proud to see their environmental initiatives continue through the
Ecosystem Investigators Camp ©Parks Canada

"We are pleased to announce our support for the Ecosystem Investigators camps during Parks Canada’s centennial celebrations," said Camilla Dalglish, director of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation.

"Our Foundation has supported environmental education initiatives for over 10 years and we are proud to see this work continue through the ESI camp which encourages students to actively contribute to healthy ecosystems. This is a wonderful complement to our Foundation’s conservation of over 30,000 acres in Waterton Park Front, adjacent to this magnificent national park."

Bear Rub Tree Monitoring Project

The bear rub tree monitoring project is a joint pilot project in southwest Alberta, between Parks Canada, the Government of Alberta and the University of Alberta, with assistance from USGS in Montana.

It is a three-year project to monitor grizzly bears both locally and at ecosystem scales.

The program goal is to develop a cost-effective, efficient way to monitor grizzy populations, densities and distributions using non-invasive methods that engage the public and utilize local knowledge.

This pilot project differs from past efforts in that it monitors bear populations, relative density and distribution over time. Rather than using attractants to lure grizzly bears into a hair snag, it takes advantage of a natural bear behaviour - rubbing - to collect hair samples.

One of the great aspects of the rub method is that hair can be collected from a variety of sources (trees, fence lines, signposts), allowing us to survey ranch lands more effectively than in the past.

There are 180 rub trees set up in Waterton Lakes National Park, predominantly along hiking trails. People may have seen barbed wire on these trees during hikes. The wire does not harm the bears.

Parks Canada staff in Waterton have collected over 400 samples after two rounds of hair collection, which is ongoing.

The study area for the project is Bear Management Area 6 - bounded by Highway 3 to the north, British Columbia to the west, Montana to the south and the edge of grizzly bear range to the east.

*No food-based lure or attractants are used in this study. Please do not disturb the study sites or collect the hair for us, as it need to be done within designated time intervals and collection must follow strict protocols.

Waterton-Glacier Bat Inventory Project

 
Waterton-Glacier Bat Inventory Project © Parks Canada

Scientists in Waterton and Glacier national parks have begun a two-year inventory of bats to learn about existing species and use as baseline information for long-term monitoring.

The biologists are using acoustic ultrasonic detectors (bat detectors), capturing bats in mist nets and observing roost sites to determine what species can be found in the parks.

Waterton Lakes National Park and Glacier National Park have a special relationship as the world’s first International Peace Park, created in 1932, and have undertaken many joint initiatives.

Barb Johnston, an ecosystem scientist in Waterton Lakes National Park, said: "We know little about bats in the Peace Park so we are starting by inventorying what bats live here and where in the parks the different species can be found."

The eastern front of the Rocky Mountains may be a migratory corridor for bats, and this study hopes to determine which species migrate through the parks during spring and fall.

Results of the inventory will provide baseline knowledge of the bats before the projected arrival of a deadly fungal disease called White Nose Syndrome, that has the potential to affect local bats.

Johnston added: "White Nose Syndrome has caused the deaths of more than a million bats in eastern North America. It was first identified in caves in 2006 and has been spreading quickly. It appears to be moving westward across North America."

Bat expert Dr. Cori Lausen (Birchdale Ecological Ltd.) is assisting the parks in this project.

Teaching Deer to be Deer in Waterton

This spring, Parks Canada is taking an innovative approach to rebuild the natural wariness among habituated mule deer in Waterton Lakes National Park.

Deer living within the community of Waterton have been a feature of Waterton Lakes National Park for generations.

Unfortunately, these deer have lost their natural wariness of people and can be aggressive toward visitors and their pets, particularly in spring. The goal is to ensure public safety and more natural deer behaviours, while maintaining quality wildlife viewing opportunities for visitors.

Parks Canada is using specially-trained border collies to shepherd these deer out of the community and to re-establish the natural wariness that deer should have for people and dogs.

The intent is not to keep deer out of the community entirely - rather to separate them from high concentrations of people during their spring fawning period when they are most aggressive; and to re-establish a more natural and safe situation when they inevitably return.

For more pictures of the border collies at work, visit Chris Jobe's Blog