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Operational Update
by Nancy Ouimet, Executive Director and Tim Johnson, Program Coordinator

 

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An up-close study of a grizzly bear hump. Photo courtesy Alberta Environment & Parks

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As I wrote in the March newsletter, we have been working on a new Cooperating Agreement with our partners in Alberta Parks. Our existing agreement expired on March 31, but we agreed to extend it as we work on the new one. As I wrote in March:

We’re pretty excited about discussion thus far on the new agreement, even though it’s not a lot different than the last one. We’re going to be cleaning up some blurry areas of responsibility, hopefully codifying our new partnership for the Speaker/Discovery Series, ensure supporting research is within our purview, and other important “stuff” that makes sure we’re giving Alberta Parks and K-Country the care it needs from us. I’m not actually sure the new agreement will be ready by month end; we’ll probably just continue under an extension to the old one for a while as we continue to sort it out. We’re more than willing to give it the time needed to get it right, as it is the most critical governance document we have.

I've literally just stepped out of a meeting where we reviewed the latest draft agreement with Parks reps. We’re both struggling a bit with a moving target of expectations, notably our OH&S responsibilities and procedures, which are codified in the agreement. When we generated the latest draft agreement a few months back, we based that draft’s wording on some things that have turned out different than we expected. Some of the new processes for OH&S that seem clear on paper have turned out to be not so clear when we started putting them into the field together.

This makes for problematic language drafting. The ironic part is we all believe that our new OH&S processes and procedures have made our organizations better. However, writing it down has been like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree.

We’re also trying to sort out exactly who this agreement is with. That may seem obvious, and it is – Alberta Environment and Parks – but there’s one team within AEP that manages the protected lands – Parks Division – and one that manages Public Lands. Since we do work for both, we need to be clear on whom this agreement is with. We might actually end up with two agreements, which are virtually identical save for 4 words after the first “Whereas…” on Page 1.

This doesn’t mean much for you as a volunteer or Society member, but in the land of “good governance”, it means a lot to the Board. So we are getting closer, but we are not there yet.

 

While we’re on the topic of things under stress in the forests, I would like to introduce you to two endangered trees in K-Country.

Yes, it’s possible to have endangered trees, and we have more than two in Canada. The two most worthy of note in K-Country are the closely related Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) and Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis). Limber Pine is listed as Endangered in Alberta under the Wildlife Act, but I'm not sure it has yet received protection under the Federal Species at Risk Act. To quote the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) report regarding the Limber Pine:

This tree species is imminently and severely threatened throughout its Canadian range by White Pine Blister Rust (an introduced pathogen), Mountain Pine Beetle, and climate change. Surveys at a number of sites in 2009 document an average of 43% and 35% of infected or dead trees, respectively. Repeated survey information leads to an estimated decline in the Canadian population of about 1% per year. At that rate, close to 2/3 of mature individuals are expected to be lost over the next 100 years, and local subpopulations could become extirpated. 

In Canada, Limber Pine occurs typically on warm, dry sites in the lower portions of the mountains and foothills at elevations of between 850 m to 1900 m. Some occurrences are as high as around 2000 m and may form mixed stands with Whitebark Pine. Limber Pine can occur at both lower and upper treeline sites. Aspects are usually southerly or westerly and slopes vary from gentle to steep. In Alberta, some stands are in more gently rolling terrain as well as rocky ridges and outcrops. Limber Pine sites are often exposed to strong winds, which in conjunction with shallow, well to rapidly drained soils and warm aspects, create droughty conditions. Limber Pine is often the only tree species that can occupy steep, windswept headwater habitats and plays a key role in snow capture, mediating snow melt, and controlling erosion 

Limber Pine is a long-lived species, frequently reaching several hundred years, and trees over 1,000 years old are known. Cones are typically produced starting at about 50 years of age, although this may be delayed, and the largest cone crops are produced decades later. 

Both the Whitebark and Limber look VERY similar, and both have a distinct feature that makes their identification easy: their needles are in clusters of 5. They generally live in different places (Limber low and Whitebark high up in “Larch Land”), and this time of year is the best time to tell them apart, because a dead giveaway for the species is the cone. A Limber Pine’s is long and green, a Whitebark is short and tan. In addition, Limber cones open naturally, whereas only animals, most notably the Clark’s Nutcracker, can open Whitebark cones (Clark’s also eat and disperse Limber seeds). So if you see a tree, look on the ground and the cones will tell you the type of tree.

White Pine Blister Rust is killing both. Accidentally introduced from Eurasia, it was first identified in Canada in 1921, and made it to Alberta in 1952. Infection rates are now up to 60% of trees, and mortality is 50%, and both are increasing. If that weren’t bad enough, they’re also very susceptible to Pine Beetle, too, especially in a rust-weakened state.

There are stands of Limber Pines on the tops of the eastern windswept hills in K-Country, and a notable gnarly one on a rocky outcrop right near the Trans Canada east of Scott Lake Hill. There are a bunch of small ones and a few older trees in the Wasootch and Porcupine Creek areas where these pictures were taken. Recently, the Francis Cook Landfill near Exshaw adjusted a work project to accommodate some Limber Pines growing there; you can read about that here. Look for the 5 needles and you’ll find them all over K-Country. You can even buy one to grow in your yard from Bow Point Nursery, where they raise seedlings.

You can read Alberta's Limber Pine Recovery Plan here. As an endangered tree, this is another thing that Parks Ecology keeps its eye on. They welcome reports of stands of any 5-needle pine tree – Limber or Whitebark – as they continue to inventory them to develop plans for their protection and recovery. There's an app you can use to report 5-needle pines, but at this moment, it's not available to the public. We'll pass along to you when it is.