Physical and chemical properties of the Sulphur Mountain thermal springs, Banff National Park, and implications for endangered snails

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 1349-1361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen E Grasby ◽  
Dwayne A.W Lepitzki
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variability ◽  
National Park ◽  
Temperature Drop ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Shallow Groundwater ◽  
Thermal Springs ◽  
Population Fluctuations ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Seasonal Flow ◽  
Spring Snowmelt

Nine thermal springs, in three groups, occur along the flank of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park. The principal recharge zone is suggested to be above 2000 m elevation on Mount Rundle, circulation depths are estimated to be 3.2 ± 0.6 km, and discharge is focused along the Sulphur Mountain Thrust. Springs show constant temperature and total dissolved solids load throughout the winter, whereas both drop in association with spring snowmelt. The degree and timing of temperature drops are a function of elevation, with the highest springs showing the earliest and most significant temperature drop. The highest elevation springs also show the greatest seasonal variability in water chemistry. Unusual seasonal flow stoppages of these springs are related to extreme low precipitation years. The biogeochemistry of the thermal springs and population fluctuations of the endemic and endangered Banff springs snail (Physella johnsoni) are strongly related to seasonal variability in flow rates. Changes in redox conditions associated with an influx of shallow groundwater during spring snowmelt negatively impact the microbial community that forms a principal food supply for the snail.

scholarly journals Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Red Squirrel ◽  
Limber Pine ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Pinus Spp

Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley.

The Village Lake Louise Controversy: Ski Resort Planning, Civil Activism, and the Environmental Politics of Banff National Park, 1964–1979

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-110
Author(s):  
Qi Chen ◽  
Pearl Ann Reichwein
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Space ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Environmental Politics ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Ski Resort ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
The Village

A new ski resort village plan proposed for Lake Louise in Banff National Park triggered intense opposition at public hearings in 1972. Local proponents, backed by Imperial Oil, had entered into agreements to expand services at Lake Louise, which led to federal public consultations. We investigate Parks Canada’s early public consultation process and how it was institutionalized in federal policy making from 1964 to 1979. Public debate was significant and influenced political decisions in the Village Lake Louise controversy. The National and Provincial Parks Association of Canada, Bow Valley Naturalists, Environmental Law Association, mountain clubs, academics, and others advocated for protection as conservation lobbyists and the Government of Alberta also objected to the proposal, leading Minister Jean Chrétien to halt the plan. It was a win for citizens, environmentalists, and ecological integrity as Village Lake Louise debates became Canada’s town hall. Past environmental protection is relevant to civil society and public space in a moment of new approvals for massive ski hill industry expansions in national parks. Precedents in civil society and governance can inform understanding of public consultation and a new environmental politics.

Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta

2021 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Grizzly Bears ◽  
Pinus Albicaulis ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Banff National Park

Seeds of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) are a major food for Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Yellowstone ecosystem. In Canada, Grizzly Bears are known to eat Whitebark Pine seeds, but little additional information, such as the extent of such use and habitat characteristics of feeding sites, is available. Because Grizzly Bears almost always obtain Whitebark Pine seeds by excavating cones from persistent caching sites (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), it is possible to infer Whitebark Pine feeding when bears are located near excavated middens in Whitebark Pine stands. During 2013–2018, I conducted a retrospective study in Banff National Park using data from 23 Grizzly Bears equipped by Parks Canada staff with global positioning system (GPS) collars. My objectives were to use GPS fixes to determine the percentage of these bears that had been located in close proximity to excavated middens containing Whitebark Pine seeds and to describe the habitat at these excavated middens. I linked 15 bears (65%) to excavated middens and, by inference, consumption of Whitebark Pine seeds. Excavated middens occurred on high-elevation (mean 2103 ± 101 [SD] m), steep (mean 26° ± 8°) slopes facing mostly (96%) north through west (0–270°). Use of Whitebark Pine seeds by at least 65% of the 23 studied Grizzly Bears suggests that conservation of Whitebark Pine in Banff National Park would concomitantly benefit the at-risk population of Grizzly Bears.

scholarly journals Grouseberry (Vaccinium scoparium Leiberg ex Coville) fruit production in forest openings in Banff National Park, Alberta

2015 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Pengelly ◽  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Understory Shrubs ◽  
Forest Openings

Grouseberry (Vaccinium scoparium Leiberg ex Coville) is an abundant dwarf shrub in the understory of many areas of subalpine forest in Banff National Park and has the potential to produce fruit important for wildlife. However, the suppression and prevention of wildfires, which began in the early 1900s in the park, have reduced fire-dependent shrubland and open forest and increased the extent of closed, mature forest. Because canopy closure is typically associated with decreased fruit production by understory shrubs, the decline in fire disturbance may be reducing Grouseberry fruit production. To quantify this effect, we measured Grouseberry fruit production under various forest canopies at 10 sites in Banff during 2004–2012. We measured site openness by modeling photosynthetically active direct solar radiation (dPAR) adjusted for overshadowing by topography and coniferous foliage. We found a positive relation between Grouseberry fruit production and dPAR in 2006 and 2010–2012, but not in 2008 or 2009, the 2 years of lowest fruit production; data were lacking for 2004, 2005, and 2007. We also recorded high Grouseberry fruit densities beginning 5 years after fire removed the forest canopy in four prescribed burns conducted during 2001: fruit production was 3.3 to more than 20 times that in adjacent mature forests in 5 of the 6 years analyzed. This study shows the potential ecological benefits of both prescribed burns and wildfire in upper subalpine forests where Grouseberry is widespread, but fruit production is low under the forest canopy.

scholarly journals Estimating Grizzly and Black Bear Population Abundance and Trend in Banff National Park Using Noninvasive Genetic Sampling

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. e34777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Sawaya ◽  
Jeffrey B. Stetz ◽  
Anthony P. Clevenger ◽  
Michael L. Gibeau ◽  
Steven T. Kalinowski
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Black Bear ◽  
Population Abundance ◽  
Noninvasive Genetic Sampling ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Genetic Sampling
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