Chronic stress and body condition of wolf-killed prey in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan

Chronic stress and poor body condition can cause adverse physiological and behavioural responses and may make animals more vulnerable to predation. We examined hair cortisol concentration (HCC) and marrow lipid content, as bioindicators of chronic stress and body condition, respectively, of bison (Bison bison bison), moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) killed by wolves (Canis lupus) in Prince Albert National Park (PANP), Saskatchewan, Canada. The Sturgeon River plains bison population in PANP is one of only a few wild populations of plains bison in their historical range in Canada and has experienced a decline of around 50% since 2005. We expected wolf-killed bison to have elevated HCC compared to human-harvested bison and that there would be a negative relationship between HCC and marrow lipids among wolf-killed animals. We compared HCC between different mortality sources for bison (wolf-killed n = 20 or human-harvested n = 23) and found that HCC was significantly elevated in wolf-killed bison (̄ = 7.56 ± 1.35 pg/mg). We found that HCC, species, sex and snow depth were all significant predictor variables of marrow lipid content of bison (n = 14), moose (n = 11) and deer (n = 27). Bison displayed the strongest negative correlation between HCC and marrow lipid content (r2 = 0.31). Our results suggest that chronic stress and poor body condition make prey more vulnerable to predation by wolves. HCC and marrow lipid content can provide reliable indicators of the physiological response of animals to stressors and may provide information on expected predator success that can be used to predict predator population dynamics.

Observations of the use of buildings by free-ranging Elk, Cervus canadensis, in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan

Elk (Cervus canadensis) are habituated to humans and associated buildings in many national parks in North America. During the summers of 2012–2014, observations were made of Elk standing on the decks of cabins and entering campground cook shelters in and around the town of Waskesiu in east-central Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan. These appear to be the first documented observations of Elk entering buildings intentionally. The reason for this behaviour is likely a combination of the animals seeking areas safe from wolves, thermal cover, and relief from biting insects.

Grey Owl in the White Settler Wilderness: “Imaginary Indians” in Canadian Culture and Law

This article considers Grey Owl’s tenure in Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert National Park as a “telling instance” of the ways in which iconic Canadian wilderness spaces have been constructed in white settler culture and law – not only through the erasure of Indigenous people(s), but also through highly visible forms of cultural appropriation, including the installation of “imaginary Indians.” Placed in the context of the complex history of Treaty Six, the story of Grey Owl reveals how white settler culture and law have been constructed with reference to two “imaginary Indians”: the “Bolshevik Indian” and the “Park Ranger Indian.” The former, figured as a source of lawlessness and destruction, is erased from the terrain of the nation; the latter, represented in this case by Grey Owl, figures the “consent” of “Indians” to settler law, “naturalizes” Canadian sovereignty, and bestows upon the nation a heritage of “Indian” culture that it is otherwise felt to be lacking.

Introducing a framework for good and adaptive governance: An application to fire management planning in Canada’s boreal forest

Planning for and managing disturbances in protected areas requires governance arrangements that are both adaptive to changing conditions and effective in dealing with multiple challenges. This paper presents a framework composed of principles and criteria of good and adaptive governance that pays attention to inclusiveness, responsibility, fairness, strategic vision, performance orientation, and adaptiveness. The framework was empirically tested on fire management planning in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, Canada, involving interactions between Parks Canada and Saskatchewan Environment. Our results suggest that while the principle of performance orientation was upheld, principles such as inclusiveness and adaptiveness were only partially supported. Additional testing beyond fire management planning can help determine the utility of the framework for other environmental management situations.

Distribution and natural history of carnivorous plants of Saskatchewan, Canada

We provide distribution maps of carnivorous plants as well as an assessment of rarity status and potential threats to diversity of carnivorous taxa in Saskatchewan using a biodiversity informatics approach. Saskatchewan is home to ten carnivorous species ranging from the Mixed Grassland ecoregion in the southwest to the Selwyn Lake Upland ecoregion in the northeast. Several areas exhibiting high carnivorous plant diversity including rare and endangered species are: the Nesbitt Provincial Forest, the Prince Albert National Park, and the Athabasca Sand Dunes. We propose these areas as deserving conservation priority.

Prescribed Burning Has Limited Long-Term Effectiveness in Controlling Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Encroachment into Fescue Grassland in Prince Albert National Park

Encroachment into grassland by woody species is a global ecological phenomenon, and it is of particular concern in remnant fescue (Festuca) prairie at the aspen parkland–boreal forest ecotone. Fire suppression is thought to encourage encroachment; however, prescribed burning as a means of controlling encroachment and restoring system structure, function, and composition has had variable success. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different season of burn, number of annual burns, and number of years after burning treatments on Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides) encroachment into the fescue grasslands within Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan. Temporal changes in density and cover of Trembling Aspen in grassland and grassland–forest transition plant communities were evaluated using data from a prescribed burn study conducted in Prince Albert National Park from 1975 to 2010. The effect of year (indicating varying amounts of time relative to prescribed burning) and the interaction between spring burning and year reflect a stimulatory effect of burning on Trembling Aspen suckering. Increased Trembling Aspen cover in the forest transition community with more annual burns, burning in the fall, and the interaction between year and number of annual burns and increased Trembling Aspen cover in the grassland community with year indicate that none of the treatments had lasting control of Trembling Aspen encroachment. Ongoing Trembling Aspen encroachment despite prescribed burning may be due to important missing interactions between fire and grazing. A change in the use and expectation of prescribed burning is needed when attempting to suppress Trembling Aspen encroachment into the fescue grasslands.

Genetic diversity in a remnant population of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush)

Genetic diversity of the remnant population of lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) in Crean Lake was compared with that for two other populations in the Prince Albert National Park (PANP) using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and DNA sequencing analyses of two mtDNA genes. Although there was no sequence variation among individuals for nad5, six different nad2 haplotypes were detected. The Crean Lake population had the least number of haplotypes and lowest nucleotide variation. Also, one common nad2 haplotype in Crean Lake was not detected in the other populations. The results suggest that introductions of lake trout from Wassegam Lake into Crean Lake were unsuccessful with respect to the establishment and (or) reproduction of the stocked fish. Conservation of the remnant population of lake trout in Crean Lake is important because it is genetically distinct from other populations within PANP and in adjacent areas.