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Archives for June 2022

How 4 Wildlife Species React to Forest Fires in Pimachiowin Aki

June 27, 2022

Last summer over 130 fires roared across Manitoba, causing as many as 1,000 people living in Pimachiowin Aki to evacuate to Winnipeg. While fires can negatively impact people living in the area, some wildlife species thrive.

Forest fires are an inevitable part of the boreal forest life cycle. They  are as crucial to forests as sun and rain.

As the upper canopy of trees burns, the forest floor receives more sunlight and water, allowing different species of trees, plants, insects, and wildlife to settle in.

While some species adapt to changing landscapes, others struggle. We look at four species in Pimachiowin Aki and their responses to increased fire frequency and intensity:

1. Wolverine

Photo: Bruce Bremner

Wolverines are an elusive species and largest member of the weasel family. They travel long distances (especially males) and live in small packs far from civilization. They’re carnivores and scavengers, relying on other animals for food. They are ferocious predators and prey mostly on small mammals like rabbits. They also eat carcasses of large animals like boreal woodland caribou when other food is scarce.

“They eat whatever they can find,” says Guardian Dennis Keeper, Little Grand Rapids First Nation. “They eat snowshoe hare, so they’re found where the highest population of rabbits are.”

Photo: Hidehiro Otake
Photo: Hidehiro Otake
In Pimachiowin Aki, wolverines count on wolves to kill boreal woodland caribou, which they scavenge when the coast is  clear.

What happens to wolverines after a forest fire?

When a fire rips through a forest, it burns food sources for many species, including boreal woodland caribou. Without lichen, caribou move on in search of this favoured food source. Wolves follow closely behind, leaving wolverines to hunt for themselves.

Despite their ability to travel long distances and lack of dependence on a particular habitat, wolverines struggle when their livable territory burns. Forest fires force wolverines closer together, increasing competition for food and territory. These tough animals are incredibly territorial and turn on each other. They fight over territory, food, and females.

In Ontario disturbances could pit the few hundred wolverines against one another. They really beat each other up.

Wildfire researcher Matt Scrafford discusses negative effects of wildfire on wolverines in a 2021 CBC interview

2. Snowshoe Hare

When wildfire burns through the boreal forest, it allows plants on the forest floor to reach sunlight and grow, providing ample opportunities for hares to hide and raise their young in shrubs and undergrowth. Their numbers are known to exponentially rise in a younger forest. In fact, snowshoe hares fare better when living away from mature forests. As maturing jack pine leaves become harder to reach, hare populations decline.

Hares eat smoked leaves in nogoomekay akisakeytek (newly burned areas).

Guardian Dennis Keeper stayed in Little Grand Rapids First Nation to monitor last year’s wildfires. He has been documenting hare populations in Little Grand Rapids First Nation and reports that hare populations are abundant.

Hares usually spend daylight hours sheltered under bush, stumps, or logs and become more active after sundown. Even when sleeping or grooming, they remain alert for predators like marten, lynx and fisher, which travel from old growth denning sites to burned areas to hunt hares.

“Many wildlife species eat hare,” Dennis says. The wildfire that burned through Little Grand Rapids in 2018 has already regrown with shrubs, ideal for snowshoe hare to live and raise their young. Predators will follow. “There’s always predators right behind them, like lynx.”

3. Lynx

Photo: Hidehiro Otake

Canadian lynx prefer habitats with old-growth trees and little to no brush on the forest floor. However, they live in places with new growth—like a fresh forest after a fire—if it has abundant food.

“You won’t see lynx because they are shy and elusive,” says Guardian Dennis Keeper, who grew up in Pimachiowin Aki and is an avid hunter and trapper. Though Dennis has seen “only a few” lynx in his life, he knows they’re around. “I see their tracks,” he says. Plus—where there’s hare, there’s lynx.

Abundant hares attract lynx to regenerating forests—snowshoe hare is the lynx’s main source of food. The more hares in an area, the more lynx that arrive to eat them. This is called the hare-lynx cycle.

The hare-lynx cycle is part of forest regrowth, but it doesn’t last forever. The more hares lynx eat, the fewer hares there are left to feed on. Plus, as new forest grows taller, twigs, buds and needles are out of hares’ reach. Now, both lynx and hares have less food. As hare populations dwindle, lynx populations also decline. 

The hare-lynx cycle lasts 8-11 years.

4. Black Fire Beetle

Wildfires don’t destroy everything. In fact, they are source of life for black fire beetles, which fly to forest fires in great numbers and mate while fires still burn.

The black fire can detect heat from forest fires burning between 50 and perhaps as far as 130 miles away.

academic.oup.com

Jordan Bannerman, Instructor II, Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba explains, black fire beetles have infrared sensors on their thorax that allow them to detect heat emanating from fires (Reference).  “Heat produced from even a small fire is sufficient to attract them,” he adds. “They can also detect certain chemicals emitted from burning wood that are present in smoke.”

Females deposit eggs under the bark of dead and dying coniferous trees, leaving larvae to safely develop and hatch with few predators around. “Egg laying has sometimes been observed in trees that are still smouldering,” says Jordan.

He says that “a dying tree will also have weaker defences and be more or less free from competitors, which provides the black fire beetle with a big advantage.”

Most predators leave burned areas, but black-backed woodpeckers stick around to feast on the black fire beetle’s wood-eating larvae and other wood-boring insects, which thrive on burned boreal trees.

Do black fire beetles help or harm boreal forests ?

Jordan says, “these beetles are beneficial in that they are important primary decomposers that play a role in forest regeneration.” Black fire beetles start the decomposition process early, setting the stage for other insects to further break down the dead matter and release nutrients into the soil.

infographic denting 100 years of resources following a wildfire

Did you know that blueberries come after fire and feed a lot of animals?
Wildfire sets a lot in motion in the boreal forest. Take a look at this 100 year-cycle:

https://pimaki.ca/the-land-that-gives-life/wildfire/

Pimachiowin Aki is the largest protected area in the boreal shield ecosystems of North America. It is 2,904,000 hectares of natural habitat for plants to thrive and wildlife to eat, shelter, and raise their young.

Filed Under: Boreal Forest, Uncategorised, Wildfire, Wildlife Tagged With: black fire beetle, lynx, snowshoe hare, wolverine

6 Boreal Trees to Identify and Respect This Summer

June 27, 2022

Pimachiowin Aki is part of the largest stretch of protected boreal forest—home to millions of trees and over a thousand plant species that provide vast amounts of oxygen.

The boreal forest is vital to survival, explains Brad Epp, Manitoba Forestry and Peatlands. “It provides clean air and water to everyone, habitat to wildlife and countless species, significant areas of spiritual and cultural importance, and places for all of us to recreate.” It also supplies renewal resources that sustain families and communities, he adds.

70% of Indigenous communities in Canada are located in forested regions. The boreal forest is culturally and economically significant to Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.

NRCANS – 8 facts about Canada’s boreal forest
Catkins are long, slim clusters of tiny flowers.

How to identify boreal trees

Here are six important boreal trees to spot across Canada this summer. Take time to honour them in your own way as you walk, cycle or paddle by!

1. Maanazaadii (Balsam Poplar)

Photo: Adam Jones, Ph.D./Global Photo Archive/Wikimedia Commons

Form: Medium-sized deciduous tree with a long cylindrical trunk and narrow, open crown of stout limbs

Bark: Smooth, becoming furrowed into thick ridges, whitish to greyish brown

Leaves: Oval shaped with a long tip and yellowish metallic luster on underside

Flowers: Long, drooping catkins occur before tree has leaves

Fruit: Seeds hang on catkins when tree has leaves

Maanazaadi is used for smoking meat and fish, curing hides, medicine (bark), snares, food for beaver and snowshoe hare.

2. Wiigwaasaatig (Birch)

Photo: Hidehiro Otake

Form: Small to medium-sized deciduous tree with ascending, spreading branches. In winter, reddish-brown branches contrast against the white trunk of mature trees

Bark: Thin, smooth, white; peels off in papery layers

Leaves: Alternate, triangular or oval with jagged edges

Flowers: Catkins hang from branches in April-May

Fruit: Dry, two-winged nut in drooping catkins  

Photo: Melba Green

Wiigwaasaatig is used for kindling, sap, and snowshoes; its bark is used for baskets, canoes, horns for calling moose, and coverings for wigwams.

3. Zesegaandag (Black Spruce)

Form: Dense evergreen tree with a cluster of branches forming a club shape at the top; lower branches droop, tips of lowest branches are upturned

Bark: Thin, dark, greyish-brown scales; inner bark is greenish tinged

Leaves: Stiff, sharp, four-sided, bluish-green needles arranged around the entire branch

Flowers: Dark red or purple, oval, cone-shaped flowers point upright in May

Fruit: Egg-shaped cones with thin, brown scales usually remain on the tree for more than one year; may have a cluster of cones near the top 

Zesegaandag is used for firewood and medicine.

4. Okikaandag (Jack Pine)

Photo: Hidehiro Otake

Form: Medium-sized evergreen tree with a narrow, open crown; crown is rather small in dense stands but becomes bushy and extends near the ground in open areas

Bark: Brownish with thin, loose scales in irregular shapes

Leaves: Sharp needles in pairs of two form a V-shape

Flowers: Yellow or purple, elongated flowers form in clusters near the tips of twigs in May

Fruit: Brown cones occur in pairs; horn shaped with curled tip

Okikaandag is used for firewood and tipi poles.

6. Mashkiigwaatig (Tamarack)

Photo: Kevin Casper

Form: Small tree with an open, light green crown   

Leaves: Soft, flexible, pale green needles in summer turn yellow and drop off in autumn  

Flowers: Single yellow or red, small, semi-circular flowers occur when tree has needles

Fruit: Small, upright, egg-shaped, brownish cone, composed of about 20 rounded, thin scales

Mashkiigwaatig (Tamarack) is the only deciduous conifer that loses its needles in fall.

Mashkiigwaatig is used for firewood and building cabins.

7. Azaadii (Poplar/Trembling Aspen)

Photo: Halogenated, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Form: Medium to tall deciduous tree with a slender trunk and moderately stout, ascending branches that form an open, round-topped crown; no branch in the lower part

Bark: Smooth, waxy-looking, greenish white bark that does not peel; becomes rough as tree matures

Leaves: Egg-shaped to circular leaves with numerous fine teeth; deep green on top and paler below

Flowers: Drooping hairy catkins appear before leaves

Fruit: Tiny capsules covered with cottony down appear in catkins when the tree has leaves

Moose strip Azaadii (Poplar/Trembling Aspen) bark for food, leaving vertical scars on the trunk.

Azaadii is an important source of food, medicine, and fire wood; in spring inner bark can be eaten; outer bark can be scraped off to get the white sweet-tasting bark inside

Ask an expert—7 questions about the boreal 

Brad Epp is a Forester with Manitoba’s Forestry and Peatlands Branch and President of the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF-IFC). We asked him seven questions about boreal forest.

The boreal forest is made up mostly of trees that are relatively young. It is regularly affected by forest fire and insects, and continually renews itself through these and other natural disturbances.

1. How do the trees we’ve profiled contribute to boreal shield ecosystems?

The boreal forest contains many types of ecosystems, and each contributes differently in different areas such as dry-lowland areas vs. upland well-drained areas. You will often find Black Spruce and Tamarack bringing forest cover to very wet areas where another tree can’t grow. Each tree prefers a different amount of sun and shade, so they thrive in different times of a forest life. For example, Trembling Aspen is a shade-intolerant species, so it is the first to grow up after a fire or disturbance. Underneath the aspen, small spruce seedlings slowly grow in the shade until they are old enough to break through the canopy.

2. Is Canada’s boreal forest in danger?

Fortunately, the boreal is a huge, resilient ecosystem so ‘danger’ is a strong word. However, local areas will be challenged by climate change. As climate changes, some southern areas may see fewer trees and more grasslands while in northern areas the forest may expand. Manitoba Forestry and Peatlands Branch has completed several Vulnerability Assessments. That research suggests that some tree species will be harder to grow in areas where they have always grown. Therefore, research continues on finding native tree species that can be planted that will adapt to a new climate.

3. What are the biggest threats to Canada’s boreal forest?

Climate change is likely the largest threat, as we don’t know precisely what the future will look like and how forests will respond. We expect more frequent and more damaging forest fires. There may be more damage from insects and disease, especially from invasive species. In addition, some wildlife habitat will change due our climate, threatening local populations. Therefore, we must all work together to find ways to manage these effects on our forests.

4.How does wildfire positively affect the boreal forest?

Boreal forest and wildfire go hand-in-hand. New forests are born out of forest fires. Fires release nutrients and seeds from soil. They provide new habitat and food sources for species that thrive in open environments. Then after 100 or more years of growth, the boreal forest begins to ready itself for the next fire.

5. We know that the black fire beetle thrives in burned boreal forest and is a food source for birds. What other insects live in the boreal forest in Pimachiowin Aki and how do they impact it?

Insects important to the boreal include spruce and pine budworm and pine beetles. These species develop in harmony with boreal trees and their populations are cyclical in nature. Currently on the east side of Manitoba, the jack pine budworm has been increasing and its impact can be seen in mid summer (many red needles). Although the budworm feed on the needles causing the trees stress, most trees survive. However, as the forest ages, the insects and diseases increase, eventually causing enough trees to die and build up the fuel load, readying it for fire, and starting the cycle again. The greatest threat however is from invasive insects that are not in balance with boreal species. One example is the destructive emerald ash borer, which has killed millions of ash trees across North America. Another is the Spongy moth, which feeds on most boreal tree species. These insects are at our borders in Ontario and the US.

To learn more please visit: gov.mb.ca/stopthespread/fis/eab/stop-spread.

6. What role does boreal forest play in slowing effects of climate change?

The boreal has a significant role in regulating our climate. It can act as a sink for storing billions of tons of carbon above and below the soil. However, the forest is always growing and changing. Since the boreal forest is driven by forest fires, it is not as simple as sitting back and hoping it never burns. Managing our forests requires teams of forest practitioners working with local peoples and governments so that we can maximize the impact on climate change.

7. What interesting fast facts about boreal forest surprise people?

Worldwide, the boreal zone covers:

  • 1.9 billion hectares
  • 14% of Earth’s land
  • 33% of Earth’s forested area

Canada has:

  • 28% of the world’s boreal zone (that’s 552 million hectares)
  • 75% of its forests and woodlands are in the boreal zone (307 million hectares in total)

3.7 million people live in the boreal zone, mostly in remote and rural communities.

Sources:

NRCANS – 8 facts about Canada’s boreal forest 

Free Field Guide to the Trees of Manitoba, published by Manitoba Forestry and Peatlands Branch. View online or contact the Manitoba Forestry and Peatlands Branch for copies: gov.mb.ca/forest/pubs/forest_lands/field_guide.pdf 

Filed Under: Boreal Forest, Uncategorised

What to Do if You Spot Algae This Summer

June 27, 2022

Water is sacred. It is the source of life and should be respected and protected. Waterways are like the arteries of Mother Earth and flow along, receiving and depositing nourishment for all plants and animals.

Pauingassi Lands Management Plan

Pimachiowin Aki is known for its pristine waters. Rivers, streams, lakes, waterfalls, and rapids flow gracefully through the World Heritage site while sustaining the ecosystem and the Anishinaabe way of life.  

Water is life—a food provider, wildlife habitat, a hydration source, and travel route. Its health is crucial.

Bloodvein River First Nation Guardian Melba Green spotted algae in Pimachiowin Aki in 2021 and wants everyone to help keep an eye out for this potential hazard this summer.

“I saw it right behind my house at the water’s edge in the Bloodvein River,” she says. She immediately took a picture. “I mentioned it to someone here and they suggested I take a sample. However, when I went back the algae was no longer there.“

Melba also saw what looked like harmless green weeds further up river and later wondered if this, too, was algae. Richard Farthing-Nichol, Project Manager at Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources says “while algae is a natural part of the Bloodvein River ecosystem, excessive algae could be a problem and is something to watch out for.” Algal blooms are more common in the south end of the Lake Winnipeg, but can happen anywhere, he says.

Pimachiowin Aki’s waterways (seen here) flow into Lake Winnipeg.  The health of Lake Winnipeg is being threatened by algal blooms.

Algae refers to a wide range of simple plants that can grow in any body of water. You will typically notice algae as small green particles in water. It is normal for a lake to have some algae, but too many nutrients in water can lead to an overgrowth of algae, which then forms algal blooms. Algal blooms are generally unpleasant and can even be toxic depending on the type.

Why algae can be dangerous

Algae is a natural part of the environment.  It can be found in any body of water. Richard explains that algae provide food for small water organisms and supplies much of the oxygen we breathe. But too much algae can be a problem, he cautions.

“Some types of blue-green algae found in algal blooms can be toxic to humans and animals. Also, when algae die, they decompose and use up oxygen that other organisms need to survive. This can impact entire food chains and lead to fish die-offs,” he says.

Melba recalls an encounter with a fisherman in Bloodvein River First Nation two years ago. “He was concerned about fishing in the lake because the water was “sticky.” She has heard this same description from others. “An Elder said that when you pull your hand out of the lake, your hand is sticky. When people pull their fishing nets from the water the sticky stuff is on their nets.”

Photo: Hidehiro Otake

Certain algae hurt the environment and economy by:

  • Producing toxins that can kill or sicken people and animals
  • Creating “dead zones” in water—areas lacking oxygen that become uninhabitable for marine life
  • Raising costs for drinking water as drinkable water becomes more scarce
  • Impacting industries that require clean water

These hazards show why it’s crucial to identify toxic algae if we plan to keep the environment and economy healthy and thriving.

How to spot toxic algae

Not all algae are toxic. The kind to watch out for is blue-green algae or cyanobacteria. The physical appearance of blue-green algae varies, which makes it difficult to identify. Richard explains, “Algal blooms are generally green and often form floating clumps or scums, sometimes making the water look like thick pea soup or paint. They also emit a strong, unpleasant odour. A laboratory analysis is the only way to tell if an algal bloom is toxic. “It is best to exercise caution and treat all algal blooms as if they contain toxins,” Richard warns.

Melba reports that she has been “in and out from the Bloodvein River and has not spotted algae yet this year. If she sees it again, she will “carefully take a sample and give it to the nursing station, which will send it to water sampling experts.”

Algae can be found in wide range of habitats beyond lakes and rivers, including in soil, growing on rocks and snow, and in plants such as lichens.

“When young ones and teenagers see wildlife or something unusual on the water or land, they come and tell me. I plan to learn more about algae and make a presentation to the school so they know what to look for,” says Melba.

Richard explains how algae affects communities, including places like Pimachiowin Aki, where fishing is a livelihood:

“Algal blooms, and especially toxic blue-green algae, can negatively impact communities in many ways. Algal blooms can make beaches unpleasant and unsafe for swimming, clog water intake pipes and fishing nets, and reduce the amount of fish available for harvesting.”

Please act as the eyes and ears of the land and waters, and report all sightings of algae to prevent the problem from growing.

What to do if you spot algae this summer

In Manitoba

Report algal blooms to the province at the following website: https://forms.gov.mb.ca/algal_report/index.html

In Pimachiowin Aki

The protocol for reporting toxic algae in Pimachiowin Aki is the same as the protocol for reporting pollution, littering, accidents, forest fires, and other threats to the land:

  1. Take a photo or video
  2. Write down details (such as where you are located and what you see, including the algae’s size, shape and colour)
  3. Call the nearest administrative office:
Bloodvein River First Nation204.395.2148
Little Grand Rapids First Nation204.397.2264
Pauingassi First Nation204.397.2371
Poplar River First Nation204.224.2267
Manitoba Department of Agriculture and Resource Developmenttoll-free 1.800.282.8069
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestrytoll-free 1.877.847.7667

Inform as many people as possible
Tell everyone you know about the dangers of harmful algal blooms. There’s no such thing as too much help for a problem like this. Spread the word for the health of Pimachiowin Aki’s waters and the protection of the Anishinaabe way of life.

Q&A with Richard

1. What causes algae?
Algae, like all plants, need sunlight and nutrients, primarily phosphorous and nitrogen, to grow. Phosphorous and nitrogen are found naturally in the environment, but humans also use phosphorous in fertilizers that we apply to our gardens and farmland. Phosphorous is also found in wastewater. When too much phosphorous gets into the water by, for example, fertilizer running off farmland into nearby streams, algae can grow rapidly and create algal blooms. Algal blooms are most likely to occur in hot weather with little or no wind. 

2. Is it safe to go into the water and swim if I spot algae?
You should avoid swimming in water with algal blooms.

3. Does boiling water remove toxins from algae-contaminated water?
No, the toxins cannot be destroyed by boiling the water.

4. Is it safe to eat fish or wildlife if the water in my community is affected?
It should generally be safe, but you should take some precautions. Because algal toxins can accumulate in fish, you should avoid eating the internal organs, like the liver and kidneys, of fish caught in water experiencing an algal bloom. You should also pay close attention to the condition of the fish—if it appears unhealthy, do not eat it.

5. Pimachiowin Aki is part of the largest stretch of intact boreal forest on earth. How does the boreal forest purify water?
Nature is extremely good at looking after itself if given the opportunity. The roots of trees and other plants can absorb excess nutrients and other toxins from water and soil, which helps purify the water. Some aquatic plants like cattails are particularly good at removing nutrients such as phosphorous from the water. This is one of the many reasons that healthy wetlands are so important. The boreal forest is full of wetlands that are helping purify the air, water, and fight climate change, not to mention providing food and medicines for people and habitat for other creatures.

6. What actions can I take in my everyday life to be part of the solution?
Reducing the amount of phosphorous that you use is the best thing you can do in your everyday life to be part of the solution. You can do that by not fertilizing your yard (or by using phosphorous-free fertilizer), using cleaning products (such as dish soap and detergent) that are phosphorous-free, and not disposing of pharmaceuticals, food, or chemicals down the drain.

For a list of actions you can take to protect water and ensure we have fresh water for generations to come, visit: https://www.lakefriendly.ca/.

Filed Under: Management & Protection, Uncategorised Tagged With: Bloodvein River First Nation, guardians, wildlife habitat

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