Pimachiowin Aki

World Heritage Site

Wildlife

Songmeter Project – First Results Are In

Thank you to contributors Councillor Eddie Hudson, Poplar River Lands Guardians Norway Rabliauskas and Brad Bushie, Dr. Jeff Wells, and Elisha Corsiga (writer)

Our Elders and their ancestors have cared for our Traditional Lands for over 6,000 years.

Protecting Pimachiowin Aki, which over 200 bird species rely on for survival, is an important example of how we care for the land,” says Poplar River First Nation Lands Councillor Eddie Hudson.

Since 2016, Poplar River Lands Guardian Norway Rabliauskas has been collaborating with scientists from Audubon’s Boreal Conservation program to better understand how songbird populations are changing in the face of climate change.  

The first results of the ‘Songmeter Project’ are in.

“Songmeters record bird sounds,” says Guardian Brad Bushie, Poplar River Lands Guardians Program. Using knowledge of the land, Poplar River Lands Guardians placed the recording units at four sites across the traditional territory, he explains.

The number of bird species recorded allows us to analyze population changes over time,” adds Dr. Jeff Wells, Vice President for Boreal Conservation at National Audubon Society.

Map of survey sites in Poplar River First Nation and its location within Pimachiowin Aki, courtesy Audubon

  • Guardians placed Songmeters in four survey sites in Poplar River First Nation throughout the spring of 2016
  • 71 bird species were detected
  • At least 18 of the species detected have more than 70% of their breeding range confined to the Boreal Forest biome, meaning their survival relies heavily on healthy landscapes like Pimachiowin Aki 
  • Two species were detected on more than half of all recordings: 
    • White-throated Sparrow 
    • Swainson’s Thrush  
  • Five species were detected on more than 30% of all recordings:
    • Blackburnian Warbler
    • Ovenbird 
    • Song Sparrow 
    • Bald Eagle
    • American Crow
Song Sparrow
Photo: Hidehiro Otake
Bald Eagle
Photo: Lorne Coulson
  • At least 20 species listed as special concern, threatened, or endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) are believed to occur within Pimachiowin Aki. The Songmeter project captured recordings of three of the bird species listed by COSEWIC: 
    • Common Nighthawk
    • Eastern Whip-poor-will
    • Canada Warbler  
Common Nighthawk
Photo: Christian Artuso
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Photo: Christian Artuso
Canada Warbler
Photo: Christian Artuso
  • National Audubon Society’s recent study, Survival by Degrees, found that over two-thirds of North American birds are moderately or highly vulnerable to a global average temperature increase of 3°C by 2080. This includes many species detected at Poplar River First Nation, such as:  
    • Bay-breasted Warbler
    • Cape May Warbler
    • Canada Warbler
    • Blackburnian Warbler

How the collaboration began

“We first talked with the Guardians and community, and asked if they would be interested,” says Jeff.

Norway says the project is a good fit for his community. “One of our goals is to develop new research partnerships. Plus, the project builds on the monitoring work we have already been doing.”   

Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science come together

The Songmeter project relies heavily on Guardians, and the process of collaborating starts with listening and respect. 

Listening to Guardians’ advice is crucial in a project like this, where Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science combine to create strong, respectful conservation efforts, says Jeff. “Things always overlay with Indigenous knowledge.” 

Guardians serve as stewards and scientists and are central to a program that pairs data collection with Indigenous ecological knowledge to track changes across the site over time. 

Chad Wilsey, Vice President and Chief Scientist, National Audubon Society, in his blog about his work and experience in Poplar River First Nation

Guardians have a good understanding of the land and decide where to install Songmeters.

“Our Guardians’ hard work and understanding of the land have contributed to the project’s success,” says Councillor Eddie Hudson. “We are proud of the work they do.”

Guardian Norway Rabliauskas installs a Songmeter.

Songmeters last for a long time between battery changes. Recordings are saved onto SD cards for researchers to analyze.

The project continues

This past year, Guardians installed Songmeters in the same four locations as 2016. The 2017-2021 recordings have yet to be formally processed but since the start of the project, the number of species the team has identified has “greatly expanded,” Jeff says.  

Thousands of hours of song

Analyzing bird sounds can be a difficult and time-consuming task.

“What happens with this kind of work is that you can get thousands of hours of recordings, and you can imagine someone sitting down and listening… You can only get through so much,” says Jeff.

The relatively small team picked random samples, listening to four 10-minute recordings from each day collected in 2016.

187.3 hours of recordings were sampled between May 27 and July 1, 2016 

Birds of Poplar River Project – First Results

New technology to speed up the process

Recently, the team implemented BirdNET in their identification process. BirdNET is an artificial intelligence algorithm developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This bird identification machine can quickly go through recordings to identify specific bird species. 

The team will use BirdNet to help identify the recordings taken in Poplar River First Nation from 2017–2021. 

Looking forward

In the upcoming year, National Audubon Society and Poplar River First Nation Lands Guardians  Luke Mitchell, Brad Bushie and Youth Guardian Aiden Heindmarch will work together to expand the areas where Songmeters are placed. They plan to set up Songmeters in deeper and more remote areas of the forest.

“One place takes a couple of days to get to by boat,” Jeff says. “It’s exciting to see what we might find in these places.”

He hopes that over the years more First Nation communities can use Songmeters when developing their monitoring programs. He also hopes for more collaborative initiatives with communities in Pimachiowin Aki.

“If that’s what communities want to be a part of,” he says, “there are a lot of interesting things to discover.”

How 4 Wildlife Species React to Forest Fires in Pimachiowin Aki

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.

New Eye in the Sky

Birds have always been an eye in the sky above Pimachiowin Aki. Now, thanks to drones provided by environmental consulting and research firm ECOSTEM, Pimachiowin Aki Corp. has an eye up there too. 

We are working with ECOSTEM to map land and water habitats in Pimachiowin Aki as well as tangible cultural features found mainly along major rivers in the area. At 29,000 square kilometers, Pimachiowin Aki is simply too large to ‘see’ from the ground. Each drone, and its pilot are giving us a close-up look at areas we want to know more about. 

“The project will enhance our understanding of Pimachiowin Aki and provide a baseline for monitoring,” says Pimachiowin Aki’s Executive Director. “Our monitoring program is part of how we fulfill our responsibilities as a UNESCO World Heritage site,” she adds.

Working with ECOSTEM will also allow us to bring all data we have ever collected into one place—a digital map of Pimachiowin Aki. People will be able to search the map for answers to questions like: Where do lake sturgeon spawn? What areas have been affected by wildfire? Where are the best places to find blueberries?

Drones are used to help map wildfire history, ecosystem health, and effects of climate change.

What exactly are we mapping?

Habitat Mapping  Cultural Feature Mapping
Land habitats such as forests and grasslands, wildlife habitats such as caribou calving areas Archaeological sites such as places where stone was collected to make tools
Water habitats such as rivers, wild rice, and wildlife habitat such as lake sturgeon spawning areasHarvesting sites such as hunting and fishing areas, traplines, and berry and medicine plant gathering areas
Parts that form each habitat such as plants, soil and rockCultural sites such as cabins, campsites and petroforms

Collecting Data from Soil to Sky

  • ECOSTEM collects vegetation, soil, and environmental data from plots
  • Aerial photo captured by a drone

Mapping is like taking inventory—in this case, identifying the location, number and kinds of habitats and cultural features in Pimachiowin Aki. ECOSTEM is taking inventory by going out on the land and water to collect samples and take photos and notes. The drones are capturing photos and video.

ECOSTEM Senior Ecologist Dr. James Ehnes says that the ECOSTEM drones collected “about 9,000 photos and 37 minutes of video” of Pimachiowin Aki this fall. “We had planned to capture considerably more photos and video but were unable to do so due to Covid restrictions, wildfire-related travel bans, loss of logistical support in communities that were evacuated, and extremely low water levels on rivers.”  

Once we have our complete ‘inventory,’ Pimachiowin Aki can track changes over time. This is where monitoring comes in.

Monitoring is like giving Pimachiowin Aki a regular checkup—we will compare new information with our original inventory to keep watch on Pimachiowin Aki’s natural and cultural health. This will help us make sense of any changes and predict and prepare for any threats.

Flying the drone from an island in Bloodvein River.

Project Q&A

We gained insights on the project through an interview with Dr. James Ehnes of ECOSTEM:

Your work with Pimachiowin Aki began in 2011 when you completed an ecosystem analysis to show how the area met UNESCO World Heritage criteria for outstanding universal value. What is different about the work  you are doing today?

The ‘feeling’ has changed from conducting an academic exercise to having the   opportunity to serve Pimachiowin Aki, its partner communities and local people. The work that we are now doing is focused on providing data, information, maps and other things that will support the continuation of Ji-ganawendamang Gidakiiminaan.

Pimachiowin Aki Guardians are the eyes and ears of Pimachiowin Aki. How does this project enhance their work?

Guardians can only cover a small area each year. The project immensely expands the area where information is obtained and can prioritize areas that we should go to get more information.

How are Pimachiowin Aki Guardians and Elders involved?  

Land use information from Guardians and Elders is extremely important  for cultural and natural features mapping, such as where are the best places to go to find certain plants and animals, where are notable culture features and sites located (e.g., petroforms, meeting areas, hunting areas, wild rice plantings,   controlled burns, spiritually significant areas). We hope that the information that is passed on will contribute to maintaining the memories of the people and communities.

One of two drones that ECOSTEM is using to collect photos and video in Pimachiowin Aki.

What will data you collect tell us about  Pimachiowin Aki now and over time?

Most fundamentally, it will tell us what vegetation, wetlands, landforms, waterways, etc. occur within Pimachiowin Aki at a much higher level of accuracy and detail than is available now. It will also:

  • Show a local person new places where they could to go to find things that   they want to gather or hunt  
  • Identify important habitats for species of high interest such as caribou, moose, and sturgeon
  • Aid in making reliable predictions about species that are important to local people or conservation
  • Contribute to safeguarding and recovering species of conservation concern within Pimachiowin Aki. Examples: data may result in expanded woodland caribou research and opportunities to research lake sturgeon
  • Detect and monitor the spread of invasive species
  • Show people how their traplines have been affected by wildfire
  • Identify areas that were burned more severely than usually happens—vegetation recovery may be limited, and it could be evidence that important, adverse climate change effects are happening in Pimachiowin Aki
  • Help us study how Pimachiowin Aki is responding to climate change
  • Show us areas that store the most carbon, areas that are most susceptible to releasing   greenhouse gases as the climate warms, and the best places to do climate research
  • Inform us if climate change is making fire effects worse, which has future consequences for what will be found on the land and in the water
  • Contribute to fulfilling UNESCO World Heritage monitoring requirements

How exactly do you collect information for the maps?

We collect information in two ways. We get information for the entire site from satellite imagery and information that has been created by others (e.g., elevations). We go out on the land and water in Pimachiowin Aki and take photos and notes. Sometimes we do this from planes and other times while boating or walking. While on the land, we collect plot samples and use drones to collect photos and video.

Flying the drone where the east side road meets Bloodvein River.

What is plot sampling and how is it done?

We collect habitat data in plots, sometimes with a community member and   sometimes on our own. For our work so far, this has been a 40 by 40 metre square plot. Within this plot, staff collect plant, vegetation, soils and environmental data. A botanist collects plant and vegetation data by walking through the plot and recording what they see. A soil specialist collects soil data by first digging a narrow hole about 50 cm deep, then using an auger to go down to about 100 cm and pull up material that is examined and used to describe soil conditions.

We try to leave no trace that we were there. When we’re done, we fill the hole and replace the surface ‘divot’ that was carefully removed before digging the hole.

Why has the drone collected more photos than videos?

We focused on photos because we expected that they would be more useful for creating the habitat map for the entire site. An advantage of photos is that they can be ‘stitched’ together to create an image that shows a much larger area. The stitched image from the drone is more magnified than Google Earth. We may lean more towards video when documenting cultural features along waterways or habitats for species that are especially important to local people.

How does  monitoring a habitat make it possible to reliably monitor a species?

A species’ habitat is the most important thing that determines how many individuals of that species can exist within Pimachiowin Aki, and where they are likely to be found.

Using moose as an example, areas that have burned in the past five to 15 years tend to provide considerably more moose food per hectare than other areas. If the proportion of Pimachiowin Aki area that has burned in the   past five to 15 years goes up, the number of moose can also increase.

Using sturgeon as an example, this species has very specialized conditions   for spawning. By mapping spawning conditions, we can identify areas   that should not be disturbed by human activities. We can also use the mapping to identify locations that are good candidates for restoring suitable  sturgeon spawning conditions.

See our infographic to learn more about how forest fires affect moose

Learn how to identify and protect lake sturgeon

  • Drone captured data
  • Bing satellite image

How close do the drones get to wildlife and people?

Manitoba wildlife regulations prohibit harassing wildlife, so we maintain the distance needed to avoid that, which varies with species and individuals. If we saw behaviours indicating an animal was being disturbed, we would quickly move further away. Our drones are very quiet and with the cameras we use, we don’t need to get close to an animal to see it in high detail.

We don’t intentionally get close enough to identify a person unless they have provided their consent. 

What excites you most about the project?

I’m very excited by the amount of detail that can be obtained with a drone. We can create 3D images of an area, which will be very impressive for things  such as depicting cultural or natural features on waterways.

When will the map be complete and where can I find it?

The map should be complete in 2023, following another field season in 2022.  ECOSTEM holds the data and information for the map in trust for the Pimachiowin Aki communities.  Because the map and derived products contain confidential information that belongs to the communities, they may only be used with the express and prior permission of the communities.

Photos: ECOSTEM

Species of Conservation Concern: Boreal Woodland Caribou

Across Canada, industrial activity and wildfires are changing forests and habitat for boreal woodland caribou. Pimachiowin Aki’s large stretch of intact boreal forest offers a rare haven for this majestic species—four groups of boreal woodland caribou live in the protected area, including one of Manitoba’s largest groups.

Boreal woodland caribou have been on the threatened species list in Manitoba since 2002. They were listed as a threatened species across Canada in 2003. 

How Pimachiowin Aki meets the needs of boreal woodland caribou

Caribou Biologist Dennis Brannen, Wildlife, Fisheries and Resource Enforcement Branch of Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development, explains that boreal woodland caribou thrive in Pimachiowin Aki, in part, because the vast landscape allows them to avoid predators. Boreal woodland caribou inhabit Pimachiowin Aki’s remote islands, peat bogs, and mature forest, which are typically not desirable for predators like wolves and species wolves prey upon, such as moose.

“Caribou exist in older mature forested areas where there is limited food types. Wolves have less reason to go into those areas because there’s less to feed them,” explains Dennis. Caribou are able to travel more easily in Pimachiowin Aki’s deep, persistent snow and wet peat bogs compared to wolves, he adds.

Pimachiowin Aki provides boreal woodland caribou with their preferred winter foods—lichens that grow on trees and the ground, typically found in spruce, pine and tamarack forests. 

The human–predator domino effect, explained

Predators are not the root threat to Canada’s populations of boreal woodland caribou. “The general decline that we are seeing essentially comes back to human-caused landscape change,” says Dennis. Pimachiowin Aki has limited roadways and is protected from commercial mining, logging and peat extraction. In contrast, human activity across the country “has pushed the [caribou] population to the edges and restricted them to broken up patches of forests,” says Dennis.

Pimachiowin Aki is free from the adverse effects of industrial development.

When forest is broken into segments, it creates multiple issues for boreal woodland caribou. Dennis explains the domino effect.

“When forests are disturbed through human activity or natural causes like wildfire, regrowth is initially dominated by leafy shrubs, herbs and grasses—that new generation of vegetation is a surplus of food that leads to more primary prey species for wolves, such as moose.” Wolves follow and ultimately prey upon caribou, too.

Developments such as roads and trails also pose a threat. Dennis describes these linear features as “highways for predators.” They allow wolves to get into areas that were once less accessible, pick up speed, and prey on boreal woodland caribou.

Industrial development creates open areas in the forest, making boreal woodland caribou more vulnerable to predation.

Wolves are not caribou’s only predators. Other species will prey on them “when an opportunity presents itself,” says Dennis. “Across the boreal forest, black bears will prey on boreal woodland caribou calves. Out west in the Rocky Mountains, cougars prey on caribou, especially younger caribou,” he adds.   

The climate change-predator domino effect, explained 

Boreal woodland caribou travel well in wetlands. “When you bring climate change into the scenario, those wetlands become dryer,” says Dennis. In dryer times, wolves can get into those areas more efficiently. “This has implications for predation on caribou as well.”

Caribou birth rates

Another factor contributing to Canada’s declining boreal woodland caribou populations is that caribou don’t have as many young as other wildlife.

“Moose, elk and deer often have twins,” says Dennis, noting that this is rare in the caribou world. “Caribou will only have one offspring per year, so you end up in a situation where more [caribou] are being removed than added to the population in many cases.”

Ghosts of the forest—Caribou sightings in Pimachiowin Aki

Pimachiowin Aki Guardian Dennis Keeper reports seeing few caribou in Little Grand Rapids First Nation. “Fifteen to 20 years ago, we used to see hundreds and hundreds of them while traveling winter roads.” That is no longer the case. “I saw 14 of them two springs ago—a group of females. You don’t even see tracks now.”

Dennis Brannen suspects that caribou have started to avoid busier areas, like the winter roads. “Caribou are known as shadows or ghosts of the forest. They’re a secretive animal, so they don’t always show themselves when they’re around that landscape. They just shy away from where people are.”

Living with wildfire in Pimachiowin Aki

“Caribou have learned to live with fire [in Pimachiowin Aki] through time,” says Dennis Brannen. Fire is an opportunity for land to renew itself and create new and future habitats. “It’s only when we start increasing the amount of human disturbance on the landscape in combination with fire that we start seeing negative impacts on caribou populations,” he says.   

But climate change could change that, warns Dennis. “With climate change, we potentially see an impact with the size of fires and frequency and intensity of those fires on landscapes. So, there are likely to be negative impacts to available habitat and population through time.”

Pimachiowin Aki is the largest protected area in the North American boreal shield. At more than 29,000 sq. km, it provides boreal woodland caribou with room to withstand the impact of fire-related habitat loss.

The future of boreal woodland caribou

Across Canada, people are combining western and Indigenous ways of knowing to protect boreal woodland caribou and their habitat.

“Our desire is to do a better job as we move forward to bring Indigenous knowledge into caribou conservation here in Manitoba,” Dennis shares.

Manitoba’s boreal woodland caribou recovery strategy sets out goals that align with Canada’s recovery strategy. A key goal is to manage and protect boreal woodland caribou habitat to sustain populations across the land. However, results will not happen quickly.

It’s a long-term process and we have to keep that in mind,” says Dennis. “We can’t just say, okay, we’re protecting undisturbed landscape and expect caribou to start doing well tomorrow. We need to look at opportunities and ways in which we can move disturbed habitat back into a state that is suitable for boreal woodland caribou use in the future.”

Research from across Canada indicates that when a habitat is disturbed by industry, for example, it takes roughly 60 years for that habitat to become useful to caribou again.

“We are constantly reviewing developments and proposals, and looking at how they may or may not impact caribou directly,” says Dennis.

There is hope for boreal woodland caribou. Last year, it was reported that the George River population (Labrador and Quebec) increased for the first time in 25 years. That area banned hunting of caribou in 2013. However, woodland caribou are not protected across the country. Their survival is tightly woven into the long-term health of boreal ecosystems, such as those of Pimachiowin Aki.

Anishinaabeg continue to provide wildlife, including threatened species like boreal woodland caribou, with healthy habitat. Here caribou will continue to feed in both winter and summer months and find safe spaces to calve and raise their young.

Fast Facts > Boreal Woodland Caribou

Photos: Hidehiro Otake, Doug Gilmore

Boreal Woodland Caribou: Fast Facts

  • Anishinaabeg in Pimachiowin Aki generally do not hunt boreal woodland caribou—they are smaller than moose and harder to find as they are always on the move  
  • Caribou hair is hollow, providing insulation in winter and buoyancy while swimming in summer
  • Boreal woodland caribou spread out to calve alone in remote areas, unlike barren ground caribou who calve in groups of females
  • Woodland caribou have a wide-ranging lifespan of eight to fifteen years
  • Caribou are the only deer species among which both males and females have antlers
  • Male antlers are broader and larger in size. Female antlers are generally shorter and slender and typically have only one point
  • Males shed their antlers in late winter and start re-growing them in spring
  • Females shed their antlers after calving
  • Caribou make a characteristic clicking sound when they move which is caused by  tendons slipping over bones in their feet
  • Boreal woodland caribou have crescent shaped hooves that are wide and long— ideal for swimming (they act as paddles), walking on top of snow (they’re like snowshoes) and traveling across soft ground like bogs
  • Boreal woodland caribou prefer winter foods—throughout winter, they use their sharp-edged hooves to uncover and feed on Pimachiowin Aki’s abundant ground lichens
  • In summer, boreal woodland caribou thrive on Pimachiowin Aki’s diverse plant species, including grasses, lichens, shrubs and sedges
  • Boreal woodland caribou have been on the threatened species list in Manitoba since 2002. They were listed as a threatened species across Canada in 2003  
  • Four groups of boreal woodland caribou live in Pimachiowin Aki

Historical Uses for Caribou

When thousands of caribou roamed, First Nation communities hunted them for a variety of reasons:

Clothing

“Some people use the hide for clothing,” explains Pimachiowin Aki Guardian Dennis Keeper. “It’s softer than moose hide.” Antlers are used to make buttons for clothes. Caribou hides were used for moccasins (makizinan). Caribou dew claws, adikwaganzhiig, were used in ceremonial regalia.

Drum-making

“Many years ago, the only reason we would hunt caribou would be for drum-making,” Dennis Keeper says. Caribou hide is thin and makes an excellent cover for a drum.

Tools

Antlers found in the forest are used to make scrapers, needles, and knife handles. Caribou bones are used to scrape off fat from beaver, otter and moose hides.

Learn more > Species of Conservation Concern: Boreal Woodland Caribou

Feature image: Bruce Bremner

How to Protect Pimachiowin Aki’s Prehistoric Giant

Lake sturgeon is the largest fish species in Pimachiowin Aki. An adult sturgeon can be 2.5 metres long and weigh up to 140 kilograms. Their ancestors date back millions of years.

Lake Sturgeon: Species of Conservation Concern

Today, this prehistoric giant is endangered. You can help protect lake sturgeon by recognizing its appearance and releasing it upon catch.

Who can legally fish lake sturgeon?

Only First Nations can harvest lake sturgeon in Manitoba. Lake sturgeon are protected in Manitoba and Ontario—both provinces ban sport and commercial fishing. Sport fishing is strictly catch and release. 

In Canada, consult provincial and territorial websites to find out where lake sturgeon is protected by law. In addition, consult your local anglers’ guide for current sport fishing regulations.

How to identify lake sturgeon

The appearance of this evolutionary ancient fish has remained relatively unchanged for 200 million years. Here’s what to look for:

Adult lake sturgeon

Photo: Creative Commons
  • Lake sturgeon vary in colour. Adults tend to appear olive-brown or slate grey with a white belly 
  • Lake sturgeon have a row of bony plates known as “scutes” on their sides and back 

Young lake sturgeon

Photo: Creative Commons
  • Young lake sturgeon often have black blotches on their sides, back, and snout to help them camouflage with the lake or river bottom 

Would you recognize a lake sturgeon if you caught one? Here is more identifying information.

Do lake sturgeon have teeth?

No, lake sturgeon have no teeth. They have barbels that dangle by the mouth. The barbels look like teeth but, in fact, are tube-like whiskers that help lake sturgeon detect bottom-dwelling prey such as snails, mussels, clams, crayfish, insect larvae and fish eggs. 

Identifying lake sturgeon by location

Lake sturgeon are found in rivers and lakes ranging from Alberta to the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, and from the southern Hudson Bay region to lower Mississippi and Alabama. While lake sturgeon prefer to spawn in fast-flowing water, they are more commonly found in murky water where they bottom feed.

Identifying lake sturgeon by behaviour 

Lake sturgeon have unique behaviours. The behaviours may be feeding strategies or just playfulness:

Tail walking
Lake sturgeon are known to stand above water on their tails and move backwards, especially in warmer weather.  

Jumping
You may see lake sturgeon jump out of the water and twirl around like a dolphin.  

Swimming upside down
Lake sturgeon have been seen swimming mouth up, on their backs, possibly to feed on insects on the surface of the water. 

Are all lake sturgeon populations endangered?

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) designates the following lake sturgeon populations at risk:

PopulationRangeStatusDefinition
Western Hudson Bay Saskatchewan, ManitobaEndangeredLives in the wild but faces imminent extinction or local extinction (extirpation)
Saskatchewan-Nelson River Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, OntarioEndangered
Great Lakes – Upper St. LawrenceOntario, QuebecThreatenedLives in the wild and is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address the factors that threaten the species
Southern Hudson Bay – James Bay   Manitoba, Ontario, QuebecSpecial concernLives in the wild and may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats

Why are lake sturgeon endangered?

Several conservation issues have threatened lake sturgeon over the years:

1. Over fishing

Lake sturgeon reproduce only once every four to six years, so it takes them a long time to increase in population. If people are overfishing, sturgeon can’t keep up. This is exactly what happened, starting in the mid 1800s. 

Mid 1800s

Caviar’s popularity was soaring. There was intense commercial fishing for female lake sturgeon and their eggs. Commercial fishers used nets to catch lake sturgeon as they swam toward spawning grounds.

Late 1800s

A lucrative commercial lake sturgeon fishery on Lake Winnipeg was developed under non-Indigenous control and largely for export to Europe. In the early days of this fishery, lake sturgeon was sold for its oil, not its meat. Lake sturgeon harvests were substantial. By 1891, overfishing became a serious threat to the species.

Early 1900s

Commercial fishing of lake sturgeon peaked. Over  445 tonnes of lake sturgeon were harvested in Lake Winnipeg, devastating the population. 

1930s and 1940s

As lake sturgeon populations declined in Lake Winnipeg, non-Indigenous commercial harvesting began to take place in parts of Pimachiowin Aki. Commercial harvesting of lake sturgeon was largely unregulated. It took place mainly in spring, during spawning time. This had a significant impact on lake sturgeon populations. The species was unable to withstand the level of harvesting being done.

2. Loss of habitat 

Migratory fish like lake sturgeon depend on the whole river, travelling long lengths of free-flowing water to reach shallow areas where they spawn. Climate change, poor water quality and construction of dams have all contributed to loss of habitat for lake sturgeon. 

Dams and other manmade obstructions on rivers disrupt water flow and can slow or block access to spawning areas—lake sturgeon are strong swimmers but dams can cause currents that make it difficult for them and other fish to swim upstream.  Dams can also contribute to changes in water temperature which affect reproductive success of lake sturgeon.

Climate change causes rising water temperatures, which in turn, decrease the quantity and quality of spawning areas.  

How does Pimachiowin Aki protect lake sturgeon? 

Pimachiowin Aki follows customary stewardship practices and Manitoba and Ontario laws. In addition to limited fishing, Pimachiowin Aki protects lake sturgeon by protecting its habitat from industrial development.

Pimachiowin Aki is a place where lake sturgeon can hide from predators, find food, grow to maturity, mate and spawn, and thrive. Food is plentiful, and waters are clean. 

Plus, Pimachiowin Aki has many undammed and free-flowing riffle and rapid habitats, which are critical spawning areas for lake sturgeon. 

Every plant and animal is a gift from the Creator and plays an important role in the ecosystem. In Pimachiowin Aki, we are monitoring the condition of habitat for species at risk, such as lake sturgeon. Lake sturgeon habitat is an important indicator of ecosystem health in Pimachiowin Aki.

Cultural significance of lake sturgeon

When we protect lake sturgeon, we are also protecting cultural heritage. Lake sturgeon provided a great source of protein for Indigenous families. A single sturgeon yielded twelve times more meat than most fish species. 

Indigenous peoples cleverly used every part of the fish:

Parts of lake sturgeonUse
MeatFood source – cooked or preserved (dried on racks, cured by the sun or smoked) 
Back boneUsed to make soup
Inner membrane of the swim bladderUsed as glue
Bones and cartilageShaped into needles
Tail bonesShaped into spearheads and arrows 
OilBurned in lamps, used to soften homespun wool, mixed with red ochre to create paint used for pictographs
lake sturgeon art by Mario Peters
Artist: Mario Peters

Sturgeon is also an important clan emblem in Pimachiowin Aki. In Ojibwe, the Sturgeon Clan and its totem are called Name (pronounced Nah-MAY).

How Name Inawemaaganag, the Sturgeon Clan, came to be 

A long time ago there was a couple. They were destitute. They had nothing but a baby boy. The couple was too hungry and weak to hunt. They decided to put their baby on a tree on the shoreline, hoping that someone would see the baby and help them. The couple changed into sturgeon. A group of people passed by and took the baby to raise as their own. Years later the child liked to play on the shoreline, near the water. One day he was sad and crying. Two big fish swam up to him. He knew they were his parents. Later in a shaking tent ceremony, the child learned that they were indeed his parents. This is how the Sturgeon Clan came to be.

Fast Facts

  • Lake sturgeon are the largest fish in Pimachiowin Aki  
  • Lake sturgeon never stop growing
  • Lake sturgeon are descendants of a prehistoric fish from the Upper Cretaceous Period over 100 million years ago
  • While lake sturgeon can yield anywhere from 100,000 to 1,000,000 eggs every time they mate, they only reproduce once every 4 to 6 years 
  • Females take up to 25 years before they reach maturity. Males cannot reproduce until they are 15 years old 
  • Lake sturgeon are omnivores—they eat both plants and animals
  • Lake sturgeon is the only strictly freshwater species of sturgeon found in Canadian waters

Largest lake sturgeon recorded

185kg, 4.6 meters long—found in Roseau River, Manitoba

More Fast Facts

Oldest lake sturgeon recorded

155 years old—found in Lake Huron

More Fast Facts

Feature Image: American Philosophical Society (Hallowell Collection)

Follow us for more information about Pimachiowin Aki:

Sources

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry.html
https://www.hydro.mb.ca/environment/wildlife_stewardship/fish/sturgeon/
https://www.ontario.ca/page/lake-sturgeon-species-risk
https://naturecanada.ca/news/sp-spot-lake-sturgeon/

How do dams affect fish population and biodiversity