Forest Management
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park - Alberta, is some 20 000 hectares
(50 000 acres) in size with 11 700 hectares (29 900 acres) of forested
land and 8 000 hectares (19 800 acres) of fescue grasslands. Elkwater
Lake, Reesor Lake and Spruce Coulee Reservoir provide about 300 hectares
(740 acres) of water surface in the park. Water courses drain into the
South Saskatchewan River system and the Missouri River Basin.
There are some 265 private cottages, 10 government structures, five private
group camps and two private retail outlet in the Elkwater Townsite area.
It is estimated that realty property values exceed $40 million in Cypress
Hills Interprovincial Park - Alberta.
The Cypress Hills forest is dominated by lodgepole pine, most of which
developed after the fires of the late 1800s. One-hundred-and-twenty-year-old
lodgepole pine with 50 cm (19 inch) stump diameters and 23 metres (75
feet) in height are common throughout the southern half of the forested
area.
White spruce occurs in mixed and pure stands in the northern portions
of the park and in most of the creek bottoms. One of the largest white
spruce trees found to date measured 27.3 metres (89 feet) in height and
had a 104 cm (41 inch) stump diameter.
Aspen is found in pure and mixed stands in most
of the park while balsam poplar is almost exclusively confined to the
moister sites and lower elevations of the north escarpment.
Lodgepole pine, white spruce and aspen invade the grasslands with equal
distribution and tenacity.
Atropellis canker, Armillaria root rot, dwarf mistletoe, western gall
rust, and root collar weevil are among the agents contributing to damage
and mortality in the lodgepole pine stands. Mountain pine beetles,
at outbreak populations in the early to mid-1980s, are now at an endemic
level and are monitored by means of pheromone baits.
An expanding spruce beetle population has killed numerous large white
spruce over the past three years but losses have been mitigated by abundant
spruce regeneration. A recently discovered spruce budworm outbreak in
the lower Battle Creek valley is of more concern as understory trees have
been fatally attacked.
Aspen and balsam poplar are for the most part, self-propagating and
are of concern in the Elkwater Townsite and campgrounds only.
Over the years, various cutting systems have been used in different attempts
to achieve diversified forest management objectives.
The 1955 Forest Management Plan applied thinning and improvement cutting
in lodgepole pine stands for water conservation, recreation, wood products
and grazing.
Clear-cutting was and is used for recreation developments, the most recent
example is the Hidden Valley Ski Hill.
Sanitation-cutting and on-site burning was used between 1980 and 1986
to control the mountain pine beetle outbreak. During this period, 6091
infested trees were treated at a cost of $439 146.22. Nineteen pounds
of pine seed was gathered during this program for use in future management
operations.
Selective cutting was used in a fuel modification project adjacent to
the east end of the Elkwater Townsite. Trees were removed to eliminate
or reduce crown fire probabilities and to provide safe areas for attacking
or retreating fire crews.
Selective cutting is also used for hazardous tree management in the Elkwater
Townsite and park campgrounds. Between 1982 and 1996, more than 6300 hazardous
trees have been removed and the majority were salvaged for firewood.
In October 1987, a five-year pilot project based on clear cutting in
mature and overmature lodgepole pine stands was initiated. The primary
objective was to begin the process of establishing an age mosaic in the
park to achieve objectives stated in the Cypress Hills Provincial Park
Master Plan. "Active management will also be required to reverse or nullify
natural processes to retain the desired state."
Sixteen cut units ranging in size from 0.4 hectares (1 acre) to 6.7 hectares
(16 acres) were completed between October 1987 and March 1992. Silvicultural
treatment was completed on all units during the following summer. One
0.4 hectare (1 acre) cut unit was hand planted and the remaining 15 were
drag scarified. Regeneration surveys indicate stocking rates between 52%
and 86% on all cut units within two years of silvicultural treatment.
Three cut units have been completed in dwarf mistletoe-infested stands
but due to an absence of cones, silvicultural treatment combined drag
scarification with seeding and hand planting. Regeneration on these
units has been satisfactory.
A private operator was contracted for the pilot project operations; however,
all silvicultural and regeneration responsibilities remained with Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation . Dwarf mistletoe salvage cutting was done by parks staff and
the material was used for campground fuelwood.
With the exception of forest insect and disease programs, forest management
projects have been tabled pending reviews of the park master plan and
the five-year pilot project.
The 1995 Forest Cover map has been replaced with a 1992 photo-based Alberta
Vegetation Inventory Map.
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found in an arc following the foothills northward and sweeping across
the midsection of Alberta into central Saskatchewan. These productive
grasslands were home to 250 species of flora that grew in rich black soils
and where mother nature generously provided upwards of 500 mm (20 inches)
of precipitation per year. Several isolated pockets of this grassland
were also found in upland sites such as the Cypress Hills. European settlement
of Western Canada resulted in conversion of much of this ecosystem from
the native fescue to cereal grain crops. Today, less than 10% of the original
rough fescue grasslands survive in places, including the Interprovincial
Park.
