Parks Canada

Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) protects one of the last tracts of native fescue prairie habitat in the Parks Canada system. Native Fescue grasslands are an important element of biodiversity in the park, as well as an endangered ecosystem in Canada. It is not just aspen encroachment that is a...

Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis – listed as Endangered under the Species At Risk Act) and Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis- recommended as Endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) have undergone extensive population declines across much of their range due to a...

Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis – listed as Endangered under the Species At Risk Act) and Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis- recommended as Endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) have undergone extensive population declines across much of their range due to a...

Fire plays an important role in maintaining health of forests and grasslands, and maintains biodiversity by creating a mosaic of varying age structure. The fescue grasslands of the Foothills Parkland Ecoregion were historically maintained by fire, both from natural causes and by First Nations....

Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis – listed as Endangered under the Species At Risk Act) and Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis- recommended as Endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) have undergone extensive population declines across much of their range due to a...

Only 2.1% of the Foothills Parkland ecoregion is protected within any federal or provincial park in Canada. Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) is the only national park where this scenic and biologically diverse ecoregion is protected. The scarcity of fire and lack of bison grazing have...

Only 2.1% of the Foothills Parkland ecoregion is protected within any federal or provincial park in Canada. Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP) is the only national park where this scenic and biologically diverse ecoregion is protected. Scarcity of fire and lack of bison grazing have contributed...

Whitebark pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an introduced pathogen affecting whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis). Whitebark pine is an endangered species protected under the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and Limber pine is designated as an endangered...

Fire plays an important role in restoring health to our forests and maintains biodiversity by creating a mosaic of forest stands of varying age structure. Forests in the Montane and Subalpine ecoregions have become overgrown and dense. Fire history studies have suggested that fire use by First...

Fire plays an important role in maintaining health of forests and grasslands, and maintains biodiversity by creating a mosaic of varying age structure. The fescue grasslands of the Foothills Parkland Ecoregion were historically maintained by fire, both from natural causes and by First Nations....

Benthic macro-invertebrate diversity, stream hydrology, water chemistry, climate, geology, and landcover are collected at randomly selected sites using a standard protocol for the assessment of stream condition and are being monitored both at reference and impacted sites. The overall scope or aim...

Non-native plants have invaded most low-elevation habitats and physically disturbed sites in Waterton Lakes National Park (WLNP). Parks Canada devotes substantial resources annually to efforts to control or eradicate the most invasive and persistent non-native plants. A Non-native Plant Condition...

In Waterton Lakes National Park, grizzly bears are used as an umbrella species representing wildlife that are sensitive to human disturbance, whereas the status of secure habitat is used as a surrogate measure for assessing cumulative effects. The status of grizzly bear habitat is therefore...

Motion-detection cameras are a cost-effective and non-invasive tool used in Waterton Lakes National Park for sampling mammal populations and estimating species occurrence. Occupancy modelling, which uses detection/non-detection data from cameras, provides a useful and flexible framework for...

Freshwater fishes are some of the most imperiled taxa worldwide as evident by the number of threatened and endangered species. For example, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife (COSEWIC) in Canada has listed bull trout (BLTR, Saskatchewan - Nelson Rivers populations) as “threatened”...

Lakes and ponds are a significant aquatic feature in Waterton Lakes National Park. Due to the extreme topography, many of these water bodies were fishless prior to historic stocking. Historic stocking practices have highly altered fish communities. In many locations the presence of nonnative fish...

Long-term population data on birds can provide information on population trends, particularly for species of concern, but it can also provide information on ecosystem structure and function. Monitoring grassland birds is an effective method for assessing the condition of grassland ecosystems,...

Amphibians are vulnerable to an array of environmental changes because of their permeable skin, a complex life history, and a dependence on moist terrestrial or wetland habitats. These attributes make them excellent indicators of the health of aquatic ecosystems. Amphibians can indicate problems...

Birds are the most diverse of land vertebrates and are an important indicator of ecosystem health. Large protected areas, such as Waterton Lakes National Park, provide important habitat for a wide range of bird species. Data collected can provide a number of ecological indices; for example, used...

This program, led by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is part of a larger national program serving to describe spatial and temporal patterns in water quality on many major rivers in Canada. In Waterton, physical and chemical variables are measured at water quality sites located on...