Footnotes Newsletter - Spring 2009

Spring 2009

the newsletter of the foothills research institute

Sustainability reports posted Old-timer’s yarn is a great read

Neutral findings aid land managers

Updated results of ecological monitoring are starting to appear on the www.foothillsresearchinstitute.ca website.

Debbie Mucha, Local Level Indicators activity team coordinator with the research institute, says the reports indicate a very detailed level of monitoring geared to telling the world how the forest region is doing relative to six criteria of sustainability established by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers.

“Our team gathers and analyzes data that measure indicators of sustainability,” Mucha says. “It’s a huge task, but we have now posted reports on six indicators, and plan to release more by the time we are finished this summer.”

Jack Glenn and Ted Hammer, 1931

Indicators such as grizzly bear population numbers, or forest conversion rates, are posted without editorial comment. Mucha says the aim is simply to provide factual information that can then be used by government, industry and communities to make land management decisions.

“Our hope is that our partners will use these indicators and relate them back to their own management plans, or other policies and programs. It’s all about sustainable land management, and I have to say it’s been terrific to see so many partners come together and dedicate resources to such an important, but very time-consuming, project.”

The six reports currently available address forest conversion, adherence to soil conservation guidelines, timber harvest vs. annual allowable cut, livestock carrying capacity, occurrence and severity of wildfire, and decisionmaking processes.

The reports may be viewed on the Local Level Indicators Program page on the website www. foothillsresearchinstitute.ca.

Indicators offer way to monitor sustainability

For more information contact Debbie Mucha at debbie.mucha@gov.ab.ca.

Mountain Trails, the third book in a series about the history of the forests and communities of west central Alberta, has been published

by Foothills Research Institute and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

Bob Udell led the research institute’s project team. He says the book will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in history and the people working in forestry in the 1920-1945 era.

“This book contains the memories of Jack Glenn, one of the early rangers, and it’s full of great anecdotes and photos about people who lived a unique way of life, and about the challenges of a ranger on patrol across a largely untracked wilderness,” says Udell.

Order your copy of this attractive and readable book online at www.foothillsresearchinstitute.ca (click on “Shop.”)

Researchers are taking a very close look at the old seismic lines whose presence is believed to have a negative effect on caribou habitat.

Wayne Thorp is director of the Foothills Landscape Management Forum, which is looking at land-management solutions to the challenge of habitat restoration for the 80-strong Little Smoky caribou herd.

“Older seismic lines, unlike today’s low-impact lines, were five to eight metres in width, a size that may play a role in caribou disturbance by opening a pathway for animal predators and humans,” Thorp says. “The problem is, the lines are currently modeled in habitat analysis on the assumption they exist for 70 or 80 years without experiencing much change. If we want to intervene and restore some of these old lines to reduce the threat to caribou, however, we need to know which ones have already naturally recovered and which ones might need some intervention.”

Inventory focuses on threats to caribou

With 8,500 km of seismic lines and other lineal disturbances on the herd’s range, priorizing restoration is, well, a priority. And so Foothills Research Institute has worked with consultants and several Alberta-based funding agencies to test and prove an affordable way to assess the lineal disturbances.

“Earlier work has shown that we can use remote sensing (aerial photography) as a cost-effective and accurate way to show what level of vegetative recovery is taking place, as well as obtain line-of-sight and accessibility information,” Thorp explains.

“The second key dataset gives us information on the level of use on each line by game or prey animals, and by humans using either trucks or quads.”

The inventory project is the first in the province to take a look at natural recovery of seismic lines. It will provide solid information for future habitat modeling, research, operations planning and restoration work.

About half of the 300,000 ha study area should be mapped by July.

For more information contact Wayne Thorp at wthorp@telus.net.

Research will guide caribou habitat restoration

New courses extend valuable know-how

Foothills Research Institute continues to break new ground in helping real-world land managers put its growing body of research data and tools to practical use.

ENFORM, the educational arm serving Canada’s leading petroleum producer associations, is now adding a grizzly bear course to its calendar for managers in oil and gas, forestry, mining, municipalities and government.

Gord Stenhouse, leader of the institute’s Grizzly Bear Program, says the arrangement allows for a single standardized course that gives managers everything from “Grizzly Bear 101” to how to interpret the output of advanced habitat models.

The Stream Crossing Program, meanwhile, has teamed up with WOLF, the Woodland Operations Learning Foundation, to offer courses on how to use its stream crossing inspection manual. All levels of industry and government have a duty and a concern to manage crossings for ecological and safety reasons, and the recently-developed manual shows how to asses remediation needs and options. Best news – WOLF has obtained funding that allows the course to be offered free.

The research institute’s Natural Disturbance Program plans a course at Hinton Training Centre, October 5 to 8, aimed at land managers responsible for ensuring the impacts of human activity reflect the natural processes and disturbances that have created the forest landscapes we enjoy today. The course is offered on a costrecovery basis, and is available for presentation anywhere in the country.

For more information on these and other learning opportunities check out www.foothillsresearchinstitute.ca

Feeding the need for information

A new RSS feature coming soon to our website (foothillsresearchinstitute.ca) will help feed visitors’ appetite for the latest in land and resource management science.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, a convenient way to keep up with new content on a website when compared to traditional methods. It provides a simple way of ‘subscribing’ to a site and receiving automatic notification whenever new content is posted.

The aim is to syndicate all content from foothillsresearchinstitute.ca into one, easy and convenient feed that delivers up-to-the-minute notices of program updates, publications, news releases, event details, employment opportunities and podcast releases. Users also have

the ability to pick and choose from a menu of feeds, so the amount and type of content received can be tailored to your needs.

Many other enhancements are in the works for the website, with the most recent being the addition of a dynamic publication viewer. This allows the viewer to instantly open a publication in an interactive new format then download, share, or print right from inside the viewer. Combine this with a robust search feature and visitors have a tool that allows speedy access to whatever’s needed among the hundreds of publications currently available online.

Social networking fans can even share favourite publications on various sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook!

Water tests clear up a mystery

The Town of Hinton has a handle on some specific causes of stream sedimentation thanks to a Foothills Research Institute study.

Researcher Rich McCleary says a team that worked on some remediation projects for Hardisty Creek noticed that there was some significant sedimentation, or turbidity, during major storms. That’s a problem for local trout and mountain whitefish populations.

A $7,500 grant from the Alberta Stewardship Network funded a program of testing that checked sedimentation levels at 13 sites along five km of stream during wet weather. The result?

Some “hotspots” resulted from fine silt clay particles being washed into the stream from partly-developed building sites in town.

“The final report will give Town managers some data to guide implementation of erosion control measures in lands recently cleared for commercial properties, and it might also be useful when revising their development policies for future projects,” McCleary says.

Contact rich.mccleary@shaw.ca.

News and Events

New staff

Welcome to two new faces! Sean Kinney has joined the organization in the role of Communications and Extension Program Lead. His experience in tourism marketing, tourism development and municipal communications in west central Alberta will be a great asset to the institute. He’s an active outdoorsman and community volunteer, with a lot of enthusiasm for working for “an organization that’s as diverse and engaged as the Foothills Research Institute.” A growing list of projects within the research institute’s Natural Disturbance Program has led to the hiring of biologist/forest ecologist Chris Stockdale as Program Coordinator. He says the program, led

by Dave Andison, is one of the busiest and most productive in Canada, with at least 15 projects currently on the books.

AGM in Edmonton Foothills Research Institute will hold its Annual General Meeting in Edmonton, at the University of Alberta, on June 17, 2009. General Manager Tom Archibald says it’s an opportunity for members of the public to drop in and learn about the everexpanding catalogue of accomplishments in the science of sustainability. Research leaders will present the latest findings from several programs following a presentation by a guest speaker. For details go to www. foothillsresearchinstitute.ca.

Open House Join Foothills Research Institute for an open House on May 20, 2009, at the

Hinton Training Centre, any time from 1 to 7:30 p.m. The afternoon session is for youth, with school groups invited to come down and see what the researchers do through engaging and interactive displays. Later in the day is time for the general public, those who work in the forest, and the families of staff and stakeholders. Special presentations will feature the Grizzly Bear Program in the early afternoon and the Natural Disturbance Program in the early evening.

Media visit TV and print journalists from Brazil enjoyed a tour of the Foothills Research Institute area in March. Communications and Extension Coordinator Joan Simonton said the group, which was looking at “innovations in social progress,” showed particular interest in the institute’s aboriginal involvement and natural disturbance programs, and how research results are being incorporated into everyday land management in the region.

Signs updated Updated signage for the Natural Resources Interpretive Park in Hinton will be installed this spring. The park, which includes a self-guided trail and arboretum, is a legacy project coming out of Hinton’s designation as Forest Capital of Alberta in 2000. Main funding partners are West Fraser Mills Ltd., the Foothills Research Institute, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, the Town of Hinton and Teck Coal Ltd. - Cardinal River Operations.

New signage will update park’s messages

Box 6330 Hinton, Alberta Canada T7V 1X6 T: 780.865.8330 F: 780.865.8331 foothillsresearchinstitute.ca

The Foothills Research Institute core study area is located in west-central Alberta, and is based in the resource community of Hinton, some three hours west of Edmonton. It covers roughly 2.75 million hectares (27,500 square kilometres), and embodies Jasper National Park of Canada, Willmore Wilderness Park, William A. Switzer Provincial Park and the Forest Management Area of Hinton Wood Products, A division of West Fraser Mills Ltd. It also includes some provincial “crown forest management units” and the Hinton Training Centre’s Cache Percotte Training Forest. Within its boundaries are three forest areas – boreal, montane, and sub-alpine – and many forest uses including timber, petroleum, and coal extraction, tourism, and recreation.