Ribbons of smoke curl up from the forests that body the Trans Canada Freeway as drivers enter and exit Banff’s city website within the scenic Rocky Mountains of western Alberta.
There, Parks Canada crews labored arduous to take away the gas on the forest flooring and cover in Banff Nationwide Park.
“What this includes is pruning and thinning the forest in order that we are able to scale back the quantity of gas load when it comes to wildfire threat discount,” mentioned David Tavernini, Fireplace and Vegetation Specialist with Parks Canada.
“This helps us to handle wildfires safely and to guard the communities, folks and infrastructure,” he added.
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This season, about 34 hectares of forest are being cleared – the equal of about 48 Canadian-sized soccer fields.
Not solely are the forests in Banff Nationwide Park outdated and previous what is taken into account their pure hearth cycle, however mountain pine beetles are additionally wreaking havoc on the ecosystem.
“There’s been a long-standing query as as to whether these mountain pine beetle outbreaks truly result in greater occurrences of fires, but in addition better severity of fires — and a few preliminary findings present that they do,” mentioned Chris Bone, an affiliate professor on the College mentioned. of Victoria learning the impression of mountain pine beetle on wildfire threat.
Bone mentioned current findings in Alberta estimate that 2.4 million hectares of forest throughout the province have been affected.
In December, the Alberta authorities introduced a 94 % decline in mountain pine beetle populations in Jasper Nationwide Park since 2019, because of partial mitigation work and longer intervals of freezing climate.
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Whereas that was constructive, Bone mentioned it was certainly not the top of the issue. The province mentioned the specter of beetle resurgence nonetheless exists in some areas, together with the Bow Valley, Kananaskis and Crowsnest Go.
“These beetles are endemic, they exist within the forest and all it takes is warming temperatures to reappear and there should be stay bushes to assault,” Bone warned.
“You have got these two issues and you’ve got circumstances for beetle populations to undergo the roof.”
For the areas nonetheless in danger, Alberta’s mountain pine beetle administration plan is transferring into its subsequent section.
This implies partnering with native and indigenous contractors to regulate beetle exercise with focused single-tree chopping and burning, in addition to whole-tree felling and harvesting of whole areas of affected pine bushes as wanted.
Parks Canada mentioned the work it’s doing now won’t solely assist scale back the chance of wildfires, but in addition strengthen the forests in opposition to mountain pine beetle.
Two prescribed burns are additionally deliberate for later in 2023.
— With information from Scott Hayes, Jasper Fitzhugh
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