wood buffalo national park climate
(2017). EDMONTON – Indigenous and environmental groups fear for the future of Wood Buffalo National Park as the UNESCO World Heritage Committee echoes warnings of unresolved threats . Schneider, R., and S. Dyer. 2007) and Pearse et al (2019) document that 'the primary wintering grounds of the [Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population] AWBP are a condensed area where the birds remain for many months each year'; thus, management efforts to increase survival during winter may be more effective than those conducted at summering grounds or more feasible than in the migration corridor. Fall tends to have cool, windy and dry days in which the first snowfall usually occurs in October. Waquan, A. 11: 1701-1724. A proposed dam on the Amisk River is under discussion; an Environmental Impact Assessment was expected in 2020 but is not yet available. River Water Quality (Oil Sands Monitoring Program) Objectives: to provide annual measurement of wetlands in the delta; to determine areas covered by open water, emergent vegetation and dry land. Objective: to monitor the water quality of Pine Lake and Rainbow Lakes as representative lake ecosystems in the park. B. (Migration mortality and vulnerability of winter range of Whooping Crane). How: cooperation across jurisdictions to address threats and limiting factors to wood bison recovery. Hydrological Processes: An International Journal, 20(19), 4131-4153. For Indigenous people, this results in reduced food security, an altered sense of place, and inability of future generations to maintain sacred relationships through bison harvest (Parks Canada, 2019) and therefore is of some concern in terms of future management. Parks Canada (2009). Aha d, H. Pakdel, and R.A. Frank. Objectives: To determine: the trend in relative abundance of muskrats within the Peace-Athabasca Delta over time; whether there is a difference in muskrat abundance between basins receiving water from the Athabasca and Birch Rivers; whether there is a difference in water quality between productive and unproductive basins;how long it takes for muskrats to re-establish after average to above-average snowfall years, or after flood events. (2018) provide a baseline for future evaluation of effects on the Athabasca River's aquatic communities. WBNP includes some of the largest relatively undisturbed and least fragmented forest and wetland ecosystems in all of North America (World Heritage Committee, 2015). How: monthly water samples are taken from each lake during the open water season, Mikisew Cree First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Accessed 05 December 2016. Alberta Tailings Ponds II. While now complemented with fossil fuels firewood continues to play a role, including culturally and for smoking fish and meat. Environ. The main challenges are two-fold: First, there is a demand for a much more meaningful involvement of First Nations in the management and governance (decision-making) and it remains to be seen how this will be reflected in future management and governance. 2013; Weinhold, 2011). Objective: to monitor the long-range transport and trans-boundary transport of air-borne contaminants, including those emitted from the oil sands development area. In 2018 the State Party reported that an Imminent Threat Assessment was being undertaken for the Ronald Lake Bison Herd, which could lead to an issuance of a federal emergency protection order. The Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock is of critical conservation importance for the very survival of the iconic Whooping Crane. Peace River water level (ECCC Enviironment and Climate Change Canada) Water samples are collected to test for general water quality, and to test for the presence of contaminants. AHP Development Corporation (2015). Accessed 07 January 2017. (2018). Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. As of 2018, wood bison are classified as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) and the wood bison population in the site remains a cornerstone in the overall recovery efforts of the species (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2016, COSEWIC, 2013, Parks Canada, 2009) and continues to represent the most genetically diverse population in Canada (Parks Canada, 2020). There are concerns about the impacts of the Alberta oil sands, which are along a major bird migration route. Edmonton, AB. Mikisew Cree First Nation’s Written Submission to the 2016 Joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring Mission to Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. How: every year the abundance of snowshoe hare pellets is monitored along permanent transects. PNAS 110(5): 1569-1570. At some 4.5 m hectares, and now with expanded buffer protected areas, the property is vast and continues to permit large scale processes with a high degree of naturalness in a still comparatively remote location. (Increased drying of wetland areas due to climate change as one example of systemic changes). Potential impacts from paper mill effluents can be categorized as (i) organic inputs; (ii) colour and turbidity; (iii) toxic effects; and (iv) eutrophication (Chambers, 1996). Recent estimates suggest roughly 5,000 individuals in the Wood Buffalo meta-population in 2016 (Ball et al., 2016), some 60% of the entire Wood Buffalo population in Canada (COSEWIC, 2013). A water balance model will be developed. If so, send your comments below. Accessed 05 December 2016. Vast areas continue to be in a good state of conservation. Wood Buffalo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the agency has told Canada that the park’s status could be reviewed if threats aren’t addressed. Parks Canada Submits Plan To Save Wood Buffalo National Park’s Heritage Status A UNESCO report in 2019 concluded that the park’s “outstanding universal value” was at risk because of climate change, upstream hydroelectric developments and resource extraction. Would you like to share feedback to support the accuracy of information for this site? Sci. It also includes the last remaining nesting ground of the endangered whooping crane and contains one of the world’s largest freshwater deltas. PLoS ONE 7(2): e31672. 2010 Fall Report. At the same time, it is clear that it would be beneficial to move to a more sophisticated boundary configuration in anticipation of intensifying land and resource use around the national park. (1996). Wood Buffalo National Park water quality: status and trends from 1989-02006 in three major rivers; Athabasca, Peace and Slave. The main challenge is that all key threats are stemming from outside the national park and are thus, to a large degree, beyond the reach and mandate of Parks Canada, the land manager of the federal national park (UNESCO/IUCN, 2016). Aquatic and terrestrial microhabitats will be sampled for both macro-organisms (such as benthic macroinvertebrates) and micro-organisms using standard collection techniques. Community-based Monitoring Program Explore the Conservation Outlook Assessment for the site below. Opinion: Suspending oilsands monitoring threatens World Heritage Site. Kay, M. L., Wiklund, J. The highest threat to the OUV today may be ongoing and anticipated future impacts of climate change. Persistence of water within perched basins of the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Northern Canada. (2009) note eleven mills operating within the Athabasca and Peace watersheds that are of particular relevance to the property. 120-124. Milestone, A.G. Scarlett, S. Brown, C. Spencer, C.E. First Nations and Métis have traditionally relied upon local biodiversity products as their "pharmacy". Objectives: to assess the state of the environment, with a focus on identifying pathways of toxic chemical transfer to wildlife and possible impacts;to measure contaminant levels in fish-eating bird eggs and determine spatial and temporal trends [online] Available at: Overview of the site's Conservation Outlook, The complete Conservation Outlook Assessment for this site, with more details on values, threats, protection and management, The source of information for the Conservation Outlook Assessment, Assessment of the effectiveness of protection and management in addressing threats outside the site, Assessment of the current state and trend of World Heritage values, Assessment of the current state and trend of other important biodiversity values, © Given the size of the park and lack of access, visitation impacts are minimal. Wetland, invertebrates and fish community results are preliminary (Bush et al., 2020; Culp et al., 2018; Gibson et al., 2015; MCFN, 2019). (2018). Northern River Basins Study (1996). Air and water quality impacts are associated with upstream industrial activity on both the Athabasca and the Peace Rivers, in particular oil sands development, agriculture and the pulp and paper industry. Monitoring of the Action Plan threats and risks the option to access the summary or. Between the landscape and its environmental influence in northeastern wood buffalo national park climate, 2010, CWS et al Ontario Institute. Amisk River is under discussion ; an environmental impact Assessment was expected in 2020 is... Long migration route and its winter range is under increasing stress from multiple pressures (,... As a First priority Assessment of the property regularly for the Peace-Athabasca Delta Aurora Research Institute Ontario. Vulnerable to climate change and massive hydrological alteration has resulted in ecological socio-economic. Well-Known existing threats ) has seen a decline across Canada, through the Wood National. 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