By Geoff Smith (@GeoffSmithLNN on Twitter)

Parks Canada exhibit updated in wake of Kenow fire

Nov 7, 2017 | 10:12 AM

LETHBRIDGE – An interactive exhibit coming to Lethbridge that spotlights the connections between wildlife and fire has been updated in the wake of the Kenow fire.

The Parks Canada exhibit called “What’s the Connection?” was already scheduled to run Nov. 8-Jan. 7 at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. The touring exhibit has also made stops at Science World in Vancouver and Telus World of Science in Edmonton.

“The whole exhibit, by good fortune, as we were planning it, is about the role of fire in our Rocky Mountain ecosystems, and the role it plays in renewing and restoring the forests,” explained Dianne Pachal, acting external relations manager and public outreach education officer for Waterton Lakes National Park. “It’s an opportune time to have the exhibit in Lethbridge.”

The exhibit has a specific focus on how fire affects whitebark pine and woodland caribou. The pine is an endangered species in Canada for two reasons, Pachal said. One is being crowded out by other, taller trees such as spruce and fir.

“Fire opens up that environment, gets more sunshine, you’ve got a great seed bed for the pine,” she said. Fire also halts the cycle of an introduced disease called white pine blister rust.

Week-in-review: Federal Budget, water agreements and success for tourism industry

Apr 20, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

Part of the interactive exhibit will explore how woodland caribou adapt to fire in the forest.

People who attend the exhibit will also see how Waterton was affected by the Kenow fire in September. A map shows the areas that were burned, while a slideshow will display the efforts that went into protecting park assets such as the townsite and Prince of Wales Hotel.

As the park recovers from the fire, Pachal said new fire-adapted species will appear quickly, including woodpeckers, mushrooms, and various berries. And wildfire has a long-term impact as well, over decades and centuries.

“If it’s in the forested area, trees adapted to growing in the sunshine grow again, such as our whitebark pine,” she said. “It become a mosaic, or a patchwork, of different forest types and ages which over the long term makes the whole forest more resilient to things like wildfire and disease through the forest.”

She said something similar will happen in the grassy areas that burned. Without fire, these areas in the foothills see encroachment from aspen, while the grasses themselves compete with flowering plants which will return and thrive in the ash-fertilized soil. 

var addthis_product = “wpp-5.0.6”;
var wp_product_version = “wpp-5.0.6”;
var wp_blog_version = “4.8.1”;
var addthis_plugin_info = {“cms_name”:”WordPress”,”cms_version”:”4.8.1″,”plugin_name”:”AddThis Sharing Buttons”,”plugin_version”:”5.0.6″,”plugin_mode”:”WordPress”};
if (typeof(addthis_config) == “undefined”) {
var addthis_config = {“ui_atversion”:300,”data_track_clickback”:true,”services_exclude”:”favorites,mailto”,”services_expanded”:”facebook,flipboard,google_plusone_share,linkedin,reddit,pinterest_share,tumblr,twitter,email,print”,”ignore_server_config”:true};
}
if (typeof(addthis_share) == “undefined”) {

}