RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND RARE PLANT MONITORING IN WILLMORE WILDERNESS PARK

Transcription

1 RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND RARE PLANT MONITORING IN WILLMORE WILDERNESS PARK Progress Report for Foothills Model Forest Project Leader Cam Lane Contributions by Michael Willoughby, Joyce Gould, Lorna Allen, Rene Bellend March 2001

2 Contributors: Mike Willoughby, M.Sc. Range Ecologist Land Administration Division, Sustainable Resource Development 9 th Floor Great Westlife Building th St. Edmonton, AB T5K 2M4 Joyce Gould, M.Sc., P. Biol. Botanist Parks and Protected Areas, Community Development 2nd Floor, Oxbridge Place Street Edmonton, AB T5K 2C6 Lorna Allen Ecologist Parks and Protected Areas, Community Development 2nd. Floor, Oxbridge St. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5K 2J6 phone , fax lorna.allen@gov.ab.ca René J. Belland, Ph.D. Director of Research/FSO Devonian Botanic Garden & Dept of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada. T6G 2E1 Cam Lane, M.Sc., P. Ag. Range Forester Alberta Forest Service, Sustainable Resource Development 9 th Floor South Petroleum Plaza St. Edmonton, AB T5k 2G8

3 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Methods 2.1 Rangeland reference area sites 2.2 Rare plant monitoring 2.3 Rare plant communities 3.0 Results 3.1 Rangeland reference area sites Northern rough fescue dominated communities Grazing effects_ Tufted hairgrass dominated communities Grazing effects Slender wheatgrass dominated community type White mountain avens community Willow-bog birch dominated community types Shrub encroachment Aspen dominated community types 3.2 Rare Plant Monitoring - Appendix B 3.3 Rare plant communities 4.0 Discussion and Management Implications 4.1 Rangeland classification 4.2 Rangeland succession and ecological site Northern rough fescue community types Tufted hairgrass dominated communities_ Slender wheatgrass and shrub communities Aspen dominated community types_ 4.3 Range health 4.4 Rare plant monitoring_ 4.5 Rare plant communities 5.0 Literature Cited List of Figures Figure1. Ordination and cluster analysis of the rangeland reference areas for Willmore Wilderness Park. Figure 2. Ordination and cluster analysis of all northern rough fescue dominated plots described in the Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980's and 1990's. Figure aerial photography of northern rough fescue - tufted hairgrass community at Eaglesnest pass. Figure aerial photography of northern rough fescue - tufted hairgrass community at Eaglesnest pass.

4 Figure northern rough fescue - tufted hairgrass community boundary overlayed on 1996 aerial photography. Figure 6. Foothills rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community southwest of Sundre, AB also shows a slow rate of shrub encroachment in the absence of fire and grazing over a 27-year period (Willoughby 2001). Figure 7. Tufted hairgrass-sedge at Ram River showing an 25% increase in shrub cover of over a 25-year period succeeding to a willow-sedge community (Willoughby 1998). Figure 8. Ordination and cluster analysis of the tufted hairgrass dominated sites in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980's and 1990's. Figure 9. Ordination and cluster analysis of slender wheatgrass dominated sites in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980's and 1990's. Figure 10. Ordination and cluster analysis of the shrub dominated sites in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980's and 1990's. Figure 11. State and transition model for the northern rough fescue dominated community types in the Willmore Wilderness Park. Figure 12. Landscape profile of plant community types across the Wildhay River valley at Eagles Nest cabin, Willmore Wilderness Park. Figure 13. State and transition model for the tufted hairgrass dominated community types in the Willmore Wilderness Park. Figure 14. State and transition model for the slender wheatgrass dominated community types in the Willmore Wilderness Park. Figure 15. State and transition model for the aspen dominated community types in Willmore Wilderness Park. List of Tables Table 1. Canopy cover of selected species in the northern rough fescue dominated community types of Willmore Wilderness Park outlined in Figure 1. Table 2. Species composition of the moderately grazed sites in the Thoreau Creek Valley. Table 3. Canopy cover (%) of selected species in the tufted hairgrass dominated community types outlined in Figure 8. Table 4. Canopy cover (%) of selected species for the community types outlined in Figure 9. Table 5. Canopy cover (%) of a white mountain avens community in the presence and absence of grazing in Willmore Wilderness Park. Table 6. Canopy cover (%) of selected species in the shrub dominated community types in Willmore Wilderness Park outlined in Figure 10. Table 7. Canopy cover (%) of the dominant species in the burned and unburned transects at Kvass Flats, Willmore Wilderness Park. Table 8. Preliminary plant community tracking list (Allen 2001) for Willmore Wilderness Park. List of Appendices Appendix A: Rangeland Reference Area Site Descriptions and photos for Willmore Wilderness Park. Appendix B: Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre Reconnaissance Rare Plant Survey for Willmore Wilderness Park and Northern JNP.

5 1.0 INTRODUCTION Willmore Wilderness Park is a 4597 square kilometre area in west central Alberta located adjacent to the north side of Jasper National Park and east of the British Columbia border. Established in 1959, it spans a broad transition zone from boreal forest to Rocky Mountains. Being a wilderness park, and managed under such legislation, the main use of the park is for recreation. Motorised vehicle use is prohibited within the park, however cross country skiers, hikers and back country horse users provide significant levels of traffic on the network of trails scattered throughout the park s valleys and mountain passes. The majority of use in the park each year is during the summer and fall months. The use on the rangelands comes in the form of recreational horse use, commercial guides and outfitters, offering backcountry trail riding, camping in the summer, and hunting in the fall. Willmore Wilderness Park is a poplar destination for many recreationalists. The increasing level of horse use in Willmore has created concern for the condition of native ranges found throughout the park. With most of the park being heavily forested, grazing opportunities are limited to the valley bottoms and moist, semi-open drainages. Trails throughout the park generally follow the more accessible valley bottoms. Traditional camping sites located along many trails are receiving heavier intensities of grazing pressure than they can presently sustain. As a result, change to the species composition and the productivity of these native ranges is occurring in some areas. The invasion of non-native species on heavily used areas and the retention of adequate supplies of winter forage for wildlife are also areas of concern. Recently, there has also been concern with the rate that native grasslands have been encroached by shrubs. This is a serious problem because most of the productive grasslands become inaccessible and less productive for both horses and wildlife. It is believed that the lack of fire within the Park has allowed shrubs to expand onto the remaining grassland community types. Bork (1994) completed a detailed classification of the rangeland resource in Willmore. It included lists of plant community types, major plant species, forage production and response to grazing pressure. At this time it was also recognised that long-term monitoring of these types was required to determine the following: range condition and trend, the effect of horse and wildlife grazing on biomass production, soils and watersheds, and to determine the successional changes on these rangelands in the presence and absence of grazing and fire disturbance. In 1998 a number of sites were established to examine the effects of shrub encroachment onto

6 grasslands, the effect of prescribed burning on shrub and tree cover and the effect of horse and wildlife grazing on grassland and shrubland vegetation. In 1999 rare plant occurrences and an inventory of noxious weeds in selected areas of Willmore were also examined (Lane et al. 2000). During the summer of 2000 the rangeland reference areas established in 1998 were monitored and the relationship of the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community at Eagles Nest, the tufted hairgrass-sedge community at Sunset Creek the slender wheatgrass community at Sulphur were compared to the 1984, 1985 and 1988 range inventory of these same community types (Bork 1994). Further reconnaissance rare plant surveys were expanded to include Hardscrabble, Rocky Pass, Jacknife Pass, and Mount Cote of Willmore Wilderness Park, and Azure Lake, Jasper National Park. As a result of these 2000 inventories the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass and the northern rough fescue-hairy wild rye plant community types were added to the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre Preliminary Plant Community Tracking List (Allen 2001) and are considered rare in Alberta. 2.0 METHODS 2.1 Rangeland reference area sites The transects established in Willmore are part of the Alberta Environment s permanent rangeland reference area program. The rangeland reference area program administered by the Land and Forest Service was established by the Eastern Rockies Forest Conservation Board to assess range condition and monitor trend on rangelands within the boundaries of the Rocky Mountain Forest Reserve (RMFR). To date fifty-nine reference areas have been established throughout the foothills of Alberta extending from south of Blairmore to Willmore Park. These areas include permanently marked grazed and ungrazed transects. Species composition data has been recorded on these transects since 1953 when many of the sites were established. Recently, the data of many of these sites has been analyzed in order to determine the successional pathways in the presence and absence of grazing. This long-term data used in conjunction with a detailed ecological classification of the range community types will help to determine the health of the forested rangelands in the province. All Willmore rangeland reference area transects are 30 m long and each transect were read every two metres. Forbs, grass, moss and lichen canopy cover was recorded in a 20x50-cm quadrat and canopy cover of shrubs was recorded in a 1-m2 quadrat. At each transect one to five 50x100 cm quadrats were clipped, separated into trees, shrubs, forbs and graminoids, oven dried and weighed. The recommended stocking rate is based on 50% of the total production and the fact one-horse unit requires 682 kg of dry weight material for one month of grazing. A combination of both ordination (DECORANA) (Gauch 1982) and cluster analysis (SAS) were used to group the inside and outside transects of different years. These techniques combine the sites based on the similarity of species composition. The groupings from cluster analysis are overlain on the site ordination. All of the permanently marked transects in Willmore were classified and compared to the original rangeland classification of Bork s (1994) in an effort to examine how representative these sites were of the Willmore rangelands. The original transects done in the Rough fescue-tufted hairgrass, Tufted hairgrass-sedge, Slender wheatgrass and shrub dominated community types in 1984, 1985 and 1988 were also compared with the rangeland reference areas at

7 Eagles Nest and Sunset Creek in order to develop successional models for these community types in Willmore. 2.2 Rare plant monitoring Reconnaissance surveys for rare plants were conducted for Willmore Wilderness Park and adjoining northern Jasper National Park August 4-6 and 24, Sites were accessed by helicopter with approximately 2-4 hours spent at each site and attempts were made to visit sites of various lithologies. The focus of the survey was on alpine areas since these are most easily accessed by helicopter. Surveys of more accessible areas can be done at a later date. Attempts were made to visit selected areas where rare plants had been noted previously (as determined by a search of the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre (ANHIC) databases) however, most of the effort was directed toward areas that had not been surveyed in the past. As many habitats as possible were surveyed for rare plants during each stop and a verbal description of habitat and population size was taken for each rare plant noted. Rare plants are those listed on the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre Plant Species of Special Concern, February 1999 (Gould 1999). Locations of rare species were noted with the Garmin 45 hand held GPS unit and photographs of rare plants and/or their habitats were taken where possible. Voucher specimens were collected for many taxa to confirm identification against annotated material at the University of Alberta herbarium and/or to document a new occurrence for Willmore Wilderness Park or Jasper National Park. These specimens will be deposited in the University of Alberta herbarium. Joyce Gould conducted the surveys on August 4-6 and 24 and Dr. Peter Achuff, Jasper National Park assisted on August 6 and 24. Dr. René Belland, Devonian Botanic Garden, University of Alberta joined the party on August 24 to search for rare bryophytes. All occurrences of rare plants were entered into the ANHIC databases. The tracking lists for rare species were updated in November and December 2000 and species that had been noted for Willmore Wilderness Park and/or Jasper National Park that are now included on this list were included in this report. 2.3 Rare plant communities A preliminary tracking list for plant communities that are rare in Alberta is being developed through reference review, discussions with knowledgeable individuals and field studies. Natural communities that have been described as limited in extent have been considered for inclusion on this list. Verification of the composition and location of some occurrences of communities on the tracking list was carried out as part of the fieldwork done to document the composition of the rangeland reference points. Communities identified through the cluster and ordination analysis as detailed in section 2.1, above, will be reviewed for possible additions to the preliminary tracking list for rare plant communities. 3.0 RESULTS 3.1 Rangeland reference area sites

8 Axis 2 The classification of the various reference area sites in Willmore is outlined in Figure 1. Willmore reference areas KVAUNB Aspen/Rose/Hairy wildrye Tufted hairgrass/sedge Rough fescue-tufted hairgrass SUN98 SUN00 EN00 EN98 EN99 KVA00I SUL00O SUL00I SUL98I SUL98O Rose/Hairy wildrye KVA98I KVA98O KVA00O Slender wheatgrass-sedge White Mountain Avens HAY98O HAY98I MONA90 MONA98 MONA91 MLFS00 MLFS98 Willow-Bog birch/hairy wildrye-bog sedge Axis 1 Figure 1. Ordination and cluster analysis of the rangeland reference areas for Willmore Wilderness Park. The rangeland reference areas in Willmore represent six different community types. These include one burned Aspen forest, four grassland and one shrub dominated community type. The grassland communities include the white mountain avens community on Hayden ridge (HAY), the slender wheatgrass community at Sulphur (SUL), the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community at Eagles Nest cabin (EN) and the tufted hairgrass-sedge community at Sunset Creek (SUN). The one shrub dominated plot at Monaghan flats (MON, MLF) represents a willow-bog birch/hairy wildryebog sedge community type and the burned aspen forest at Kvass flats (KVA) represents a rose/hairy wildrye dominated community type. These community types will be compared to the original rangeland classification of Willmore by Bork (1994) Northern rough fescue dominated communities Bork (1994) described five rough fescue dominated communities in his original classification. These included the northern rough fescue/globeflower, northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye, northern rough fescue, northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass and northern rough fescue-sedge dominated community types. Bork s original data was combined with the reference area data from Eagles Nest cabin (EN) and reclassified. The results of this classification are outlined in Figure 2.

9 Axis 2 (15%) PERSIM2 northern rough fescue-hairy wildryecalifornia oatgrass IT1'88 NBERLA3 SR2'84 TC1'88 PERSIM1 SNOWCR3 SNOWCR2 EN2'88 RC1'88 MUSK1 northern rough fescue/globeflower EN98 EN00 TC3'88 EN99 ENC1'84 northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass WR1'88 Axis 1 (47%) Figure 2. Ordination and cluster analysis of all northern rough fescue dominated plots described in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980 s and 1990 s. This classification reduced the number of northern rough fescue dominated plots in Bork s classification from five to three. The three types included the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass, northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye-california oatgrass and northern rough fescue/globeflower. It would appear that the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye, northern rough fescue-sedge and northern rough fescue dominated types described by Bork (1994) are well represented by the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye-california oatgrass community type. The ordination also indicates that the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye-california oatgrass and the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass dominated communities are very similar. Table 1 indicates that there is an overlap in species composition of these two community types and that the only real difference is the amount of tufted hairgrass found in each type. The northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community has on average 24% cover of tufted hairgrass compared to the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye dominated community type, which has only 4% cover. The northern rough fescue/globeflower community is very distinct from the other northern rough fescue dominated communities (Figure 1). This community type was described at an elevation of over 1800-m along the Snow Creek trail. This community type is dominated by northern rough fescue and forb species characteristic of the upper Subalpine (globeflower, alpine speedwell) (Table 1).

10 Table 1. Canopy cover of selected species in the northern rough fescue dominated community types of Willmore Wilderness Park outlined in Figure 1. n. rough fescuen. rough fescue- hairy wildrye- n. rough fescue/ Species tufted hairgrass C. oatgrass globeflower Shrubs willow spp shrubby cinquefoil Forbs bearberry strawberry monkshood small flowered penstemon tall lungwort smooth leaved cinquefoil veiny meadow rue globeflower alpine speedwell Graminoids n. rough fescue tufted hairgrass slender wheatgrass alpine timothy hairy wildrye sedge spp California oatgrass small flowered wood rush Forage production (kg/ha) Rangeland Reference Area production 2 Production from Bork (1994) Preliminary inventory work done on the near Eagles Nest cabin along the Wildhay River and Thoreau Creek valleys in 2000 described a number of northern rough fescue dominated grasslands. Aerial photography from 1951 and 1996 of a northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass grassland (Figure 3,4, and 5) indicate that there has been little shrub invasion onto these northern rough fescue dominated grasslands. The comparison showed a 0.6-hectare decrease in the grassland due to willow-bog birch encroachment over 44 years. This indicates an 18% increase in shrub composition over this timeframe. A similar response has been shown south-west of Sundre,AB at the Harold Creek rangeland reference area, with little shrub encroachment occurring on a foothills rough fescue

11 - tufted hairgrass community with 27 years of protection from grazing of fire (figure 6) (Willoughby 2001). This rate of shrub encroachment appear to be much slower compared with other grassland communities within the Upper Foothills or Subalpine Natural Subregions where shrub encroachment is a dominant trend overtime, i.e. tufted hairgrass-sedge (figure 7) (Willoughby 1998). Fire incident maps from the Willmore Wilderness Park (Land and Forest Service 1997) indicate there is no documentation of these valleys effected by wildfire, although records only exist since Therefore, it would appear that the maintenance of these northern rough fescue dominant community types in Willmore are not fire dependent, whereas other communities, i.e. tufted hairgrass dominated communities show a more distinct trend towards a shrub climax community and therefore are more fire dependent Grazing effects Bork (1994), felt that overgrazing of these rough fescue dominated communities led to a decline in northern rough fescue cover and allowed sedge and slender wheatgrass to increase to form a slender wheatgrass-sedge dominated community type. Indeed a number of moderately grazed sites described in the Thoreau Creek valley were dominated by sedge, hairy wildrye and slender wheatgrass (Table 2). It is likely that the grazed sites in the Thoreau Creek valley are representative of the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye dominated community. Willoughby (2001) has found that increased grazing pressure on a northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community causes a decline in northern rough fescue with an initial increase in tufted hairgrass and sedge cover. At the Thoreau Creek site there was no tufted hairgrass described in the transect. Continued heavy grazing pressure eventually leads to a decline in all native species and the site is often dominated by Kentucky bluegrass, dandelion and clover. Bork did describe some Kentucky bluegrass dominated communities in Willmore, but it is not clear if these community types were once northern rough fescue or tufted hairgrass dominated.

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13 Figure 6. Foothills rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community south-west of Sundre, AB also shows a slow rate of shrub encroachment in the absence of fire and grazing over a 27 year period (Willoughby 2001) Figure 7. Tufted hairgrass-sedge at Ram River showing an increase in shrub cover of 25% over a 25 year period succeeding to a willow/sedge community (Willoughby 1998).

14 Table 2. Species composition of the moderately grazed sites in the Thoreau Creek valley. Species Cover(%) Forbs fireweed 27 veiny meadow rue 21 common yarrow 9 strawberry 8 mountain valerian 8 monkshood 1 Graminoids sedge spp 50 hairy wildrye 31 slender wheatgrass 5 n. rough fescue 19 alpine timothy 9 Forage production (kg/ha) Production from Bork (1994) Tufted hairgrass dominated communities Bork (1994) described two tufted hairgrass dominated communities in his original classification. These included the tufted hairgrass-slender wheatgrass and tufted hairgrass-wetland sedges dominated community types. Bork s original data was combined with the reference area data from Sunset Creek (SUN) and reclassified. The results of this classification are outlined in Figure 8. Bork s split of the tufted hairgrass dominated communities were based on moisture. It was inferred that the tufted hairgrass-slender wheatgrass dominated community was drier than the tufted hairgrass-wetland sedge community type. In this classification a gradient of moisture regime was not evident, but there was a distinct difference in the higher elevation tufted hairgrass dominated community described at Snow Creek (tufted hairgrass/forb) and the other tufted hairgrass dominated sites (tufted hairgrass-sedge). Two plots were loosely connected to the tufted hairgrass-sedge dominated group (EN3 88, MH2 85). These plots had fairly high covers of northern rough fescue (15%) and appear to represent the transition to the drier northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass dominated community type.

15 Axis 2 (15%) MH2'85 ADAMCR1 ADAMCR3 WALT2 SUN00 CC1'84 SUN98 SUNCRK4 SUNCRK1 BERMEAD EN1'88 EN4'88 SNOWCR1 NBERLA2 tufted hairgrass/ forb SBERLA1 WR2'88 tufted hairgrass-sedge EN3'88 Axis 1(45%) Figure 8. Ordination and cluster analysis of the tufted hairgrass dominated sites in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980 s and 1990 s. Table 3 outlines the canopy cover of the dominant species in the two tufted hairgrass dominated community types. The tufted hairgrass/forb dominated community was described in the Snow Creek area at over 1800 m. This community is dominated by forb species characteristic of the upper subalpine (alpine speedwell, northern valerian, monkshood, alpine bistort). This community type also had a high cover of lapland reedgrass a species characteristic of alpine ridges. In contrast the tufted hairgrass-sedge dominated community is characterized by forb and grass species of lower altitudes in the subalpine. These include veiny meadow rue, strawberry, tall lungwort, northern rough fescue, California oatgrass and slender wheatgrass.

16 Table 3. Canopy cover (%) of selected species in the tufted hairgrass dominated community types outlined in Figure 8. tufted hairgrass tufted hairgrass/ Species -sedge forb Shrubs willow spp 1 - Forbs monkshood 2 15 alpine bistort - 15 northern valerian 1 15 alpine speedwell 1 15 veiny meadow rue 9 - strawberry 5 - small flowered penstemon 3 - tall lungwort 3 - Graminoids tufted hairgrass lapland reedgrass - 38 graceful sedge small flowered wood rush - 5 slender wheatgrass 11 - n. rough fescue 3 - California oatgrass 5 - Forage production (kg/ha) Rangeland Reference Area production 2 Production from Bork (1994) Grazing effects Bork (1994), felt that overgrazing of these tufted hairgrass dominated communities led to a decline in tufted hairgrass cover and allowed sedge and slender wheatgrass to increase to form a slender wheatgrass-sedge dominated community type. However, Willoughby (1998) has found that increased grazing pressure on a tufted hairgrass community generally causes a decline in sedge and slender wheatgrass before there is a decline in tufted hairgrass cover. Willoughby also found that continued heavy grazing pressure on a tufted hairgrass community eventually leads to a decline in all native species and the site is often dominated by Kentucky bluegrass, dandelion and clover. Bork did describe some Kentucky bluegrass dominated communities in Willmore, but it is not clear if these community types were once rough fescue or tufted hairgrass dominated prior to disturbance Slender wheatgrass dominated community types

17 Axis 2 (11%) Bork (1994) described two slender wheatgrass dominated communities in his original classification. These included the slender wheatgrass-sedge and slender wheatgrass dominated community types. Bork s original data was combined with the reference area data from Sulphur River (SUL) and reclassified. The results of this classification are outlined in Figure 9. MH1'87 slender wheatgrasssedge CL1'84 SUL98I SUL00I SK7'84 LA1'85 SK1'85 SUL98O SUL00O MUSK2 SUNCRK5 ML1'85 slender wheatgrass TC2'88 MC1'87 Axis 1(55%) Figure 9. Ordination and cluster analysis of slender wheatgrass dominated sites described in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980 s and 1990 s. This classification distinguished the same community types that Bork classified. Bork felt the slender wheatgrass-sedge dominated community developed from grazing a modal tufted hairgrass or northern rough fescue dominated community type. Indeed there was both tufted hairgrass and northern rough fescue found at the sites described within this community type (Table 4). In contrast Bork was unsure of the ecology of the slender wheatgrass dominated community. This community type has little cover of sedge and the forbs and grass species described on this community type tend to prefer drier site conditions (bearberry, cut leaved anemone, showy locoweed, Rocky Mountain fescue, hairy wildrye). The Sulphur River reference area is representative of this community type. This site is located on the gravel deposits adjacent to the Sulphur River. The site is rapidly drained and has little soil development. It would appear that this slender wheatgrass community type maybe representative of well drained fluvial, gravely sites throughout Willmore. Table 4. Canopy cover (%) of selected species for the community types outlined in Figure 9.

18 slender wheatgrass slender Species -sedge wheatgrass Shrubs willow spp 1 1 Forbs strawberry 19 9 yarrow 8 3 tall lungwort 4 T veiny meadow rue 16 T small flowered penstemon 5 3 fireweed 4 T bearberry - 2 dandelion 2 3 monkshood 2 - cut leaved anemone - 4 showy locoweed - 2 Graminoids tufted hairgrass 4 - spiked trisetum 3 1 sedge 27 3 hairy wildrye 8 7 slender wheatgrass n. rough fescue 4 - California oatgrass 4 - Rocky Mountain fescue 2 6 Kentucky bluegrass 5 2 Forage production (kg/ha) Rangeland Reference Area production 2 Production from Bork (1994)

19 3.1.4 White Mountain Avens community Bork s classification was limited to the valley bottoms throughout Willmore. Consequently, Bork did not describe this community type in his original classification. These white mountain aven communities are found on the windswept ridges of the upper Subalpine subregion. They are extensively utilised by bighorn sheep during the winter months because they remain snow free. This site is represented by a wildlife exclosure, which was established in the 1970 s. Transect readings from both inside and outside the exclosure indicate only slight differences between the grazed and ungrazed transects (Table 5). The outside transect has a larger number of species which one would expect in a grazed situation (Willoughby 1995). The inside transect has a lower number of species and evidence of low growing woody species (willow, bilberry) which are not found on the outside transect. The increase in woody species inside the exclosure maybe the result of increased moisture and not the result of being ungrazed by wildlife. Exclosures in Southern Alberta tend to be moister in the absence of grazing because the increased litter inside the exclosure tends to catch more snow. Table 5. Species canopy cover of a white mountain avens community in the presence and absence of grazing in Willmore Wilderness Park. Species Ungrazed Grazed Grasses bog sedge 6 1 hairy wildrye 6 9 northern rough fescue T T Forbs white mountain avens alpine hedysarum 2 T alpine bistort 4 3 white camas 1 1 Shrubs dwarf bilberry T - rock willow T - Lichens reindeer lichen dog lichen - 2 Species richness Forage production (kg/ha) n/a Rangeland Reference Area production

20 Axis 2 (6%) Willow-bog birch dominated community types Bork (1994) described six shrub dominated communities in his original classification. These included the willow/arctic sage/alpine bluegrass, willow/northern rough fescue, willow/california oatgrass, willow/wheatgrass-sedge, willow/tufted hairgrass-wheatgrass and willow-bog birch/wetland sedges. Bork s original data was combined with the reference area data from Monaghan flats (MON,MLFS) and reclassified. The results of this classification are outlined in Figure 10. SK2'84 willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass NDC2'84 SUNCRK2 willow/water sedge MONA90 MONA91MLFS00 MLFS98 MONA98 willow/california oatgrass CC284 WH484 SK3'84 SK1'84 CL2'84 NBERLA1 SUNCRK6 SK6'84 SK4'84 SC2'85 MO2'84 SK8'84 ADAMCR2 Axis 1 (81%) Figure 10. Ordination and cluster analysis of the shrub dominated plots described in Willmore Wilderness Park in the 1980 s and 1990 s.

21 Both the willow/arctic sage/alpine bluegrass-mountain timothy and willow/northern rough fescue communities were described by Land Information Services Division. These community types were not included in this analysis. Of the four remaining shrub dominated community types described by Bork only three were identified in this classification. These included the willow/california oatgrass, the willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass and willow/water sedge communities. These community types are similar to Bork s community type classification, but Bork also identified a willow/tufted hairgrass-slender wheatgrass community type. This community type was not evident in this classification and the plots with significant tufted hairgrass cover were included in the willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass community type. Table 6 outlines the species composition of the various shrub dominated communities described in Willmore. The willow/california oatgrass community is dominated by California oatgrass and bog sedge in the understory. The willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass community is dominated by slender wheatgrass, sedge, strawberry and veiny meadow rue. On moister sites tufted hairgrass is found in this community type. This community appears to be the most extensive shrub dominated community in Willmore. It tends to occupy well drained sites within the valley bottoms throughout Willmore. It appears that there is some moisture at depth, which favours the growth of willow and bog birch. The other willow dominated community represents willow invasion onto wet sedge meadows. These sites are very moist, poorly drained and are dominated by water sedge in the understory (Table 6). Table 6. Canopy cover of selected species in the shrub dominated community types of Willmore Wilderness Park outlined in Figure 10. willow/ willow-bog willow/ California birch/slender water Species oatgrass wheatgrass sedge Shrubs willow spp bog birch Forbs strawberry fireweed small flowered penstemon veiny meadow rue yarrow tall lungwort T 5 - alpine bistort T 3 - dewberry T 3 - Graminoids water sedge alpine bluegrass - T 2 California oatgrass 19 T -

22 slender wheatgrass graceful sedge bog sedge tufted hairgrass T 9 - Forage production (kg/ha) (Forbs and Grass) Rangeland Reference Area production 2 Production from Bork (1994) Shrub encroachment The shrub dominated communities in Willmore are well adapted to fire. A willow/california oatgrass dominated site was burned in Shrub cover on the site was reduced from 54% to 12% and production of forbs and grass increased from 378 kg/ha to 1423 kg/ha the year after the burn (Lane et al. 2000). However, after 10 years of no disturbance shrub cover had increased and forage production had declined to preburn levels Aspen dominated community types Bork (1994) described one dominated aspen type in Willmore (aspen-white spruce/buffaloberry/hairy wildrye). This type is not common in Willmore and is restricted to south facing slopes along the Smoky, Sulphur and Sheep rivers at lower altitudes. It is believed that the lack of fire within the park has allowed aspen to expand onto many of the south facing grassland communities. In 1987 a prescribed burn was done in these aspen communities in an effort to increase the forage supply and remove 80-90% of the willow and aspen growth. The rangeland reference area at Kvass flats (KVA) (Figure 1) represents one of these burned aspen communities. The burned transects represents a community that is dominated by rose, hairy wildrye and various forb species (Table 7). In contrast the unburned transects (KVAUNB) (Figure 1) represents an aspen/rose/hairy wildrye dominated community type. Species richness, diversity and forage production are much lower on the unburned site compared to the burned site (Table 7). Table 7 also outlines the change in canopy cover of selected species. The fires have had a dramatic effect on aspen. Reducing the cover of aspen from 55 to 1%. There also was a dramatic increase in hairy wildrye cover from 12 to 32% and sedge cover to 6%. Lindley aster and strawberry increased under burning, whereas, shrub cover was hardly affected remaining relatively uniform between the two treatments (Table 7). The increase in cover of grass and forbs from the unburned to burned site resulted in an increase in forage production from 1000 kg/ha to over 1600 kg/ha.

23 Table 7. Canopy cover (%) of the dominant species in the burned and unburned transects at Kvass Flats, Willmore Wilderness Park. Species Burned Unburned Trees aspen 1 55 white spruce 0 7 Shrubs prickly rose 8 6 snowberry 3 3 buffaloberry 0 2 Forbs lindley s aster 9 1 showy aster 3 8 strawberry 6 1 fireweed 1 0 peavine 1 4 Graminoids hairy wildrye slender wheatgrass 1 4 sedge 6 T Kentucky bluegrass 3 0 Species richness Species diversity Forage Production (kg/ha) Rare plant monitoring - refer to Appendix B. 3.3 Rare Plant Communities Northern rough fescue (Festuca altaica) is a rare species in Alberta, so logically the plant communities that it dominates are also rare. The northern rough fescue / hairy wild rye and the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass communities are on the current preliminary plant community tracking list (Allen 2000). The fieldwork and subsequent cluster and ordination analysis confirm that these as valid community types. In addition, the analysis suggests that another rare plant community dominated by northern rough fescue, northern rough fescue/globeflower may also be present, but further fieldwork is needed to verify its validity as a community type. This will be considered for addition to the Preliminary Plant Community Tracking List in The list is reviewed and updated annually.

24 4.0 DISCUSSION AND MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS 4.1 Rangeland classification Bork s (1994) classification identified 16 grass and six shrub dominated community types in the valley bottoms of Willmore Wilderness Park. Of the 16 grassland community types Bork felt that eight represented modal grassland communities and eight represented grazing disclimax community types. Initial analysis increased the number of modal grassland communities from eight to nine and reduced the grazing disclimax communities from eight to five. The nine modal grassland communities now include the northern rough fescue/globeflower, northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye-california oatgrass, northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass, junegrass/sage, tufted hairgrasssedge, tufted hairgrass/forb, water sedge, California oatgrass and slender wheatgrass. The grazing disclimax communities now include the slender wheatgrass-sedge, Kentucky bluegrass-slender wheatgrass-sedge, Kentucky bluegrass-tufted hairgrass and creeping red fescue-kentucky bluegrass dominated community types. Bork also felt that the northern rough fescue-sedge community was a grazing disclimax community type, but it appears this community type is part of the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye-california oatgrass community type. Two of the six-shrubland community types (willow/arctic sage/alpine bluegrass, willow/northern rough fescue) could not be assessed because the data was not available. However, the remaining four shrub dominated types appear to represent three types (willow/california oatgrass, willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass and willow/water sedge). Bork s willow/tufted hairgrass-slender wheatgrass community appears to be well represented by the willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass community type. The rangeland reference area sites represent three of the nine modal grassland communities, one of five shrublands and one of one aspen dominated forests. The three grassland communities that are currently being monitored include the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass, tufted hairgrass-sedge and slender wheatgrass community types. Further sites should be considered for monitoring on the junegrass/sage, California oatgrass and northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye dominated communities. The junegrass/sage community represents steep south-facing slopes, which are found throughout the park. Further work should also be done in the California oatgrass dominated community type. Willoughby (1999) has found that this community type occupies small areas throughout the Upper foothills and Subalpine subregions, but the ecology is not clearly understood. Monitoring is occurring on the northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community type, but no monitoring is occurring on the northern rough fescue-hairy wildrye community. It is not clear which northern rough fescue dominated community is the most extensive in Willmore. These northern rough fescue dominated grasslands are some of the most important foraging areas for wildlife and domestic livestock in Willmore. Further identification of these sites should be a priority. The remaining modal grassland community types are either too wet (water sedge) or too high and too limited in distribution (northern rough fescue/globeflower, tufted hairgrass/forb) to be considered for future rangeland monitoring. No grazing disclimax communities are currently being monitored. It was initially thought that the slender wheatgrass dominated rangeland reference area at the Sulphur River was a grazing disclimax

25 community, but further analysis indicates that this community type is likely a modal grassland. Exclosure sites should be considered for the slender wheatgrass-sedge and/or Kentucky bluegrass dominated communities. Monitoring of these grazing disclimax community types in the presence and absence of grazing will help to determine the condition of these grasslands. Monitoring should be considered in the willow-bog birch/ slender wheatgrass community type. This community type has the most grazing potential of all the shrub dominated communities in Willmore. This community type is also the most extensive rangeland community type found in the valley bottoms of Willmore Rangeland succession and Ecological site Before condition and health of these rangelands can be determined the ecological site of the rangeland communities must be defined. An ecological site is a distinctive kind of land with specific physical characteristics that differs from other kinds of land in its ability to produce a distinctive kind and amount of vegetation (Task Group on Unity and Concepts 1995). An ecological site is the product of all the environmental factors responsible for its development, and it has a set of key characteristics that are included in the ecological site description. Ecological sites have characteristic soils, hydrology, plant communities, herbivory and fire regimes. In order to develop ecological site descriptions the Reference Plant Community (RPC) must be known. The RPC community is that assemblage of plants presumed to occur on the site at the time of European settlement of North America. Both primary and secondary succession occurs on the climax community in response to interactions with climate, soil development, plant growth and disturbances. These interactions lead the RPC to a different state or plant community that develops in response to that interaction. The processes that cause shifts form one state to another are called transitional pathways. It is possible to start developing some preliminary state and transition (successional) models for the rangelands in Willmore from the data available Northern rough fescue community types The state and transition diagram for the northern rough fescue dominated communities in Willmore is outlined in Figure 11.

26 Rough fescue- Kentucky bluegrass Protection from grazing Protection from grazing Rough fescue- Hairy wildrye Increased grazing pressure Slender wheatgrass- Sedge Kentucky bluegrass/ Dandelion-Clover Rough fescue- Tufted hairgrass Tufted hairgrass- Sedge Protection from grazing Protection from grazing Rough fescue- Tufted hairgrass- Kentucky bluegrass Figure 11. State and transition model for the northern rough fescue dominated community types in Willmore Wilderness Park. Increased grazing pressure on the rough fescue-hairy wildrye dominated community will cause rough fescue to decline and allow hairy wildrye, slender wheatgrass and sedge to increase forming the slender wheatgrass-sedge dominated community type. Similarly increased grazing pressure on the rough fescue-tufted hairgrass community will cause rough fescue to decline and there will be an increase in tufted hairgrass and sedge cover to form the tufted hairgrass-sedge dominated community type. Continued grazing pressure on either of these community types will cause a further decline in all native species and the site will be dominated by Kentucky bluegrass, dandelion and clover. Willoughby and Alexander (2000) have found in Southern Alberta that once Kentucky bluegrass invades the community it will remain co-dominant with rough fescue in the absence of disturbance to form the rough fescue-kentucky bluegrass and rough fescue-tufted hairgrass-kentucky bluegrass dominated communities. In the absence of disturbance (fire and grazing) northern rough fescue dominate communities do not seem to be effected by shrub encroachment (figure 5) at the rate of other grasslands within the Upper Foothills or Subalpine natural subregions. These Willmore northern rough fescue grasslands are commonly found on north facing alluvial terraces surrounded by willow-bog birch communities in the drainage below and white spruce and lodgepole pine stands further upslope (figure 12). These elevated alluvial terraces are likely effected by edaphic conditions such as cold air drainage or relatively low snow depth that reduces the root growth of these characteristically invasive willow and birch shrubs.

27 bog sedge/ white mountain avens 2100 M 1942 M Hairy wildrye/ bearberryjuniper Pl/hairy wild rye Aw/hairy wild rye willow-bog birch/slender wheatgrass Willowbog birch/ water sedge northern rough fescue - tufted hairgrass N Sw/moss Figure 12. Landscape profile of plant community types across the Wildhay River valley at Eagles Nest cabin, Willmore Wilderness Park. Figure 12, lists plant community types characteristics of the Upper Foothills subregion, and with increased elevation there are distinct communities of the Subalpine and Alpine subregions. White spruce/moss, northern rough fescue-tufted hairgrass, willow-bog birch/water sedge, willow-bog birch slender wheatgrass, aspen/ hairy wildrye, and lodgepole pine/hairy wildrye are all characteristic community types for the Upper Foothills subregion. Upslope from this Upper Foothills river valley two distinctive grassland community types are apparent. Hairy wild rye/bearberry-juniper is characteristic of the Subalpine natural subregion (Willoughby 1999) this is found at approximately 1942 MASL. Further upslope at approximately 2100 MASL we see a change into the Alpine natural subregion to a bog sedge/ white mountain avens community also described by Willoughby (1999). It is important to understand these plant community type characteristics in order to manage for domestic grazing activities to sustain native plant species diversity.

28 4.2.2 Tufted hairgrass dominated communities Figure 13 outlines the state and transition model for the tufted hairgrass dominated communities in Willmore Wilderness Park. Willow/ sedge Tufted hairgrasssedge Tufted hairgrass- Kentucky bluegrass Kentucky bluegrass/ dandelion Protection from grazing and fire Increased grazing pressure Figure 13. State and transition model for tufted hairgrass dominated community types within Willmore Wilderness Park. Protection from grazing and fire on the tufted hairgrass-sedge dominated community will allow shrubs to invade to form the willow/sedge dominated community type. Willoughby (1998) showed a 25% increase in willow cover over 25 years coinciding with a 23% decline in tufted hairgrass without fire or grazing (figure 7). In contrast increased grazing pressure on the tufted hairgrass community causes sedge and slender wheatgrass to decrease and allows Kentucky bluegrass to invade onto the site. Continued heavy grazing pressure will eventually cause all native plant species to decline in cover and the site is dominated by Kentucky bluegrass, clover and dandelion Slender wheatgrass and shrub communities Figure 14 outlines the state and transition model for the slender wheatgrass dominated communities in Willmore Wilderness Park.

29 Willow/ slender wheatgrass Slender wheatgrass Slender wheatgrass- Kentucky bluegrass Kentucky bluegrass-sedge Protection from grazing and fire Increased grazing pressure Figure 14. State and transition model for slender wheatgrass dominated community types within Willmore Wilderness Park. Protection from grazing and fire on the slender wheatgrass community allows willow to invade onto these grasslands to form the willow/slender wheatgrass community type. It appears that this willow/slender wheatgrass community type is the most extensive rangeland community in Willmore and has the greatest potential for range improvement through prescribed burning. Burning will likely decrease the cover of willow and improve the supply of forage for both domestic livestock and wildlife. Presently it is not clear how the slender wheatgrass community will respond to increased grazing pressure. It would appear that Kentucky bluegrass cover does increase, but the site conditions are too dry for complete bluegrass invasion and it is likely the site will be dominated by Kentucky bluegrass and sedge species Aspen dominated community types Figure 15 outlines the state and transition model for the aspen dominated community types in Willmore Wilderness Park. Rose/Hairy wildrye Kentucky bluegrass/ dandelion No fire Fire White spruce Aw/Rose/ Hairy wildrye Aw/Rose/ Clover Aw/Kentucky bluegrass Protection from grazing and fire Increased grazing pressure Figure 15. State and transition model for aspen dominated community types within Willmore Wilderness Park. These aspen dominated communities are found on the south facing slopes along the Smoky, Sulphur

30 and Sheep rivers in Willmore. In the absence of disturbance they will slowly succeed to a white spruce dominated forest. However, fire reduces the cover of aspen and the plant community moves to a rose/hairy wildrye dominated community type. Forage production increases from 1000 kg/ha in the aspen dominated community type to over 1400 kg/ha in the Rose/Hairy wildrye type. In Willmore no grazed aspen community types have been described, but data from the Lower Foothills subregion in central Alberta (Lane et al. 2000) indicates that good condition aspen forest has a wide diversity of grass, forb and shrub species growing in five understory layers (tree, tall shrubs, shrubs, tall forbs, low forbs and grass). As grazing pressure increases the five vegetation layers are reduced to two (trees, low forbs and grass). This overgrazed aspen community is represented by the Aw/Kentucky bluegrass-clover dominated community type. 4.3 Range health Traditionally, range condition has been defined by comparing species present with species of the climax community (Dyksterhuis 1949). This climax range condition model suggests that vegetation will be directional, predictable and revert back to the original predisturbance plant community in time. However, this concept has a number of shortcomings. For example a key assumption is that all declines in range condition are reversible. Experience shows that this may not be the case. Stable states in plant succession may be established that are relatively resistant to change, even with decades of rest. A very significant shortcoming relates to those communities that become invaded by nonnative species and will show no apparent trend back towards climax. Furthermore, the concept of a single climax or reference plant community under a forest community does not address the dynamic character of the forest under-story as stand succession proceeds. These problems with the climax range condition model have led the range scientific community to define rangeland health on a broader list of functions, not just plant species integrity (Alberta Rangeland Health Task Group 1999). The term Proper Functioning Condition (PFC) is now applied to rangeland health. New rangeland health protocols have been developed for Alberta rangelands, which include measures of plant community integrity, site stability, hydrologic function, nutrient cycling and energy flow, community structure and noxious weeds (Adams et al 2000). Ratings are based on a percentage of possible scores for each category. The total possible score is 60 and rangelands are rated as Healthy=75-100%, Healthy with problems=50-75% and Unhealthy<50%. The health rating for the Sunset Creek, Eagles Nest cabin, Monoghan flats and Hayden ridge rangeland reference areas is 100%. Clearly, the desired plant community of the vegetation has to be defined before a range health score can be determined for the Kvass burn and Sulphur river reference areas. If the primary resource of the vegetation is for wildlife and livestock production, then continued burning is required to control shrub and tree growth and health ratings should be based on secondary succession. If there is some other resource that is valued that requires succession to a willow dominated shrubland or aspen forest then these sites should be left undisturbed. Historically, these grassland communities in the foothills of West-Central Alberta have been burned and grazed by wild and domestic ungulates. Currently, the resource value for these rangelands is recreation, wildlife and livestock production.

31 4.4 Rare plant monitoring Several rare plants are known in Alberta only from Willmore and/or adjacent northern Jasper National Park. However, large portions of these two areas have never been surveyed for rare taxa particularly for rare bryophytes. Rare species are important components of the ecosystem and are often used as indicators for various monitoring programs related to the conservation of biodiversity. Collection of baseline information on rare species, such as population size and habitats, is the first step in the implementation of any monitoring program. This study was an attempt to document such baseline information for a portion of the area. This survey has resulted in the discovery of several new rare taxa for either Willmore and/or Jasper National Parks. Additional surveys in previously unexplored areas will be of great value in determining the distribution and population sizes of these, and other rare taxa, within Willmore and northern Jasper National Parks. Ultimately, this information can be used to determine the significance of these taxa in a provincial context. Documentation of the location of these taxa, along with information on population sizes, habitats and management concerns, will form the basis for subsequent monitoring actions. Accurate documentation of location, with supplemental information on the population, can be used to revisit the sites in subsequent years. Relocation of previously documented taxa is in large part dependent upon accurate locational information. We were able to relocate some taxa that had been reported in the past however, given the poor locational information on the original data, it is uncertain whether these represented rediscovery of the original sites or new locations. Further attempts at mapping populations of rare plants within the entire area of interest will help to ascertain distribution and status within such. Such information can then be used as a foundation for management planning and a rare plant monitoring program. 4.5 Rare plant communities Two northern rough fescue rare plant communities have been confirmed as occurring in Willmore Wilderness Park. Further inventory work is required to document other rare plant communities that occur in Willmore and to better document the northern rough fescue/globeflower type. Some rare plant communities are dominated by rare species, such as the northern rough fescue communities of Willmore. However, there are other plant communities that are rare because they are associated with specialized habitats or correlated to some unusual attribute such as saline seepage. These may not include any rare species, but it is the overall combination of species and habitat, the communities themselves that are rare. The following table lists communities on the Preliminary Plant Community Tracking List (Allen 2001) that should be looked for in Willmore.

32 Table 8. Preliminary plant community tracking list (Allen 2001) for Willmore Wilderness Park. SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME SRANK COMMENTS Agropyron albicans Artemisia frigida Antennaria lanata Artemisia norvegica Artemisia norvegica Mertensia paniculata Leymus innovatus Dryas integrifolia awned northern wheat grass - pasture sagewort woolly everlasting - mountain sagewort mountain sagewort - tall lungwort - hairy wild rye SU S1 S1 Reported on south-facing slopes of the Smokey River in the Grande Cache area, little information. An upper subalpine to alpine, front range CT reported from the Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park area An upper subalpine to alpine, front range CT reported from the Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park area white mountain avens - S1 Found on steep, subalpine moraine in Jasper Carex rupestris rock sedge National Park Elaeagnus commutata silverberry S2 Shrublands that form stingers along subalpine and foothill streams. Known to occur in Jasper National Park. Festuca altaica Leymus innovatus (Elymus innovatus) Lupinus nootkatensis meadow Picea engelmannii - Abies lasiocarpa / Dryas octopetala Picea engelmannii Abies lasiocarpa / Salix planifolia / Hylocomium splendens Picea engelmannii Abies lasiocarpa / Salix vestita / Cassiope tetragona Picea engelmannii / Leymus innovatus Picea engelmannii / Salix drummondiana Populus tremuloides / Leymus innovatus Aster conspicuus Populus tremuloides / Menziesia ferruginea Rhododendron lapponicum floodplain Salix drummondiana Thalictrum venulosum Stipa richardsonii Koeleria macrantha northern rough fescue - hairy wild rye S2 Confirmed through present study Nootka lupine meadow S2? An upper subalpine seepage meadow reported for Jasper National Park, little information Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir / white mountain avens Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir / flat-leaved willow / stair-step moss Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir / rock willow / white mountain-heather Engelmann spruce / hairy wild rye Engelmann spruce / Drummond's willow aspen / hairy wild rye - showy aster S2S3 S1 S2 Dry, high elevation, front range type, known from Jasper National Park. Old growth forest, known from Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park area A subalpine, front range community on permafrost S2 A community of steep, south-facing upper subalpine slopes, S1? An open forest found on subalpine alluvial flats, known from the White Goat Wilderness Area S2 A stunted woodland restricted to avalanche slopes aspen / false azalea S1 A community known only from one location in Jasper National Park Lapland rose-bay S1 Shrubland along floodplains known from a floodplain few locations in Jasper National Park Drummond's willow - S1 A stream side shrubland of Whitehorse veiny meadow rue Wildland Provincial Park Richardson's needle grass - S2S3 A montane community known from Jasper June grass - small-leaved National Park

33 Antennaria parvifolia everlasting Rare plant communities are often associated with specific, usual combinations of site attributes. Occasionally they are extensive, but found only in a limited area of the province. More often, they are small patch communities associated with localized conditions such as calcareous springs. Although they may not cover large areas of the landscape, they add significantly to the biodiversity of a site, often contributing a disproportionately high number of species to the area s flora and may provide habitat for specialized flora and fauna (Anderson et al 1999). Documenting these communities and taking them into consideration during management planning will be important to maintaining the biodiversity of the Willmore Wilderness Park.

34 6.0 LITERATURE CITED Adams, B., A.Robertson, M.Willoughby, G.Ehlert, M.Alexander, D.Downing, D. Lawerence, C.Lane, and C. Stone Range/Pasture Health Assessement Short form. Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Alberta Environment. Edmonton. AB. 18pp Alberta Rangeland Health Task Group Terms of Reference. Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Alberta Environment. Edmonton. AB. 12pp. Allen, L Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre Preliminary Plant Community Tracking List. Alberta Environment. Edmonton, Alberta. Anderson, M., P. Comer, D. Grossman, C. Groves, K. Poiani, M. Reid, R. Schneider, B. Vickery, A. Weakley Guidelines for representing ecological communities in ecoregional conservation plans. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington VA. 74 pp. Bork, E Ecological classification and management of native range in Willmore Wilderness Park. Alberta Environmental Protection. Forest Management Division. Edmonton, AB. Pub. no. T/ pp. Dysterhuis, E.J Condition and management of rangeland based on quantitative ecology. J. Range Manage. 2: Gauch, H.G Multivariate analysis in community ecology. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 298 pp. Gould, J Plant Species of Special Concern. Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, Alberta Environmental Protection, Edmonton, AB. Lane, C.T., M.G. Willoughby and M.J. Alexander Range plant community types and carrying capacity for the Lower foothills subregion. Dept. of Environment. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB. Pub. No. T/ pp. Lane, C.T., J.Gould, M.G.Willougbhy and E. Lee Rangeland, rare plant and weed monitoring in Willmore Wilderness Park. A progress report for the Foothills Model Forest. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB. Task Group on Unity and Concepts New concepts for assessement of rangeland condition. J. Range Manage. 38: Willoughby, M.G Species diversity and how it is affected by livestock grazing on Alberta s Eastern slopes. Proceedings Fifth International Rangeland Congress. Salt Lake City, Utah. July Pg Willoughby, M.G. and M.J. Alexander A range condition dilemma. Rangelands.

35 22: Willoughby, M.G Range plant community types and carrying capacity for the Subalpine subregion. Dept. of Environment. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB. Pub. No. T/ pp. Willoughby, M.G. and D. Smith Range plant community types and carrying capacity for the Subalpine subregion. Dept. of Environmental Protection. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB. 108pp. Willoughby, M.G Rangeland Reference Areas; Castle River range condition and trend from Dept. of Environmental Protection. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB. Pub. No. T/ pp. Willoughby, M.G Rangeland Reference Areas; Seven mile creek range condition and trend from Dept. of Environmental Protection. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB. Pub. No. T/ pp. Willoughby, M.G The Rough fescue dominated community types of the Foothills of North-Central Alberta. Land and Forest Service. Range Management Section. Edmonton. AB. 18pp. Willoughby, M.G. and C.T. Lane Species composition changes in the presence and absence of disturbance on the Rough fescue-tufted hairgrass dominated community type. Land and Forest Service. Edmonton. AB.

36 APPENDIX A: Rangeland Reference Area Site Descriptions and photos for Willmore Wilderness Park.

37 Eagle s nest cabin transect Region Northeast Slopes; District Foothills; Date established 1998; Location Twp. 52, Rge. 4 Sec. 22 NW W6 (N , W ); Elevation 1614 m; Nutrients permesotrophic; Drainage well; Moisture subhygric; Geological formation: Old flood plain, glacial alluvial terrace; Soil Classification Orthic Regosol; Description of Area northern rough fescue, hairy wildrye, tufted hairgrass meadow surrounded by willow and bog birch shrublands; Major species present, northern rough fescue (Festuca altaica), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), hairy wildrye (Elymus innovatus) sedge spp (Carex spp.) Veiny meadow rue (Thalictrum venulosum), yellow beardtongue (Penstemon confertus); Seral stage young edaphic climax; Transect locations 30 m long, read every 2 m starting at 2 m, read on right hand side of the tape, read from west to east; This transect was one of a number of transects established to monitor shrub encroachment onto the remaining grassland meadows within Willmore Wilderness Park.

38 Sunset transect Region Northeast Slopes; District Foothills; Date established 1998; Location Twp. 54, Rge. 5 Sec. 30 SE W6 (N , W ); Elevation 1630 m; Nutrients permesotrophic; Drainage well; Moisture subhygric-hygric; Parent material: Fluvial; Soil Classification: Cumulic Humic Regosol; Description of Area tufted hairgrass meadow surrounded by willow and bog birch shrublands; Major species present tall lungwort (Mertensia paniculata), monkshood (Aconitum delphinifolium), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), sedge spp (Carex spp.) veiny meadow rue (Thalictrum venulosum); Seral stage young edaphic climax; Transect locations 30 m long, read every 2 m starting at 2 m, read on right hand side of tape from north to south; This transect was one of a number of transects established to monitor shrub encroachment onto the remaining grassland meadows within Willmore Wilderness Park.

39 Monoghan burn transect Region Northeast Slopes; District Foothills; Date established 1998; Location Twp. 53, Rge. 7 Sec. 23 SE W6 (N , W ); Elevation 1530 m; Nutrients permesotrophic; Drainage well; Moisture subhygric; Soil Classification Orthic Humic Regosol; Parent materialalluvial deposits on top of outwash gravels; Description of Area bog birch, willow shrubland which was burned in the spring of 1990; Major species present, bog birch (Betula glandulosa), willow (Salix spp.), bog sedge (Kobresia myosuroides), slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), sedge spp (Carex spp.) california oatgrass (Danthonia californica), strawberry (Fragaria virginiana); Seral stage young edaphic climax; Transect locations 30 m long, read every 2 m starting at 2 m, read on right hand side of tape from east to west; This transect was established to monitor the effects of the 1990 burn on bog birch and willow cover at Monoghan flats within Willmore Wilderness Park.

40 Sulphur exclosure Region Northeast Slopes; District Foothills; Date established 1998; Location Twp. 54, Rge. 8 Sec. 13 NE W6 (N , W ); Elevation 1634 m; Nutrients mesotrophic; Drainage well; Moisture mesic - subhygric; Soil Classification Orthic Regosol; Parent material coarse textured fluvial deposits, adjacent to the Sulphur River; Description of Area grazed sedge, slender wheatgrass meadow surrounded by willow and bog birch shrublands; Major species present, slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), sedge spp (Carex spp.), sheep fescue (Festuca saximontana), alpine milkvetch (Astragalus alpinus), mouse eared chickweed (Cerastium arvense), strawberry (Fragaria virginiana); Seral stage young edaphic climax; Exclosure construction 20 x 30 m with wood and steel posts and two strands of barbed wire; Transect locations 30 m long, read every 2 m starting at 2 m, read on right hand side of tape from north to south, outside transect located 3 m on north side of the exclosure and read from south to north; This exclosure was established to monitor shrub encroachment and recovery of heavily grazed grassland meadows within Willmore Wilderness Park.

41 Kvass burn exclosure Region Northeast Slopes; District Foothills; Date established 1998; Location Twp. 56, Rge. 9 Sec. 3 NE W6 (N , W ); Elevation 1060 m; Aspect 180 o ; Slope 20%; Nutrients mesotrophic; Drainage well; Moisture mesic; Soil Classification Orthic Humic Regosol; Parent material coarse textured colluvial deposits, on slopes above the Smoky River; Description of Area aspen stands which were burned in 1996; Major species present, slender wheatgrass (Agropyron trachycaulum), sedge spp (Carex spp.) hairy wildrye (Elymus innovatus) snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis), rose (Rosa acicularis), strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), Lindley s aster (Aster ciliolatus), showy aster (Aster conspicuus); Seral stage early seral; Exclosure construction 20 x 30 m with wood and steel posts and two strands of barbed wire; Transect locations 30 m long, read every 2 m starting at 2 m, read on right hand side of tape from north to south, the outside transect is located 3 m to the east of the exclosure and is read from north to south; This exclosure was established to monitor the effects of the prescribed burn at Kvass flats in Willmore Wilderness Park

42 Hayden ridge exclosure Region Northeast Slopes; District Foothills; Date established 1976?; Location Twp. 55, Rge. 7 Sec. 21 NE W6 (N W ); Elevation 1878 m; Aspect 180 o ; Slope 30%; Nutrients submesotrophic; Drainage rapidly; Moisture subxeric; Soil Classification non-soil; Parent material coarse textured sandstone shale deposits, on ridge tops overlooking the Sulphur River; Description of Area dry windswept snow free ridges; Major species present, white mountain avens (Dryas integrifolia, D. octopetala), bog sedge (Kobresia myosuroides), hairy wildrye (Elymus innovatus) alpine bistort (Polygonum viviparum), reindeer lichen (Cladina spp); Seral stage mature edaphic climax; Exclosure construction 20 x 30 m with wood and steel posts and 8 ft page wire; Transect locations 30 m long, read every 2 m starting at 2 m, read on right hand side of tape from northeast to southwest, the outside transect is located 3 m to the east of the exclosure and is read from south to north; This exclosure was established in the mid 1970 s to monitor the effects of the bighorn sheep grazing in Willmore Wilderness Park

43 APPENDIX B: Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre Reconnaissance Rare Plant Survey for Willmore Wilderness Park and Northern Jasper National Park.

44 RECONNAISSANCE RARE PLANT SURVEY OF WILLMORE WILDERNESS PARK AND NORTHERN JASPER NATIONAL PARK, 2000 Joyce Gould, Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, Parks and Protected Areas Division, Natural Resources Services, Alberta Environment René J. Belland Devonian Botanic Garden, University of Alberta February 2001

45 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION_ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS METHODS_ SITE DESCRIPTIONS RARE PLANTS SUMMARY REFERENCES APPENDIX: LIST OF VASCULAR PLANTS OBSERVERED DURING THE COURSE OF THIS STUDY

46 INTRODUCTION The work done last year (Gould et al 1999) was the first survey for rare plants in Willmore Wilderness Park. Conservation of biodiversity, or maintenance of ecological integrity, often highlights rare taxa. In addition, there is federal and provincial legislation that now deals with endangered species. Management plans are often done without knowledge of the distribution and population sizes of rare species within the area being examined, often due to lack of resources to conduct suitable inventories. It is the objective of this work to document rare plant taxa within Willmore Wilderness and northern Jasper National Park so that this information can be used in management planning. The information gained from this study is also being used by the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre in the review of ranks for tracked plant species. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Mike Willoughby and Cam Lane, Land and Forest Service, Alberta Environment and the Foothills Model Forest provided logistical assistance. Staff of the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre assisted with various aspects of this project. Patsy Cotterill provided assistance with identification of vascular plants, processing of element occurrences and field assistance, Drajs Vujnovic, Ksenija Vujnovic and Coral Grove with mapping and processing element occurrences, John Rintoul with production of occurrence information and Duke Hunter with map production. All photographs are those of Joyce Gould. METHODS Reconnaissance surveys for rare plants were conducted August 2-4, A rare plant is defined as one occurring on the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre list of Plant Species of Special Concern, February 2000 (Gould 2000). Access to sites was by helicopter and approximated 2-4 hours was spent at each. We targeted areas of diverse lithologies as well as areas that had not been explored botanically or had been visited decades ago. We surveyed as many habitats as possible for rare plants at each site and a brief description of habitat and population size was made for each rare plant noted. Locations of rare species were noted with the Garmin 12 XL hand held GPS unit (NAD 27) and photographs of rare plants and/or their habitats were taken, where possible. Collections were made for several taxa to confirm identification against annotated material at the University of Alberta herbarium and/or to document a new occurrence for Willmore Wilderness Park or Jasper National Park. These specimens will be deposited in the University of Alberta herbarium. Joyce Gould and René Belland conducted the surveys on August 2-4 and Dr. Bill Crins and Patsy Cotterill assisted on August 4. All occurrences of rare plants are being entered into the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre databases.

47 SITE DESCRIPTIONS Willmore Wilderness Park Hardscrabble (53 o o ) The site consists primarily of Dryas octopetala tundra although there are a couple of small ponds, cliff faces and slopes that provide habitat diversity. The Dryas tundra harboured several rare vascular plants including Anthoxanthum monticola, Antennaria monocephala, Gentiana glauca and Pedicularis capitata. Rare mosses found here were Grimmia mollis, Hygrohypnum alpestre and Racomitrium fasciculare. Protected areas between boulders and fine sediments at the base of cliffs provided habitat for Cardamine bellidifolia and Saxifraga ferruginea. Gentiana glauca was also observed in similar habitats. Mesic areas such as those along the shore of small ponds and adjoining creek contained rare species such as Cardamine oligosperma ssp.kamtschatica, Huperzia halaekalae and Juncus biglumis. Rocky Pass (53 o o ) The vegetation of most of the area examined was Dryas integrifolia-carex nardina/kobresia myosuroides tundra with Festuca altaica, Pedicularis capitata, Pedicularis lanata and Saxifraga flagellaris. There was a small area with Dryas octopetala tundra and here Festuca altaica and Pedicularis capitata were present. Areas of late snowmelt were present in a draw and had rare species such as Festuca altaica and Pedicularis capitata. One rare moss was found at this site: Oreas martiana. Jacknife Pass (53 o o ) The area examined had a diversity of habitats including shale slopes, cliff faces, Dryas integrifolialichen tundra and mesic draws. Rare species such as Erigeron trifidus, Minuartia elegans and Draba longipes were associated with the shale slopes. At the edge of the shale, in Dryas octopetala tundra, Antennaria monocephala and Pedicularis flammea were found. Pedicularis lanata was collected from an area of Dryas integrifolia tundra. The mesic draw that was examined had Festuca altaica, Ranunculus occidentalis, Botrychium minganense. A north-facing slope washout slope with silt had Festuca altaica, Pedicularis capitata and P. flammea. Antennaria monocephala and Saxifraga nelsoniana were found either at the base or between rocks and boulders of the cliff face. Coté (11U NAD 27)

48 We examined an area on the SE slope of the mountain on the north side of the pass. Here Salix reticulata-lichen and Dryas integrifolia-carex nardina/kobresia myosuroides tundra were common. There was also a small pond. Rare vascular species found from this site include Pedicularis capitata, Antennaria monocephala, Gentiana glauca. One rare moss was found, Grimmia anomala. The south side of pass was also visited. We examined an area of heath with Vaccinium scoparium and Phyllodoce empetriformis and found Gentiana glauca. We also looked at a mesic area on a south-facing slope with Anemone occidentalis, Pedicularis bracteosa and Sibbaldia procumbens. Here we found Ranunculus occidentalis. There is also Salix arctica-lichen tundra and both Antennaria monocephala and Gentiana glauca were observed in this habitat. A north-facing draw was examined and we found Saxifraga nelsoniana ssp. porsildiana. Saxifraga nelsoniana ssp. porsildiana was also found at the base of a rock outcrop as was Cardamine oligosperma ssp. kamtschatica. These same species along with Saxifraga ferruginea and Pedicularis capitata, were also found at the top of this same outcrop. Jasper National Park Azure Lake, Jasper National Park (11U ) Dryas octopetala tundra is common as are areas of Salix reticulata and Salix arctica tundra. Mesic areas such as late-lying snowbeds and stream/lake edges are also present. Rare vascular plants noted from this site in 2000 include Antennaria monocephala, Anthoxanthum monticola, Gentiana glauca, Saxifraga nelsoniana ssp. porsildiana and Saxifraga nivalis. One rare moss was found: Tayloria lingulata.

49 RARE PLANTS Species accounts Vascular plants A brief summary of each rare species encountered in this survey is provided below. The arrangement of species accounts is alphabetical order and provincial and global ranks, which are based on The Nature Conservancy ranking system, are provided. Taxonomy and nomenclature for vascular plants follows Moss (1983) unless more recent treatments such as Flora of North America are available. Antennaria monocephala DC (one-headed everlasting) G4G5/S2 Antennaria monocephala is a perennial herb of alpine slopes and ledges. It is often associated with the margins of solifluction lobes or unstable gravelly tundra (Bayer 1993). In Alberta, it is known from Willmore Wilderness Park south to Banff National Park. The global distribution of this species is Alaska, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, western Greenland, Labrador, BC, Alberta, Montana and Wyoming (Bayer 1993). Anthoxanthum monticola (Bigelow) Y. Schouten & Veldkamp. (alpine sweet grass) G5/S2 This perennial grass, also known as Hierochloe alpina (Sw.) R.& S., grows on dry alpine slopes. In Alberta, it is known only from the northern Rockies such as Jasper National Park, Willmore Wilderness Park and the Cardinal Divide area. It has a circumpolar distribution and is known from Alaska, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, BC and Alberta. Botrychium minganense Victorin G4/S2S3 Botrychium minganense is not listed in the Flora of Alberta (Moss 1983); however, most collections thought to be to B. dusenii are probably B. minganense (Wagner and Wagner 1993, p. 98): Botrychium minganense is known in Alberta from the mountains and foothills (Willmore Wilderness Park south to Waterton Lakes National Park), Cypress Hills Provincial Park and Fort McMurray. It is a species that occurs throughout central North America from Alaska, and BC east to Newfoundland and is considered rare throughout much of its range.

50 Cardamine bellidifolia L. (alpine bitter cress) G5/S2 Alpine bitter cress is a perennial herb that is known from the Rockies--Banff north to Jasper National Park. The habitat is moist alpine banks and ledges (Moss 1983). It has a circumpolar distribution occurring from Alaska, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, Quebec, Labrador, BC, Alberta, south to California (Moss 1983). Cardamine oligosperma var. kamtschatica (Regel) Detling (mountain cress) G?/S2 This species (also known as Cardamine umbellata Greene) is a perennial member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaeae). It prefers moist tundra, edges of ponds and streams and grassy areas of talus slopes (Rollins 1993). In Alberta it is known from the northern and central Rockies. Globally, it is found in eastern Asia, Yukon, NWT south to Oregon (Moss 1983). Carex lachenalii Schk. (two-parted sedge) G5/S2 This sedge is also known as Carex bipartita All. It is a species of moist alpine areas (Moss 1983) such as wet meadows (Hermann 1970, Hurd et al. 1998). The Alberta distribution of Carex lachenalii is Banff, Jasper and the Cadomin area. It is a circumpolar, arctic-alpine species (Moss 1983). Draba longipes Raup (whitlow-grass) G4/S1S2 This perennial herb is an alpine member of the Mustard Family (Brassicaeae). It is a species of meadows and tundra, dry and wet places (Rollins 1993). In Alberta is it known from the northern Rockies south to Waterton Lakes National Park. The North American distribution is Alaska south to Wyoming. Erigeron trifidus Hook. (trifid-leaved fleabane) G2?Q/S2 Erigeron trifidus is a perennial herb of alpine slopes that is closely related to E. compositus and E. lanatus. In Alberta, it is known primarily from the northern Rockies (Jasper National Park, Willmore Wilderness Park, Cardinal Divide area) although it has also been found recently in Waterton Lakes National Park (Achuff 1997). Globally, it is known only from BC and Alberta. Festuca altaica Trin. (northern rough fescue) G5/S2 Festuca altaica Trin. was formerly included in Festuca scabrellatorr. and in Alberta is known only from the northern Rockies. It is known from BC, Yukon, NWT, Alaska, Michigan, Quebec, Newfoundland, eastern Siberia and central Asia (Aiken and Darbyshire 1990). Gentiana glauca Pallas (alpine gentian) G4G5/S2

51 Gentiana glauca is a perennial herb of moist alpine slopes and meadows (Moss 1983). In Alberta, it is known from Banff and Jasper National Parks, Willmore Wilderness Park and Whitegoat Wilderness Area. This species is being taken off the tracking list given the number of occurrences and sizes of populations (Gould in prep.). Huperzia halaekalae (Brackenridge) Holub (alpine fir-moss) G4?/S2 This species was formerly included within Lycopodium selago L.. It prefers exposed, moist meadows and mossy heaths of the alpine and subalpine (Wagner and Beitel 1993). It is known from Banff and Jasper National Parks, Whitegoat and Siffleur Wilderness Areas and the Cardinal Divide area. Globally, it is known from AB, BC, Yukon, Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Asia and Hawaii (Wagner and Beitel 1993). Juncus biglumis L. (two-glumed rush) G5/S2 Juncus biglumis is a member of the Rush Family (Juncaceae). It is a species of moist alpine areas (Moss 1983). In Alberta it is known in the Rockies from Jasper south to Banff, Highwood Pass and Cadomin. It is a circumpolar species. Minuartia elegans (Cham. & Schlecht.) Schischk. (purple alpine sandwort) G4G5/S1 Minuartia elegans is a perennial herb of moist calcareous alpine slopes. In Alberta, it is known only from Willmore Wilderness Park. The range of this species is eastern Siberia, Alaska, Yukon, BC, AB and NWT. Oxytropis campestris var. davisii (locoweed) G5T3/S2? Oxytropis campestris var. davisii is in the Flora of Alberta (Moss 1983) as O. jordallii. However, work by S. Welsh has shown that true O. jordallii is a northern taxon (Alaska, Yukon and NWT) and does not occur in Alberta. The habitat of Oxytropis campestris var. davisii is gravelly sites in the northern Rockies and foothills and is known from BC, Alberta and NWT (S. Welsh pers. comm.). In Alberta, this taxon is known only from the northern Rockies and foothills. Pedicularis capitata Adams (large-flowered lousewort) G4/S2

52 This perennial herb is restricted to calcareous alpine slopes (Moss 1983). In Alberta, it is known from Willmore Wilderness Park south to Banff National Park. It is a circumpolar species. Pedicularis flammea L. (flame-coloured lousewort) G3G5/S2 This perennial member of the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) is restricted to calcareous alpine slopes (Moss 1983). In Alberta, it is known from the central Rockies (Moss 1983). It is known from Greenland, Iceland, Lapland, Nunavut, Newfoundland, Hudson Bay, James Bay, southern Labrador, Alberta and Gaspé (Moss 1983). Pedicularis lanata Cham. & Schlecht. (woolly lousewort) G4G5/S2 Pedicularis lanata is a perennial herb of alpine slopes (Moss 1983). In Alberta it is known only from the northern Rocky Mountains such as at Cardinal Divide. It is a circumpolar species. Ranunculus occidentalis Nutt. var. brevistylis Greene (western buttercup) G5T5/S2 This perennial member of the crowfoot family is a species of dry to moist subalpine slopes (Moss 1983). It was found in two locations in Willmore in 2000, one of which was previously known (Coté). In Alberta it is a species of the northern Rockies occurring from Kakwa south to Jasper. Globally it is known from Alaska, Yukon, N.W.T. south to California (Moss 1983). Saxifraga ferruginea Graham (saxifrage) G5/S2 Saxifraga ferruginea is a perennial herb of moist alpine banks and ledges (Moss 1983). It is known from the Rockies from Jasper south to just north of Waterton Lakes National Park. It is not currently known from Willmore Wilderness Park.

53 Saxifraga flagellaris Willd. (spiderplant) G5/S2 Saxifraga flagellaris is a perennial herb that prefers calcareous turfy alpine slopes and ridges (Moss 1983). It occurs from Willmore Wilderness Park south to Banff National Park. It is a circumpolar species known from Asia, Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, BC and Alberta (Moss 1983). Saxifraga nelsoniana D. Don ssp. porsildiana (Calder & Savile) Hult. (Nelson s saxifrage) G5T3T4/S2 Nelson s saxifrage is a perennial herb known in Alberta primarily from the northern Rockies although there is an isolated occurrence in Banff National Park. It is a species of alpine habitats (Moss 1983) and it is known from Asia, NWT, Nunavut, BC and Alberta south to Oregon. All of the Alberta material of Saxifraga nelsoniana is referrable to subspecies porsildiana. Saxifraga nivalis L. (alpine saxifrage) G4G5/S2 This is a perennial herb of alpine slopes and ridges (Moss 1983). In Alberta it is known only from the northern Rockies (Jasper and Cardinal Divide areas). This species has a circumpolar distribution occurring in Alaska, Nunavut, Labrador, BC, Alberta and Quebec (Moss 1983).