Wednesday 29 July 2015

Patience, cutthroat! The grasshopper is on it's way...!

(Editor's Note: Thanks to Davd McIntyre for this guest posting. It's about how a couple of unnamed streams are actually the centre of a universe an a thriving elk herd nursery. You will have to imagine the future additions that David describes to the photo below.)


The pictured view looks east from our doorstep into the Rock Creek valley. The creek flows—left to right—into the foreground. Two—and only two—significant year-round streams (unnamed) flow westward to feed the creek from within the pictured limber pine-studded landscape. 

AltaLink's proposed transmission line (a twinned, 500 kV line), if built, would cross—left to right—the pictured view, and cross each of the described Rock Creek tributaries.

Monica and I, hiking east of our home on Sunday, July 26th, encountered an elk herd as we walked along the southernmost of these two year-round streams. The stream, flowing west, is a significant tributary of Rock Creek, and it exits the hillside a few hundred meters north of the SE corner of S1, T8, R3, W5th. The described location is roughly 1 km southeast of the point where a helicopter, in May of this year—as I reported at that time—and flying as low as an estimated 1 meter above ground level, flew over two grizzlies and scattered a herd of elk. (Of note, both the described locations are on AltaLink's proposed twin-500 kV line traversing the Rock Creek valley.)

The noteworthy aspect of our July 26th (2015) sighting of the elk herd is that the herd, comprised of 40 animals, and moving east, perhaps in response to a threat I couldn't see, or discern, involved 20 adult cows, a single bull elk and, most significantly, contained 19 newborn (June of 2015) calves, i.e., an almost astounding number of calves-to-cows ratio, perhaps especially so given the previously reported grizzly bear consumption of newborn elk calves on the same landscape. 

There are two additional factors, each noteworthy, that relate to landscape and ecological value within the eastern realm of the Rock Creek watershed that may not yet be formally recorded and thus on the "radar" in terms of AltaLink's proposed transmission line.

These factors:

1.The two unnamed streams defined in the accompanying photo caption are the only Rock Creek tributary streams entering the creek from the east. The southernmost of these two streams, a linear waterway, flows directly into Rock Creek. The northernmost stream, after entering the valley bottom in the extreme left portion of the pictured view, feeds a wetland bordering Rock Creek. This wetland, estimated to be on the order of 30 hectares in size, ultimately drains into Rock Creek. Both of the noted streams, and the described wetland, are critical to Rock Creek's flow, and critical to the success of any efforts to include the lower creek as part of the westslope cutthroat trout recovery program.

2. The same two tributary streams define the majority of my observed (via tracks and sightings) east-to-west and west-to-east grizzly movement across the Rock Creek valley and east of the North Burmis Rd. In other words, most grizzlies moving between the Livingstone Range and the Connelly Creek valley via the Rock Creek valley, use these two spring-fed drainages to enter and/or exit the Connelly Creek valley (to the east). Also, most of the grizzly bear sightings and reports that I've provided to you have their origin within the pictured landscape.

A footnote to the July 26th observation of cow and newborn elk calves: While hiking, and after observing the elk, I caught a single grasshopper. Later, as I crossed the footbridge at my doorstep (within the shaded portion of the accompanying picture), I fished the trapped 'hopper from my breast pocket and tossed it into the water. An instant later, in a swirl of water, the grasshopper was gone. One cutthroat beat several others to the prize.  

I love, and live for, the world at my doorstep. Cutthroats, elk and grizzly bears are part of the land's living magic. They give me hope.


David McIntyre
Crowsnest Pass, AB  



Tuesday 21 July 2015

Scientists! How to narrate PowerPoint

This is a step-by-step guide for anyone preparing PowerPoints on watershed management and health. Make your presentations more effective and get them shared on the Oldman's YouTube channel!

CLICK THIS LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFCJxrZxbM4

Monday 20 July 2015

The Oldman's last gasp

(Editor's Note: This is a rather long preamble to David McIntyre's piece, but it begs the question many people have been asking. In fact, the OWC has been in the news a lot lately, being interviewed about water quantity. Anybody can see that the river is really, really low. We'd usually see these levels in a month from now. As I said to the press, no cause for panic. 

We had a really low snowpack this year- in fact, we were waiting ages for a "snow event"so that we could scoot out and get some winter footage for our Film Project, #oldmangoestohollywood. When it did snow, we rushed out there, only to have most of it just blow around. Anyway, add very little rain to the equation, and you don't have the "storehouses" full. That's what a watershed IS, after all - a giant storehouse for our water. Snowpack and rain (and a tiny bit of glacier melt) filter through the land, where it percolates and purifies and gathers in marshes and wetlands and bursts into little streams and on she goes til eventually she reaches the Hudson's Bay. Well, actually, I should say HE since we ARE talking about the Oldman! 

As you may have read elsewhere, our Film Project got rained out on 6/7 different shoots - all in the headwaters - so that's why the meadows there are lush and ranchers are eyeing that part of the watershed as a place for grazing. Elsewhere it's just dry. Dry as a bone. The flyover we did recently from Lethbridge upstream to The Gap showed full irrigation canals and reservoirs, but a mighty low river. 

The upshot? You can turn on your tap and expect clean, clear water as usual. Should we be watering our lawns to lush, verdant, rival-the-English succulence? No. Should we be thinking about where our water comes from, where it goes, and what happens in between? Absolutely. These are questions that will not diminish with time. Our discussions around water will become more and more central to questions about economy, infrastructure, agriculture, water licenses, municipal allotments, and the value of other species - plant, animal or insect - who also call the watershed their home. Our plain carelessness is threatening the very existence of some species.

Is it just "Mother Nature" playing tricks on "The Oldman"? Absolutely not. The uses of water are as diverse as the people and industries who rely on it. It is the ABUSES we need to curtail. Let's start in the headwaters. Give the Oldman a voice and help keep recreational vehicles out of water bodies. Camp away from streams, and take your garbage with you. Clean up your dog poo (yes, I said it!). Stop buying bottled water. And please remember that you are a guest in the nursery of our water - and many animal babies. 

Now back to David. He was about to tell us what he saw when he went out for a kayak trip recently.  Enjoy!)
The Oldman's last gasp
by David McIntyre

Times are tough, the land's drying up. Rivers have turned to stone. Well, almost.

Monica (my wife) and I rafted/kayaked the Oldman River recently. Our goal was to grab a little whitewater action before the river dropped to unnavigable levels. As the plan unfolded, we asked Monica's sister (Bissy) and her husband (Bill) to join us. They accepted, then reported that Bissy couldn't kayak due to a knee problem. 

Fielding this news, I decided to take our big "cat" (cataraft)—it's affectionately known as Fat Cat—so Bissy, without lifting a finger, could ride down the river in queenly style and, looking regal, and from her floating throne, offer, as she might deem appropriate, fitting, queenly waves to deer and other animals appearing at river's edge.

Fat Cat appears here, loaded to the gills, in preparation for a trip through Montana's celebrated Smith River Canyon. My wife's inflatable kayak, floating at the raft's side, provides a buoyant, bobbing element of rubber-ducky scale. The big raft's cargo includes firewood,100 liters of water, a monster (165 quart) cooler, a similarly sized dry box, an Outfitter Wing (offering foul-weather protection), a tent, a stainless steel kitchen table, large sleeping pads, a propane tank, a water-filled solar shower, two backpacks, camera gear and more … all strapped down and thus held together in the event of an unexpected flip.

I'd checked the Oldman River's water level before we'd made plans, and felt sure there was adequate flow, but when we rendezvoused at our takeout point, I, wide-eyed, did a triple-take. There, almost under our noses, a nasty upstream rapid we'd have to negotiate showed its formidable teeth. Where, I wondered, was the river's reported water?

The bigger problem: It was crystal clear that the raft, unless airborne, wouldn't negotiate the rapid's toothy array of exposed bedrock.

I put that little bombshell behind me as we drove upstream to our planned launch site. 

Two hours later, after unloading the raft's heavy rowing frame, inflating its big, green-banana pontoons and assembling gear, we looked at the river. It was disturbingly low.

I bit my lip and launched, trying, unsuccessfully, to ignore the appalling lack of water, and its corollary, the river's shallow, bony bed.

Monica and Bill, in kayaks, were able to dance though the day's unending arrays of boulders and ledges. I wasn't. The result, not always pretty, was somewhat like trying to race a semi over an obstacle course designed for dirt bikes.

Rafters know—and they know it well—that it's impossible to control a raft if you can't get your oars into the water. They also know that you're cruisin' for a bruisin'—destined for double-trouble—if you, caught in the river's flow, don't have room to dart, dance, or make a quick exit.

Trip summary: I likely exceeded anyone's expectations, but was dog-tired before we'd stopped for lunch, double-dog-exhausted when we approached the jaws of the toothy rapid above takeout. There, when unavoidable rocks reached out and grabbed the raft, Bill ducked under my right oar and pounded through a narrow slot of whitewater. Monica, right behind him, did much the same, but almost flipped when her kayak climbed—then spun and fell from—a big pillow of water. 

Bissy and I, on the raft, were caught in jaws of bedrock. We sat. Water raced past us, surging through the rapid's rocky teeth.

I looked into the foam and, not knowing what to do, pointed at a sofa-sized boulder. "How about that?" I yelled, showing the perched queen a big boulder comprised of 60-million-year-old cemented oyster shells, and trying, unsuccessfully, to divert our minds from the critical problem at hand.

The real work soon began, a labored dance of sorts in which Queen Bissy and I, in water up to our waists, tried to lever, lift and otherwise move Fat Cat from one obstacle to the next without being swept away, or dragged under the raft. 

As we struggled, people at a downstream campground appeared. They, focused on our plight, became unwanted spectators. 

Thankfully, the free show—it was relatively short due to some strategically located pry points—ended with Bissy and me on the raft, … and perhaps even more surprisingly, with me able to rise from the riverbed and leap into my designated seat, in some control of the oars. 

The queen, christened, climbed back onto her floating throne.

Two hours later, the requisite takedowns and shuttles complete, we arrived at Monica's parents' ranch house, just in time for dinner.

The next morning: I, up early, woke with a stiff neck. My arms felt like spaghetti. When Monica, after sleeping in, appeared at the breakfast table, I, still exhausted from the previous day's effort, told her, "We're not going rafting today." 

"That's fine," she announced. "We're going to climb a mountain."

Epilogue: I discovered, the morning after our river trip, that the river, 
during the three days that followed my online reading of flow levels, 
had dropped significantly before our launch.



David McIntyre
Crowsnest Pass, AB  



Monday 13 July 2015

You will be shocked when you read this

(Editor's note: Thanks to Guest Blogger Kevin Turner for reaching out and explaining the implications of what's being asked here. IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. They are asking for a large number of surveys to be returned. It's just your personal opinion and takes 2 seconds. Please do the survey ... AND PLEASE SHARE. 
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I can't imagine an Alberta without fish - can you? Please take a moment out of your day and just click on the link. I filled out the survey and it was very quick. Please do it RIGHT NOW - the deadline is July 15th - we haven't much time. The link is at the BOTTOM of this article. Thank you!).


All photos are from the Oldman Watershed Council's photo library -
 you can access beautiful photos for free at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130716966@N07/albums


Bull Trout (Albeta's iconic species) and Westslope Cutthroat Trout can use all the help they can get if they are to persist in the Oldman watershed. Given current logging practices, 2013's flood, OHV intensity, overwhelming linear disturbances, habitat fragmentation, poaching, rising stream temperatures, it's impressive they have held on long enough for us to still have the chance to save them. 




The story can be found here: http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/most-southern-alberta-trout-streams-threatened-despite-recovery-plan-says-survey?fb_action_ids=1468817150083074&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B911679105560275%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.comments%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

These Bull Trout populations, located in the South-East corner of their range, are in significantly greater danger than northern populations and are currently the focus of a survey being collected by the species at risk folks at DFO. 

The deadline for comments is Wednesday July 15 

The survey can be found here:  http://www.isdm.gc.ca/survey-enquete/eng/916a957f

Thank you for giving the Oldman a voice!

Friday 10 July 2015

Zoe at 7 months / OR / 'ungula' - meaning: 'hoof'

(Editor's Note: Here's a humorous posting from guest blogger David McIntyre. Enjoy!)

Here's Zoe at seven months.

She's a sweetheart, a force, a profound joy. 

Zoe's seen here with one of her favorite toys, a little cloth moose facsimile known to Zoe as 'The Ungulate', a name Monica and I gave the toy to be sure it wasn't confused with real moose, animals Zoe sees on a regular basis. 

We ask Zoe, "Where's The Ungulate?" She responds by searching the house and attacking the treasured toy. It, unlike moose, squeaks when bitten.

What we'd never ask Zoe is this: "Where are the moose?"

Two yearling moose and a cow moose with a newborn calf are on our virtual doorstep as I write. 

Zoe is acutely aware of diagnostic and defining differences between The Ungulate, and the moose she sees on a regular basis.

The Ungulate, seen upside down in the attached image, is never a winner in its encounters with Zoe. Moose, on the other hand, always walk uncontested, although sometimes, in the heady heat of excitement, they are barked at. Monica and I speak out against this behavior. Zoe hears us and, increasingly, she responds.

Little by little, we're gaining control, or so we report to our critics.

The best to you,

David




David McIntyre
Crowsnest Pass, AB  


Wednesday 8 July 2015

It's Your Turn to be SUPERMAN...WOMAN...CHILD ...

(Editor's Note: We are being invaded by a noxious species. It looks sweet and innocent, but Oh-HO!!! what a nasty beast! Major environmental deterioration, loss of beef production, damage to crops. Individual plants can produce over 150,000 seeds PER SQURE METRE. It has an immensely long taproot and sucks the area dry. Literally. You can help. Please bring along your family July 16th from 7-9pm and FIGHT THE INVASIVES!!!)  

Here's what Knapweed looks like. It's disguised as pretty. It's effects are devastating.

Its that time again..... the third knapweed pull of the 2015 season is coming up fast!! 

I am very excited about this weed pull because it is the site of our most successful weed pull so far.  In 2013, we had our first City of Lethbridge weed pull at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands and it was a HUGE SUCCESS. 

We pulled out over 50 bags of knapweed and had a super fun time doing it!

Here's where to meet :-)

July 16 2015
Knapweed Pull

Help keep our river valley healthy and diverse by pulling prohibited noxious weeds in the hopes of eradication.  Save the Date:

              Thursday July 16th 7-9pm

                                       Elizabeth Hall Wetlands
                  Next:   Thursday August 20th 7-9pm Location TBA
                    Next: Thursday September 17th7-9pm Location TBA 
Why is Elizabeth Hall Wetland is such a special place - hidden away in the center of the city?

·         Elizabeth wetlands was part of the Urban Parks project and was originally called the Oxbow Lake Nature area. 1987 the area was renamed the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands

·         Elizabeth Hall was born in England and came to Canada with her family in 1958. She was a Lethbridge City Council member from 1977 to 1986 and during that time she worked tirelessly to ensure the river valley maintained its natural environment during park development. She is also credited with developing the Helen Schuler Coulee Centre, now the Helen Schuler Nature Centre


·         Red-winged Black Birds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Orioles, several varieties of ducks, geese, muskrats, sandpiper, beavers and their dams, spotted turtles, and deer are some of the wildlife you can watch as you weed pull!  

Here are some reason I am so passionate about these weed pulls:

Our goal is to work on invasive plant education and awareness.  Through this process we can prevent the further introduction and spread of invasive species, and in this case specifically knapweed. 
We have chosen to focus specifically on Knapweed control in the Oldman River valley because it is a highly competitive introduced plant that invades native vegetation and threatens the health of our watershed. If left unchecked, the loss to farmers, ranchers and recreational users could be disastrous.  It is a prohibited noxious weed in Alberta.
 We have chosen a multifaceted approach incorporating the physical efforts of hand pulling, through events like this, and direct herbicide application.  The combination of mechanical and chemical methods has been shown to be a great success in the past.

 
We love our volunteers!


See you all July 16th at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands!!!

 

Tuesday 7 July 2015

10 Ways To Improve Your Wildlife Photography


(Editor's Note: Thanks to Rick Andrews for this great blog article! If you've been following the OWC on Social Media, you'll know that the west is burning. People are in danger, but so are the animals. I read recently that many of those wildfires we are currently struggling to combat have been started by cigarette butts. I don't think you would treat your home the same way. So why are we so careless with our camping in their habitats? After all, we love our wild spaces, too. Here's how to get closer to the creatures who live and raise their families in the watershed.)

10 Ways to Improve your Wildlife Photography
by Rick Andrews



Over the past several years I've photographed wildlife in many locations throughout the Canadian and US Rockies, as well as remote locations such as Nome Alaska and Hokkaido Japan. Along the way I've met many wildlife photographers from those just starting out to seasoned veterans. In fact since the introduction of digital cameras, wildlife photography has never been as popular as it is today, so if you are one of those people who share my passion, here are a few tips to help improve your wildlife photography and keep you safe while doing it.


1. Anticipate the shot. Being ready for a photographic opportunity when it presents itself is half the battle. You don't want to be frantically searching for your camera or fumbling to try and figure out how to turn it on after spotting a roadside animal. It's always better to travel with your camera beside you or at least within easy reach, that way you're likely to end up with something more memorable than a "butt shot" of your subject as it heads back into the forest.




Brown-phase Black bear - Waterton Lakes NP

2. Be patient. Patience is probably the greatest asset a wildlife photographer can possess, and being patient and allowing animals to become accustomed to your presence often leads to far more natural shots.

3. Maintain a safe distance. Maintain a safe distance of 100 meters for bears and wolves, and 25 meters for other species. Mammals such as bison, moose, elk and bear can be very unpredictable, and can move surprisingly fast. This is especially true if they feel their young are being threatened, or during the fall when rutting males fiercely protect their harems.

4. Use your vehicle as a blind. Quite often a vehicle makes an excellent blind from which to photograph wildlife. In southern Alberta, birds of prey such as Swainson's hawks and Great Horned owls are often seen sitting atop roadside fence posts. Your chances of getting a close-up shot will be greatly enhanced if you photograph them from your vehicle.

​Great Horned Owl south of Lethbridge

5. Use a tripod. Although using tripods and monopods is sometimes a little clumsy, it will usually lead to better results than simply hand-holding your camera. Alternately you can also use any hard surface such as your vehicle or perhaps even a fallen tree trunk. This is especially true when using your camera's zoom lens which is very sensitive to even the slightest movement. Also practicing to gently squeeze the shutter button instead of deliberately pressing it, will further reduce unwanted camera shake. Be aware too that some cameras may have a slight lag between the time the shutter is depressed and when the photo is actually taken. Keeping the camera absolutely still is therefore essential to get the sharpest image possible.

6. Include habitat. A close-up shot of an animal may make for a great portrait, but it tells us very little else about it. So after you've got your close ups, try a few shots that also include some of its habitat. That way your viewers can see not only what the animal looks like, but where it lives and feeds too.

7. Rule of thirds. The "rule of thirds" divides the image frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically, and positioning the animal at the intersection of two of those lines will create visual interest by strengthening your image. (Some cameras even include this feature in the viewfinder or LCD screen).  Just remember to give your subject room to breathe by framing it so that the animal is looking into the frame, rather than having its face pushed up against the edge.  To create further interest, try composing some of your shots in a portrait orientation. 




Rule of thirds Composition


8. Action shots - While its relatively easy to take shots of stationary animals and birds, try further developing your skills by capturing images of them in motion. Birds in flight are a great place to begin, and while it may take a little practice, it can soon lead to some great results.



American White Pelican - Oldman River, Lethbridge

9. Look for the unusual. While in Waterton Lakes NP earlier this year, I found a Bighorn ram being pestered by a couple of magpies. As I watched, one of the magpies landed on the horns of the ram, and as it lifted its head I was able to take this somewhat unusual and amusing shot. Again it pays to anticipate this kind of shot so that you're ready if the opportunity arises.



Bighorn and Magpies, Waterton Lakes NP


10. Look for wildlife where you live. We often think that in order to take good wildlife shots we need to go "somewhere." But in reality wildlife is all around us here in southern Alberta, and finding wildlife close to where you live, will provide you with many opportunities to photograph them at different times of day, and in different light. For some of us, that opportunity is already available - literally - in our own backyards.




Black-capped Chickadee, Lethbridge



Lastly, a word about ethics. As wildlife photographers we should understand that wildlife photography is really all about the wildlife and not the photograph. Needlessly stressing animals or baiting them with food simply to get a shot, is in my opinion, not only unethical, but can also put wildlife, as well as ourselves, in very real danger.

Being attacked by a charging animal because we are too close can lead to serious injury or worse, and regardless of how the attack happened, it usually ends badly for the animal. Likewise animals that become habituated to people, often become a nuisance. The lucky ones are sometimes relocated, the unlucky ones are sometimes destroyed. Surely the life of an animal is worth much more than a photograph.


Rick Andrews is wildlife photographer based in Lethbridge, Alberta, and all of his images featured in this blogpost were taken in the Oldman Watershed.

More of Rick's wildlife imagery can be found at www.rickandrewsphotography.com