Nice sky but I find I don't wander in this portion of the park often. Look at what is underfoot! Crested Wheat Grass is an introduced species - a remnant of the ranching history in this area. It grows fast in the spring and therefore provided good early grazing for livestock, but it forms dense mats when it dies down, choking out native plants. Not much biodiversity here! Not very interesting visually, either. And the lack of plant diversity has implications for resident wildlife: insects, birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Crested Wheat Grass is a major target of the recent prescribed burns in Grasslands National Park; eliminating it will be a huge step toward prairie restoration within the park.
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© James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape vertical Crested Wheat Grass Agropyron pectiniforme lack of biodiversity introduced invasive wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada
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A different kind of blaze was happening last night in the park. This is a controlled burn, aimed at removing non-native plant species from this prime grazing land near the Frenchman River. The yellow sweet-clover in particular got out of control last summer, when the prairie was unusually wet. It is expected that native plants will naturally reseed this spot and that there will be more bison activity here as a result. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.
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© James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: prescribed burn controlled fire managing Parks Canada control removing non-native plants restoration wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada
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I'm still processing shots from the controlled burn a few days ago. This is early in the procedure, when the fire was just taking hold. Intent was to clear invasive plant species from a large acreage and prepare the way for restoration of native plants. Parks Canada managers know that it is not possible to restore prairie to its original state; that would involve bringing back species such as the plains wolf and plains grizzly, both of which are extinct, and neither of which would be a good fit in today's world. Likewise, we won't ever again see herds of a million bison. Or, for that matter, any of the large Ice Age mammals that once roamed here. Prairies have existed in North America for about 20 million years, and seen a lot of changes. The goal is to return this prairie to its healthiest possible state. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.
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© James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: prescribed burn grass fire controlled intentional managed renewal restoration wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada
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More today from the recent controlled burn in Grasslands. The aim is to restore a healthy prairie ecosystem to a portion of the park that had become overrun with invasive, non-native plants. Fire was a key force in keeping the original prairie vital, but has been all but eliminated today. Prescribed, carefully managed burns such as this are an attempt to replicate natural events. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: fire prescribed burn grass controlled managed Parks Canada restoration renewal wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada
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More today from the recent controlled burn in Grasslands. The aim is to restore a healthy prairie ecosystem to a portion of the park that had become overrun with invasive, non-native plants. Fire was a key force in keeping the original prairie vital, but has been all but eliminated today. Prescribed, carefully managed burns such as this are an attempt to replicate natural events. Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: fire prescribed burn grass controlled managed Parks Canada restoration renewal wild prairie Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada
© All Rights Reserved