Download the entire conservation plan
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Approximately 10% of the Rocky Mountain
population of Trumpeter Swans and over
1% of the global population nest and stage
in the Grande Prairie area of northwestern
Alberta. The Grande Prairie IBA centers
on Saskatoon Island Provincial Park, which
includes Saskatoon and Little Lakes, in
the County of Grande Prairie. Additional
lakes in the surrounding agricultural
zone will be added as landowner approval
is secured. The total area under consideration
contains about 30 lakes ranging in size
from small, 500-m diameter ponds to the
10-km long Bear Lake. The uplands surrounding
the lakes are a mozaic of agricultural
land, deciduous and mixed woods and seasonal
wetlands.
Why
Trumpeter Swans Need Protection
In
the early 1900s, it was thought that Trumpeter
Swans had been extirpated from Canada,
but in 1918 a small flock was discovered
in the Grande Prairie area. Numbers have
since increased from 78 birds to over
350. Trumpeter Swans are extremely sensitive
to loud traffic, boating and human disturbance.
Such disturbance can cause the loss of
nests and cygnets and even the permanent
abandonment of nesting lakes. Disturbance
and habitat degradation, primarily due
to agricultural and country residential
development, are major threats to swans
in the Grande Prairie area. The loss of
wetlands also threatens the maintenance
of biodiversity in the Peace Parkland
region.
Current
Conservation Strategies
The present IBA committee, with representatives
from the Friends of Saskatoon Islands
Association, the Peace Parkland Naturalists
and Ducks Unlimited Canada, was formed
to assit with developemnt of the IBA conservation
plan however, there is a long history
of Swan conservation and advocacy in the
Grande prairie region.
Saskatoon Island Provincial Park was
created in 1932 and then in 1948,
the park and adjacent Saskatoon Lake
were designated as a Federal Migratory
Bird Sanctuary. The sanctuary designation,
however, only conveys protection to
the lake and not to the surrounding
shoreline habitat. There are no measures
in place to protect shoreline habitat
on private land, however, since Trumpeter
Swans are listed as a vulnerable species
in Alberta, land use conditions apply
to new dispositions on crown land
adjacent to nesting lakes. The Canadian
Wildlife Service, in conjunction with
Friends of Elk Island National Park,
also conducts an annual census of
nesting and staging swan lakes in
the Grande Prairie region.
Conservation Goals
and Objectives
The
following conservation goals have been
established for the Grande Prairie IBA:
Education
- Share
information throughtout the county
of Grande Prairie about the conservation
of Trumpeter Swan habitat and
the effects of disturbance on
nesting and staging swans;
- Establish
a landowner stewardship program
to enhance conservation of shoreline
habitat;
- Provide
ongoing information on Trumpeter
Swans within Saskatoon Island
Provincial Park;
- And
participate in the annual Swan
Festivsal at Saskatoon Island
Provincial Park.
Habitat Protection/Enhancement
- Work
to ensure mainteneance of undisturbed
Shoreline habitat (including maintaining
natural treed buffers, water levels,
water quality etc);
- And
work with government and Ducks
Unlimited to secure and enhance
nesting staging habitat.
Enforcement
- Support
existing management plans for
Sasktoon Island Park and the federal
migratory bird sanctuary and support
any new conservation initiatives
in the parks;
- Support
enforcement of existing regualtions
preventing the hunting or harassment
of protected species;
- And
work to further limit/restirct
motorized use on Saskatoon Lake
during critical migratory periods.
Research
- Support
the ongoing population monitoring
conducted by CWS;
- Estabish
stronger links with Elk Island
National Park and their swan re-intorduction
program;
- And
an ongoing project on amphibians
in Saskatoon Island Provincial
Park will provide information
on the health of aquatic system.
INTRODUCTION
Trumpeter
Swans were close to extirpation in Canada
when a small population was found near
Grande Prairie in 1918 (James, 2000).
The region, which contains a moziac
of poplar woods, prairie, wetlands and
agricultural land, now supports at least
1% of the world's nesting and staging
Trumpeter Swans (G. Beyersbergen, CWS,
pers.com). While the number of swans
has increased significantly, the population
will never fully recover without a commitment
to habitat conservation in both the
summer and winter range.
The Grande
Prairie IBA centers on Saskatoon Island
Provincial Park and adjacent Saskatoon
Lake. Additional lakes in the surrounding
agricultural zone will be added as landowner
approval is secured. The present IBA
committee, with representatives from
the Friends of Saskatoon Island Association,
the Peace Parkland Naturalists and Ducks
Unlimited Canada was formed to assist
with development of the conservation
plan however, there is a long history
of swan conservation and advocacy in
the region by local landowners and others.
The two primary goals of the Grande
Prairie IBA are:
- To
hlep ensure the long-term stability
of this breeding area through
enhanced habitat stewardship;
- To
improve public knowledge, attitudes
and behaviour regarding Trumpeter
Swan nesting and staging lakes
through education programs centered
in Saskatoon Island Provincial
Park.
