GeoNotes CYPRESS HILLS AND AREA
Lodgepole Pine, Cypress Hills Photo by: Charles KussFLORA, FAUNA
and Holocene (12,000 years to present) paleoclimates
The Cypress Hills cover an area of approximately 2500 sq km, rise sharply from the north and west, and gradually drop back to the plains towards the south and east. They form a divide where the southern slope drains into the Gulf of Mexico and the northern slope drains into the Hudson Bay. They are an anomaly on the flat plains with an average elevation of 760 m around Maple Creek and rise to 1467 m at their highest point at the “Head of the Mountain” in Alberta. This is the highest point between the Torngat Mountains at the northern tip of Labrador and the Rocky Mountains. The highest point in Saskatchewan is approximately 8 km WSW of Fort Walsh near the Alberta border with an elevation of 1393 m.
There are two natural regions in the Cypress Hills; a foothills climate variation similar to that of the Rocky Mountains, a fescue grassland, and a mixed-grass sub-region that includes wetlands consisting of ponds, marshes, swamps, and peatlands. The vegetation is about 50% grassland, 45% woodland, and 5% wetland. The northern hill slopes generally have more moisture than the dryer southern slopes.
The Cypress Hills forest is an ice age remnant of an ambiguous Boreal Forest that once extended along the ice front from the plains to the Rocky Mountains roughly 14,000 years ago. As the climate warmed and became dryer, grasses took over the plains leaving an isolated remnant of the original forest in the higher wetter, and cooler elevations of the Cypress Hills.
An interesting research of the West Block nunatak questioned if there are any late Pleistocene biota relics that survived the deep freezing of the Wisconsin ice age. It was surmised that the Cypress Hills flora and fauna came into the hills after the deglaciation replacing the tundra vegetation that is now absent. However, the researchers did conclude because of their very limited dispersal that two species may be relics of the nunatak that served as a refugium. The two species are the land snail (Oreohelix strigosa stantoni Dall) and the ~3mm blind, wingless, and slightly pigmented rove beetle (Omalonomus relictus) that lives in the soil.
Paleoclimate researchers found the Cypress Hills of SW Saskatchewan and SE Alberta to be a key area for Quaternary (2.6 million years to present) research. The permanent lakes and coniferous forests provide abundant paleoenvironmental proxies that can be obtained and applied to the surrounding area where these proxies are not available. Examples of paleoenvironmental proxies are the growth rates in tree rings and the pollen in lake sediments that can be used to determine species composition.
The Holocene paleoclimate sequence for the Cypress Hills has been derived from sedimentary data from Harris Lake, about 10 km NNW of Fort Walsh, with a continuous 9120-year sedimentary record. Although the lake is in the West Block and the sedimentary history is more indicative of the western Cypress Hills, the information obtained can be generalized and applied to the entire Cypress Hills and surrounding area to give an idea of past climates. Here is a summarized timeline of the paleoclimate proxies collected from the Harris Lake sediments (Sauchyn, 1993):
9120-7700 years before present (abbreviated BP), presence of aspen forests, relatively stable landscape.
9000 BP, very few conifers.
7700-5000 BP, Holocene climate maximum, i.e., the warmest time in the past 12,000 years. A warm period dominated by grassland and saline tolerant vegetation, e.g., chokecherries, pussy willows, asters, prairie cinquefoil.
7500-5500 BP periods of hypersalinity. Saline soils develop in hot arid and semiarid climates with less than 25 cm of annual rainfall. Areas with shallow water tables can also develop saline soils as the water evaporates and concentrates the salts.
Lodgepole pine and White spruce are very low in numbers. Mostly wind and water erosion.
From 5000 BP onward, the climate began to deteriorate, colder, and wetter. Increase in conifer and aquatic plants.
4600 BP, the characteristic Lodgepole pine and White spruce became established and have been around since.
4500-3600 BP, maximum Holocene humidity, i.e., the moistest time in the past 12,000 years. Major forest expansion, low salinity, landslides common, and an increase in sediment deposition into the lake.
3000-2400 BP, a cool period with less organic matter entering the lake, coincides with
global glacial expansion including the glacial advances in the Canadian Rockies around 3000-2500 BP.
Since 2400 BP, climate is similar to today. The Cypress Hills tree line has and does fluctuate, and landslides have occurred during more extreme moist periods. An example is the 1967 massive slide on the south side of Battle Creek near Police Point.
Today, the Cypress Hills forest consists of two main coniferous species and has changed little since 3230 BP (Sauchyn, 1993). Lodgepole pine, usually found in the Rocky Mountain regions, is unique to the prairies and grows at elevations above 1281 m in drier areas on the Center and West Block. The second main conifer is the White spruce found in cool, moist areas near springs on north-facing slopes. Aspen, popular, and balsam poplar are the common deciduous trees.
Lodgepole
pine characterizes the uniqueness of the Cypress Hills on the
prairies. Photo: Charles KussOf the native trees in the Cypress Hills, there isn’t a single cypress tree. Cypress trees grow in somewhat warmer moist climates (AgCan hardiness zone 5 and up) and do not grow in the cooler dryer climates of the hills or surrounding prairies. Nor, were the hills named after anyone. The origin of the ‘cypress’ in the hills is uncertain, but it does appear to have a French connection. The early French Canadian explorers and fur traders loosely called any evergreen tree ‘les cypres’ or the cypress, and the Metis called the hills, ‘les montagnes des cypres’ or the mountains of cypress.
The bird population is equally as diverse as the flora with 220 bird species recorded either as permanent residence or seasonal visitors.
The mammal population consists of at least 48 species including beavers, muskrats, weasels, mink and bats.
With the 19th and early 20th century influx of European settlers, the big game animal populations along with smaller game mammals and birds became greatly reduced in numbers. Predators that were competing with humans for food or were harassing and killing livestock were killed resulting in the extirpation (local extinction) of cougars, wolves, and grizzlies. Some of the mammal, bird, and fish species were later reintroduced into the Cypress Hills to repopulate the original extirpated species.
The following timeline contains interesting wildlife trivia collected from various sources that also apply to the Cypress Hills:
In early 1876 the American bison disappeared from the Cypress Hills, and in 1890 they became protected by the Canadian government. The bison live only in North American and looked similar to the buffalo early American settlers saw in Asia and Africa, thus calling them “buffalo”.
Before the European settlers arrived, 30-60 million bison roamed across the North American great plains. With the US and also the Canadian government’s disregard for the indigenous communities that had relied heavily on the bison for food, clothing, and shelter for many thousands of years, and the decline of the beaver and fur trade industry, hunters turned their attention toward the bison. The shameless ruthless hunting tactics, mainly in the US, during the mid-1870s of taking the hide and leaving the carcass to rot led to an almost complete decimation of the animal in a few short years. In 1893 only 400 animals remained, and it’s from these numbers, and through careful conservation and land management on both sides of the border that the bison numbers began to slowly grow to the 500,000 animals in North America today.
Bisons
once roamed across the prairies and throughout the Cypress Hills.
Stories of vast herds of Bison migrating through the area left local
vegetation devastated and watering holes polluted. Photo: Charles
Kuss.jpg)
Fort
Walsh, Saskatchewan in 1878. Notice the lack of trees. Tree growth
was hindered by the millions of roaming buffalo. Image: Fort Walsh
National Historic Site
Fort
Walsh in 2017. Notice the tree growth. Image: Charles KussIn 1890 the last plains grizzly bear was shot in the Cypress Hills. Before that, the grizzlies were common on the Great Plains of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and into Montana and the Dakotas. The Cypress Hills may have been their last refuge. The plains grizzly is the same species that roam in northern Canada and the Rockies today. Since grizzly bears conflict with established settlements, a study concluded their reintroduction is not feasible.
Once
common, the last plains grizzly in the Cypress Hills was shot in
1890. Image: Jill Wellington from PixabayBetween 1890-1925 mountain lions or cougars disappeared.
Cougar sightings have again been reported in the Cypress Hills in the 1990s, but not confirmed until 2006 when three cougars were captured on a wildlife camera and a family of three caught in coyote snares just outside the park. In 2014 about 28 pairs of cougars have been spotted by wildlife authorities.
A three-year cougar study in the Cypress Hills from 2007-2009 involving the use of GPS radio collars, wildlife cameras, and snow tracking found 6.5-8.25 cougars/100 sq km, one of the highest densities reported anywhere. The study also found cougars tend to stay close to a forested or wooded cover and rarely wander into the grasslands. The same study in 2008-2009 fitted 6 adult cougars with GPS locators and found 301 kill sites consisting of the following diet: < 1% cat, bird, and beaver; 2% coyote and moose; 3% porcupine; 15% Elk; and 77% deer of which 70% were whitetail deer and 7% mule deer. Although cougars have been killed by ranchers outside the park boundaries, there is no evidence as yet that the predator attacks cattle (Bacon, Boyce 2010).
People are also reasonably safe since cougars shy away from humans. Across North America, between the years 1890-2000, there have been 96 cougar attacks reported resulting in about 20 deaths with most of the fatalities on Vancouver Island.
Cougars are known by over 40 different names worldwide. The most common names are cougar, mountain lion, puma, and panther. Cougars (Puma concolor) are not part of the Panthera genus. Panther is used loosely to describe many big cats of the Felidae family. The Panthera genus consists of tigers, lions, jaguars, and leopards.
Cougars
disappeared from the Cypress Hills between 1890-1925, and have since
made a come back. Image: Skeeze from PixabayIn the early part of the 20th-century ringneck pheasant and grey partridge were reintroduced.
1909 elk disappeared and reintroduced in 1938.
1920 ruffed grouse reintroduced
1924 Brown Trout restocked
1925 wolves disappeared.
1955 red squirrels reintroduced.
1956 moose reintroduced.
1962 wild turkeys were introduced.
1983 swift foxes reintroduced.
1986 martens reintroduced.
The Cypress Hills are also home to several species of fish, 13 species of reptiles and amphibians, approximately 100 species of butterflies, moths, and a diverse insect population.
Sources:
Bacon, Michelle, Boyce, Mark S; Cougars Create a Landscape of Fear In the Cypress Hills; http://sci- northern.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/CougarsCreateALandscapeOfFearInTheCypressHills_May2010.pdf; Alberta Outdoorsmen Magazine; Edmonton, AB; May 2010
Beaudoin, Alwynne B., Oetelaar, Gerald A.; The Changing Ecophysical Landscape of Southern Alberta During the Late Pleistocene; Plains Anthropologist; Vol. 48, No. 183; 2003; Pgs. 187-207
Breen, Amy L., et al; Genetic Consequences of Glacial Survival: The Late Quaternary History of Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) in North America; Journal of Biogeography; Wiley Publishing Company; Vol. 39, No. 5; May 2012; Pgs. 918-928
Campbell, J.M.; Peck, S.B.; Omalonomus Relictus, An Unusual New Genus and New Species) Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Omaliinae) of Blind Rove Beetle; A Preglacial (Tertiary?) Relict In The Cypress Hills, Alberta-Saskatchewan, Canada; The Canadian Entomologist; Vol. 122; Pgs. 949-961; (PDF) Omalonomus relictus, an unusual new genus and new species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Omaliinae) of blind rove beetle; a preglacial (Tertiary?) relict in the Cypress Hills, Alberta- Saskatchewan, Canada (researchgate.net); Sept/Oct 1990
Cruise, David; Griffiths, Alison; The Great Adventure: How The Mounties Conquered The West; Penguin Books Canada Ltd; Toronto, ON; 1998
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Checklists-Downloads; http://www.cypresshills.com/resources/downloads/interprovincial/checklists; Alberta/Saskatchewan, 2014
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, History and Timelines; http://www.cypresshills.com/resources/history; Alberta/Saskatchewan
Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Natural Environment; https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/cypress-hills-pp/information-facilities/nature-history/natural-environment/#MixedgrassSubregion; Alberta Parks; Edmonton, AB; June 28, 2017
Derksen, Jeremy; Cougars of the Cypress Hills; https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/cougars-cypress-hills; Canadian Geographic, Ottawa, ON; December 1, 2012
Ghikas, Diana, Franken, Renee, Duncan, David; Recovery Strategy for the Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos), Prairie Population, In Canada; http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/rs_grizzly_bear_prairie_population_0709_e1.pdf; Environment Canada; Ottawa, ON; 2009
Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos): COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report 2012; https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/grizzly-bear-2012.html; Government of Canada; Ottawa, ON; 2012
Hobson, David P., et al; (PDF) Initial post-release behavior of marten,Martes americana, introduced in Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Saskatchewan. (researchgate.net); Canadian Field Naturalist; Vol. 103; Pgs.398-400, 1989
iNaturalist; Cypress Hills Provincial Park Check List; Cypress Hills Provincial Park Check List · iNaturalist Canada; Site accessed 9-28-2023.
Jungerius, P. D.; Soil Evidence of Postglacial Tree Line Fluctuations in the Cypress Hills Area, Alberta, Canada; Arctic and Alpine Research; Taylor and Frances Ltd; Vol. 1, No. 4; Autumn 1969; Pgs. 235-245
King, Gilbert; Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed; https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-the-buffalo-no-longer-roamed-3067904/; Smithsonian Magazine; Washington, DC; July 17, 2012
Love, Marcia; Cougar Sightings Rising As Population Grows, Expert Says; Maple Creek News Times, E-paper; http://www.maplecreeknews.com/news/2015/10/01/cougar-sightings-rising-as-population-grows-expert-says/; Maple Creek, SK; October 1, 2015
Lueck, Dean; The Extermination and Conservation of the American Bison; The Journal of Legal Studies; The Evolution of Property Rights (Conference); Northwestern School of Law; Vol. 31, No. S2; Pgs. S609-S652; June 2002; The Extermination and Conservation of the American Bison on JSTOR.
Orchids-Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Fact Sheet; https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/ba121898-a1ad-4ce3-9de9-6bdc2b2c7e15/resource/cabd1e90-9ea7-4c84-95a6-b31a947ca577/download/cypress-hills-pp-orchids-checklist.pdf; Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park; Alberta/Saskatchewan.
Ritchie, J. C., MacDonald, G. M.; The Patterns of Post-Glacial Spread of White Spruce; Journal of Biogeography; Wiley Publishing Company; Vol. 13, No. 6; Nov 1986; Pgs. 527-540
Sauchyn, David, editor; Quaternary and Late Tertiary Landscapes of Southwestern Saskatchewan and Adjacent Areas; Canadian Plains Research Center; University of Regina; Regina, SK; Pgs. 46-58; 1993
Strong, W. L., Hills, L. V.; Late-Glacial and Holocene Palaeovegetation Zone Reconstruction for Central and North Central North America; Journal of Biogeography; Vol. 32, No. 6 Pgs. 1043-1062; June 2005; Late-Glacial and Holocene Palaeovegetation Zonal Reconstruction for Central and North-Central North America on JSTOR.
Stephen L. Cumbaa, J.V. Sciscenti; Notes on Six Crania of the Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos, from the Cypress Hills Region of Saskatchewan and Alberta; Notes on Six Crania of the Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos, from the Cypress Hills Region of Saskatchewan and Alberta on JSTOR; Journal of Mammalogy; Vol. 59, No. 2; May 1978; Pgs. 431-433
Terasmae, J.; Notes on Late Wisconsin and Early Holocene History of Vegetation in Canada; Arctic and Alpine Research; Vol. 5, No. 3; Summer, 1973; Pgs. 201-222; Notes on Late Wisconsin and Early Holocene History of Vegetation in Canada on JSTOR.
