The information in the (letter) of May 17 in the Fitzhugh is bang on. Parks have the authority to do a lot more than what they are doing.
From the large turnout at the public forum held earlier this month, it is apparent that the people in Jasper are concerned and have every right to be, their houses and livelihood are at a very high risk of being destroyed. The turnout and the concerns should not be a surprise to anyone. Seasoned BC firefighters had never seen the explosive fire behaviour or ecological damage when fighting recent fires in forests exhibiting similar conditions to those in Jasper.
In this case, Jasper Park staffs are not truly cognizant of the potential of a fire in the current conditions. They have limited experience or understanding in these types of conditions or resulting fire behavior. With ground fuel including spring growth that will dry out in midsummer from a lack of moisture, ground and ladder fuels from 100 years of Parks fire suppression and beetle killed forests (2017 - 93,000 ha) you have a powder keg waiting to blow-up. Parks Canada has created unnatural forest conditions in Jasper National Parks by their actions (fire suppression) creating abnormal fire conditions and prime food for the mountain pine beetle.
If you think a 100m fire guard is going to stop a fire in these conditions, crown fire or not, you are mistaken. The fire will cause more damage than any logging will because of the intensity of the fire (amount of vegetation consumed including soils) with enormous carbon emissions and soil destruction (sterilization) that can set the ecosystems back millenniums (ecological integrity?). The potential for a huge fire or mega fire is real. Fires of this type and magnitude generally occur in mid August to early September. With climate change it may occur earlier.
We must therefore question Jasper Park staffs understanding of the term “ecological integrity” after so much interference in a natural process. To put this into perspective the following definitions for ecological integrity and ecological restoration are provided.
Ecological integrity:
“means, with respect to a park, a condition that is determined to be characteristic of its natural region and likely to persist, including abiotic components and the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes.” (Canadian National Parks Act).
An ecosystem has integrity when it is deemed characteristic for its natural region, including the composition and abundance of native species and biological communities, rates of change and supporting processes." In plain language, ecosystems have integrity when they have their native components (plants, animals and other organisms) and processes (such as growth and reproduction) intact. (2017 National Parks committee)
Ecological restoration:
“the process of assisting the recovery and management of ecological integrity. Ecological integrity includes a critical range of variability in biodiversity, ecological processes and structures, regional and historical context, and sustainable cultural practices. (Definition from the Society for Ecological Restoration). (Ecological restoration Guidelines BC)
Part of the process may include harvesting and silviculture strategies across the landscape to assist in ecological restoration. There are a multitude of harvest systems available that will not damage the soils and more than just clear cutting as a silviculture system that will assist with restoring ecological integrity in Jasper. The impact of harvesting is disturbance and not ecological damage or negative impact to ecological integrity; it can assist the natural processes of diversity, natural reproduction and sustainable cultural practices. Yes, this is a National Park and yes, they have a legal responsibility for public safety but as noted in the letter of May 17 to the Fitzhugh, the Parks Act provides the superintendent the authority to take action to protect the people and facilities while managing ecological integrity.
A healthy forest is a healthy ecosystem; that is ecological integrity. Part of healthy forests includes natural disturbances from regular wild fires or gap disturbances as part of an ecological successional process throughout various ecosystems. A massive destructive mega fire created from mans interference of a natural process is not part of ecological integrity. However, since parks actions have assisted in creating the situation of an unhealthy forest and thus a potential for a destructive mega fire in Jasper National Park, they should be willing to take immediate action in protecting the community and infrastructures while restoring the ecosystem back to a healthy state and thus improving ecological integrity.
What can be done? The municipality are doing everything they can do within their jurisdiction. Residence actions should include removal of shrubs, trees, anything that will burn, away from their home as described in the meeting for fire smart actions earlier this month. Trees and shrubs can be replaced at less cost than a home or a life. Parks actions should include more efforts in protecting the community and infrastructure by setting priorities for logging strategies throughout the park this summer. To make this happen, parks will require people with expertise in organising and running operations with the knowledge of various harvesting systems and silviculture strategies that would best manage the current conditions in a National Park. Other actions would include limiting activities in parks to the town and local trails. Lots of visible park staff presence trained in evacuations and signage throughout the park regarding fire conditions and no fires.
If Jasper survives the summer, Parks Canada should be prepared to do a lot more than they expect they should do to restore ecological integrity, returning to natural ecological process and cultural practices. Immediately start planning for logging in key areas to protect the community and infrastructure and set a second priority for key areas that have significant secondary structure and mixed species forests to assist in ecological restoration. Implement burn plans when conditions are right for the desired fuel reduction and natural processes to occur (generally there is a small window for burning, so be ready). These actions will break up the landscape of continuous fuels that would feed a fire. If you get cold feet the conditions are only going to get worse as the beetles spread and more forests die. The result is more area primed for mega fire conditions to start and spread while people continue to be stressed.
Ken Hodges and Emile Begin, registered professional foresters
Prince George, BC
