BANFF – If trees could talk…
A 700-year-old tree towering over the Fairholme benchlands in Banff National Park, believed to be Alberta’s oldest known Douglas fir, would be able to tell stories of hermit Billy Carver and his cabin in the woods, pre-settlement Indigenous peoples’ use of the land, rich coal mining days and wildlife travels.
As Parks Canada plans a large-scale prescribed fire in a 4,469-hectare area of the Fairholme benchlands between Johnson Lake and the park’s east gate this year – a follow-up to a burn 20 years ago – fire experts have identified this ancient Douglas fir tree stand and other cultural and environmental sites for protection.
“Depending on the features we’re trying to protect and what’s out there, we factor that into what we need to do on the ground operationally in order to retain and protect those features,” said David Tavernini, acting fire and vegetation specialist for Banff National Park.
Tree rings can tell a tree’s age, which is called dendrochronology. The Rocky Mountain Douglas fir is Alberta’s largest tree, known to reach heights of up to 150 feet and diameters of more than three feet.
In the 1986 Alberta Trees of Renown, An Honour Roll of Alberta Trees, the towering Douglas fir on the Fairholme bench was listed as the record holder for the oldest Douglas fir in Alberta.
“It began growing about the year 1310 and was 182 years old before Columbus discovered the Americas,” states the 1986 publication, which was a project of the Alberta Forestry Association at the time.
A major reason for the tree's long life is the site on which it grows atop a dry grassy knoll, along with several other Douglas fir trees, all more than 500 years old.
“Because of this protected environment, it is likely that it will grow to be much older still,” according to the book.
According to Parks Canada’s environmental assessment for the Fairholme prescribed burn slated for spring and fall, the goal is for “minimal mortality” of the mature Douglas fir trees, with survival targeted at 80 per cent or higher.
“As we’re heading into the area, the crews will be thinning out a lot of the forest around those,” said Tavernini.
“We’ll be adjusting our ignition tactics to lower the intensity around the Douglas firs because they are a fire-adapted species and they are adapted to that low-intensity, low-severity fires.”
In the ecologically rich area, work will also be undertaken to protect endangered whitebark pine on the upper slopes of the burn unit, with direct loss estimated at less than 20 per cent. There will also be no burning in the spring closure around a wolf den.
Other important pieces of the area’s rich history to be protected within the prescribed burn or surrounding containment area include Indigenous archeological sites, remnants of a logging camp, Fairholme ranch, and historic Anthracite town and mine.
The historic hermit cabin in the region will likely be doused down with water, or protected by a sprinkler system as was done during the previous prescribed fire in the region in 2003, in case the fire leaves the main burn area due to the unpredictable nature of fire.
Billy Carver, the so-called Hermit of Inglishmaldie, built the cabin in 1910 and lived as a recluse there for 27 years.
According to a heritage plaque at the site, Carver worked occasionally at the mines in the area and his only friend was Gee Moy, owner of the Market Garden at the former coal-mining town of Anthracite, who brought him provisions.
“He was seldom seen by anyone else unless by accident,” reads the heritage plaque at the site.
The cabin once contained a handmade stove, table, chair and couch, according to the plaque. The addition was built later on for a bedroom.
While it is difficult to separate fiction from fact on Carver, brief pieces from the pages of the Banff Crag and Canyon and from his death notice tell a bit of the story.
Late in 1937, he was found at his cabin in poor health and in February 1938 he was taken to Eventide, a Salvation Army home for the aged at Gleichen. Carver died in 1940 at the age of 67.
“In December 1937, local boys discovered Billy here, in poor physical shape. The authorities were notified and Billy was taken to an aged home, where he later died,” reads the plaque.
“The RCMP investigated Billy, and found no legal reason for his seclusion.”
Other treasures are also getting attention. Sprinklers will be set up at the historic east gate, which includes recognized federal heritage buildings built between 1934-36. Sprinklers and hoses will also be set up adjacent to the popular Johnson Lake day-use area.
Tavernini said all of these, and more, important resources along the Fairholme benchlands, both natural and manmade, have been identified as part of the prescribed fire planning process, including environmental impact assessments.
“In our plan, we’ve identified all values of risk in that area and adjacent area and applied mitigations for it,” he said.
For thousands of years, fires periodically swept through the Fairholme region between Banff and Canmore, including those lit by Indigenous peoples, renewing the forests. But up until the late 1980s, fires in the national park were suppressed over the previous 100 years.
Without fire, the Fairholme range lacked diversity because forests grew thick, primarily with pine trees, increasing the risk of large-scale wildfires, insect and disease outbreaks, and threatening the survival of the ancient Douglas fir stands.
These thick forests also provided poorer quality habitat for wildlife like grizzly bears that roam there and wolves that den. The Fairholme range north of the Trans-Canada Highway is now the largest remaining intact block of secure montane wildlife habitat in the park.
In 2003, Parks Canada crews lit up 4,968 hectares on the benchlands to kill off old stands of lodgepole pine in a bid to prevent the spread of the mountain pine beetle and restore Douglas fir grasslands to the montane.
Twenty years later, Parks Canada says it is now time for another prescribed burn on the Fairholme benchlands to cut back lodgepole pine growth, restore montane grasslands and open forests that historically occupied this area.
From meadows to Douglas fir stands, diverse forests are also more able to withstand the negative impacts of climate change, such as drought, loss of habitat, and severe wildfires.
Tavernini said the prescribed fire aims to improve habitat for wildlife, such as grizzly bears that will eventually have more food like buffaloberries to feed on after a fire, and a host of other critters big and small.
He said they will also strengthening a strategic fire break to protect local communities such as Harvie Heights and the Town of Canmore in the event of a wildfire, which gives firefighters more time and ability to protect the community.
“By re-burning it, we can keep the coniferous species, which are highly flammable species at bay, and so that helps maintain very large community fuel breaks for communities downwind such as Harvie Heights and Canmore,” said Tavernini.
“By reintroducing fire to Banff through prescribed fire and wildfire management, we can create healthy, more resilient landscapes.”
With 40 years of experience in prescribed fire management, Parks Canada only burns under specific conditions, including appropriate weather, moisture, wind direction, supporting resources and only goes forward when the safety of the public, crews, park building and neighbouring lands can be managed.
During the prescribed fire, a structure protection unit will be stationed at Harvie Heights. In addition, a medium helicopter ability to bucket water on flames if necessary will be available throughout the burn operation and water and sprinkler lines will be deployed when necessary.
To help with smoke impacts and for better burning conditions, the plan is for a minor burn this spring, primarily around the guard towards the park’s east gate, with the larger prescribed fire set for the fall; however, both burns are dependent on what the weather does.
“In the fall and into the winter, we can reduce the probability that it’s going to smoulder and create smoke for a longer period of time,” said Tavernini.
“It’s easier to target that weather window where we have cooler temperatures and rain and snow on the back end.”
