Dragon eggs are not the stuff of fiction, as it turns out.
Marble-sized balls of explosive material have obtained that name because of their “fire breathing” ability to start controlled burns.
Controlled burning in Waterton Lakes National Park, in Alberta’s southwest, is one method Parks Canada officials are using to re-store areas of foothills rough fescue grass that in 1889 comprised 68 percent of the park.
By 1999, rough fescue covered an estimated 49 percent of the park and continued to decline.
It was time to rescue the fescue.
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Kim Pearson, Parks Canada ecosystem scientist, explained the initiative April 7 in Lethbridge.
Besides prescribed burning, the rescue mission involves a battle against invasive non-native grass species and weeds, restoring previously disturbed sites in the park and protecting or facilitating reintroduction of flora and fauna species native to rough fescue grasslands.
“Rough fescue is important because it’s a dominant species, a keystone species in the grasslands in which it is found along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains,” said Pearson after her presentation.
“It’s a very important species for livestock and wildlife. It holds its protein value through the fall and the winter when a lot of other grass species lose theirs. It supports a lot of biodiversity in the grasslands, and that is important unto itself.”
The five-year rescue project began in 2014 with about $6 million in federal funding. Several prescribed burns have taken place in Waterton National Park to kill aspen and other flora that has taken over former fescue land.
By dropping “dragon eggs” from a helicopter, parks officials can target and control fires to attain the goal, Pearson said.
However, that goal is to reverse the trend of continuing grassland loss, rather than restore the amount of grassland to 1889 levels.
“That used to be the way Parks Canada looked at things, a reference point before humans started really interfering in the ecosystems,” said Pearson.
“But now that’s sort of shifting in the world of conservation biology, accepting the fact that we’re here and we’re part of the ecosystem now and climate is changing and there’s other alterations happening in the world that might make it absolutely impossible to shift it back to that exact state, especially with the missing link of the bison.
“Without bison grazing those grasslands, it may be impossible for it to be exactly like it was.”
The region was once home to large bison herds, but loss of those herds combined with fire control and the arrival of invasive species are the three primary reasons fescue has declined.
Pearson said native grasslands support about 45 species at risk in Alberta, including the common nighthawk, American badger, leopard frog and Western bumblebee.
“Native grasslands are irreplaceable,” she said.
Restoration plans in this national park must take into account the comings and goings of about 400,000 visitors annually. The park has programs that involve visitors in the rescue effort, including native seed collection, weed pulling, native grass planting, and interpretive talks and walks emphasizing the importance of grassland and biodiversity.
Herbicide treatments on invasive weeds, as well as the handling of dragon eggs, are left to professionals.
