Jasper National Park Research Articles

Variation in density of grizzly bears and American black bears in relation to habitat covariates and co-occurrence in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Variation in density of grizzly bears and American black bears in relation to habitat covariates and co-occurrence in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Assessing the accuracy of georeferenced landcover data derived from oblique imagery using machine learning

AbstractRepeat photography offers distinctive insights into ecological change, with ground‐based oblique photographs often predating early aerial images by decades. However, the oblique angle of the photographs presents challenges for extracting and analyzing ecological information using traditional remote sensing approaches. Several innovative methods have been developed for analyzing repeat photographs, but none offer a comprehensive end‐to‐end workflow incorporating image classification and georeferencing to produce quantifiable landcover data. In this paper, we provide an overview of two new tools, an automated deep learning classifier and intuitive georeferencing tool, and describe how they are used to derive landcover data from 19 images associated with the Mountain Legacy Project, a research team that works with the world's largest collection of systematic high‐resolution historic mountain photographs. We then combined these data to produce a contemporary landcover map for a study area in Jasper National Park, Canada. We assessed georeferencing accuracy by calculating the root‐mean‐square error and mean displacement for a subset of the images, which was 4.6 and 3.7 m, respectively. Overall classification accuracy of the landcover map produced from oblique images was 68%, which was comparable to landcover data produced from aerial imagery using a conventional classification method. The new workflow advances the use of repeat photographs for yielding quantitative landcover data. It has several advantages over existing methods including the ability to produce quick and consistent image classifications with little human input, and accurately georeference and combine these data to generate landcover maps for large areas.

Climbing through Climate Change in the Canadian Rockies: Guides’ Experiences of Route Transformation on Mt. Athabasca

Mountain guides play an important role in the provision of nature-based tourism activities, such as mountaineering, in alpine environments around the world. However, these locales are uniquely sensitive to climate change, and despite extensive documentation of bio-geophysical changes, there are few studies evaluating the impacts of these changes on mountaineering routes and the livelihood of mountain guides. This constrains adaptation planning and limits awareness of potential loss and damage in the mountain tourism sector. In response, our study explored mountain guides’ lived experiences of working on Mt. Athabasca in Jasper National Park, Canada, to reveal the effects of climate change on mountaineering routes and implications for the mountain guiding community. To do this, we used a mixed methods approach that combined spatio-temporal trend analysis, repeat photography, and semi-structured interviews with mountain guides. We found that rising temperatures and changing precipitation regimes in the Mt. Athabasca area are driving glacial retreat and loss of semi-permanent snow and ice, which is impacting climbing conditions and objective hazards on mountaineering and guiding routes. Guides’ experiences of these changes varied according to socio-economic conditions (e.g., financial security, livelihood flexibility), with late-career guides tending to experience loss of guiding opportunities and early-career guides facing increased pressure to provide services in more challenging conditions. Our findings offer novel insights that identify salient issues and bolster support for actions in response to the concerns of the mountain guide community. This study also underscores the need for further research, as the underlying issues are likely present in mountaineering destinations globally.

Genomics of founders for conservation breeding: the Jasper caribou case.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10592-023-01540-3.

<i>Corrigendum to</i>: Altered mixed-severity fire regime has homogenised montane forests of Jasper National Park

Fire suppression has altered the historical mixed-severity fire regime and homogenised forest structures in Jasper National Park, Canada. We used dendrochronology to reconstruct fire history and assess forest dynamics at 29 sites in the montane forests. Based on fire scars and even-aged post-fire cohorts, we determined 18 sites had mixed-severity fire histories through time, and 11 sites had evidence of high-severity fires only – yielding a mixed-severity fire regime for the study area. Lodgepole pine, hybrid spruce and Douglas-fir established simultaneously after low- and high-severity fires. Regardless of fire history, forest canopies were mixed in composition and subcanopies were strongly dominated by shade-tolerant hybrid spruce. Despite their size, subcanopy trees were similar in age to the canopy trees. Current stand composition and age structures largely reflect the effects of high-severity fires that burned ~110 years ago at 18 of 29 sites. In the absence of fires after 1905, forests have matured simultaneously, homogenising the landscape and resulting in forest structures that are more conducive to high-severity fire than are fires of a range of severities. Proactive fire management is justified to restore fire as a vital ecological process and promote forest resilience by countering the effects of a century of fire suppression.

SWMM stormwater quality model developed to assess the performance of best management practices: a case study of the town of Jasper in Canada

Stormwater quality management is essential for the protection of aquatic life of receiving waterbodies. This study presents a unique case study, whereby a stormwater management model (SWMM) was developed to assess the performances of street sweeping and infiltration trenches to reduce total suspended solids (TSS) loads in the Town of Jasper located in Jasper National Park, AB, Canada. Two catchment models were developed for the Town using long-term meteorological data, as well as watershed and drainage system data provided by the Municipality of Jasper. The quality parameters were calibrated so that TSS loads at the outfalls were within a 20% error of monitoring data. The performance of proposed best management practices was assessed using single-event and continuous data simulations. The results indicated that a combined sweeping/trench control scenario would generate the highest TSS removal efficiency of up to 51%.

A correction for serial nonindependence in mountain pine beetle aerial survey data to reduce overestimation of cumulative damage

At the beginning of this century, an unprecedented mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreak expanded across western North America. Methods are needed to quantify its impact on forests. Although aerial survey data of infestation are readily available, their translation to tree mortality estimates is challenging because the polygons sketched by aerial surveyors to delimit infested regions often overlap from one year to the next, which produces a lack of independence in yearly estimates of infested landscape. This problem manifests when annual proportions of infested land are summed over years because the sum often exceeds one. Cumulative proportions of infested land larger than one implies overestimation of tree mortality if initial densities of available host trees are multiplied by annual proportions of infested landscape. To address this problem, we developed a probabilistic method for correcting for nonindependence in proportions of infested land recorded using overlapping polygons. We demonstrate our approach in Jasper National Park where the probabilistic correction reduces overestimation bias in regions that were infested multiple years when predictions are compared to validation data. The approach and the spatial raster data sets we generated will be useful to forest managers seeking to quantify the impact of mountain pine beetles.

Notes on the Rare Moss Exobryum fragilicuspis (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta) in North America

The moss Exobryum fragilicuspis (Broth.) R.H.Zander is reported from the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, in Jasper National Park. The species is synonymous with several previously recognized taxa, including Didymodon fragilicuspis Broth., Didymodon gaochienii B.C.Tan & Y.Jia, Didymodon murrayae Otnyukova, and Vinealobryum murrayae (Otnyukova) R.H.Zander. Exobryum fragilicuspis is distinctive in having specialized caducous propagules with barrel-shaped segments at the leaf apices. These detach readily and cause the apices of developed leaves to appear broken. Despite these distinctive features, the species is rarely reported in North America, where it was previously known from three sites in Alaska and British Columbia. The collection from Alberta is the most recent in 30 years in North America, and provides new insights into the species' distribution and ecology. Features of Exobryum fragilicuspis are compared to other related species from North America.

Verbenone and green-leaf volatiles reduce whitebark pine mortality in a northern range-expanding mountain pine beetle outbreak

This is the first study testing the effectiveness of semiochemical treatments to protect individual trees from a range-expanding mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, 1902) attack into newly exposed host populations of endangered whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.). We investigated the effectiveness of a combination of verbenone and green-leaf volatiles (GLV) to protect rare and valuable disease-resistant trees during a MPB epidemic from 2015 to 2018 in Jasper National Park, Canada. Treatments reduced the proportion of trees attacked by MPB for all diameter classes, across all stands, from 46% to 60%. We also evaluated the effect of the exotic disease white pine blister rust (caused by the fungus Cronartium ribicola J.C. Fisch.) — the species’ other main regional threat. MPB were less likely to attack large rust-infected trees than healthy trees, emphasizing the value of the semiochemical treatment. Protecting large cone-bearing disease-resistant whitebark pine trees is fundamental to whitebark pine recovery. Maintaining reproductive trees on the landscape increases the frequency and diversity of rust-resistant genotypes more effectively than just planting seedlings to replace MPB-killed trees, because this slow-growing species takes over 80 years to reproduce. Our study confirmed that protecting large rust-resistant trees with verbenone and GLV is a proactive and effective treatment against MPB for whitebark pine in naïve populations.

Wildfire risk and response in Jasper National Park, Alberta: Application of an adaptation readiness framework

Environmental change associated with warmer temperatures is creating unprecedented conditions in natural regions and ecosystems. In Jasper National Park, Alberta, climate change, historical fire management practices, and the mountain pine beetle infestation are combining to increase the risk of a major wildfire. The intent of this short viewpoint is to provide a primer for decision makers. The application of an adaptation readiness framework highlights areas where the Park's level of preparedness for wildfire adaptation is well developed and areas in need of further attention. Areas where adaptation is well developed include political leadership, decision making, and stakeholder engagement. Further attention is necessary around institutional organizations, funding, and public support.

Columbia Icefield Bus Rollover: A Case Study of Wilderness Mass Casualty Triage, Treatment, and Transport

Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) are rare in wilderness and mountain settings. Few case studies have reported the response of such events within jurisdictions with well-developed trauma and emergency medical services systems (EMS). Here we explore a MCI in a wilderness setting on the Columbia Icefield inside the Jasper National Park within the Canadian Rocky Mountains. An all-terrain bus was involved that had rolled over while transporting tourists to explore the glacier. The bus rolled multiple times down the slope adjacent to the road, leading to 3 deceased and 21 patients requiring transport. A massive pre-hospital response ensued. Due to the location, extreme environment, and unusual complexities, the response involved significant use of aeromedical resources, physician field deployment, and centralized coordination centers. Readers are reminded of the importance of aeromedical surge capacity in allowing for effective distribution of patients to multiple receiving facilities. Our experience aligns with and reinforces many of the recommendations for wilderness MCI management; however, future research should focus on determining optimal triage strategies for mountain MCIs. Furthermore, future research should explore optimal strategies for developing a rescue chain given the availability of mixed transport resources, as well as the role of physicians in MCI response and where they are best placed in the incident command system.

ROAD AND RAIL FATALITIES OF ELK, BIGHORN SHEEP, AND GRAY WOLVES IN JASPER NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, 1980–2018

Established in 1907, Jasper National Park (JNP) comprises 10,880 km2 of mountainous terrain in western Alberta, Canada. Its large mammals have been protected from hunting and trapping, but are subject to accidental collisions with vehicles and trains on the Yellowhead Highway and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) that transect JNP. This paper reviews the park's historical inventory of Elk (Cervus elaphus), Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis), and Gray Wolves (Canis lupus), and reports on their number killed by vehicles and trains from 1980 to 2018. Elk population estimates declined from 1000 in 1975 to 318 in 2018. An aerial survey of Bighorn Sheep flown in 2018 over all of JNPs sheep range recorded a decline of 58–62% compared to 1987. In the lower main valley, discrete bands of rams and ewes declined on 2 traditional winter ranges. The road and rail fatalities of Elk and sheep were superimposed on predation. In the late 1970s, wolves were estimated at 160, but reached an undetermined low in 2018 following year-round trapping on JNPs boundaries and accidental fatalities on the park's roads and railways.

Source and spread dynamics of mountain pine beetle in central Alberta, Canada

AbstractThe mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a significant destructive force in the pine forests of western Canada and has the capacity to spread east into a novel host tree species, jack pine (Pinaceae). New populations have been documented in central Alberta, Canada, but the source populations for these outbreaks have yet to be identified. In this study, we use genetic data to identify parent populations for recent outbreak sites near Slave Lake, Lac La Biche, and Hinton, Alberta. We found the northern population cluster that entered Alberta near Grande Prairie was the source of the most eastern established population near Lac La Biche, and the range expansion to this leading-edge population has been too rapid to establish evidence of population structure. However, some dispersal from a population in the Jasper and Hinton area has been detected as far north and east as Slave Lake, Alberta. We also identified two potential source populations for the current outbreak in Hinton: most beetles appear to be from Jasper National Park, Alberta, but some also originated from the northern population cluster. These findings demonstrate the dynamic dispersal capabilities of mountain pine beetle across the Alberta landscape and the potential hazard of increased dispersal to newly established leading-edge populations.

Climate Change Interpretation and the Leisure Experience of Participants on a Commercial Tour

ABSTRACT Evidence of climate change in alpine environments provides an opportunity for commercial tourism operators to offer interpretation on this subject as part of their tours, albeit with the risk of altering their clients’ leisure experiences in unknown ways. This study used a lab-based experiment to compare the leisure experiences of an experimental group of young adults exposed to climate change interpretation during a simulated snocoach tour of the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park to the leisure experience of participants of a control group who were not exposed to this interpretive component. All other aspects of the simulated tour were identical. Results indicated that incorporating climate change interpretation had a significantly positive impact on visitors’ overall satisfaction and on the education dimension of the leisure experience. These findings provide positive signals for tourism operators who may be concerned about the risks of introducing a climate change component to their product.

The Paths to Realizing Reconciliation: Indigenous Consultation in Jasper National Park

Diverse Indigenous nations have traditional territories inside Jasper National Park (JNP), but the park was established without consultation with local Indigenous communities. Parks were marketed as empty landscapes, which celebrated romantic ideas of European colonial expansion. The current representations of Indigenous Peoples in interpretive content still reflect this lack of consultation. This research was guided by Indigenous methodologies. Data was collected through interviews with Jasper Indigenous Forum (JIF) members and the JNP management team. Findings indicate that JIF members want increased representation and greater control over how their histories and cultures are presented. Park management needs to work in close consultation with the JIF if they want to improve Indigenous representations in the park and support processes of reconciliation.

Eurocentric Lens to Indigenous Methods of Sharing Knowledge in Jasper National Park, Canada

Prior to the current conservation and preservation mandates, national parks in Canada were established in part to develop tourism and resource extraction industries. Indigenous peoples were often forcibly relocated to reserves, their landuse practices made illegal, and their rights ignored. Jasper National Park (JNP), the largest park in the Canadian Rockies (11,228 km2), attracts millions of annual visitors. While numerous Indigenous nations have traditional territory within the current borders of the park, JNP was established without consultation with, or consideration for, those nations. This lack of consideration endures today with the deficiency of the representations of Indigenous peoples in interpretive signage and programming in JNP and the lack of integration in decision making processes. While visiting JNP, visitors are exposed to some of the cultural histories of Indigenous peoples. These Indigenous histories are overwhelmingly presented from Eurocentric perspectives. This perpetuates negative stereotypes of Indigenous peoples that are problematic in several respects. Our research was guided by Indigenous methodologies. Members of the Jasper Indigenous Forum (JIF) and the JNP management team participated in semistructured interviews that provide insight into how park management works with Indigenous peoples in an attempt to incorporate their cultural histories in respectful and impactful ways. The JIF, composed of 26 Indigenous communities, was not established until 2006. JNP management currently have no legal duty to act on the JIF’s recommendations or concerns, as the JIF remains an unofficial advisory committee. Many Indigenous peoples in the region have lost their connections to some of their cultural histories due to the forced removals from the park and subsequent waves of targeted cultural repression instituted by the Canadian government. While there is a desire to increase Indigenous representation in JNP, funding and institutional constraints within Parks Canada are major barriers. Few tangible suggestions or related projects have been undertaken to remedy inadequate representations. JNP management displays a lack of appreciation for, and understandings of, the negative impacts misrepresentations can have on Indigenous communities. This research suggests that increasing cultural awareness and acting on JIF recommendations will not only benefit JNP management, but also park visitors, and Indigenous communities alike.Subscribe to JPRA

Exploring destination loyalty: Application of social media analytics in a nature-based tourism setting

User-generated content across social media platforms is playing an increasingly important role in tourism. Understanding tourists' experiences and opinions about tourism destinations has led to numerous opportunities to provide tourism providers with greater insights. Identifying sentiments, detecting topics of interest, and exploring loyalty behaviors from user-generated content can provide valuable direction for managerial decisions. This paper presents a novel and inclusive approach that uses different analytical techniques such as sentiment analysis and topic modeling to extract sentiments and topics of interest from tourists’ conversational data on TripAdvisor from 2002 to 2019. Sentiment analysis revealed that some touristic locations in Jasper National Park are outperforming others in terms of sentiment scores, despite the fact that tourists less frequently reflect on their experiences at these places on social media. Such higher rankings suggest that average sentiment score can be a more informative measure than simple TripAdvisor rankings. This paper also explores destination loyalty statements using a keyword clustering approach. Previous destination loyalty literature was used to develop a keyword list that was applied to search for expressions of loyalty in online reviews. The robustness of loyalty clusters and optimal number of clusters was also assessed prior to final analysis. Four leading loyalty-focused categories of destination offerings were observed: glaciers, waterfalls, lakes and islands, and hiking and trails. Prioritization of visitor experience enhancements relating to these loyalty-inducing destination components are discussed.

Multiple environmentalities and post-politicization in a Canadian Mountain Park

This research explores the centrality of multiple environmentalities at multiple scales in the post-politicization of conservation governance in Jasper National Park, Canada. Austerity politics in Canada contributed to the post-politicization of conservation as the interests of Parks Canada and private developers were brought into alignment in terms of increasing visitation and the revenue imperative. The Parks Canada Agency, under structural pressure, employed several post-political strategies to suture the space for dissensus and debate and orchestrate the appearance of consent for the private development and management of park services. Central to these strategies were multiple (sovereign, disciplinary, and neoliberal) environmentalities constructed at multiple scales by multiple actors (the federal government, the local parks department, and private sector interests) aimed at producing environmental subjects who understand and acquiesce to the idea that ‘there is no alternative’ to a privatized conservation practice. In response, opponents attempted to mobilize an alternative environmentality, combining a social democratic critique of neoliberalism with a Romantic vision of wilderness conservation. Although opponents enrolled a sizeable number of allies, they fell short of stabilizing a liberation environmentality as several underlying points of ‘agreement’ contributed to the stabilization of post-political discourse and practice, foreclosing alternative political economies of conservation.

Balancing the dual mandate of conservation and visitor use at a Canadian world heritage site in an era of rapid climate change

National parks in Canada operate under the dual mandate of conservation and visitor use, which involves balancing ecological integrity and nature-based tourism activities. Climate-induced environmental change may increase the existing tension between conservation and visitor use as major tourism resources located in protected areas (PAs) are projected to undergo large-scale changes. This study draws upon the behavioural approach, scenario planning, and landscape visualizations to examine the relationship between climate change impacts, visitor perceptions, and visitor experience management at the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Canada. Four tourism development scenarios defined by two management drivers (ecological integrity and visitor demand) with corresponding storylines and visualizations were developed for 2050. The visualized scenarios were presented to visitors (n = 304) in a survey to understand potential implications on visitor satisfaction. The results suggest that park managers need to find a balance between ecological integrity and visitor use in a way that ensures commercialized tourism development is limited, educational material is prioritized, and ecological integrity is maintained. While understanding the behaviour of future tourists is complex, it is a critical component of climate change adaptation planning and decision-making processes that needs to be prioritized by policymakers and PAs managers.

Glacier Skywalk: Foundations for a Canadian National Park Landmark

Jasper National Park, the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, is located in the Province of Alberta, north of Banff National Park and west of Edmonton. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage S...