Saskatchewan preserves untouched ecosystems

Page 14

Two of the largest nature preserves in Saskatchewan are about as far apart as they could be and still both be in the province. Both Grasslands National Park in the south, which borders on the U.S., and Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Wilderness Park, which is on the south shore of Lake Athabasca in the far north, save large areas of two ecologically fragile ecosystems, and both contain archeological evidence of Aboriginal visitors to and use of the areas.

They're the same on another count, as well: neither offers visitor amenities to those hardy souls who venture there. Visitors to both parks will see them much as they were two, three or 25 centuries ago.

Grasslands National Park is one of Canada's newest, established only five years ago after considerable work to identify a viable area for preservation. Most of the prairie has been developed, or at least broken at some point, for agriculture. Grasslands preserves some of the last large areas of original mixed-grass prairie in Canada.

Located in the Wood Mountain area and to the west, the park is divided into two blocks of about equal size. There is road access to both, and a short developed interpretive trail in the west block. Otherwise, there are few facilities - for example, there are no toilets or water in the park at all.

In the two blocks, there are a number of archeological sites detailing Aboriginal life in the region. The accepted span of human occupation of the prairies is now 10,000 years, and the earliest evidences of life are pushing that time further and further back. The history of the area can be divided precisely at 1879 - the first 10,000 years of an economy based on the bison, followed by 117 bison-less years.

Sites are accessible and can be seen by those willing to walk or ride to them. Primitive camping - called "no trace" camping - is available in both blocks of the park. Access to the west block is from Val Marie, south of Swift Current; access to the east block is from the corner of the Wood Mountain Regional Park and the provincial Wood Mountain Post Historic Site. The visitor reception centre is located at Val Marie, and can be reached for information at (306) 298-2257.

The Athabasca Sand Dunes consists of a series of dune fields stretching for 100 km along Lake Athabasca. It is the largest active sand surface in Canada and one of the most northerly sets of major dune fields in the world. The outstanding scenery is combined with a unique ecosystem, rich in rare and endemic - that is, found only there - plants which are considered by scientists to be an evolutionary puzzle.

Ten of the plant species in the park are found nowhere else in the world and 50 of the other 300 are rare in Saskatchewan. Why the five broad-leaved herbs, four willows and one grass grow only in the Athabasca Sand Dunes is unknown.

The park was initially proposed in 1973. In 1992, the area, encompassing 1,925 sq. km, was officially designated a wilderness park.

People have lived in the area, at least intermittently, for the past 7,000 or 8,000 years. The south shore of Lake Athabasca was used by prehistoric caribou hunters. The rivers, especially the McFarlane, at the eastern edge of the park, were important travel networks to early inhabitants. Inuit inhabited the area, as later did the Chipewyan.

The dunes are constantly in motion, and the sand is recycled by the wind towards the land and by the water to the lake. This instability is maintained by the wind and fires in the area, which bury or destroy vegetation that has managed to take root.

The most striking area is along the William River, which divides the largest of the dune areas from the jack pine forest typical of northern Saskatchewan. The exceptional scenic contrast of the two areas, divided by a narrow ribbon of water, is striking. On the west bank of the river, massive dunes rise 20 m or more from the water's edge; the sand is relentlessly pushed into the river by the prevailing north-westerly wid.

Visitors should plan to be in the area between mid-June and the end of August. Chartering in by air, canoeing, boating or hiking to the park are the only options. The nearest community is Fond du Lac, some 45 km northeast. For further information, contact the park superintendent in Stony Rapids for more information at (306) 439-2062.