A changing landscape: High elevation fieldwork at Talus Lodge
The ACC is proud to partner with Living Lakes Canada and their important work. Below is a recap of the High Elevation lake monitoring program and a great opportunity for some citizen science. —ACC
Talus Lake. LLC photo.
The summer of 2023 is unfolding as predicted with dire drought conditions worsening across most of British Columbia. The early, rapid snowmelt combined with a hot, dry May set the stage for what’s already declared the worst wildfire year on record in B.C. and across Canada.
Monitoring on Tanal Lake. LLC Photo.
According to the provincial government’s zero to five drought level rating system, 82% of B.C. watersheds are sitting at drought level 4 or 5, meaning negative impacts on communities and ecosystems “likely” or “almost certain”. Evidence of drought is seen in increasing water restrictions, low flows in rivers and streams, stranded fish, extreme fire danger, and severe wildfires.
How are alpine headwaters impacted and what does this mean for human communities and ecosystems? Living Lakes Canada’s High Elevation (HE) Monitoring Program aims to help answer these questions. And outdoor enthusiasts can help too, through a citizen science project that Living Lakes Canada launched in partnership with the Alpine Club of Canada.
The HE team uses Alpacka rafts to travel across the lake's surface and set up monitoring equipment. LLC photo.
After a successful pilot year in 2022, the HE Monitoring Program is expanding throughout the East and West Kootenays in 2023, with six stream and nine lake monitoring sites, including one at Talus Lakes in the East Kootenays of British Columbia. On a recent fieldwork trip to Talus Lodge, the HE team witnessed the local impact of climate change.
Situated on the Continental Great Divide, Talus Lodge stands at an altitude of 2,300 metres amongst a scattering of small alpine lakes. This year, the ice melted off the lakes three weeks earlier than usual, making it the earliest ice-off recording of the last six years. Anecdotally, the lodge’s staff spoke about enjoying early summer ski turns last July, whereas this July the slopes are bare. An archival photo from 1916 shared with the HE team shows a glaciated basin behind Talus Lodge. Today, there are little remnants of this glacier.
Left: Photo provided by Mountain Legacy Project. Right: Although this photo was taken at a lower vantage point, you can see that the glacier has all but disappeared at the back of the basin. LLC Photo.
During this field trip, the HE team installed monitoring equipment at both the north and south Talus Lakes. This included level and barometric loggers near the shore to measure changes in water level. To measure changes in light and water temperature, pendants were suspended between an anchor at the deepest part of the lake and a buoy floating at the surface. The data collected will inform watershed management and support climate adaptation strategies. All the data is housed on the Columbia Basin Water Hub database.
On the way to Upper Sapphire Lake. LLC Photo.
In 2022, the HE Monitoring Program launched an iNaturalist citizen science project in partnership with the Alpine Club of Canada to mobilize ACC members. Anyone can help by joining the High Elevation Monitoring Program - Living Lakes Canada project on iNaturalist and uploading pictures of flora and fauna they spot within the program’s monitoring locations. These include Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, Fletcher Lakes, Fishermaiden Lake, Macbeth Icefields, Ben Hur Lake and Shannon Lake in the West Kootenays and Talus Lakes in the East Kootenays. This project is creating a valuable inventory of plant and animal species to better understand climate impacts on alpine biodiversity.
Learn more by visiting the HE Monitoring Program page. For questions, contact the High Elevation Program Manager at heather.shaw@livinglakescanada.ca.
Collaborating to protect water in a changing climate
Living Lakes Canada is a national non-profit organization based in the B.C. Columbia Basin working towards the long-term protection of Canada’s freshwater. Visit livinglakescanada.ca for more information.