Succession in Waterton National Park - Nature in control

Eight years after the 2017 wildfire in Waterton.

For most humans, nature works too slowly, but it does a better job.

Late in the summer of 2017 there was a forest fire encompassing much of Waterton National Park.  The Kenow fire, as it is known, started from lightening strikes in the area at the very end of August and grew alarmingly fast.  It covered almost 40% of the park and, in total, affected about 35,000 ha of land.  If you want to read up on it and see some excellent images, click here.

The simple fact is that nature is all about destruction and renewal.  It takes place continuously, tiny changes that are hardly recognizable, with the occasional massive wiping of the proverbial slate.  Forest fires, landslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and the ever scouring of moving water alters the land in a never-ending cycle.

Most of these destructive acts take place in the blink of an eye.  And yet, with each destructive act, life manages to return, albeit slowly.  For man, that would be very slowly.  It takes hundreds, if not thousands of years for ecological succession to rebuild what was destroyed.  That's too slow for us, we like things to happen quickly.  One year, or maybe two, and things should be back to normal.  A building burns down, it gets rebuilt.  A tree is blown over by the wind, the remains are removed and it is replaced.  Rivers get diverted, landslides get cleaned up, and dikes are built to contain nature's wrath.

So, why is it that Waterton's forests haven't been harvested, cleared, and replanted?

In cities and urban areas, even rural ones that have been usurped for farming, that's exactly what needs to be done.  Our living spaces are important, as are our farms and commercial areas, both light and heavy.  The same is true for industrial regions, although great care should be given to reducing toxic emissions and pollution.  When devastation strikes, we should clear and rebuild as soon as possible.  For natural areas though, things should be different.

Many would use such disasters as a licence for getting into mature woodlands or mining sites.  Such thought would see opportunity for economic gain rather than the natural revitalization of an area.  Although it's true that the recreational value of a park may be diminished, it is neither gone nor a permanent loss.  Nature takes time, and does so slowly.  Natural succession means building up topsoil, creating a nutrient base, and allowing climate to determine what a climax community would look like.  

When we plant trees, it is for commercial interests.  Monoculture.  Little diversity and little reason for wildlife to return.  Even worse, such plants tend to be genetically identical and leave little room for a broad gene pool to combat whatever diseases and consumers that may come along.  

Leave wild areas wild, even when disaster strikes.  Nature will take care of its own.  It may take a long time, longer than any of us care to consider, but you can bet the end result will be excellent.

Mother Nature knows best.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com