Drywood/Yarrow Conservation Partnership watershed tour

"Fish, Bear, and Ranchers - Can they coexist in a watershed?" 

Lesley Peterson of Trout Unlimited at Twin Butte Simmentals Ranch

Chris Davis - Approximately 100 people gathered at Tony and Lorraine Bruder's Twin Butte Simmentals ranch on Thursday, June 21 to participate in the Drywood/Yarrow Conservation Partnership watershed tour. It was an eclectic group comprised of ranchers, politicians, media, people involved in conservation efforts, wildlife experts, interested citizens, and others.  Beginning at the Bruder ranch, the all-day bus tour made several stops throughout the area. At each stop landowners and involved individuals and organizations demonstrated watershed stewardship and large carnivore projects that have been implemented over the past 5 years. 


The event began next to the Yarrow Creek on the Bruder ranch.  Introductions were made all around.  Lesley Peterson of Trout Unlimited acted as a casual MC for much of the day, taking the opportunity to explain the organization's role in some of the initiatives.

RBC's Mark Brown presents Trout Unlimited Canada CEO Jeff Surtees with a $150,000 donation

Genesis of Drywood Yarrow Watershed Partnership
Tony Bruder spoke about the beginnings of the Drywood Yarrow Watershed Partnership.  "There was so much damage caused by the '95 flood.  Where we're standing right now (creekside), if you guys put your hands up as high as you can, you won't touch where the top of the water was'" he said. "So there was an immense amount of damage down through these valleys.  We saw the damage that was caused by that water and a lot of us landowners got to thinking 'How can we work to try and improve this as quickly as possible'.  In '96 we had Cows and Fish come out and do 14 riparian assessments, mostly on the Drywood Creek."

Tony Bruder

"We obviously found that there was lots of trouble within our watershed," Bruder continued.   Projects to improve the situation began in 2005, and more riparian assessments were made to determine areas that were improving naturally and areas that required "extra help".

"This area needed a lot of help," he said.  Fences were installed to keep cattle off the creek so that the shore areas could recover.  He pointed to new cottonwood growth he said had occurred in the last three or four years as a result. "The creekbanks are starting to stabilize a little bit and it's making a big difference."

Large carnivores an increasing concern

"In 2008 we started to really notice an increase in large carnivore activity in the area."  A subcommittee was formed, and a dead stock removal program was initiated.  "My opinion is that dead stock removal program has helped immensely by trying to keep the bears from coming in and creating conflicts."

"We've also been doing other project, electric fencing, feed yard fencing, and grain storage upgrades, going from some of the old wooden bins to metal bins.  Even the metal bins where the bears tear the doors off, we've developed a bear-proof door  that has been working so far."

Yarrow Creek

It's personal
Later on in the tour Bruder explained the biggest concern of landowners by saying "Pretty soon it's not going to be my grain bin ripped open or a cow being killed, pretty soon it's going to be me or one of my kids.  That kind of pressure is what made us landowners get together to combat these issues now before something happens."    This kind of comment was to be heard throughout the day from many landowners in the region.

Riparian awareness education
Bruder said one of the things closest to his heart was an event called DYCP Education Day, held in the middle of September.  "We've run it for four years, we run it for one day, and we've averaged just over 90 students a day.  Mostly it's been local students from Pincher Creek,  Livingstone, Glenwood, Hillspring, but we've been getting calls from other schools as well." 

Participating organizations in the education day include Trout Unlimited Canada, Alberta Conservation Association/Multisar, Parks Canada, Bear Smart, and Alberta Cows and Fish.


Keeping the bears out
The tour then moved on to another location on the Bruder ranch, where efforts designed to keep cattle from damaging wooded areas and streams, and to keep bears away from the cattle and silage, have been implemented.

Tony Bruder said bears come seeking silage to eat from August to November.  He said neither of his parents had seen a grizzly bear on the land until 1997, but since then the family has seen a huge increase in grizzlies.  "We counted 16 different grizzly bears last year, just from our deck," he explained.  "That's a huge increase in numbers."

He said a bear ripped into the middle of a silage bag, resulting in the destruction of almost 40 tons of feed, prior to the installation of electric fencing.  "There's nothing that gets after bears like electric fence.  They don't like it very much at all."  Bruder also recounted how the "Milk River" grizzly wreaked havoc on a nearby honey operation.

Trout Unlimited helped facilitate funding for the project, which includes a geothermally heated shallow well, electric fencing, windbreaks for the cattle, and grain bins moved from the forested area.

Bruder said it was a difficult transition for his family's operation, because the trees that were now protected from the cattle actually used to offer them the best protection from the wind. However, he said there had been no incidents of bear incursions in the two years since the electric fence was installed.


Bonertz riparian area
Next on the tour was a trip to a renewed pasture on the Butte Ranch owned by Terry and Sheona Bonertz.  Jeff Porter of the Southwestern Alberta Conservation Partnership was a featured speaker at this location.

Butte Ranch riparian area

Riparian fencing was installed to allow for a large riparian pasture, located a fair distance from the creek.  He said allowed for a larger area to regenerate itself while still allowing for usage of other pastures.

"Under a proper management regime, and moving your animals, you don't even need a fence," he said, in response to an often stated opinion that all creeks and streams shouldbe fenced off.  "It's timing of usage when you're using these riparian areas. The key time to stay off these riparian areas is early spring.  That's the most vulnerable time."

"The timing for usage is August and September, if possible."

Lesley Petersen explained some of the criteria used by Trout Unlimited when looking for projects to support.  She also highlighted some of the results of electric fishing based information gathering in the area with the assistance of Lethbridge College students.

Will Warnock

Bull trout still at risk

One of those students is Will Warnock, a Ph.D graduate student of Lethbridge College who is studying bull trout in the Drywood area.  He said overharvest and various other factors have greatly impacted the bull trout population.  Despite a bull trout fishing ban imposed in 1995 the species has not fully recovered in the Drywood area. "There is a loss of migratory connectivity for bull trout," he said.  A loss of habitat has exacerbated the problem, according to Warnock.  Brook trout, native to eastern Canada, are competing with the bull trout for habitat.  "Brook trout continue to be a big problem in the province."  He said bull trout had lost their dominance, and "they're probably in big danger of imminent extinction."

Warnock said restoring the migratory connectivity for bull trout was a critical necessity if the species is to survive in Alberta.

Mike Uchikura from the Alberta Conservation Association said the association was embarking on a 3 year project within the Waterton River drainage area.  "The goal of this project is to collect baseline information on what kind of species we're picking up, in what portions of the streams."

"This will be a prime opportunity to do a full-circle project where we collect fish imformation, engaging landowners, get Cows and Fish in to do some riparian health assessments, to understand the condition of riparian areas."

"We definitely have some dollars to contribute towards off stream watering units and stream bank fencing and riparian pastures, that type of thing."

MX Ranch

Mac Main

The tour moved on to the MX Ranch, owned by Mac and Wendy Main.  At this site feed storage protection is fairly sophisticated, with multiple electic fencing solutions and cameras designed to keep elk, bears and other large carnivores away.  

"Our cows are happy, so I'm happy," said Mac Main. "The biggest problem here is with the wind.  You have to have your grain bin with quite a bit of grain in it to keep it from blowing away, and the bears know that.  There's no real time you can not be a be a bear attractant."

He said he put a concrete base into the bin to hold it down in the wind.

Valley Blue Ranch

Helen and Clarence Cyr

The next stop on the tour was the Valley Blue Ranch owned by Clarence and Helen Cyr.  Helen is the Councillor for Division 1 of MD of Pincher Creek No. 9, which encompasses the various sites on the tour.

At this site, riparian and electric fencing initiatives have again been applied.  Cyr said fencing along the creek had helped with their calving process, where previously the creek had been a threat to newborn calfs. Bear activity is again a major ongoing concern. "We're saddled with the loss, and with the costs," she said, after explaining how bears impacted their cattle operation.

"Our major problem with bears is in the fall. They're looking for that food source and we think they're training their young to come back to that food source.  We have, we feel, habituated bears, and quite a few of them.  We know that because we have trail cameras set up over the granaries," Cyr explained.

"Those are the greatest tool invented for knowing what's going on on your place in the dark, or when you're not around."

Cyr said that previous to installing electric fencing elk were devastating their cattle feed supply.  Wooden grain bins on the property show major damage where bears had broken into them prior to the installation of electric fencing.

Valley Blue Ranch
C. Davis photos

Clarence Cyr is no stranger to bear encounters.  "We've been here 40 years, and there's always been bears.  We'd see signs, we'd see them once in a while, but as soon as they'd see you they were gon faster than you could blink.  But the last 6 or 7 years it's not like that anymore. You see more bears, and they don't run away.  They haven't charged us yet, but they don't run.  That's not a good sign."

While he was pleased with the result of the electric fencing, Clarence said "It doesn't solve the problem.  We're just moving the problem to somebody elses farm."

After the Valley Blue Ranch the tour made a brief stop to look at a dead stock removal bin on the Hardy Ranch, a sturdily designed container that can be moved with a skid steer.  Then it was on to the Hardy Ranch homestead.

Dead-stock removal bin

Hardy Ranch

Dick Hardy and BearSmart bin

At the Hardy Ranch, a steel grainery bin equipped with a Bear Smart bear-resistant door was demonstrated.

Elsewhere on the Hardy Ranch, fencing to protect the creek was shown.  This was another area devasted in 1995.  A nearby dam by the Shell plant failed in that event, creating a huge flash flood.  "Gradually we changed our management program," explained Dick Hardy, "and three years ago Trout Unlimited got with us and we did this big project, and we planned out what we might do here."  The result, long stetches of creek side land fenced off and allowed to recover.

Hardy Livestock

Epilogue
After more than 8 hours spent touring the area, two busloads of weary attendees were returned to the Bruder ranch, where we were treated to a wonderful roast beef dinner with all the fixings.


Related links and sources:
www.cowsandfish.org
www.bearsmart.com
Cowboys and Carnivores
Waterton watershed
Trout Unlimited Canada