Lutra 46(2)_Hood & Bayley_2003

Fire and beaver in the boreal forest-grassland transition of western Canada – A case study from Elk Island National Park, Canada

Prescribed fire is used as a management tool in many areas throughout the world to restore vegetation communities, reduce fuel loading, and enhance wildlife habitats. However, the effect of prescribed fire on many wildlife species has not been well studied, especially on beavers (Castor canadensis). The purpose of our study was to examine whether prescribed fire influences beaver lodge occupancy in the aspen and mixed-wood habitats of Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada. In particular, we examined whether lodges in burned habitats experience lower occupancy levels than lodges in unburned habitats, whether the frequency of burns influences lodge abandonment, and whether the distance to suitable habitat potentially accessible from those lodges abandoned following a burn, influence beaver lodge occupancy. Since 1979, over 51% of Elk Island National Park (196 km2) has been burned with the goal of restoring prairie plant communities. We found that fire negatively affected beaver lodge occupancy, an effect compounded with frequent burns. Though prescribed fire is considered an important landscape restoration process, the frequency of prescribed burning should be mitigated to ensure that flooding by beavers can continue as a key process that maintains wetlands on the landscape.