Elk Island National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the Plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" is east of Edmonton, along the Yellowhead Highway, which goes through the park. It is Canada's eighth smallest in area but largest fully enclosed national park, with an area of .
The park is representative of the northern prairies plateau ecosystem and as such, the knob and kettle landscape is a mix of native fescue grassland that has been converted to forage land dominated by non-native grasses, aspen parkland and boreal forest. As well, Elk Island plays host to both the largest and the smallest terrestrial mammals in North America, the wood bison and pygmy shrew respectively.
History
Elk Island National Park is situated in the Beaverhills area, which with its aspen thickets and easy access to water, has provided shelter for wintering herds of elk, bison and moose since times immemorial. Though there was never any permanent indigenous settlement in the area, there are over 200 archaeological remains of campsites and stone tool-making sites. The land has been influenced by the Blackfoot, Sarcee and Cree indigenous groups.
In early post-Contact history, the Beaverhills area was primarily used for commercial hunting. This led to over-hunting and the virtual elimination of beaver from the area by the 1830s and of large ungulates by the 1860s. The area then became valuable for timber until 1894, when fire swept through the area. In 1899, the federal government designated the area the "Cooking Lake Forest Reserve". But while the forest was protected, it did little to protect the moose, elk and deer populations. Thus, in 1906, five men from Fort Saskatchewan put forward $5000 and petitioned the federal government to set up an elk sanctuary, calling it "Elk Park". Elk Island Park was later granted federal park status in 1913, and then designation as an official National Park under the National Parks Act which passed through the Canadian Parliament in 1930.
In 1951, a replica of a pioneer cabin was built in the park to honour the Ukrainian Canadians who pioneered the area. This replica, known as the Ukrainian Pioneer Home, was the first museum or historic site ever dedicated to Ukrainian immigration in Canada. It was later declared a Classified Federal Heritage Building by the federal government in 1993.
In terms of local governance, those lands within Elk Island National Park were incorporated as Improvement District (ID) No. 97 on April 1, 1958. ID No. 97 was renumbered to ID No. 13 on January 1, 1969.
Wildlife
Elk Island is home to the densest population of ungulates (hoofed mammals) in Canada. A variety of mammal species including coyote, bison, moose, mule deer, lynx, beaver, elk, white-tailed deer, and porcupine are year-round residents. Black bears and timber wolves certainly roam within this park, but they are not commonly seen by wildlife viewers. Over two hundred and fifty bird species can be found in the park at various times of year. Most notable among these are the red-necked grebes, American white pelicans, double-crested cormorants, great blue herons, red-tailed hawks, American bitterns and the trumpeter swans.
Wildlife management
Elk Island National Park maintains a thriving elk population, estimated at 605 in 2007, as well as around 300 moose and over 500 deer. Parks Canada transferred eighteen moose from Elk Island to Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Highlands National Park between 1947 and 1948. Reintroduction of traditional species has been an important focus as well. Besides the success of the wood and plains bison introduction, beavers were reintroduced in 1942, and in 2007 numbered near 1000. 1987 saw the beginning of a Trumpeter Swan reintroduction programme which is now seeing mating pairs returning to Elk Island, raising hope for a sustainable population.
Elk Island National Park also remains a seed herd for repopulation efforts in other areas. Elk Island elk have been relocated to various parts North America, including Ontario and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Plains bison have been reintroduced to conservation areas scattered throughout their historic domain, for example American Prairie in eastern Montana, Grasslands National Park and the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in Saskatchewan, and in 2006, 30 wood bison were relocated to the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to begin repopulation efforts of the area historically inhabited by the now extinct steppe bison.
