Protected Areas Initiative
Armit Meadows Ecological Reserve |
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Land Designation
Ecological
reserves play a key role in Manitoba’s Protected
Areas Initiative by
protectingunique, rare and representative
examples of plants, animals, geological features
and ecosystems. They are the most protected of the provincially designated
sites within
Manitoba’s network
of protected areas.
The 263 hectare Armit Meadows Ecological Reserve is located
within Porcupine
Provincial Forest, situated in the northern portion of Manitoba’s Western Upland
Natural Region near the Manitoba/Saskatchewan
border. This
impressive site includes
the southeastern portion of the
Spruce forest
dominates the landscape, but a series of small meadows supporting
grassland or wetland communities are also dispersed throughout the
ecological reserve.
Armit Meadows
Ecological Reserve encompasses a pristine riparian zone,
undisturbed
by human activity. The most striking features of this site are the
isolated fescue
meadows containing remnants of the endangered
fescue prairie ecosystem. These
meadows, totaling approximately seven hectares in size, are the
most northerly known
location of fescue prairie in Manitoba
.
Once extending over 255,000 km2, only five percent
of the original fescue prairie
ecosystem remains on the Canadian
prairies. The majority
of this land has been utilized
for cereal crop production, with
only remnants of fescue prairie located along the
northernfringe
of the prairie region. Though
not as scarce as tall grass prairie, fescue
prairie is rare in Manitoba, the most notable meadows occurring in
Riding
National Park
Plants of the grass genus Fescue (Festuca
sp.) dominate the fescue prairie meadows,
while other dominant
species include Awned Wheat Grass (Agropyron
subsecundum),
Cow-parsnip (Heracleum
lanatum), Wild Strawberry (Fragaria
virginiana), Northern
Bedstraw (Galium
boreale) and Common Yarrow (Achillea
millefolium). Other
species
found within the ecological reserve include Prickly Rose (Rosa
acicularis), Early Blue Violet
(Viola
adunca), Creamy Peavine (Laythyrus
ochroleucus), Narrow-leaved Meadowsweet
(Spiraea
alba) and Hairy Woodrush (Luzula
acuminata), as well as several members of the
aster family. The prairie provides significant winter habitat for elk,
known to rely on a diet of
grasses and grass-like plants during
the winter months.
The ecological reserve also supports some dry Sphagnum meadows
dominated by Sphagnum
mosses (Sphagnum spp), Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne
calyculata), Sheathed Cotton-grass
(Eriophorum
vaginatum), Sedges (Carex spp), Swamp Birch (Betula
pumila) and Small
Bog Cranberry (Oxycoccus
microcarpus). Large
Sphagnum dominated openings may not
be common in the Porcupine
Hills, but they are encountered frequently in other parts of
Manitoba.
The small fescue meadows support species unlikely to be encountered
elsewhere in this
region of Manitoba, hence acting as an important reservoir for biodiversity. The Armit
River
Canyon
Armit Meadows Ecological Reserve an esteemed new
addition to
protected areas.
As an ecological reserve, the
Armit Meadows site will be maintained for the preservation
and
protection of pristine
riparian habitat. Passive visits on foot will be allowed without
a permit.
All other activities will require prior approval.
