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Land Designation
Ecological reserves play a key role in Manitoba’s Protected Areas Initiative by protecting unique, 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.
Landscape DescriptionThe 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
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 northern fringe
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
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
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
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.
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