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In studying Fundy's characteristic stands
of Acadian forest, scientists have discovered
a crucial role played by a tiny forest creature
called the Northern Flying Squirrel. The squirrels
feed on the Myccorrhizal fungi, whose tiny rootlets
attach themselves to the roots of trees. The
fungi are critical to the trees ' ability
to survive in a nutrient poor soil, supplementing
their diet. The only way the fungi can spread
is through the scat of small rodents who eat
them, principally the flying squirrels. So without
the squirrels, there are no more fungi; without
the fungi, the Acadian forest withers and dies,
and so goes the squirrels ' habitat. It is
a perfect symbiotic relationship.
The problem here is due to
human use of the forests outside of Fundy's
small, protected area and the resulting fragmentation
of the Northern Flying Squirrel's habitat.
The squirrels travel by gliding from tree to
tree, so the presence of a clear-cut is a serious
impediment to their movement. Increasingly isolated
populations lack the necessary gene pool for
continued viability and gradually, small populations
become extinct ending the perfect relationship
between squirrel and forest. The solution is
to change our patterns of forest use, which
foresters in the Greater Fundy Ecosystem are
trying to do.
Although the Park has a long
history of settlement and land use, there are
still many wild species that inhabit the area.
Deer, moose and black bear can be seen in the
backcountry, along with fisher, porcupine, beaver
and coyote. The Peregrine Falcon is one of the
native species that has been re-introduced to
Fundy National Park in recent years. There have
also been programmes to bring back the American
marten and the Atlantic salmon.
The endangered Peregrine Falcon
was extirpated from the Fundy region around
1950. Parks Canada and the Canadian Wildlife
Service initiated the re-introduction of the
Peregrine in 1982. Over a period of six years,
55 peregrines were released from two sites within
the National Park. Conservation Officers would
monitor the cliffs where nesting was most likely
to occur.
By nature's timetable,
it is too soon to claim success, but breeding
pairs have been sighted along the coast, and
park staff have even been able to observe fledglings
in a nest just outside the Park 's eastern
boundary.
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