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SportsRecreationPaddling15TuesdayMay202014ByDALICARMICHAELAspartofanannualtra-ditionFortSmithkayakerscelebratedtheirrstrunoftheyearattheLittleBuffaloRiverfallslastweekof-ciallykickingoffpaddlingseasonintheregion.Agroupofabout15peo-plegatheredatthefallstheeveningofMay13readytoextheirmusclesafteralongandharshwinteroutofthewater.PaddlingontheLittleBuffaloislimitedastherunisonlyaccessibleforafewweeksinthespringaftertheicethawswhilewaterlevelsarestillhigh.Forthosewhohavepar-ticipatedintherunoverthelastfewyearstheowofthetraditionisfamiliar.FirsttheNorthernad-venturersarmthemselveswithwatersafetyequipment.Theythenpopontheirhel-metsstraponlifejacketsanddonwarmingthermallayerstostaveoffthefrigidcoldoftherecentlythawedriverwater.Nexttheyclambertheirwaydownasteepembank-mentcarryingwiththemalloftheneededgearamachetetocutawayobstaclesadou-bledendedpaddleandmostimportantlythekayaks.Evenacanoewashelpeddownthehillasparticipantsslippedthroughsandmudandmoss-coveredrockstoreachtheirlaunchpointatthechurningpoolbelowthefalls.Fromtheretherunwasaboutakilometrelongandtookabouthalfanhourtocomplete.Whileontheirrunkayakerswereabletotakeinthebeautyofthetree-linedriverembeddedinalime-stoneriverbed.Therewasplentyofwildlifeitteringaroundwithonehighlightforthekayakersbeinganeaglespottedoverhead.Thekayakersdecidedtheirrsttimethroughwassomuchfunthattheywouldtackletherunasecondtime.Thelocalgeographywithitswater-loggedkarstsandwhitewaterrapidsmakestheregionespeciallyconducivetopaddlingactivitieslikekayakingandcanoeing.TheannualLittleBuffalofallsrunisseenbylocalsasatrialrunbeforetheytakeonthebiggerrapidsontheSlaveRiveroncetheweatheriswarmer.TheLittleBuffaloRiverFallsTerritorialParkislo-catedabout50kmwestofFortSmithonHwy.5.PaddlersmakespringofficialwithfirstrundownLittleBuffaloRiverPhotoDaliCarmichaelByDALICARMICHAELThered-sidedgartersnakeshaveslitheredoutofthecrev-icesofWoodBuffaloNa-tionalParkdrawingtouriststotheareatoseeanannualnaturalphenomenon.EveryyearaftertheyemergefromhibernationthesnakesgatherbytheSaltRiverdayuseareawheretheycreatematingballsandinturnneonatesbabysnakes.Thisareaisjustoneof11knownsnakedensscatteredthroughoutthepark.JannaJaqueaParksCan-adarepresentativeforWoodBuffaloNationalParksaidtherewasnounusualactivitynoticedwiththesnakesthisyearthoughsomevisitorsdidreportingseeingablackbearinthearea.Noticationswerepostedaroundlocalhikinganddayuseareaswarningofthedangersofbearswhicharenotoriouslymoreaggressiveafterawakeningfromhiber-nationintheearlyspring.Thered-sidedgartersnakesofWoodBuffaloNationalParkareuniqueinthatthesnakecol-onyisnotonlythemostnorth-ernsnakefoundinNorthAmer-icabutalsothemostnorthernreptile.Deepfracturesinthegroundcreatedbykarstgeol-ogyprovideidealhibernationdensforthesnakesallowingthemtostaywarmenoughtosurvivethewintersunharmed.OnceeveryfiveyearsParksCanadaconductsamarkandrecapturesurveystudyonanumberofsnakes.Overthecourseofatwo-yearperiodthereptileswillbecaughtmeasuredweighedandhaveafewoftheirscalesclippedsothattheywillbeeasytospotandre-measurethefollowingyear.Themostrecentstudieswereconductedin2011-2012.ParksCanadaalsoat-temptstostudythepopula-tionsizeofthesnakesbutduetothequickdeparturemadebythefemalesnakestotheirnestinggroundsitismucheasiertomeasuremalepopulations.Themalepopulationwaslastmea-suredin2012anditwasestimatedthattherewereabout95snakesatthetime.ThesnakeswillbeoutagaininmidtolateAugustjustintimetogivebirthtotheirneonates.ThemajorityofthesnakeswillbefoundatLostMarshabout4kmnorthoftheSaltRiver.Red-sidedgartersnakesmakeannualmatingappearanceEnvironmentWildlifeFromleftPaddlersDonJaqueKarlCoxandJasonPantersitatthebaseoftheLittleBuffalofallsonMay13astheywaitfortherestoftheircrewtosliptheirboatsintothewaterandtaketheirrstkayakrunoftheseason.Thisrouteisonlyopenforashorttimewhilewaterlevelsarestillhighfromthewintericethaw.EveryspringfromlateApriltoearlyMaythered-sidedgartersnakemakesitsrstseasonalappearancecreatingmatingballsthroughoutWoodBuffaloNationalParkbeforendingaswampyareatomakeitsnest.PhotoKarenPalmer