Bearhills Lake (11017)
Canada, North America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2008
National site name: Bearhills Lake
Central coordinates: Latitude: 52.9357, Longitude: -113.6180
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 785 to 810
Area of KBA (km2): 21.18231
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Bearhills Lake is located 13 km west of the town of Wetaskiwin in central Alberta. Louis Bull and Ermineskin Indian Reserves are to the south. Bearhills Lake is a shallow lake, with a maximum depth of 15 to 20 feet, and has a small buffer of aspen around the perimeter. The site includes some grassland, shrubland and sandhill areas in the surrounding uplands. The adjacent uplands are quite extensive since the basin for Bearhills Lake is one of the largest in the region. The old shoreline is up to 1.2 km from the present, so most of the backshore areas are fairly low with a high water table. The majority of the shoreline areas consist of bulrushes and cattails. The lake is fed by Maskwa Creek at the south end, and is drained by Bigstone Creek at the north end.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard.
Additional biodiversity: Bearhills Lake is an important site for staging ducks during fall migration. Well over 100,000 ducks were recorded here in November, 1980, while 40,000 waterfowl (mainly ducks) were counted in late September, 1981. Annual fall staging duck numbers are consistently over 20,000, and consist of several species. Ducks Unlimited therefore considers the lake to be a critical moulting and staging area for waterfowl.
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | rangeland/pastureland | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 30 | |
| Grassland | 20 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 30 | |
| Shrubland | 10 | |
| Forest | 10 |