To know Nature and to keep it worth knowing9

Keeping it wild:The struggle to preserveJumbo Glacier "*

r bir

Fraser River Estuary:Port expansion putshabitat at risk

THE PUBLICATION OF THE FEDERATION OF BC NATURALISTS

www.naturaUsts.bc.ca * SUMMER 2005 • VOL.43 NO.2 • ISSN 0228-8824

BC NaturalistVolume 43, No.2

In This Issue:Editorial features are the sole responsibility of theirauthors. Opinions expressed therein are not necessarilythose of the FBCN.

Departments:Editor's Notebook 3

Your Federation is Working For You 4

President's Message 5

Conservation Report 6

Club Chat 25

Regular columns:Book Reviews: ,22

Features:AGM Awards 8

Englishman River Gets a Helping Hand 9

Naturalists Help Purchase Part of Swan Lake 10

Bluebird Boxes . 11

Canada Parks Day 2005 13

Elaine Golds 14

Fraser River proposal 15

Professorships 16

Buttertubs Field Trip 17

Jumbo Valley 18

The Future of the FBCN 21

Arrowsmith Earth Day 11

Brochures 24

2004 AGM Report 30

2005 Annual General Meeting, 31

Objectives of the FBCN

1. To provide naturalists and natural history clubs ofBritish Columbia with a unified voice on conservationand environmental issues.

2. To foster an awareness, appreciation and under-standing of our natural environment, that it may be wiselyused and maintained for future generations.

3. To encourage the formation and cooperation of nat-ural history clubs throughout British Columbia.

4. To provide a means of communication betweennaturalists in British Columbia.

BC Naturalist is published quarterly by theFederation of BC Naturalists.

Publication Agreement No.40043545 Circulation 4,500.

Editor; Carol Nicolls (fbcnclublink@telus.net)

Advertising: Linda Halls (Ir halls @s haw. ca)Production: Elizabeth Minchenko (eminchenko@telus.net)

Website: David Lassmann (djlassmann@shaw.ca)

We welcome your articles, photos, camera-ready ads and let-ters. Please send them to the editor; please send material wellin advance of the deadline when possible.

Submission Deadlines:Spring February 15 Fall August 15Summer May 15 Winter November 01

Advertising Rates$400 back Page $120 1/3 page$300 full page $80 1/4 page$160 1/2 page $40 business card

Special rates for ad placement in four or more issues

Federation of BC Naturalists

307-1367 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6H 4A9

Tel: 604-737-3057 Fax: 604-738-7175http://www.naturalists.bc.ca fbcn@telus.net

Office Manager: Maria Hamann

Cover photo: Wildsight

BC Naturalist

Editor's Notebook— by Carol Nicolls

As you can see from die photo above (it's not Dawn Hanna),this is my first issue as editor of the BC Naturalist. Putting

together this issue has involved a lot of fun and a rather steeplearning curve. I would like to thank everyone who has givenme advice, been patient, promptly answered my occasionalcries for help and generally made me feel welcome in theFBCN community.

As part of my ongoing quest to meet some of the facesbehind the e-mail addresses, I attended the AGM in SalmonArm. I enjoyed the AGM immensely, although I think I wasprobably the only person diere without high-powered bin-oculars. It was a pleasure to meet so many people who areso active, inquisitive and knowledgeable about their naturalenvironment. While travelling through spectacular scenery enroute to the AGM, it was impossible not to feel lucky for theincredible diversity and beauty of EC's natural landscape. Atthe AGM I was impressed and inspired by the level of com-mitment and energy shown by many members in working topreserve these areas that mean so much to us.

While I grew up in urban areas, as an avid outdoorspersonI have been hiking and canoeing for most of my life. Andalthough I have spent a fair bit of time browsing throughmammal guidebooks on my trips, I realize that I have notspent nearly enough time learning about some of the otherdetails of the natural world—plants, birds and well, the listgoes on. The AGM field trips in particular inspired me to learnmore about these areas, and reminded me to niake sure thatmy two young nieces get a better start than I did!

The AGM also gave me a better sense of the naturalist com-munity and many new story ideas. We were particularly tightfor space this issue, and regrettably could not include all thematerial that was submitted. That material will find its wayinto the Fall issue. I am still in the process of getting to knoweveryone and trying to make sure the newsletter is filled withgreat material, so please keep those articles and ideas for articlescoming. I would particularly like to include a "Secret Places"column in the next BC Naturalist. Is there a special place inyour neck of the woods that you think would be of interest tonaturalists? Please let us know about it! .?•*_,

More Superb Tours with Eagle-Eye!

.

V\4

Saskatchewan Whooping CranesOctober 12 - 16, 2005 with Al Smith

Wondeful fall migration of waterfowl, raptors, shorebirdsand Sandhill Cranes with an exciting search for

Whooping Cranes.

Polar Bears of ChurchillOctober 20 - 24, 2005 with Richard Knapton

Close and unforgettable encounters with a magnificenttop predator from the comfort of a tundra buggy! Plus

Ptarmigan, Arctic Fox, Ringed Seal and more.

Costa Rica Hawk MigrationOctober 21 - 30, 2005 with Cam Gillies

A marvelous wildlife experience! A river of migratingraptors set against a backdrop of primary tropical forest

and Caribbean beaches.

Antarctica, Falklands and SouthGeorgia

November 9 - 28, 2005 with Roh Williams

Cruise of a lifetime! Penguins and albatrosses, whalesand seals and much more in incomparably photogenicsurroundings! Scenery is breathtaking, ice formations

fantastic and wildlife astonishing!Argentina Pre-Tottr November 5-9, 2005

BorneoNovember 5-19, 2005 with Richard Knapton

Among the most exciting and richest wildlifedestinations! Broadbills and bristleheads, trogons and

bee-eaters, the bizarre Proboscis Monkey and theendearing Orang-utan.

Sarawak extension November 19 - 22, 2005

Eggle~Eye Tours1-8OO-573-5678 www.eggle-eye.com

traveli2Pe3cjIe-eye.com

BC Naturalist

Your Federation is Working For YouLetters Sent• Feb. 25 to Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of the Envi-ronment re: National Park Reserve, South Okanagan-LowerSimilkameen• Feb. 28 to Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier of BC, re:conservation of BC's threatened mountain caribou

• Mar. 14 to Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of the Envi-ronment re: the use of lead sinkers and jigs

• Mar. 15 to Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Industry& Senior Minister for BC House of Commons re: conservationof the Fraser River Delta

• Mar. 17 to Honourable GeoffRegan, Minister of Fisheries andOceans re: conservation of the Fraser River Estuaiy

• Mar. 18 to Wayne Nedoboroski, Manager, Commercial Rec-reation, Land and Water BC re: Heli-ski Land Tenure applica-tion from Bear Paw Heli-ski

• Mat. 29 to Ross Vennesland, Species at Risk Biologist( MWLAP)re : species at risk on McKee Peak

• Apr. 7 to Honourable Bill Barisoff, minister of Water, Land&C Air Protection re: interim protection for Goal 2 Areas in theOkanagan.Letters Received• Feb. 21 from Jan. E. Hagen, Project Assessment Director re:Delta Port expansion environmental assessment

• Mar. 29 from Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of the

Environment re: protection of the Ftaser River Estuary

• Mar. 30 from Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister Respon-sible for Parks Canada, thanking us for our letter in support ofthe feasibility study to establish a national park in the Okanaganregion

• Apr. 1 from Honourable GeoffRegan, Minister of Fisheriesand Oceans re: Cultus Lake and Sakinaw Lake sockeye Salmonunder SARA• Apr. 6 from Honourable George Abbott, Minister of Sustain-able Resource Management re: Heliski Land Tenure applicationfrom Bear Paw Heli-ski

• Apr. 19 from D. Wayne Gordon, Senior Planner, City ofAbbotsford Re: McKee Peak Planning Area

• Apr. 29 from Honourable Stephane Dion, Minister of theEnvironment re: National Park Reserve in the South Okanagan-Lower Similkameen

" May 16 from Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Indus-

try re: conservation of the Fraser River DeltaMeetings Attended• Mar. 2 - Wetlands Stewardship Partnership (Bev Ramey)

• Apr. 12 - Delta Port Third Berth - Environmental Review publicmeeting (Jeremy McCall, Anne Murray, Bev Ramey)

• Apr. 14 - Agriculture/Wildlife Advisory Committee (Don Flook)

• May 12 - Off Road Vehicle Coalition for Licensing and Regis-tration Qoan Best) "fli*

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BC Naturalist

President'sMessage— by Jeremy McCall

I am writing this immediately after returning from a most suc-

cessful Annual General Meeting and Conference in Salmon

Arm, at which more than 160 naturalists from virtually every

club enjoyed a delightful interlude next to the western grebes

in one of their principal BC nesting habitats. Many thanks to

the members of the Shuswap Naturalists Club for organizing

such a fine conference in such elegant facilities and for themany interesting workshops and field trips. With the results

of the BC election now known, we can also look forward to a

new era in Victoria during which I believe BC's environment

will receive much more positive treatment than it has for thepast four years. Given the new balance in the legislature, I think

there will be many more elected representatives of both parties

who will be prepared to lend support to naturalists when they

have environmental issues of concern. All in all, it has been an

exceptionally uplifting week!

I would like to bring your attention to two initiatives which I

have described at some length elsewhere in this issue. The firstof these is Canada Parks Day which takes place on July 16. I

sincerely hope that on that day, FBCN club members will find

ways to remind members of the public of the extraordinary

resource represented by BC's parks and protected areas, andencourage them to use and support their parks. Secondly, we

are planning a club and member survey which will be under-

taken this fall as a prelude to a strategic planning workshop

to take place next winter. The period covered by the FBCN's

former strategic plan is now long past and it is time to figure out

where we want this organization, with its 4,000 members, their

families and its potential, to go in the immediate future.

At this time I would also like to remind all clubs that funds

remain in such FBCN funds as the Club Support Fund, theConservation Fund and the Education Fund. At the AGM the

FBCN also received a further generous donation from the BC

Naturalists' Foundation and those funds are now available for

grants to clubs for their conservation and education projects. As

we did last year, we shall be calling for the clubs to submit their

applications for grants after Labour Day. Now would be a very

good time for clubs to begin planning their projects for 2006.

Lastly I would ask that clubs, especially those in the Lower

Mainland, use any opportunity they can to spread the word and

promote the FBCN's Fraser River Estuary National Wildlife

Area initiative. This is described fully elsewhere in this issue. It isthe FBCNs proposal for adding further protection to the most

significant Important Bird Area in Canada, namely the Fraser

River Estuary IBA, including the critical habitat at Boundary

Bay, Roberts Bank and Sturgeon Bank. It has been presentedto representatives of Environment Canada in Ottawa and Van-

couver, and we must now promote it progressively to the manyother stakeholders of this IBA.

The FBCN is fortunate to have many volunteer representa-

tives who speak in many different forums. Their informative

reports are contained in the FBCN's 2004 Annual Report,

which also contains regional reports and financial statements.

Any member wishing to obtain a copy of the 2004 AnnualReport should contact the FBCN office.

IN THE WILDS OF WESTERN CANADAA new book of 27 real-life short stories with line

drawings, 8 colour photo pagesand comprehensive notes section.

(Available this spring)

You can order via email: sunrise@mountainwild.ca ortelephone (604) 530-4257.

First 300 copies are the Author's Edition, signed.The better bookstores and gift shops will carry

IN THE WILDS OF WESTERN CANADA

The income frorn^your donationI bequest toti> BC Naturalises1 (^ ,

Foundatior(,* ,-*•will be usecftosupport the -. conservationk and educationf ' \-

projects of the ..IFBCN, \is}mbmber clubsand naturalistsacross B6f^r many Vyears to come.

BC Naturalists' Foundation307-1367 West BroadwayVancouver, BC V6H 4A9

tel: (604) 737-3057 fax: (604) 738-7175fbcn@telus.net www.naturatists.bc.ca

>C NATURALISTS]

FOUNDATION

BC Naturalist

Conservation Report— by Bev Ramey

The Shuswap Naturalists hosted an inspiring AGM. It wasinteresting to learn how Salmon Arm has ptotected their

lake and marsh shoreline over the past 15 years, while manag-ing for urban development. The original assistance from TheNature Trust was very important for the marshland purchase, aswell as the continuing strong community support. The result isthat the Western Grebe still dance in the bay, and there is evenan occasional fling by the Clark's Grebe. Some urban develop-ment stands out near the lakeshore, but it is kept in check.

Looking into the future, management of the extensive FirstNations natural shore marshlands will be very important, andit was uplifting to hear their elder speak in such a respectfulway about the natural environment. A further good news storyis the progress made restoring riparian habitat through coop-erative projects with farmers along the Salmon River. The lakemarsh and Salmon River are fortunate in having a commu-nity of people who are committed to ensuring their long-termhealth.

Election results have given BC a substantial number of oppo-sition members, which should provide a voice for the environ-ment over the next four years. This will enable more debate onenvironmental issues in the Legislative Assembly, which in turn

provides fodder for the media. The strengthened oppositionnumbers ensure funding for their caucus research, so we canlook forward to more knowledgeable discussion.

The Federation of BC Naturalists has forwarded a letter tothe federal minister responsible for Parks Canada in support ofthe feasibility study for the South Okanagan/Similkameen.Certain individuals in the Okanagan/Similkameen are circulat-ing a good deal of erroneous information. It is important fornaturalists to attend public meetings, to speak up and to writein support of the National Park Reserve. The feasibility studywill continue through 2005 and 2006, and information is avail-able online at: www.pc.gc.ca/sols.

On the south coast, another Parks Canada feasibility studyis underway for the Southern Strait of Georgia NationalMarine Conservation Area Reserve. This feasibility study isexpected to continue for another couple of years. Additionalinformation is on the Parks Canada website at www.pc.gc.ca.

Four resolutions were passed at the Salmon Arm AGM. Theseresolutions are now being forwarded to appropriate govern-ments. The following paragraphs summarize the resolutions;the entire text of the resolutions is available by contacting theFBCN office.

Protection of Groundwater Resources: Given the overallimportance of groundwater, the FBCN passed a resolutionurging the provincial government to expand the mandate of itsGroundwater Advisory Committee to ensure that the Commit-tee focus on the primary objective of preserving the integrityand sustainability of the groundwater resource.

BC Naturalist

Coal-Fired Electric Power Plants: On the basis of several airquality and health concerns, and given that many Europeanand North American jurisdictions are moving to terminateplants which generate electricity through the combustion ofcoal (for example, Ontario has set a target date of 2007 fortermination), a resolution was passed that the FBCN urge theprovincial government to reconsider its plans to permit thedevelopment of coal-fired electricity generation.

Off Road Vehicles and Responsible Outdoor Recreation:This resolution was prepared in response to extensive envi-ronmental damage from Off Road Vehicles (ORVs) in theSmithers area (view images at www.bcnorth.ca/atvdamage/).The resolution calls for FBCN to urge the Ministry of Foreststo enforce existing regulations concerning habitat destruction,to strengthen regulations and to clarify the jurisdictional rolesof government agencies so that compliance and enforcementmeasures are effective.

In addition, FBCN will urge the Skeena-Stikme District ofthe Ministry of Forests to complete the Recreation Access Man-agement Plan for the Bulkley Timber Supply Area, and in con-sultation with Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management,develop an outdoor recreation policy that restricts off roadvehicles (snowmobiles excepted) to certain designated roads,trails and lands designated as all-terrain vehicle parks. Finally,the FBCN endorsed the initiative of the Outdoor RecreationAlliance of Smithers to pursue the development of a certifica-tion process for communities that implement a ResponsibleOutdoor Recreation Plan.

Implement the Nanaimo Estuary Management Plan:Given that a management plan for the Nanaimo Estuary hasbeen prepared through a steering committee of various levelsof government, including First Nations, Forest Industry, andcommunity groups, but that finalization of the managementplan has been delayed due to lack of funds; and given that themanagement plan is especially needed now that industry is pro-posing sub-leases for water and land use, the FBCN passed aresolution urging federal and provincial governments to imple-ment the management plan.

The FBCN endorsed in principle a motion to encouragemunicipalities to pass bylaws to extend the protection ofbald eagle nest trees. The motion calls for protection to beextended beyond the nest tree, to an expanded area or "bufferzone" around the nest tree. The extent of the buffer zone wouldfollow the recommendations of the Ministry of Water, Landand Air Protection as follows: a distance of 100 metres in ruralareas, a distance the length of l!/2 times the nest tree heightin urban areas, and a leave strip of 60 metres for riparian areas.

Finally, at the AGM BC Naturalists endorsed a resolutionurging Stephane Dion, federal Minister of Environment, to actquickly to protect wildlife habitat in the Fraser River estuary,by designating additional land as the Fraser Delta NationalWildlife Area. Read the full recommendations elsewhere inthis BC Naturalist.

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BC Naturalist

2005 AGM Awards Presented— by Joan Best

Following the Saturday evening banquet at the AGM inSalmon Arm, several FBCN awards were presented. The

awards honour those people, within and outside the Federation,whose efforts contribute so much to the continuing work ofkeeping nature front and centre.

FBCN Regional Volunteer AwardPresented to Heather and John Neville, who were nomi-

nated for their work in the Kootenays area. Heather was astaunch worker for the FBCN and the "West Kootenay Region,serving as Director for the Nelson Naturalists and, amongmany other activities, was a primary organizer for the CrestonFBCN AGM. Johns recording of birdsongs involved greatexpenditures of time and effort in all weathers and hours,and resulted in Birdsongs of the Kootenays, Creston Valley,Okanagan, Canadian Rockies, West Coast, Great Lakes and theBoreal Forest. John's work is featured at the Cornell Universityof Ornithology and has been regularly supplied to the Libraryof Natural Sounds of Nature. John is the author of numerouspublications, and his work has been featured on television,radio and at many public events.

FBCN Recognition AwardThis award recognizes non-FBCN members whose work

"contributes to the understanding and appreciation of thenatural history of BC," and was presented to Rod Silver. Formany years, Rod has guided the Habitat Conservation TrustFund (now the Conservation Trust Fund) and has helped todevelop Naturescape BC. He has also adapted Project Wild(originally from the U.S.) for our province, and has workedwith the FBCN to create Wildlife Watch. Rod also worked onthe Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission for manyyears as support staff. He has proven himself to be a successfulnegotiator in obtaining both government and private funds forthe environment, and is personally "generous with his time."Bert Brink describes Rod as someone who "has served the prov-ince of BC in countless ways."

Outstanding Naturalist AwardPresented jointly to Dick and Syd Cannings, The Cannings'

work has brought BC's unique natural heritage to the forefront.The Cannings brothers' many publications and presentationshave covered a wide range of BC's natural features, from birdsto geology. Their professional work is equally diverse: fieldresearch, curatorship of museums, chairing of such influentialagencies as COSEWIC, work for Bird Studies Canada and theConservation Data Centre, to name but a few of the groups,boards and other bodies on which the brothers have served. Sydand Dick also acted as BC Parks Interpreters and as leaders ontrips throughout most of the world. Closer to home, the Can-nings were involved in the Meadowlark Festival and ChristmasBird Counts as both organizers and participants. The Cannings

Dick Cannings receives Outstanding Naturalist Award.

also raised public awareness through frequent radio and televi-sion appearances.

Elton Anderson AwardThis prestigious award was granted to Jeremy McCall,

FBCN president of the past 3 years. Using his administrationand organizational skills, Jeremy has kept the operational sideof the FBCN on track. He has worked tirelessly to look afterthe organization's less glamorous minutia, such as insurance,liability and privacy issues, and finances. As well, Jeremy servesas Chair of the FBCN Foundation, itself demanding much ofhis attention.

Jeremy has encouraged a high standard in the BC Naturalistmagazine and is actively involved with its publication. He hasinitiated the involvement of FBCN member Clubs in ParksDay and has developed the Club Support Fund. Jeremy isguiding the development of the Young Naturalists Club froman offshoot of the Vancouver Natural History Society to anindependent, province-wide organization. Jeremy cares deeplyabout conservation matters and has spoken well and skillfullyrepresented the FBCN on issues ranging from Boundary Bayto the Recreation Stewardship panel, and at meetings with pro-vincial Ministers.

New AwardsDuring the AGM, two new awards were approved. The

Daphne Solecki Award will be presented to leaders andother adults in the Young Naturalist Clubs. The AppreciationAward will be given to volunteers who serve the FBCN inareas other than through their Clubs or Regions. A forthcom-ing memo will discuss details (including application deadlines)of the new awards, as well as those to be presented at the FGMin Lillooet. ^*

BC Naturalist

Englishman River Gets aHelping Hand— by Carolyn Redl

Several members of the Arrowsmith Naturalists, Parksville,celebrated Earth Day 2005 at the Englishman River estu-

ary. Some worked under the guidance of Maggie Little andRoger Simms to stamp out broom. Tony Heal and Pam andDavid Helm set up scopes for passersby to view action on theestuary. Val Tinney, one of the founding members of the Ar-rowsmith Young Naturalists, and Pat Audley answered queriesat an information kiosk.

Named British Columbia's second most endangered river in2004, the Englishman River has had two major boosts in thepast few months. Arrowsmith Naturalists have initiated a part-nership with the Nature Trust of British Columbia, which in2003 purchased, a 439-acre property on the main stem of theEnglishman River. Thanks largely to the Nature Trust, the riveris now publicly owned and protected, except for a short section,from its estuary to the falls in Englishman River Falls ProvincialPark, thirteen kilometers southwest of Parksvilie.

Hie Arrowsmith Naturalists' goals for work in the estuary arethree-fold. They will work to control invasive plants, especiallyknapweed, ivy and broom, as well as conduct seasonal birdinventories and assist in natural history and public educationprojects. They are at the estuary twice a month. On the firstMonday of the month, they take inventories of birds, flora andfauna and anything else—recent headliners were 5 Sandhillcranes and a curlew. On the last Friday of the month, theyattack noxious weeds; both days, they meet from 10-12 a.m.

The second major boost to the river's overall well-being camefrom the provincial government. Further upstream, at theofficial opening of Englishman River Regional Park on April10, 2005, MLA Judith Reid announced a $260,000 infusionof funds to build a pedestrian bridge over the river. The bridgewill extend the Top Bridge Trail for hikers and bikers fromRathtrevor Provincial Park to the new regional park.

In addition, efforts by other interested groups such as theStreamkeepers are assisting in bringing back salmon stocks tosustainable levels. Good news all, for the Englishman River. •

Arrowsmith naturalists set up Earth Day information Kiosk.

CHILCOTINMOUNTAINS PARKGUIDED HIKING RETREATS

SOUTHWESTERN BC

Located on the lee side of the Coast Mountains, theSouthChilcotin Mountains favored position is located withina "Rainshadow". This means sunny skies and a dry climate.

The area is renowned for its biodiversity, with an abundanceof wild flowers that bloom May to September, and an

outstanding variety of wildlife.

Chilcotin Holidays base camps are ideally located so thatnaturalists can explore the best of the Chilcotin Mountains.

The spectacular Shuiaps Mountains on the eastern edge ofthe Chilcotin Mountain range hold many hidden geological

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Hike the unique and lush valleys of McGillivray Pass andConnel Creek. Near vertical grassy slopes are suitable for

novice to advanced ridge-top hiking.

If you have yet to experience Eldorado, Cinnabar andTaylor, we will take you into the backcountry to these

3 lush alpine basins that are home toGrizzlies, Mule deer and Mountain goats.

For those interested in ancient fossils and high alpinemountain lakes, we have Spruce Lake — the jewel of SouthChilcotin Mountains Park. Bush plane fly-in is an option.

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CHILCOTIN HOLIDAYSGun Creek Road, Gold Bridge, BC VOK 1PO

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BC Naturalist

Naturalists Help Purchase Part of Swan Lake— by Kay Bartholomew

Who can believe it? After roughly 83 years, 'tons' of paperand 'stacks' of records, we have finally acquired the south

end of Swan Lake!

In the Canadian Field Naturalist of April 1922, J.A. Munro,chief migratory bird officer for BC, noted that Swan Lake hadbeen proposed as a bird sanctuary and that "this shallow lake,with its encircling marsh, is probably more prolific in wildlifethan any other lake of its size in the Okanagan."

Swan Lake Project

Anderson Property Segment

Numerous members of the North Okanagan NaturalistsClub were involved with the special committee that was formedto work on a Swan Lake proposal.

In 1968, Frank Paul wrote a "Brief in Support of a Provin-cial Wildlife Reserve at Swan Lake." John Sherwood took onthe challenge and worked on this project for many years. Herefused to give up, and eventually persuaded the Nature Trustto buy the Kaminski property on the east side of the lake, just

north of the Swan Lake RV Park. Many times, we thought wewere making progress on the effort to acquire land at the southend of the lake, but each time we were thwarted,

In June 2004, we formed a new committee. Lyall Webster(chair), Bill Image, John Sherwood, President Ray Ark andSecretary Kay Bart, met once a week to work on acquiring landon Swan Lake. We tried to get the Nature Trust to help. Theirrepresentative, Carl McNaughton, came up from Penticton to

have a look at the area, but the Nature Trust hadno money. We then approached Ducks Unlim-ited, who sent three chaps down and we tookthem on a tour. They were highly impressed andsaid, "Would you like us to take on this project?"What luck, we were thrilled! We were veryimpressed with these three men, who have beenwonderful to work with. At that time, the 126-acre Anderson property was listed for sale. Thiswas to be our final 'bid1... it was 'now or never!'

Now the land at the south-east end of SwanLake has been purchased. We have joined DucksUnlimited and used some of our investments thatwe had been saving for years with this project inmind. With a vote at the March meeting, NONCmembers agreed to a donation of $35,000towards the purchase. With other donations, wewere able to give them $50,000. The Bishop WildBird Sanctuary also donated $50,000, a bequestto them from a former member.

As of April 16, the land has been in the handsof Ducks Unlimited and local government. Theremainder of the purchase price was acquiredfrom the Government's new 'BC Trust for Pub-lic Lands' fund. Ducks Unlimited was awardedthe first grant from this fund (the fund is worth$8,000,000). On April 16, the governmentreleased its final report and an official announce-ment was made on site. Local MLAs, city offi-

cials, Ducks Unlimited representatives and about 60 NorthOkanagan Naturalists Club members were on hand for theceremony.

Thanks to the club members who donated enough money tomake the total donation up to $50,000. We really appreci- \ their help. Now comes the planning!

10 BC Naturalist

Over 20,000 Bluebirds Fledged in Nesting Boxes— by Jim Duncan

When Art Gruenig, co-ordinator of the Rocky MountainNaturalists' bluebird nesting box program, tallied the

program's figures for 2004 he was very excited to discover thathis project had surpassed the 20,000 mark. Between 1990 and2004, Rocky Mountain Naturalists' nesting boxes had fledged20,018 bluebirds!

Both Mountain Bluebirds and Western Bluebirds use theboxes, and recent figures show that due to nesting box loca-tions, the Western Bluebirds are out-producing the MountainBluebirds. Western Bluebirds prefer the lowland pastures, whileMountain Bluebirds like forested mountain slopes. Art is notworried about the survival of the Mountain Bluebirds (or theWestern, for that matter), but he has very warm feelings for thenumber of bluebirds that the Rocky Mountain Naturalists havehelped bring into the world.

The Rocky Mountain bluebird program began in 1990 underthe guidance of Mildred White. That year, 86 nesting boxeswere put in place. That number has now grown to 504 nestingboxes. The boxes are placed in eight different bluebird trails

— continued on page 12

Art Gruenig checks a nesting box.

The table below lays out all the figures from 1990 - 2004.

Bluebird Nesting Boxes - Rocky Mountain Naturalists

YEAR

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

TOTALS

MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS

EGGS FIRSTHATCH

132

292

412

523

797

947

963

732

930

675

621

764

664

682

642

9,776

FLEDGED

72

237

316

434

646

610

795

603

793

325

533

646

548

558

561

7,677

EGGS SECONDHATCH

8

84

103

.132

228

163

199

205

306

72

281

240

177

201

199

2,598

FLEDGED

8

72

79

99

188

115

153

139

250

50

232

176

124

134

162

1,981

TOTAL MOUNTAIN BLUE BIRDS FLEDGED: 9,658

TOTAL WESTERN BLUE BIRDS FLEDGED: 10,360

WESTERN BLUEBIRDS

EGGS FIRSTHATCH

45

73

253

254

479

512

653

681

785

837

882

925

1,003

1,074

980

9,436

FLEDGED

40

61

169

154

369

298

532

588

630

384

784

785

853

909

796

7,352

1st hatch success

79%

78%

EGGS SECONDHATCH

0

16

107

98

214

145

219

235

402

259

407

489

411

499

461

3,962

FLEDGED

0

14

69

69

169

128

185

133

340

181

344

368

252

371

385

3,008

2nd hatch success

76%

76%

GRAND TOTAL OF BLUE BIRDS FLEDGED 20,018

BC Naturalist 11

Bluebirds in Nesting Boxes — continued from page 11

Mountain Bluebird

around Cranbrook andKimberley, and withineach trail the nestingboxes are placed about300 feet apart. Accordingto Art Gruenig, each vol-unteer checks their trailabout five times betweenMarch and July. It is greatexercise and you can pickthe warm and sunny daysto do your checking. Artsometimes does it on hisbike, to save time.

Art builds the nestingboxes in his home shop.They are built out of 3/4"plywood, which is thenstained for weather pro-

tection. The design allows the lids to be removed so that trailvolunteers can check the number of eggs and hatchlings. At theend of the season, each box is cleaned out to avoid funguses,moulds and parasites growing in the old nest materials. Thefront of each nesting box can be easily removed to allow thiscleaning.

Art supplies the labour to build the nesting boxes and he paysfor the plywood with refund money that he gets from returningempty bottles. The residents in Art's condo development alsodonate their empty bottles to help fund the project.

If you are interested in taking on a bluebird trail, pleasecall Art Gruenig at 250-426-8349. Trail set up began in earlyMarch, but there are opportunities to participate in the pro-gram throughout the year. This project makes a great familyevent and learning laboratory for children. Art has made lotsof nesting boxes and you are more than welcome to establishyour own bluebird trail.

Please join the Rocky Mountain Naturalists in helping topropagate the Mountain and "Western Bluebirds, while treatingyourself to lots of fresh air, good exercise and an opportunityto learn more about our local ecology.

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Dick Cannings | September 8 to n j Penticton, Vaseux Lake

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12

Canada Parks Day 2005— by Jeremy McCall

The FBCN has once again agreed to participate in a groupwhich is organizing activities for the 2005 Canada Parks

Day. As usual, this will be celebrated on the third Saturday inJuly {July 16). Our partners are BC Parks (a division of theMinistry of Water, Land & Air Protection), Canadian Parks &Wilderness Society, the Park Facilities Operators' Society, FraserValley Regional District and Greater Vancouver Regional Dis-trict. Parks Canada is also supporting the group's efforts. Wefully expect that other regional districts will become involved,as well as some municipalities. Parks Day is for parks of allkinds!

The main objective of this Canada Parks Day initiative isto increase the public's awareness and appreciation of itsnational, provincial and regional parks, and to increase thepublic's attendance in parks before, during and after ParksDay. For a number of reasons, BC's provincial parks haveseen a disturbing decline in the number of visits by the publicin recent years. The elimination of publicly funded natureinterpretation programs and the imposition of parking fees atmany provincial parks are two of the most obvious causes ofa trend which may have already begun before those decisionswere made.

To encourage the public to visit and appreciate differentkinds of parks, the Parks Day partners are working together toorganize suitable activities in parks and adjacent communities.The kinds of activities which naturalists might consider includebirding, botany, shoreline walks and talks, displays at NatureHouses and elsewhere, hikes, arts and crafts events related tonature, and Young Naturalists' Club activities for children. Theusual waiver arrangements should apply.-The FBCN insurancescheme will also apply, provided the usual rules are applied (i.e.activities sanctioned by boards of directors, use of registrationand waiver forms and a limit of three club activities for non-members).

Clubs organizing an event in a provincial park may want toconsult the Park Facilities Operator (PFO) for the parks in theirarea. Please let me know if your club is having difficulty con-tacting its local PFO. Rick Carswell, the President of the PFOSociety, addressed our members at the AGM in Salmon Arm.

So, you might ask, why should FBCN clubs consider partici-pating in Parks Day? The No. 2 objective of the FBCN, as setout on the front inside page of BC Naturalist, is "To foster anawareness, appreciation and understanding of our natural envi-ronment, that it may be ivisely used and maintained for future gen-erations. "The most obvious reason for this objective is becauseit benefits nature. But there is a second very important reasonwhich is more indirect. If we can inculcate a better apprecia-tion of nature among the general public, then the public willbe more willing and better prepared to support nature and to

support our members' efforts to keep it worth knowing. Inother words, the public itself can become a big support for allthe things we believe in. I firmly believe that Parks Day is oneway we can get more members of the public on side so that theywill be there when we need that support for our conservationinitiatives. It was disturbingly evident during the recent BCelection campaign that the environment is not a high priorityfor many members of the public. It is very much in our interestto do whatever we can to improve that situation. And the morethe public supports our parks and protected areas, the easierbecomes our job of convincing the powers that be in Victoriaof the need to implement meaningful and effective policies forpreserving BC's natural environment.

Several clubs have already committed to organizing events inprovincial and regional parks. Other clubs wishing to organizeevents are requested to contact myself at jmccall@helix.net andbe prepared to post their events on the Parks Day website atwww.parksday.ca. I will provide detailed instructions on how todo that upon request. You can also visit the website to see whatevents are planned for your area.

One of the disappointments in 2004 was a poor turnout bythe public for events which clubs had organized. The Parks Daypartners are taking all possible steps this year to promote eventsin nearby communities and to avoid a recurrence. I sincerelyhope that the FBCN will be able to contribute to a successfulParks Day this year and I look forward to assisting you in anyway I can. «SCd,

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BC Naturalist 13

r

Elaine Golds WinsAchievement Award

On May 30th Elaine Golds received a British ColumbiaCommunity Achievement Award. The award recognizes

the "spirit, imagination, dedication and contribution of BritishColumbians to their communities." The awards are given tothose people who make significant contributions to their com-munities through a unique achievement or outstanding servicein areas that provide benefit to the community.

Dr. Elaine Golds has demonstrated outstanding commit-ment and dedication in the field of environmental stewardship.Elaine has worked tirelessly on a volunteer basis attendingcountless public meetings, educating the community onenvironmental issues, working with stakeholders to developconstructive solutions to problems and doing hands-onenvironmental work. Enhancing habitat for wild salmon andeducating hundreds of school children about the ecosystemsof Burrard Inlet are some of the ways in which she makes adifference through such organizations as the Burke MountainNaturalists, the Port Moody Ecological Society and the Federa-tion of BC Naturalists. «*.

Congi-atulations, Elaine!

Elaine Golds with lona Campagnolo and Gordon Campbell.

FBCN Exploratory CampA backpacking trip to the Paradise Creek area of the SouthChilcotins is in the planning stage. The proposed date is nowthe week of July 16 to 23. Group size is limited to about10 people. You will need to be self-contained, meaning re-sponsible for your transportation to trail head, backpackingyour own gear, bringing and cooking your own food. A fewhave expressed interest, but spaces remain to be filled. If youwould like more information please email Bev Ramey atbevramey@telus.net or phone (604) 224-7689.

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14 BC Naturalisi

A Proposal for Protecting the Fraser River Estuary— by Anne Murray

BC Naturalists are calling on the federal Environment Minister to act quickly to protect wildlife habitat in the Fraser Riverestuary, by designating additional land as a National Wildlife Area. In a unanimous vote at the Annual General Meeting inSalmon Arm on May 14, the Federation of BC Naturalists (FBCN) endorsed a resolution urging Stephane Dion, federal Ministerof Environment, to create a federal protected areas strategy that would include the immediate purchase and designation of landin the Fraser River estuary.

The brief and recommendations are summarized below. The full report and recommendations are available from the FBCN office.The brief and recommendations expand on the FBCN resolution from May 2004, which urged government to protect both marineand upland habitat, and officially recognize the Fraser River Estuary Important Bird Area. Tlie report includes specific suggestionsfor use by individual naturalists and by natural history clubs when writing letters to support these recommendations.

The Fraser River estu-ary and surrounding

floodplain are unique inCanada. Because of itshigh levels of aquatic andterrestrial biodiversity, theestuary ranks among thetop bird habitat sites inthe northern hemisphere.It is internationally rec-ognized as a key stopo-ver on the Pacific Flywayfor an estimated 5 mil-lion migratory birds, isa vital wintering area forthousands of ducks, geese, __.

, , , . , A proposed port expansion threatens the Fraser River's unique estuary habitat.swans and snorebirds

(such as dunlin and black-bellied plover), and has the highestdiversity of raptors wintering anywhere in Canada. The FraserRiver is the most productive salmon river in the world and itsestuary provides habitat for key life stages of over 90 species offreshwater and marine fish.

Conservation threats are escalating in the estuary because ofextensive industrial developments on land and water that arehighly incompatible with wildlife use of the area. The future ofwildlife habitat is particularly threatened, by past and proposedexpansions of the Vancouver Port Authority's facilities at RobertsBank and the trend towards industrialized agriculture on theadjacent farmland that includes the use of large greenhouses.Rising sea levels due to climate change will bring new pressureson habitat in the low-lying delta.

Both intertidal and floodplain land must be protected to off-set these accelerating losses and avoid threatening the future ofinternationally important bird populations. Protecting this keysite on the Pacific Flyway presents an excellent opportunity forEnvironment Canada to further its mandate of conserving biodi-versity and wildlife populations across the country, and it wouldclearly demonstrate Canada's commitment to the environment.

With the eyes of the worldturning to the West Coastin 2010, the establishmentof a National Wildlife Areawould be both timely andan opportunity to show-case our unique wildlife.We believe it to be anessential step in ensuringenvironmental sustainabil-ity, because the estuary anddelta play a crucial role inagriculture, flood manage-ment and shoreline protec-tion, as well as providingwildlife habitats.

The Federation of Brit-ish Columbia Naturalists (FBCN), in consultation with wildlifebiologists and local conservation organizations, recommendsthat:

1. The Minister of Environment designate a Fraser RiverDelta NWA on the delta upland (floodplain) and establish theresources required for ongoing management;

2. Environment Canada work with other federal and provincialagencies to protect all intertidal habitat of the Fraser River estu-ary in perpetuity;

3. Environment Canada ensure there is no further loss or deg-radation of habitat on Roberts Bank (intertidal and floodplain)and negotiate compensation for the cumulative impacts of pastand present port developments; and

4. The Minister of Environment restore funding for environ-mental and ecological research and monitoring of the FraserEstuary.

What You Can Do:Send your letters to the federal Environment Minister,

Stephane Dion. Because the DeltaPort expansion is under aCanadian Environmental Assessment process, there is an oppor-

—- continued on page 16

BC Naturalist 15

Fraser River Estuary — continued from page 15

tunity for federal involvement in land use planning and habitat

conservation. Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans

must respond to the port's proposal. Let the decision makers

know that you expect them to act to protect the environment of

the Fraser Delta, because it is in the people of Canada's interest to

do so.

Possible Points To Include In Your Letters:• The Fraser Delta meets the highest level of criteria for migra-

tory bird habitat out of all 597 designated Important Bird Area

sites in Canada;

• It qualifies under numerous international designations as an

area of importance to wildlife;

• It lies at the mouth of the Fraser River, the world's mosr

significant salmon river;

• Fishing and farming are valuable industries for the people

of British Columbia and should not be killed off by competing

economic interests;

• Air quality and water quality are being affected by industrial

expansion onto farmland and the inter tidal areas of the Delta;

• The resulting increased truck traffic and construction of new

roads will not help us in meeting our Kyoto targets;

• Citizens' rights are being trampled by a high-handed provin-

cial government ruling to limit democratic decision making at

the municipal level; and

• No one is considering the cumulative, overall effecrs of all of

these developments. Industries are competing with each other to

the detriment of the people and wildlife that live here.

The Fraser River estuary is a key stopover for an estimated 5 millionmigratory birds and is a vital wintering area for thousands of ducks,geese, swans and shorebirds.

Send Your Letters To:Hon. Stephane Dion, Minister of Environment

Phone: (613) 996-5789 Email: Dion.S@parl.gc.ca

Hon. Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

Phone (613) 996-3085 Email: Regan.G@parl.gc.ca

House of Commons, Parliament Buildings

Ottawa, Ontario Canada, KIA OA6

For more information please contact Anne Murray at

(604) 943-4460 or sanderling@uniserve.com.

New Professorships |of Special Interest to FBCN Members—by Jeremy McCall

N ew professorships of particular interest to FBCN mem-bers were recently established at two British Columbia

universities, including the newest!At the University of Victorias School of Environmental Stud-

ies, the Dr. Ian McTaggart-Cowan Professorship in BiodiversityConservation and Ecological Restoration has been establishedand is in the process of being fully funded. The professorshipwas named in honour of Dr, McTaggart-Cowans continuedcontributions to conservation, education and science. Dr,McTaggart-Cowan is, of course, the FBCN's Honorary Presi-dent. The FBCN is especially honoured to be so closely associ-ated with an educator who is held in such high regard. TrieProvince of British Columbia has made a substantial contribu-tion towards the overall funding required for this new profes-sorship. Additional funding is being sought and in the Fall issueof BC Naturalist we will publish a more complete description ofDr McTaggart-Cowan's many achievements during his eventfullife and career.

At the new Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kam-loops (formerly the University College of the Cariboo), theVernon (Bert) Brink Professorship in Grassland Ecology andConservation was one of two new professorships establishedimmediately prior to the renaming of this institution in April.Dr. Brink is also internationally recognized for his agriculturaland grassland ecology research, and is one of British Columbia'sforemost naturalists,

The Thomas G. Northcote Professorship in Freshwater Ecol-ogy and Conservation was the second TRU professorshipestablished, Dr Northcote was a former student of Dr Brinkand they were both present in Kamloops for the announcement. The first Vernon Brink Professorship was awarded toTRU natural resource science professor Dr. Wendy Gardner, arange ecologist who also serves on the board of directors of theBC Grasslands Conservation Council. TRU natural resourcesciences and biology professor Dr. Brian Heise, who conductsresearch on the effects of forestry practices on the invertebratecommunities of streams, will receive the first Dr. NorthcoteProfessorship.

The Habitat Conservation Trust Fund (HCTF) provided themajor part of the funding for both TRU professorships, in rec-ognition of the long volunteer contributions both men made tothe HCTF. Dr. Brink served over 16 years and Dr. Northcoteserved over six years as the vice chair of the HCTF's PublicAdvisory Board.

Any FBCN members wishing to contribute to the funding ofthe Dr Ian McTaggart-Cowan Professorship are invited to contact Rod Silver, a director of the Nature Trust of British Columbia and the former manager of the HCTF, at silver?@shaw.ca

16 BC Naturalist

Buttertubs Marsh Field Trip— by Carolyn Redl

Our first glimpse of Buttertubs Marsh from the trail start-ing at the Miner's Cottage, minutes away from downtown

Nanaimo, prompted "ooh's" and "ah's". Wide patches of yellow,highlighted in morning sunshine, swept through lush cattails.Yellow Flag Iris is an introduced species, now obviously doingquite well in Buttertubs. No doubt about it, the iris certainlyare showy.

Boerger demonstrates a water scorpion's attack posture.

"Other introduced species such as Hawthorne, Himalayanblackberry and Scotch broom pose a problem. This oak," inter-preter Hans Boerger noted, holding a leaf, "can be distinguishedas a white oak leaf because its lobes are rounded. A red oak hassharp lobes that could draw blood. Blood is red, hence, redoak."

"But native species abound, too—red osier dogwood, Indianplum, cottonwood, and bitter cherry," he continued, "This isa very rich marsh."

Soon Boerger clambered down an embankment and did afew sweeps through the water with his net. Everyone watched,fascinated, as he dumped what appeared to be gooey mud intoa white dishpan. A gentle swish of the pan and the water camealive with activity.

"Look at that fish!" exclaimed, the youngest member of thegroup, pointing at a flat sided iridescent orange and grey fish,hardly more than three of four centimeters in length.

"That's a pumpkinseed sunfish. The other one is a stickleback,a native to these waters," Boerger noted, and then drew ourattention to a floating needle-like object, "You might think thisis a stick, but it's actually a water scorpion. However, it's not atrue scorpion. It looks something like a scorpion because of itslong forelegs, but it does not have the scorpion's pincer. Thiscreature folds up its legs to squeeze prey." Boerger folded hisarms to demonstrate the action.

"The most interesting part of the water scorpion is its snor-kel, a long filament for breathing." He held it under water

and, indeed, in a few seconds, the water scorpion thrust asnorkel-like feature out to the water's surface and, I presume,breathed.

The net sweep produced many other different oddities: larvaeof damselflies and dragonflies, ramshorn, pond snails and pondplants. One caddis fly larvae looked like a bundle of twigs andanother, a spiral case of vegetation.

One especially impressive creature was the Giant water bug.Boerger explained that the letter "X" formed by the crossing ofits wings over its back serves to classify it as a water bug andnot a beetle. At the viewing platform, Boerger showed how FirstNations' people stripped cattails and then, he actually took abite of the exposed fleshy root.

In answer to a question on the marsh's open areas, Nanaimofield naturalist Bill Merrilees remarked that Ducks UnlimitedCanada and the Habitat Conservation Fund have both contrib-uted, along with Nanaimo Field Naturalists themselves, whohave contributed countless hours in maintaining the marsh.

"Ducks Unlimited brought in equipment and created ditchesand nesting islands a couple of years ago," he said. "Some peo-ple thought it looked a bit unsightly at the time, but look atit now!"

Indeed, the marsh is a fascinating wild area in the midst ofNanaimo's hustle and bustle. There may still be some intro-duced species evident, but that's part of the place's charm. Fur-ther, the increased diversity of plant species attracts a diversityof birds and insects.

Once back in the Miner's Cottage, typical of the cottages usedin the heyday of Nanaimo's coal-mining days, the group had achance to examine the aquatic specimens under microscopes.

With promises of easily hearing American bitterns or Virginiarails in early morning, I know that I'll be back to Buttertubsagain. The flag iris may have quit blooming, but the manyother attractions will welcome me—fields of cattails dancinglike wheat fields in the wind and hauntingly stark grey trunksof long-dead trees, musical scales of red-winged blackbirds andgraceful swoops of violet green swallows.

Aquatic invertebrates under the microscopes.

BC Naturalist 17

Jumbo Valley: One of BC's Endangered Wilderness Areas— by Meredith Hamstead

In 2001, BC was declared 'open for business'. Since that rime,British Columbians witnessed an explosion of industrial

tourism that places the future of BC's wilderness in jeopardy.Since 2001, the number of hell-operations in BC has dou-bled, tenures for snow-cat skiing have increased by 70%, andthe number of large all-season resorts may have increased by85%.

While we dutifully focus our attentions on the loss of the so-called 'charismatic mega-fauna (grizzlies, caribou, etc.), muchtoo little attention is beingpaid to the systematic con-version of wilderness intoDisney-like playgroundsreplete with nightclubsand starter-castles. Aswilderness goes, so go themagnificent wildlife - andnowhere is this so true asin the Jurnbo Valley.

Over the past decade,the massive Jumbo GlacierResort (JGR) proposal hasbeen at the forefront of apublic controversy sur-rounding the prolifera-tion of industrial tourismoperations and the con-sequent threat to wildlifein BC. Characterized bydevelopers as an 'environmentally sensitive boutique resort,'Jumbo Resort would see 6000 hectares of prime public wilder-ness transformed into a maze of ski lifts and private ski chalets.Needless to say, public response has been less than enthusias-tic.

Writing for Canadian Business Magazine, Andrew Nikiforukremarked that ".. .the BC government has been struggling withan easy question: should it plant a potentially uneconomicproject on a melting glacier in an area that doesn't want it?"The District of Invermere, the community that will suppos-edly be the principal beneficiary of the project, passed a formalresolution opposing the resort. Last spring, the EnvironmentalAssessment Office was flooded with more letters of oppositionthan have been received for any other project in BC's history.

The proposed location of Jumbo Resort is in the heart ofthe Central Purcells, over 55 kilometres into the undevelopedKootenay wilderness beyond Invermere. The economic andecological hazards associated with this type of industrial tour-ism development are numerous.

The proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort threatens to sever the last

A large ski resort planned for the Jumbo Glacier area continues to generate controversy.

remaining peninsula of undeveloped grizzly bear habitat thatextends south of the border into the United States. As such,the resort would effectively isolate southern grizzly populationsfrom prime northern habitats, hearkening the beginning of theend for Canada's southern grizzly bear population. Provincialbiologists have been very clear on this subject - in the absenceof extraordinary mitigating measures (such as full closure of rec-reational access to the majority of the Central Purcells) JumboGlacier Resort poses a high risk to grizzly bears. Their warn

ings have been roundlyignored by provincialdecision makers.

However, the ecological issues associated withJumbo Resort extendbeyond species- specificconcerns. Downstreamfrom the proposed resortlie the Ramsar-designated Columbia RiveiWetlands — the longesicontinuous wetlands kNorth America. Concern is so high abouithe downstream wateiquality consequences ola resort in the JumbtValley that last fall theInternational Living

Lakes Network passed a formal resolution opposing the resortAssociated with concerns about water quality are concern!

about the consequences for aquatic ecosystems. Nearly 6(kilometres of bull trout habitat lie between the Jumbo Greetheadwaters and the wetlands — habitat that has already seenincreased pressure from the massive expansion of PanoramaMountain Village, located approximately halfway betweenInvermere and the proposed Jumbo Resort. Some biologist!are wondering just how much more effluent, gravel, construetion waste and golf course fertilizer the Jumbo and Toby creek1

can handle and still sustain bull trout populations.Contrary to the developers' and Province's claims that the pro

posed resort is environmentally sensitive, a resort in the JumboValley can only come at the expense of the ecological values thaisupport species and business sustainability in the region. TheJumbo Glacier Resort would be located, immediately adjacentto the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy (PWC), the last roadless wilderness in southeastern BC. Yet the Province recentl}began entertaining applications for industrial tourism developmerits within provincial parks and wilderness areas, the PWCincluded. We begin to see that when the cumulative effects ol

BC Natural

British

ColumbiaRadium

Jumbo Glacier Resort

Panorama

Purceli Wilderness Conservancy

Jumbo Glacier Resort Proposal

• 6000 ha in size• 20 ski lifts with a capacity for 9000 skiers/day

• 3000 daily visitors projected in high season

• Approximately 1300 private residences

wilderness development are taken into consideration, what is atstake is nothing less that wilderness itself.

As it stands today the Jumbo Valley is a rare example ofsustainability. Despite past logging and mining activities, theJumbo Valley and its surrounding region has remained a viablehabitat for mountain goats, grizzlies, caribou, wolverine, and ahost of other 'wilderness obligate' species. These species requiretrue wilderness to survive - permanent resort developmentwould inevitably drive these species out of the Jumbo Valleyregion into less viable, more risky habitat, if there is any suitablehabitat available at all.

The wild Jumbo Valley is also host to a suite of 'wildernessobligate' businesses. These include a winter-only heli-skiingoperation, guide outfitters and hiking, skiing touring, and.mountain biking guides. All of these businesses have oper-ated for decades in a surprisingly sustainable manner that hasallowed thousands of people unparalleled access to true wilder-ness. Permanent resort development in the Jumbo Valley wouldcompromise these sustainable business operations that feed thelocal and regional economy. The proposed resort would replaceincreasingly rare wilderness with the generic 'replica of wilder-ness' found everywhere else in the world. If Jumbo Resort isbuilt, the Jumbo Valley and the Central Purcells could soonbecome a wilderness-free zone.

The question of wilderness as an endangered species is notjust one of ecological concern. For BC it is also a question ofeconomic concern. If'Super Natural BC' is our niche productin the global marketplace, what do we lose, besides the mag-nificent beasts, by paving it? Perhaps a great deal more than

we had expected. In the past 6 monthsalone, Europe's Natur + Kosmos magazine,Germany's Frankfurter Rundshau dailynewspaper, and the New York Times haveall run features on the Jumbo issue. Onereporter lamented: ".. .so now I really mustask myself, why would Europeans make thelong trip to BC only to find that everythinghere is the same as at home?"

Fortunately, among all of the industrialtourism proposals currently under con-sideration in BC, Jumbo Resort may beunique in that it is not yet a 'done deal.'There is still time to ensure that sustain-ability prevails over short-term profitabilityin the Jumbo Valley

In October 2004, after 14 years of publiccontroversy, Minister Abbott announcedprovincial approval-in-principle for the

resort. He claimed that all major environmental issues associatedwith the project had been satisfactorily addressed, announcedthe issuance of an Environmental Assessment Certificate andthen handed final responsibility for the project's approval to theRegional District of East Kootenay (RDEK).

Over the next 6 to 12 months, Land and Water BC (LWBC)will grapple with the nitty-gritty details that would allow Gla-cier Resorts Ltd. to take possession of 6000 hectares of publicland. The LWBC Master Development Planning process willfeature two public hearings, neither of which can realisticallyaffect the outcome of the process. According to the LWBC, theonly conditions under which the developers would not receivetenure and ownership of the land would be if they failed tocomplete their application.

— continued on page 20

map: Prose Art

19

Jumbo Valley — continued from page 19

Regardless of the LWBC outcome, the developers cannotbegin construction unless they receive Regional Districtapproval of their rezoning application. When the provinceissued the Environmental Assessment Certificate for JumboResort, they added a requirement that the Regional Districtwould first have to rezone the land to accommodate the resortdevelopment. It is not clear that the Regional District will bewilling to do so, and they are legally bound to hear and considerthe concerns of the public.

It is not known how long this issue may take to reach a finalresolution. What is certain is that dozens of organizations andthousands of individuals are gearing up for what is sure to be awell-attended series of public hearings. It is anticipated that in2006 the developers will submit a rezoning application to theRegional District. Public hearings will follow and a decision isexpected within 6 to 12 months after their conclusion.

Given the dire straits ahead for wilderness in BC, it is criti-cal that the Regional District hear a clear message from thepublic: Jumbo Glacier Resort is an irresponsible allocation ofpublic funds and public wildlands. Instead, the provincial andregional government should focus its attention on the well-planned enhancement of existing front-country resort commu-nities like Golden, Fernie, Kimberly, and Invermere.

For over a decade now the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society(JCCS) has been an active voice for the diverse communityopposition to the Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal. The society'smembers include hunters, heli-ski operators, First Nations,local government and regional elected officials, environmental-ists, builders and more. The only thing our membership has incommon is its opposition to the Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal.And opposition is growing. Last October, the JCCS boasted500 members. Since provincial approval was announced, ourmembership has more than doubled. We have set a goal to have2000 members by the time the proposal reaches the RegionalDistrict of East Kootenay.

The voice of BC naturalists will be crucial to helping effec-tively deliver a message of opposition to the Regional Districtof East Kootenay. If you would like more information or wouldlike to become a member, please go to www.jumbowild.com.At our website you can also send a letter to the Regional Dis-trict of East Kootenay informing them of your oppositionto the Jumbo Glacier Resort and encouraging them to rejectthe Jumbo Glacier Resort rezoning application. Your voice isneeded now to ensure that wilderness is not the next endan-gered species in British Columbia.

Meredith Hampstead is the Director of Communicationsfor the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society. She has amaster's degree in Environmental Design, and works as aconsultant in the fields of sustainable community develop-ment and ecological economics.

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20 BC Naturalist

The Future of the FBCN:the next generation— by Jeremy McCall

To the casual onlooker, and perhapsto many of our members, the FBCN

appears to be operating fairly smoothly. Itis to be hoped that its day-to-day stressesand strains are not readily apparent to theoutside world, but the fact remains thatthere are some. Making sure there is al-ways a fresh volunteer prepared to fill a keyposition, trying to stay on top of so manyof the issues which concern our membersand doing a thorough job of advocatingsolutions to them, all require a hugeamount of time and effort. And some-times these things fall between the cracks,generally because of the lack of a body todo the job! Our filing systems, both digitaland physical, need to be updated and ourpolicy manuals need to be re-written. Infact, the FBCN can be likened to an oldervehicle. It may run fairly smoothly on thewhole, but it is long overdue for its 24,000km service !

The FBCN's last five year strategic planran from 1998 to 2003. The time has cometo review that plan, to see how closely wefollowed it and to develop a fresh plan. Todo that we need a group of members toreview the previous plan, to measure ourachievements and the failures, if any, and •to establish a baseline for developing thenext plan. Those who join the planninggroup will need to get a sense from theirfellow members of where they would liketo see the FBC go for the foreseeablefuture, to research achievable alternativesand to develop the next strategic plan forputting before our members in 2006.

With that in mind we plan to conducta survey of our clubs and members thisFall to solicit ideas and recommendationsas a prelude to the planning phase. Thelast club and member surveys were car-ried out in 1997. The 1997 Club Surveycontained 19 straightforward questions.The answers were many and varied andwere exhaustively listed when the resultswere published. The 1997 Member Sur-vey contained 45 questions to which 475responses were received, an 11% response.

Once again the analysis of these responseswas very detailed. It is proposed that thesesurveys be taken into account when wedevelop the 2005 surveys but some effortwill be made to keep the new surveys asstraightforward as possible to make iteasier to obtain clear messages from theresponses.

Options for future directions for theFBCN can vary widely. At present theFBCN is largely a volunteer organiza-tion concerned with providing serviceto its clubs, sponsoring and sometimesfunding the conservation and educationprojects of its clubs as well as its ownprojects, and offering a strong voice forthe advocacy of environmental conserva-tion. We have just the one employee, ourvalued office manager, Maria Hamann.We could continue to follow that model.However, elsewhere in Canada there areother quite different models for environ-mental non-profit organizations and someof our sister organizations in other prov-inces use those models. For example, theFederation of Ontario Naturalists (a.k.a.Nature Ontario) relies far less on volun-teers and has many employees. Many ofits meetings with federal and provincialelected representatives for conservationadvocacy are conducted by its executivedirector as well as, or in lieu of, volunteerboard members and its opinions are highlyrespected. It is far more heavily involvedthan is the FBCN with major projects ofits own, such as the multi-year project forpublishing a breeding bird atlas for theprovince which has required several mil-lion dollars in funding. It is conceivablethat the FBCN could develop in a similardirection if our members so decide. Thatwill depend on the outcome of the surveywhich will ensure that such alternatives areamong the questions asked.

Any member wishing to be involvedwith either the surveys or the planning

sessions, or both, is invited to get intouch with me at jmccall@helix.net or

by phone at 604-876-3313.

D I P L O M A O RC E R T I F I C A T E I N

Restoration

Natural

'Helping theland heal'

This interdisciplinary program

gives students a broad knowl-

edge of the science, practice,

and human values that must be

considered in environmental

restoration projects.

Two courses of interest will be

offered this summer:

• Restoration of AquaticSystems: Freshwater

July 11-15; $550

• Biological Invasions:Ecological, Social, andEconomic Impact ofIntroduced Species

August 15-19; $550

For more information, please

contact Peggy Faulds, Program

Coordinator:

Telephone (250) 721-8463

E-mail pfaulds@uvcs.uvic.ca

Visit our Web site at

www.uvcs.uvic.co/restore/

Universityof Victoria

ContinuingStudies

BC Naturalist 21

Bod reviewsThe Wild Edge: Clayoquot,

Long Beach & Barkley Sound— Reviewed by Carolyn Redl

Jacqueline Windh,200 pages, hardcover,

Harbour Publishing, $34.95

uch more than the pictorial coffee. cable book on Pacific Rim chat it first

appears to be, The Wild Edge is exceptional for ics descripcions ofnoc only the most familiar places such as Torino, Ucluelet, andLong Beach, but also less frequented spots. A good part of thebook focuses on the islands located in the waters northwest ofTofino and accessible by only water or air. Ic also has maps clearlypinpoincing locations that the author mentions throughout thenarrative, a feature often omitted in regional books. Every fewpages, highlighted Tacts' boxes describe subjects such as the Nikerunners chat are Long Beach's common flotsam. Why Nikes? You'llhave to read the book.

Windh speaks with claricy, authority and reason throughout.Given thac she has a Ph.D. in geology, it's not surprising thatshe outlines the area's geological past. However, her language isunderstandable and she ranges beyond geology Co every aspect ofeach ecosyscem. She remarks, for example, on the annual migra-tion and breeding patterns of the six species of coastal salmon, onvarious inhabitants of the mtertidal zone, and on the vagaries ofclimate that give the region its reputation for storm watching. Sheoutlines not only the First Nations' history bnc their use of manyplants and animals.

Inevitably, focus shifts to environmental issues as she describestoday's commercial enterprises and the changing controls in fish-ery and forestry industries. Justifiable and essential to any under-standing of the region is her summary of the Friends of ClayoquotSound's blockade to stop logging on Meares Island. Ongoingefforts by the Friends and other interested parties have broughtresults, not the least of which is the designation by UNESCO ofthe area as a World Biosphere Reserve.

The Wild Edge has the edge on odier books on this treasured areaof Vancouver Island in its images and stories about the northwest-ern spaces of the region. Few people visit Meares, Flores, and Var-gas Islands only because they cannot drive there, but Windh takesus into the lives of the characters that choose to live away from itall. Take the artists and writers living in float homes tucked awayin protected bays. We visit them and, then, she takes us into therainforest and brings it to life right before our eyes, pointing outall the wonders we might see as we clamber over long-dead nurselogs nourishing already towering trees, salal, huckleberry, ferns andnumerous animals, not to mention the vital fungal mycelia. Anddid you know that the rain forest boasts many species of truffles?

When all is said and done, the book provides a wealth of infor-mation on history, local festivals, nature, climate, geology, andcommerce. I'm tempted to say that the history is done best, includ-ing details on early explorers, the evolving Pacific Rim NationalPreserve and more. Then, I re-read Windh's descriptions of nature,geology, and weather and I think that in these, she outshines otherwriters. This is simply a great book on the lands and waters ofVancouver Island's "wild edge."

Carolyn Redl teaches nature writing as part of an online creativewriting course offered through the University of Alberta.

A Stain Upon the Sea—Reviewed by Jeremy McCall

Stephen Hume, Betty Keller, Rosella Leslie, OttoLanger, Don Staniford and Alexandra Morton

Paperback, 240 pagesHarbour Publishing, $26.95

book was recently selected as the 2005winner of the Roderick Haig-Brown BC

Book Prize for Conservation. It is an anthology of essays aboutsalmon farming, and about salmon farms in BC in particular. Itis a book for dipping into rather than for reading end to end. It isa valuable reference book for anyone wishing to understand boththe history of the salmon farming industry on Canada's west coastand the genuine risks to the marine environment and to consum-ers of farm salmon which result from the application of presentfish farming methods.

In the chapter entitled Sea Silver, Betty Keller and RosettaLeslie give an authoritative history of the development of EC'ssalmon farms, which began in 1972 when the first salmon farmlicence was granted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceansfor a small farm at Earl's Cove in the Agamemnon Channel. Theirrecord ends in 2003, when BC had become the world's fourthlargest producer of farmed salmon, with 12 companies operating83 farms, primarily located near the northeast and west coasts ofVancouver Island.

In Fishing for Answers, Stephen Hume laments the decline inBC's wild stocks and searches for answers. In Dying of SalmonFarming, Alexandra Morton gives a blow by blow account of herresearch into coastal ecosystems, beginning with her move to EchoBay in 1988. She lists her experience with Bacterial Kidney Diseasein chum,furuncul0sis in Kingcome Inlet, acoustic harassment, thearrival of the Atlantic salmon, algae and parasites, and ends withthe explosion of sea-lice and the crash of the pink salmon in theBroughton Archipelago in 2001 and 2002. Alexandra's is not apretty story.

In Any Fish is a Good Fish, Otto Langer, formerly with theDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans, gives a painstaking explana-tion of why DFO and the other government agencies have failedto halt the decline in wild salmon stocks and appear powerless toprevent harm arising from the expansion of the fish farms.

In Silent Spring of the Sea, Don Staniford, a director of theSalmon Farm Protest Group in Scotland, presents a comprehen-sive account of the chemicals being used to combat both sea lice

22 BC Naturalist

and che diseases to which farmed salmon are susceptible. It is evi-dent chat the precautionary principal is not being exercised in thisindustry as ic should be. His references to the impact of sea licereinforce Alexandra Morton's concerns about the drastic impactof these parasites.

This is a book which will shock but which will educate thosewho aspire to comment with any degree of knowledge about thisextraordinary industry, which on the one hand has the capacity toproduce enormous quantities of essential protein, but which, onthe other hand, poses a hazard to BC's wild salmon stocks.

As a long-time member of the Vancouver Natural History Society'sConservation Section, Jeremy McCall has for some years sup-ported the establishment of a system of marine protected areas onthe West Coast. In May 2004 he organized the FBCNs MarineProtected Areas Symposium at UBC in conjunction with theCanadian Parks & Wilderness Society and the Marine LifeSanctuary Society ofBC.

Collapse: How Societies Chooseto Fail or Succeed

—Reviewed by Elaine Golds

Jared DiamondHardcover, 575 pages

Viking Publishing, $44.00

ared Diamond, a university professor inCalifornia and an avid birder, also co-au-

Crown Publications Inc.Distributors of Government Publications and BC Bookstore

Beyond die Whalesby Alexandra Morton

Seasons with Birdsby Bruce Whittington

Guide to the Salish SeaScenic road and fern' routesNW Washington and SW BC

Other Titles ...Rare Native VascularPlants ofBCHome & Garden PestManagement Guide for BC

521 Fort Street, Victoria BC V8W 1E7Tel: {250} 3864636 Fax: (250) 386-0221email: crown@pinc.com web: crownpub.bc.ca

chored the authoritative Birds of Northern Melanesia, which mightsound like a more appropriate title for review in the BC Natural-ist. However, Diamond is a remarkable man who has managed tocombine a successful academic career as a professor of geographyand physiology with a keen interest in birds and still find time towrite a series of provocative books on the history and evolutionof human society. Collapse^ published this year to much acclaim,is his most recent contribution and follows as a successor to hisPulitzer Prize winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel (I*)*)!).

In Collapse, Diamond turns his binoculars on human society. Heexamines a number of cultures, from the doomed medieval Vikingculture in Greenland to the still apparently thriving (but possiblydoomed) contemporary cultures of cowboy Montana and outbackAustralia. He provides a passionate analysis of how and why a fewsocieties have succeeded while others have failed. Some BC Natu-ralist readers may already be familiar with the sagas of the EasterIsland inhabitants or the Mayan people of Central America, whosimply outgrew and exhausted the natural resources that sustainedtheir societies. Diamond also describes some successful examplesof societies, including the Polynesians on the island ofTikopia. Inthe 1600s, when they observed the impact of their imported pigson their food-producing gardens and the natural ecosystems thatsustained them, they wisely chose to eat the last pig.

Diamond does not include our contemporary western societyas an example of success. In fact, he points out that, often, socie-ties can appear to be successful for hundreds of years before sud-denly failing. He suggests that we lie close to the edge of collapse.Nonetheless, Diamond characterizes himself as a cautious optimistbecause, in part, of a growing environmental awareness in westernsociety and an increasing commitment to long-term sustainableplanning. Although the problems we face today tend to be moreglobal than in the past, Diamond provides uplifting examples ofearlier societies that have successfully faced problems such as defor-estation, water depletion and overpopulation.

I always have the greatest respect for birders who spend hours inthe field making observations and then freely sharing their infor-mation with others. Diamond, who has spent a lifetime observinghuman cultures, has much to offer us. He provides a few hintsfor success. One feature of many successful societies is that theytend not be managed in a "top down" style. The wisest decisionsoften appear to be those reached at greatest length by committee.Diamond is encouraged by the fact that the people of the Neth-erlands - who live in a highly fragile environment reclaimed fromthe ocean - are astutely aware of their environment. He wryly notesthat by the time the Tikopians decided to eat the last pig, pork hadbecome a luxury food designated only for the chiefs anyway.

At over 500 pages, Collapse contains far too much informationto be easily digested in a single weekend. Like a good wine, it'sthe kind of book to keep by your side over the summer and enjoyin small sips. By the time fall returns, you will have gained manyinsights and, perhaps, be more inspired to attend those endlessmeetings, sit on more committees and work with others to achievea more sustainable and, possibly, pigless, society.

Elaine Golds is a recent recipient of a BC CommunityAchievement Award for her work in the field of environmentalstewardship.

BC Naturalist 23

FBCN Presents: Three New Wildlife Viewing Brochures— by Jeremy McCall

In partnership with rhe Ministry ofWater Land & Air Protection the

FBCN has now published the threewildlife viewing brochures for the Cari-boo, Omineca and Peace regions whichare illustrated above. These complementthe brochures for the Thomson-Nicola,Kootenay and Skeena regions whichwere published in 2003.

Our members will naturally wish toobtain copies when and if they travelto one of these six regions. However itis vitally important for members to findways to use these attractive and usefulbrochures to increase the interest of the

touring public in viewing wildlife. Bydoing so we not only help the public tovalue wildlife as such, but also its habitat.Members are requested to ensure thatthere is a stock of the brochures in theirlocal nature houses, other nature inter-pretation centres and local visitor cen-tres. MWLAP Is likely to concentrate onstocking its own offices.

A stock of all six brochures is held byMWLAP in Victoria and by the FBCNin Vancouver. Please do not hesitate tocontact Maria Hamann at the FBCNoffice if you need a supply and can thinkof useful ways to distribute them in your

region. If and when the FBCN runs outlof the brochures, we will get more fromMWLAP or more will be printed. Thesebrochures represent a considerable effortby the contractors who prepared them,and we should try and capitalize on thatwhile the brochures are fresh.

We plan to commission similar bro-lchures for the Okanagan and VancouverIsland regions shortly. Some of the sameinformation is also published in the Brit-ish Columbia Road & Recreational Atlas,a new edition of which is to be publishedshortly. **-.

24

Club Chat— compiled by Maria Harnann

Arrowsmith Naturalists ClubOur Englishman River stewardship group has had a busy and

productive spring. The group has been removing invasive speciesand conducting monthly flora and bird counts. For Earth Day, awork party removed broom and naturalists educated members ofthe public about the importance of the estuary.

In April, the club provided many volunteers to the Brant WildlifeFestival. Naturalists assisted at wildlife viewing sites in Parksvilleand Qualicum Beach, talking to visitors about the Brant geeseand other birds in the shoreline area. Club members also workedwith children at the Un-natural Nature Trail. It was a toss up asto who had more fun—the naturalists or the kids.

Our field trips have taken us from Denman Island to Mt. Tzou-halem fin Duncan). Speakers at the general meetings includedBob Chappell (Victoria Natural History Society) talking aboutnesting and Corey Peet giving us a biologist's perspective on sealice and salmon.

— submitted by Pat Bourgeois

Central Okanagan Naturalist ClubRoss, one of our long time members, was recently named Kel-

owna athlete of the year for his efforts to found and develop theNordic Ski Club at McCulloch. The ski trails now cover some120km, and include snowshoe trails and summer nature trails.

As part of Kelowna's Centennial, School District #23, the Re-gional District of Central Okanagan and the City of Kelowna planto plant 130,000 seedlings, mainly in the 2003 burn area. CONCmembers will be assisting with this event, which will hopefully beentered into the Guinness Book of Records

May 1st saw the opening of Phase 2 of the Mission Greenway,which will add 9km to the existing trail and will pass throughsome spectacular areas. 250 acres have been acquired (parkland),which will provide great wildlife habitat. CONC members havebeen involved with this project since 1996.

YNC leader Alice Kargreaves has stepped down, but a replace-ment has been found. Thanks to Alice for all her hard work. Someof our members will be involved with the "Seniors Learning inRetirement" project, which we hope will bring more membersinto the club. The program will include a weekly field trip andwill cover different natural history topics.

— submitted by Pat Westheuser

Central Valley Naturalists ClubMembers of our group have been working on a number of local

conservation issues: reviewing riparian area regulations, expressingclean energy concerns and the need for environmentally responsibledevelopment of McKee Peak on Sunias Mountain, input to theCity of Abbotsford's revised Official Community Plan, attemptingto protect a wetland in west Abbotsford, addressing removal of

land from the agricultural land reserve and. more. No shortage ofconservation concerns to become involved in here!

In addition, we have participated in park cleanups and ArbourDay, provided a display at the Bradner flower show, awarded prizesat the science fair and conducted the 7th year of a raptor survey.After a members' slide night in March, recent guest speakers at ourmeetings have included Al Grass on spiders and BCIT studentson their mountain beaver research on Sumas Mountain. A recentfield trip to the UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Garden waswell-attended and very enjoyable.

— submitted by Kathy Wilkinson

Chilliwack Field Naturalists ClubOur club's monthly meetings are winding down for the summer.

In March we held our annual banquet and elections. In April, Re-becca Porte from the Coast Mountain Field Institute talked abouttheir programs for the year and gave a talk on Howe Sound. ForMay we are holding a photo contest and members' night.

Our activities have included: a visit to the Great Blue HeronReserve to celebrate the return of the herons, a working day plant-ing at the Camp River Wildlife Area, picking up garbage for the

"Pitch In" cleanup, a field trip to the Elizabeth Wildlife Centreand co-ordination (by Denis) of the annual Spring Bird Count.On upcoming field trips we will explore the historic Hell's GateCanyon by cable car and will partake in a wetland trip to WolfLake with the Young Naturalists. In June we will have our annualpicnic at Cheam Lake Wetlands.

The Young Naturalists Club has had two events per month, witha mixed amount of participants. One of the club's highlights wasa visit with Barry Penner, our local MLA, who was asked suchquestions as "Had he ever met with the Premier or with the PrimeMinister?"

— submitted by Helen Turner

Comox Valley Naturalists SocietyThe Comox Valley Naturalists will host the 2006 AGM. A com-

mittee has been formed and is already hard at work to insure thatthis AGM is a success. We look forward to welcoming the FBCN

— continued on page 26

Rod Silver receives FBCN recognition award from Jeremy McCall.

BC Naturalist 25

Club Chat — continued from page 25

to the Comox Valley next spring.

This year's Earth Day broom bash in Courtenay Lagoon Parkwas done with help from Starbucks, which made a donation forevery volunteer who participated. The sea of yellow broom isgreatly diminished from its former dominant state in this park.Club members have also been leading a variety of walks in thelocal regional district parks.

The Comox Valley Naturalists will again be celebrating Parks Dayin Strathcona Park, our oldest provincial park. Interpretive walkswill be held at Paradise Meadows, Karst Creek and Lupin Falls.

— submitted by Frank Hovenden

Kitimat Valley Naturalists collect eel grass

Delta Naturalists SocietyWe had a successful 'Birds-on-the-Bay' day in March. It featured

a birding workshop with a lecture, a walk in Boundary Bay Re-gional Park, and an interesting talk on invasive species. This wasfollowed by a walk in the park, where the group was amazed bythe proliferation of invasive species: broom, loosestrife, Europeanbittersweet, and did I mention blackberries?

The Environmental Committee has not met for awhile, butthe Official Community Plan is being monitored. Some of ourmembers are taking a very active part in planning meetings for theVancouver Port's expansion of the container port. There are manyissues in Delta right now: a new container berth, new highways tobe built, greenhouses, increased use of wood chips for heating ofgreen houses, increased container port traffic, voltage in transmis-sion lines to be increased and possibly re-routed through the flyways of migratory birds instead of through residential areas. Toomany issues for a small number of members. Phew! Help!

— submitted by Ursula Easterbrook

Kitimat Valley NaturalistsMapping eel grass beds and determining suitable areas for replant-

ing is an ongoing project with the Seagrass Conservation WorkingGroup. Local naturalist Dennis Horwood has undertaken to locateand map eelgrass beds in the Douglas Channel at the Kitimatend of the channel. Last year he successfully transplanted someeelgrass from Emsley Cove to Minnette Bay. Since some of thetransplanted eelgrass flourished, a larger transplant was organizedwith the financial help of the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

On May 8rh, members of the Kitimat Valley Naturalists, plusfamily members and friends, had an outing to Emsley Cove tocollect more eelgrass plants. A zodiac ferried people and samplesfrom shore to the 32-foot boat used for transportation. On thereturn journey to the marina, we took a side trip was to look forlocal sea birds, seals and seal lions.

On Monday morning a group of hardy people trooped throughthe mudflats of Minnette Bay and planted eelgrass in an area thathad already been staked out. In many ways it was like working ina rice paddy. With lots of laughter and teamwork the work wasdone quickly. Dennis Horwood is planning another harvestingand transplanting of eelgrass with the local high school grouplater on in May.

— submitted by April Macleod

Lillooet Naturalist SocietyEducational signage about bats and our project at the old bridge

will be going up; happily the actual houses are long since installedWe subscribed to the new BC Journal Wildlife Afield and alsorequested an extra copy of Lone Pine's new bird field guide. Bothpublications are now available at the local library. We also pur-chased a BC video production on the Fraser River that we donatedto the library; Lillooet is well featured in this video. Work on ourhiking guide in progress.

Kenneth G. Wright, a director and field biologist, is working ona 'Birds of Lillooet' book. We confirmed that Northern Spottedowl surveys and an inventory for two new species, the WesternScreech Owl and the Flammulated Owl, will continue. The studyof riverine birds on the Bridge River is also confirmed for thisseason. We supported these studies and are inviting the researchersto present their work at our fall meetings.

Our local naturalist news, photos and promotion of our hikingguide are all well covered in the 2005 Lillooet Visitors' Guide,This is very good timing for the FBCN meetings here, as we willbe using the guide for FBCN members planning to visit here thisfall. Preparation for the fall meetings is coming along well. Pleasesee the agenda in this BC Naturalist edition.

We continue to promote our activities and local natural world'news' on our community radio. We assisted Harry Purney andChris Galliazo with the bluebird boxes and look forward to themonitoring visits. We are enjoying the return of the spring batsand birds.

— submitted by Vivian Birch-Jones

Nanaimo Field NaturalistsIt has been an active and productive year for the Nanaimo

Naturalists. We have had a wide variety of guest speakers andfield trips. The club is now working with the City of Nanaimoon the preservation and conservation of the Harewood Plains.Members are busy serving on various committees that focus onlocal issues. This involves dealing with the public, as well as localand regional authorities, as resolutions are reached. Finally, ourweb page is up and running.

Club members are busy putting together a 'fat Thrush.' ThisThrush edition is the work of many club members who recordand write about their observations regarding the natural history

26 BC Naturalist

of Nanaimo and the area. Members record things like singing birdcounts, reptile observation, sea bird colonies, flowering phrenol-ogy, etc. It is collected, compiled and edited by the Nanaimo FieldNaturalist Club and provides a detailed written document aboutnature and the wonderful events that occur.

— submitted byjacquie Howardson

Nanoose NaturalistsOur club officially joined the federation in September and now

has 67 members meeting in the Nanoose Bay Library. We recentlyproduced a coloured brochure publicizing our organization andcontaining a selection of natural history pictures from our area. Thestewardship program, focussing on Dolphin and Enos Lakes, is animportant environmental initiative that seeks to monitor develop-ment, preserve the sensitive areas around the lakes and protect theendangered Enos Lake Stickleback fish. We also have an extensivewebsite (www.nanoosenaturalists.org) and a skilled webmaster. Toplan for our future outings, our club is conducting an extensivesurvey to determine the outdoor interests of our members.

— submitted by John MacKenzie

North Okanagan Naturalists ClubDucks Unlimited, Greater Vernon Services Commission, BC

Trust for Public Lands, Environment Canada, North OkanaganNaturalists Club and Bishop Wild Bird Foundation have purchased123 acres on the south end of Swan Lake for $1.55 million. Themanagement of the property will be split between Ducks Unlim-ited and Greater Vernon Services Commission. Ducks Unlimited

The Wilderness Committee is

Keeping an Eye onWilderness and Wildlife

PROTECTIONBecome a

member!Join the

WildernessCommittee

today.For info

604-683-8220

will be working with the Naturalists Club and other groups todetermine the development on their portion.

The Summer/Fall Calendar of Events is out; please phone FBCNrep Erin Nelson for more information. The Annual Field Day iscoming up on May 7th, with many events and an evening dinner.A Hummingbird banding Project is in the works again this year.Gail Loughridge is spearheading this very interesting effort.

A Development Overview Committee is being formed. It will bereviewing the long/short term planning processes brought forwardby developers and the City of Vernon. Young Naturalists will bebusy over the next few months wich bluebird boxes, a hummingbirdbanding presentation, a creek restoration and pond study, and anature trail quiz.

— submitted by Erin Nelson

Oliver-Osoyoos Naturalists ClubOur club continues to be very active with two or three hikes each

month this spring. We walked a trail through antelope brush infull bloom and checked out our 19 newly-built sawhet owl boxes,installed in the cotttonwoods near an old oxbow. We have enjoyedspring wild flowers and great views on several hikes, including onelead by Buddy Alex on First Nations land.

Our club is also busy with our wetlands reclamation projectand with meetings pertaining to the South Okanagan LowerSimilkameen National Park Reserve Feasibility Study. Some ofus recently revisited protected grasslands in the Kilpoola-Chopakaregion. This is spectacular territory with grand views and, in ouropinion, deserves to be protected by National Park status.

— submitted by Vivienne Calder

Fender Island Field NaturalistsGerry McKeating led an April field trip to Esquimalt Lagoon and

Wittys Lagoon Regional Parkin Mechosin. With Gerry's wealth ofbirdtng knowledge we reached a total of 58 species for the day.

In our ongoing series of community education programs we arelooking forward to a May presentation by Neil Dawe. He entitleshis talk 'What do Dinosaurs, Runaway Trains, and a House ofCards Have to Do with Sustainability? Do we really understandwhat it means to be sustainable?' Neil's fresh look at that over-worked word will be timely in the midst of an Official CommunityPlan Review on North Fender Island.

— submitted by Sylvia Pincott

Prince George Naturalist ClubThe big thing here is the Bear Paw heli-ski application that would

threaten the Mountain Caribou in the Hart Ranges east of PrinceGeorge. Right now the herd is holding its own, PGNC is spear-heading efforts and the FBCN put out a couple of news releases.Nature Canada is also involved also and PGNC is co-ordinatingwith local clubs as well.

PGNC members met with representatives of the City of PrinceGeorge, Exploration Place (museum), University of Northern BC,South Fort George Community Association and others, to discussthe future of the Hudson Bay Slough and area. Hudson Bay Sloughis a popular pond with walking trails along one side, duck boxes putup by Ducks Unlimited, and excellent birding. Viewing platforms,

— continued on page 28

BC Naturalist 27

Club Chat— continued from page 27

cleaning up the slough's access to the Fraser River, improving trails,and cleanup are required. The slough and its drainage into theriver tends to collect grocery carts, old tires, etc.

At least 10 members participated in the annual Pitch-In Clean-up of Cottonwood Island. Afterwards, some participants joined15 Young Naturalist Club members and parents for their bird triparound Cottonwood Island.

— submitted by Sandra Kinsey

Quesnel NaturalistsWe began the year with our Annual Meeting. Our field trip com-

mittee has planned a number of interesting field ttips, so we arelooking forward to a good year. We had a winter outing in Febru-ary, visited Scout Island in Williams Lake and hiked the WilliamsLake River Valley trail in April. Some of our members volunteeredfor Earth. Week activities for school students at our local NatureCentre. Our spring potluck and barbecue is coming up and we arelooking forward to watching the pelicans on Bouchie Lake at thattime. We have expressed our concerns to the government regardinglodges and privatization in our provincial parks.

— submitted by Lorna Schley

Rithet's Bog Conservation SocietyWith the Ducks Unlimited wetland restoration project completed

and now in the ongoing maintenance and monitoring phase, RBCSis concentrating on public education, upland restoration work,and hardback control in the Sphagnum areas at Rithet's Bog. Theprimary focus of the public education and outreach work is thecreation of a Rithet's Bog website which we hope to have up andrunning by the end of the summer.

Upland, restoration work is now concentrated on invasive plantspecies removal. The club holds monthly work parties, but so farhave attracted only very small numbers of dedicated people. Twowork parties will be held in the summer to cut hardback in thecentral bog forest, where it has become invasive and is threaten-ing to obliterate the remnant patches of Sphagnum. Aside from

the threat posed by the hardback, the Sphagnum is respondingwell to the restoration project, and the patches appear healthyand green.

— submitted by Sharon Hartwell

Rocky Mountain NaturalistsThe Rocky Mountain Naturalists have just wrapped up our an-

nual 'Little Big Day'. During this 12-hour event, participatingteams dash around the Cranbrook-Kimberley area and beyondto spot or hear as many bird species as they can. As always, therewere some exciting observations, such as the Barred Owl sleepingup in a tree right next to a popular hiking trail.

With birding skills honed, many Rocky Mountain Naturalistsmembers will now be helping out with a Kinsmen Park bird surveyThis park within the City of Cranbrook will be undergoing substantial habitat restoration work over the next year. Our role willbe to document the species and numbers of birds present prior torestoration. In future years, we will revisit the site to assess changesin the bird community.

— submitted by Tara Szkorupa

The Salt Spring Island Trail & Nature ClubThere is a campaign on Salt Spring Island to buy the 100-acre

summit area of Mt. Erskine, which has been offered to the SaltSpring Island Conservancy for a price of $650,000 — so far the*community has raised about $230,000. Mt. Erskine has a superbview and there are fine examples of Hairy Manzanita. The deadlineis the end of August and there have been no guarantees of govern-ment or conservation agency support as yet.

The Cur Trails Committee has done noble work to reopen is-land trails after last January's unusually heavy snowfall followedby rain; the arbutus trees have suffered untold damage. There islan alarming problem with Carpet Burweed in Ruckle Park thathas continued for a number of years despite being smothered inplastic, treated with chemicals (in a park!) and even with hot water,Recently, half the island, came out to pry it out of the groundbefore it went to seed. The children of the Fulford Elementary

DISCOVERY Subscription form

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28 BC Naturalist

Render Harbour Wildlife Society constructs bird houses

School were enthusiastic and many of them were already dedicatedconservationists. Probably the only certain solution is to close thepark. This puts a damper on Parks Day, and the Parks Departmenthas yet to agree to this. Burweed has also been found on a bermat Thetis Lake near Victoria; it can be carried on car tires, shoes,dogs'paws and socks.

— submitted by Nancy Braithwaite

Victoria Natural History SocietyThe VNHS, in association with the Capital Regional District,

held a naturalist field trip and display at East Sooke Park on Sep-tember 25. About 300 people attended and went on mini fieldtrips to see the migrating raptors and other birds, local botany,geology and intertidal marine flora and fauna.

The VNHS has initiated a program to link naturalists withVictoria schools. We wish to develop a program where naturalistsare available and regularly visit school classes in the Victoria area.We will hopefully be able to stock school libraries with flora andfauna nature guidebooks and have identified a teacher/naturalistwho will likely be able to lead this important project.

Over the last year, the VNHS completed a bird inventory sur-vey of Ridiet's Bog. For 2005 we are starting a year-long surveyof the Blenkinsop Valley. The 2004 Christmas Bird Count hasreconfirmed, with Victoria having the largest number of spe-cies (154 species) recorded in Canada. Way to go! See (http://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/) for details. Out butterfly count of last sum-mer recorded 33 species. The VNHS conducted many field tripsfor members and the public during the fall and. spring. A list ofup-and-coming field trips is published in our Victoria Naturalistmagazine and is also available on our website.

— submitted by John Henigtnan

West Kootenay Naturalists AssociationThe Friends of West Kootenay Parks and the West Kootenay

Naturalists are both delighted and very grateful that the FBCNwas able to acquire funds through the Federal HRDC for a trainednature interpreter at Kokanee Creek Park, Nelson. Educationalopportunities have included Juliet Craig speaking on: "The Impor-tance of Area Bats; Invasive Plant Species', Jahcob Duiisse speakingabout "The Blue Skink.' At the May 29 banquet, Cam Finlay spokeon 'Humming Birds and the Banding of Hummingbirds.'

The new Kootenay website will be unveiled on May 28, thanks toKevin McAskill, Nelson, acting on behalf of Joan Snyder and others.Panels will include a review of the excellent FBCN Salmon ArmAGM and goals for 2005. The WKNA, the only environmentalvoice at an all candidates forum, asked each of the five candidatesabout parks interpreters and presented them each with a greenslip containing the FBCN's four important questions. Applausefollowed!

— submitted by Brenda Balaam

White Rock and Surrey Naturalists Society2004 was a busy year for our club. At the Manning Park Camp,

one of the many highlights included finding a rubber boa, a blue-listed species. Street cleanup continues to be lead successfully byAnne and her group of volunteers. On a somewhat sad note, andafter much deliberation, it was decided to close Beecher place afterfifteen years of devoted service to the general public by dedicatedvolunteers.

White Rock and Surrey Naturalists hosted an open house onSeptember 9th to encourage potential members to join. This openhouse was so successful that White Rock has decided to host itagain next year.

The wildlife and butterfly garden at the nature centre of Camp-bell Valley Park is getting much needed attention. We need a fewmore volunteers for this project. Eelgrass beds are recovering inthe bay thanks to transplants and studies done through Friendsof Semiahmoo Bay. This year, Purple Martins were banded for thefirst time at Biackie Spit and are showing a hopeful increase.

The White Rock Christmas Bird Count was highly successful,with a total of 135 species sighted — one of our highest countsever. Our 'Hiking, Birding and Botany' field trips continue todraw members. Our president, Anne Saveneye, is now planninga trip at Tyax Lodge (on Gunn Lake) for June 2006.

The White Rock and Surrey Naturalists Club is an active clubwhich provides excellent speakers every second Thursday night ofthe month, from September through to June. Please come and seeus if you are visiting the peninsula.

— submitted by Viveka Ohman

Williams Lake Field Naturalists SocietyOur club has been very busy organizing the nature interpreta-

tion programs which will be offered at the Scout Island NatureCentre. School programs will be provided during May and June,and programs for children and families in July and August. Wehave employed three university students to act as nature interpret-ers during this period. During the first week of May they receivedintensive in-service training from members of our club. Projectssuch as the construction of a new demonstration beehive and awildlife observation deck have been completed, for this season. Ifyou are travelling through Williams Lake, please visit the NatureCentre and meet our staff at the Nature House.

If you would like a copy of the 2004 Annual Report for theScout Island Nature Centre please contact Fred McMechan. Thankyou to the people who came to the Cariboo to participate in the

FBCN Camp at Gavin Lake. >**_,

— submitted by Fred McMechan •. •• *

BC Naturalist 29

2004 AGM Report— by Carol Nicolls

A pproximately 170 FBCN members attended the 2005 An--/Vnual General Meeting in Salmon Arm. Organized by theShuswap Naturalist Club, the AGM ran smoothly and featuredmany interesting field trips and a. great venue. And yes, someparticipants did see dancing grebes!

Saturday was a somewhat gruelling day for directors. Asthey settled in for a three-hour directors' meeting followed byan afternoon AGM, the conference room window provideddirectors with an excellent view of a long stream of naturalistsdeparting for the day's field trips.

For most of the AGM it was hot outside—great weather forthe field trips—and paradoxically, freezing inside some of theair-conditioned conference rooms. The Saturday evening ban-quet featured dinner, a silent auction and draw, awards pres-entations and a keynote speaker. There were many engagingand inspiring speakers at the conference who presented duringworkshops. Here is an excerpt from one of them.

Mike Wallis—Salmon River Recovery ProgramFor 12 years, Mike Wallis has been part of a multi-stake

holder planning process for the Salmon River watershed. TheSalmon River watershed is experiencing many pressures fromurban development, agriculture and forest harvesting. Many ofthe river's issues are long standing, with some dating back tothe 1940s. The Salmon River experiences low flows in summer,high water temperatures, loss of riparian vegetation, high irriga-tion demand and declining salmon stocks (there are currentlythree salmon species in the river).

According to Mike, they realized early in the process thatthere was no one single issue impacting the river, and thatthey needed to take a watershed view. At the time, the idea ofwatershed planning was not well known; it was difficult to getpeople to take a long-term view and move away from thinkingin terms of short political and fiscal cycles. The main goal of theproject was to address erosion points in the river to stop sedi-

Tom Crowley points out local plants of interest on the Mount Ida field trip.

ment from coming into the system and to enable natural proc-esses to prevent further erosion. This has involved everythingfrom the construction of erosion-control structures to buildingfencing that keeps livestock out of the river.

Mike stressed the importance of involving landowners, beingprepared to tolerate a certain amount of failure, and allowingpeople the time to change their minds as the process progresses.He has found that a consensus-based approach is the only wayto create lasting relationships. Mike also mentioned the greatimportance of community participation, noting that the projecthas benefited immensely from work done by volunteers.

The project has been enormously successful and has a waitinglist of landowners wanting to take part. However, with fund-ing less available than ever, they are unable to keep up with thedemand that has been created. To date, the project involves 62properties (about 30% of the river) and includes a cost-sharingprogram for participating landowners.

Salmon Arm volunteers build structures to control erosion.Elder Mary Thomas spoke to FBCN members about her personal history andexperience growing up in the Salmon Arm area.

30 BC Naturalist

Federation of BC Naturalists Fall Meeting 2005

September 29th - October 2nd

Lillooet, BC - Canyon to AlpineHosted by the Lillooet Naturalist Society

Thursday, September 29th

6:00- 8:30 pm Registration - Lillooet Friendship Centre - 357 Main StreetLillooet Slide Show by local naturalist.

Friday September 30th

7:00 -8:30 am

8:00 -9:00 am

9:00 -9:45 am

Early morning birding with local birders.Texas Creek and Spawning Channel areas

Registration at Friendship Centre, 357 Main St. Coffee & muffins available.

St1 at1 imc Welcoming / Fall Meeting Orientation

9:45 am to 12:00 pm Morning Field Trips & Workshops Departing from Friendship Centre

9:45 am

10:00 am

10- 11:00 am

West Pavilion Historic TrailA moderate hike above the Fraser River on the west side.

Jade Walk & Old Bridge - Walk with George Vanderwolf, a knowledgeableminer/historian discovering the history of jade in the Lillooet area. An optionwalk will be to visit the Old Bridge to view the bat housing project.

localof the

Bridge River: The response of riverine birds to controlled flow release fromTerzaghi Dam 1998 - 2005Ralph Heinrich and Russ Walton - Wildlife Biologists.

1:00 — 4:00 pm Afternoon Workshops Friendship Centre

1:00- 2:00 pm

2:00- 4:00 pm

4:15- 5:00 pm

5:00- 7:00 pm

7:00- 9:00 pm

St' at1 imc Land and Resource Plan

The Ecology of the Northern Spotted Owl, Western Screech-Owl &Flammulated OwlBiologists Jared Hobbs and Doris Hausleitner present their research and photos.

Lichens of the Rainshadow - Kenneth G. Wright, Field Biologist

Dinner and Happy Hour - on your own in downtown Lillooet.

Local projects of the Lillooet Naturalist SocietyEvening Social at Miyazaki House, 643 Russell LaneLocal non-alcoholic drinks and refreshments.

— continued on page 32

BC Naturalist 31

Fall AGM agenda — continued from page 31

Saturday, October 1st

7:00 -8:45 am

8:00 -9:00 am

9:00 am -12:00

9:00 am

9: 15 am

10:00 am

12:00 to 1:00

1:00- 4:00 pm

1:00- 4:00 pm

6:00 pm

Early birding with local birders in the Fountain Valley area.

Registration at Friendship Centre, 357 Main St.Coffee and muffins available.

Directors' Meeting - Lillooet Friendship Centre, 357 Main Street

Morning Field Trips & Workshops - (9:00 am - 12:00 pm)

Sallus Creek - Join local naturalists for a tour of local points of interest and an easywalk exploring the area. Depart from the Friendship Centre.

A Winter Paradise for the American Dipper - Kenneth G. Wright, Field BiologistHosted by the Lillooet Young Naturalist ClubOpen to the public at the Miyazaki House, 643 Russell Lane

The Bear Necessities: Understanding Grizzly Bear Dynamics in the LillooetArea to Promote Conservation - Lillooet Grizzly Bear Inventory ProjectHosted by Lillooet Young Naturalist ClubOpen to the public at the Miyazaki House, 643 Russell LaneTony Hamilton, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Biodiversity BranchLarry Casper, Lillooet Tribal Council, Natural Resources CoordinatorSue Senger, Landscope Consulting Corporation, Grizzly Bear Project Coordinator

Lunch at the Friendship Centre

FBCN Fall Meeting - Lillooet Friendship Centre

BC Raptor Rehabilitation Program with Steve HowardHosted by the Lillooet Young Naturalist ClubOpen to the public at the Miyazaki House, 643 Russell Lane

Dinner at the Lillooet Friendship CentrePresentation - Steve Howard - Education Through Wildlife Rehabilitation

Sunday, October 2nd

8:00 - 2:00 pm Moderate hike to alpine - details at registration

32 BC Naturalist

Federation of BC NaturalistsFall Meeting - Lillooet

September 29th - October 2nd,2005

Hosted by theLillooet Naturalist Society

REGISTRATION FORM

Name(s)

Club

Federation ofB.C. Naturalists

Mailing Address_

City

Telephone:

Accommodation

See Lillooet 2005Visitors' Guide, p. 23

Recommended:Sturgeon Bay B&B250-256-7792

Fraser CoveCampground250-256-0142

Mile 0 Motel:(preferred rates forFBCN members)1-888-766-4530

4 Pines Motel1-800-753-2576

BC HydroCampground(Lovely, basic, free)

Cayoosh Campground250-256-4180

.Postal Code

Email:

OPTIONS (Check all that apply) .Qty

a Full Registration by August 26th

(includes workshops, field trips, refreshments,Friday evening social, Saturday lunch and dinner)

a Full Registration after August 26th

a Friday only, includes evening social

a Saturday (includes workshops and lunch)

a Saturday Dinner ^_^^_

Special Diet (Please specify)Please indicate if you are interested in the Alpine Hike on SundayWould you like a Lillooet Visitor 2005 Guide mailed to you?

Please make cheques payable to: Lillooet Naturalist Society

Mail forms and payment to: Lillooet Naturalist SocietyBox1065Lillooet, BCVOK1VO

Each

$80.00

$90.00

$30.00

$35.00

$25.00

Total

NO REFUNDS AFTERSTSEPTEMBER 1 , 2005

Questions? Vivian Birch-Jonesvivianbj@telus.net(250) 256-4062

or Glenda Newstedgnewsted@hotmail.com(250) 256-7549

note - BC Hydro campground will be open - free basic campground, lovely site —other\vise see Visitors'1 Guide

BC Naturalist 33

Federation of BC NaturalistsHonorary President Dr. Ian McTaggart-Cowan

PresidentVice PresidentPast PresidentTreasurerRecording SecretaryConservation ChairKootenay Regional CoordinatorLower Mainland Regional CoordinatorNorthern B.C. Regional CoordinatorVancouver Island Regional CoordinatorThompson Okanagan Regional CoordinatorParks and Protected Areas CoordinatorEducation ChairYoung Naturalists' Club

MemberJeremy McCallRosemary FoxAnne MurrayDonald McLellanAnne MurrayBev RameyBrenda BalaamJude GrassSusan HaddowBetty CollinsEd McDonaldEva DuranceJoan SnyderDaphne Solecki

Tel

604-876-3313250-847-5150604-943-4460604-526-6521604-943-4460604-224-7689250-368-9677604-534-8774250-782 3892250-752-4744250-835-8802250-492-0158250-226-0012604-736-9471

Fax

604-876-3313250-847-5150604-943-0273604-252-3175

604-224-7622250-368-9676

Emailjmccall@helix.netfoxikrj@bulkley.netsanderling@uniserve.commclellans@telus.netsanderling@uniserve.combevramey@telus.net

judegrass@shaw.cabrhaddow@pris.bc.cacollinsbandj@shaw.camcdonald@jetstream.netedurance@vip.netsnowdance@telus.netdaphsol@telus.net

Consultants to the FBCN:Ross C. McCutcheonJoe Wan

Partner, Maitland & Company, Barristers and SolicitorsCertified Management Accountant

700-625 Howe, Vancouver V6C 2T6203-223 W. Broadway, Vancouver V5Y1P5

Lower Mainland

Dir./Pres. Address Tei Fax EmailAlouette Field NaturalistsBowen Nature ClubBurke Mountain NaturalistsCentral Valley NaturalistsChilliwack Field NaturalistDelta Naturalists' SocietyFriends of Semiahmoo Bay Society, White RockLangley Field Naturalist SocietyLittle Campbell Watershed SocietyRender Harbour & District Wildlife SocietyRoyal City Field NaturalistsSquamish Environmental Conservation SocietyStoney Creek Environmental CommitteeSunshine Coast Natural History SocietyVancouver Natural History SocietyVancouver Natural History SocietyVancouver Natural History SocietyWhistler Naturalists SocietyWhite Rock & Surrey Naturalists Society

Duanne VanclenbergBillie GowansJude GrassKathy WilkinsonHelen TurnerUrsula EsterbrookMargaret CuthbertJoan WilmshurstDavid RileyDale JacksonGareth LlewellynMeg FellowesJennifer AtchisonTony GreenfieldBev RameyBert BrinkGeorge BanghamKathy McGillionViveka Ohman

12554 Grace St, Maple Ridge V2X5N2Box J18, 1455 Upland Trail, Bowen Island VON 1GOPO Box 52540 RPO Coq. Ctr.Coquitlam V3B 7J42402 Mountain Dr., AbbotsfordV3G1E7216-45598 Mclntosh Dr. Chilliwack V2P7J31444 EnderbyAve,S. Delta V4L1S515425 Columbia Ave White Rock BC V4B 1K1Box 56052 Valley Centre PO.Langley V3A 8B315425 Columbia Ave White Rock BC V4B 1K1Box 220, Madeira Park BC VON 2HO903-1219 Harwood, Vancouver V6E 1S5Box 2676, Squamish VON 3GO2625 Noel Drive, Burnaby,V3J1J2Box543,SecheltVON3AO4317W12thAve.,Vancouver4135W16thAve.,Vancouver1039 Scantlings, Vancouver V6H3N9RR6 6900 Crabapple Dr, Whistler VON1B6Box 75004, White Rock V4B5L3

604463-8743604-947-2452604-538 8774604-854-3203

604-984-1749604-536-3552604-534-4314604-536-2636604-883 9853604-609-0679604-898-5093604-420-9132604-885-5539604-224-7689604-224-7078604-731-7669604-9381139604-531-3001

604-463-8743604-947-0141 gowans@sfu.ca

judegrass@shaw.ca604-854-3203 kwilkins2@shaw.ca

hturner@dowco.comurs@telus.nel

blueheron@3web.netronald_wilmshurst@telus.net

blueheron@3web.netdale.jackson@communityfutures.org

gllew@telus.netmegf@shaw.ca

jaatchison@shaw.cagreenfieldtony@hotmail.com

604-224-7622 bevramey@telus.net604-224-7073 bertbrink@shaw.ca

gbangham@hotmail.compolito@hotmail.com

ohmanv@inspection.gc.ca

Northern BCDir./Pres. Address Tel Fax Email

Bulkley Valley NaturalistsMackenzie Nature ObservatoryPrince George Naturalist ClubQuesnel NaturalistsSkeena Valley NaturalistsTimberline Trail & Nature ClubWilliams Lake Field Naturalists Society

Box 3126, SmithersVOJ2NOBox 1598, Mackenzie VOJ2COBox 1092, Stn A, Prince George V2L 4V2410 Kinchant St., Quesnel V2J7J5S13 C-A1RR4 Water Lily Bay Road, Teirace V8G 4V29049 Elwood Drive, Dawson Creek V1G 3M81305A Borland Dr, Williams lake V2G5K5

Publications mail agreement no. 40043545

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:

Federation of BC Naturalists

307-1367 West Broadway

Vancouver BCV6H4A9

email:fbcn@telus.net

34 BC Naturalist

KootenayDir./Pres. Address Tel Fax Email

Boundary Naturalists Association Rob ChomenkiRocky Mountain Naturalists Tara SzkorupaWest Kootenay Naturalists' Association Len Dunsford

Thompson-Shuswap-Okanagan

250-442-0447

250-3544325

Dir./Pres. Address Tel

Central Okanagan Naturalist ClubCentral Okanagan Naturalist ClubKamloops Naturalist ClubLillooet Naturalist SocietyNorth Okanagan Naturalists' ClubNorth Shuswap Naturalist ClubOliver-Osoyoos NaturalistsShuswap Naturalists ClubSimilkameen Naturalist ClubSouth Okanagan Naturalist ClubVermilion Forks Field Naturalists

Vancouver Island

Dir./Pres.PatWestheuserDonald FlookMarg GrahamVivian Birch-JonesErin NelsonAlfred BawtreeHarold KingEd McDonaldLee McFadyenFrank SigurdsonJoan Kelly

AddressBox 396, Stn A, Kelowna V1Y7N8129-609 Truswell Rd., Kelowna V1W 3Z11 30 Park St. Kamloops V2B4A5Box 1065, Lillooet VOK1VO9730 Park Lane, VernonV1B3E5Site16 lComp,24,RR1 lCelistaVOE1LOBox USI.OsoyoosVOH UO-Box 1076, Salmon Arm V1E4P2RR1,C5S33,CawstonVOX1CORR1,S32,C84, Okanagan Falls VON1ROBox 162 Princeton VOX 1WO

Tel250-769-6605250-860-9751250-554-1285250-256-4062

250-955-2155250495-6907250-835-8802250-499-5404250-497-6428250-295 7743

Fax250-769-6627250-860-9751

250-955-2185250495-6907

Emailhughwest@shaw.ca

marggraham@shaw.cavivianbj@telus.net

eenelson@telus.net

hwbking@telus.netmcdonald@jetstream.net

mariposaorgf@hotmail.comfts7@shaw.ca

fjkelly@cablerocket.com

Fax EmailArrowsmith NaturalistsComox Valley Naturalists SocietyCowichan Valley Naturalists SocietyMitlenatch Field Naturalists SocietyNanaimo Field NaturalistsNanoose NaturalistsFender Island Field NaturalistsRithet's Bog Conservation SocietyRocky Point Bird ObservatorySaltspringTrail & Nature ClubVictoria Natural History SocietyVictoria Natural History Society

Affiliate Groups

120nFinholmSt.#45,ParksvilleV9P1J51420 McPheeAve, Courtenay V9N 5N4Box 361, Duncan V9L 3X5Box105,QuathiaskiCoveVOP1NOBox 125, Stn A, Nanaimo V9R5K41938 Eagle Ridge PI Nanoose Bay V9P 9H71102 Stanley Point Dr., Pender Island VON 2M14337 Northridge Cres, Victoria5308 Mynabird Lane, Victoria V8Y 3H6Box 203, Ganges, Salt Spring Island V8K 2V9Box 5220, Stn B, Victoria VSR 6N4Box 5220, Stn B, Victoria V8R6N4

250-338-9962

250-285-2981

250-658-8607

250-361-1694

Dir./Pres. Address Tel Fax EmailRichmond Field Naturalists Steffany WalkerKitimat Valley Naturalists April Macleod •Osoyoos Desert Society Joanne MuirheadMalaspina Naturalist Club Sherri WrethamSunshine Coast Conservation Association Marianne Larsen

41-12331 Phoenix Dr., Richmond V7E 6C4

4029 Lyton Avenue, Powell River V8A 5A6

250-632-3977250-495-2470604485-2602604-885-6431

250495-6161

Associate GroupsAllan Brooks Nature Centre Society, Vernon, 250-2604227Alexander McKenzie Voyageur Route Association, Kelowna, 250-8604782Boundary Bay Conservation Committee, Delta, 604-943-6406Biology Coop. Education Coordinators, Univ. of VictoriaBurns Bog Conservation Society, Delta 604-572-0373Charlie Lake Conservation Society, Charlie LakeCreston Valley Wildlife Mgt. Area Society, Creston, 250428-3260Comox Valley Project Watershed, CourtenayEvergreen Foundation, Vancouver 604-689-0766Federation of BC Mountain Clubs, Vancouver, 604-878-7007Francis Pt. Marine Park Society, Madeira Park, 604-883-2730Friends of Caren, Madeira Park, www.friendsofcaren.orgFriends of Cortes Island Society, Whaleton, 250-935-0087Friends of Cypress Provincial Park Society, West Vancouver, 604-922-7949Friends of the Stikine, GibsonsGarry Oak Meadow Preservation Society, VictoriaGrassy Plains School, Burns LakeThe Land Conservancy of BC, Victoria 250479-8053, Vancouver 604-733-2313LandTrust Alliance of BC, Salt Spring Island, 250-538-0112

Lighthouse Park Preservation Society, West Vancouver 604-921 -3382Macdonald Wood Park Society, Comox, 250-339-4370Native Plant Society of BC, Vancouver, 604-255-5719Natural History Soc. of Nfld & Labrador, St. Johns, NfldNature Saskatchewan, Regina, SK, 306-713-6698Nature Trust of BC, North Vancouver, 604-924-9771Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society, Summerland, 250494-8996Riverview Horticultural Society, Coquitlam, 604-290-9910Sargeant Bay Society, SecheltSave Our Parkland Association, Vancouver, 604-224-7027Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC),Vancouver, 604-736-7732Soil & Water Conservation Society, Langley, 604-888-7511Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society, DuncanStanley Park Ecology Association.Vancouver 604-257-6908Students for Environmental Awareness, Camosun College, Victoria, 250-370-3139Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature Centre, Victoria, 250479-0811Trails BC, Vancouver 604-737-3188West Vancouver Streamkeepers, Vancouver, 604-984-9311Wild Bird Trust of BC, Vancouver 604-921-8253World Wildlife Fund, 1-800-26PANDANorth Shore Black Bear Network, North Vancouver 604-980-9464

BC Naturalist

TOURS FOR NATURALISTS***THE SUNSHINE COAST FOR NATURALISTS***

ll-15th July 2005 (5 days) Cost $1450 (Dbl occup) from Vancouver

The Sunshine Coast exemplifies the best of coastal BC, where the temperate rainforest meets the blue of the Salish Seain a confusion of magnificent fjords and green islands. Our base is the stunning West Coast Wilderness Lodge (all mealsincluded). Four separate cruises are included on different days: world famous Princess Louisa Inlet, idyllic Jedediah Island,Ihormanby Island, and a sunset cruise of Hotham Sound. We also visit the spectacular Skookumchuck Narrows, and thelaid-back beauty of Smugglers Cove and Sargeant Bay Provincial Parks. Your guide has explored this area for 35 years.

***THE SUNSHINE COAST 3 DAY OPTION***13-15th September 2005 (3 days)...Cost $585 (Dbl occup) from Vancouver

Call for itinerary. Includes Princess Louisa Inlet cruise, and all meals.

*SOUTHERN UTAH— THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL LANDSCAPE*20-29th September 2005 (10 days) Cost $1899 (Dbl occup) from Las Vegas

Planet Earth contains an infinite variety of landscapes, but in southern Utah random geologic events have conspired to createrare, unexpected and beautiful consequences. The mighty Colorado River, aided by the arid erosion cycle, has waged battleacross the eons with the sandstone strata and fashioned landscapes so unique and bizarre that they are more redolent of anextra-terrestrial origin. We visit Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Arches National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument,Valley of the Gods and other destinations. We even sneak across the border into northern Ari2ona to see the north rim ofthe Grand Canyon.

*** BC FALL COLOURS/WATERFALLS***l4-17th October 2005 (4 days) Cost $599 (Dbl occup) from Vancouver

We visit 16 major waterfalls, including EC's premier waterfall, Helmcken Falls, in Wells Gray Provincial Park, and othersvarying from the high plunges of Spahats and Brandywine, to the Niagara-like Dawson Falls. There is even the opportunityto stand BEHIND the falling water of a major waterfall... .a breathtaking experience. Our drive through the Fraser Canyon,the Cariboo, the Duffey Lake Road and the Sea to Sky Highway will coincide with the peak of the golden fall colours of theaspen, birch, cottonwood and maple.

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Please visit our website, call, or e-mail for detailed itineraries

Leader: TONY GREENFIELD(Pres, Sunshine Coast Natural History Society, Past Pres. BC Field Ornithologists)

WHISKEYJACK NATURE TOURSBOX 319, SECHELT, BC, VON 3AO

Tel: 604-885-5539, E-m: tony@whiskeyjacknaturetours.com

Website: www.whiskeyjacknaturetours.com

BC Naturalist is published four times per year by the Federation of BC Naturalists - #307 - 1367 W. Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6H 4h

Publication Agreement No. 40043545