b.c. naturalist...b.c. naturalist is published quarterly by the federation of british columbia...

ISSN 0228-8842

B.C. NaturalistFALL, SEPTEMBER 1984 VOL. 22, NO. 3

An Araneus web hapgs heavy with morning dew.photo: Al Grass

The Federation of British Columbia Naturalists1200 Hornby Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 2E2

B.C. Naturalist is published quarterly bythe Federation of British ColumbiaNaturalist 100 - 1200 Hornby Street,Vancouver, B.C. V6Z 2E2.

Second Class MailRegistration No. 6247

DIRECTORYEDITORPamela Cowtan

ADVERTISINGHugh Aikens '

ADVISORY BOARDBert Brink Norman PurssellAl Grass Frank SanfordJude Grass Dick Stace-Smith

HONORARY PRESIDENTDr. Ian McTaggart Cowan

EXECUTIVEPresident: Mrs. Jude Grass437-7194, 202-6444 Silver Ave.,Burnaby, V5H 2Y4

Vice President: K. Hall224-7584, 3849 W. 23 Ave.,Vancouver, V6A 1K8

Treasurer: T.B.A.

Recording Secretary: Miss MarjorieSmith,327-1938, 1146 East 60th Ave.,Vancouver V5X 2A7

Membership/Office Secretary:Adeline Nicol, Wed. & Sat.,687-1600, 1200 Hornby St.,Vancouver, V6Z 2E2

Past President: Dick Stace-Smith224-7024, 4274 W. 13th Ave.,Vancouver, V6R 2B6

COMMITTEESConservation Chairman: Ken Hall,224-7584, 3849 W. 23 Ave.,Vancouver, V6A 1K8Education Chairman: Al Grass437-7194, 202—6444 Silver Ave.,Burnaby V5H 2Y4

AFFILIATED CLUBSAND DIRECTORSVANCOUVER ISLANDRegional Coordinator:Acting: Jim Lunam, 335-2730,RR#1, Fanny BayArrowsmith Natural History

Society: Box 1542,Parksville VOR ISOD: Pauline Tranfield

Comox-Strathcona Naturalists:Box 3222, Courtenay V9N 5N4

D: Jim Lunam

Cowichan Valley Naturalists:Box 361, Duncan V9L 3X5

D: Peg Watson

Mitlenatch Field Naturalists:Box 392, Campbell River V9W 4Z9

D: Ted Granger

Nanaimo Field Naturalists:Box 125, Nanaimo V9R 5K6D: Allan Hawryzki

Fender Island Field Naturalists:c/o Ron McLardy, R.RJ1

Fender Island, VON 2MOD: Ron McLardy

Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club:Box 998, Ganges VOS IEO

D: Edna Gatt

Victoria Natural History Society:Box 5220, Victoria V8R 6N4D: Winston Mair, MaryLou Florian,

William Barkley

LOWER MAINLANDRegional Coordinator:

Norm Purssell, 922-79922338 Ottawa Ave., West VancouverV7V 2S9

Alouette Field Naturalists:c/o 12554 Grace St.,Maple Ridge V2Y 5N2D: Duanne van den Berg

Chilliwack Field Naturalists:Box 23, Chilliwack V2P 6H7

D: Bircham Van Home

Langley Field Naturalists:Box 3243, Langley V3A 4R6D: W. Knowlson

Royal City Field Naturalists:Box 2281, New Westminster V3L 5A5D: Vi Bennet

Sechelt Marsh Protective Society:Box 543, Sechelt VON 3AO

D: Vince Bracewell

Vancouver Natural History Society:Box 3021, Vancouver V6B 3X5

D: V.C. Brink, Jude Grass, Ken Hall,Kay Beamish, Norm Purssell

White Rock and Surrey Naturalists:Box 44, White Rock V4B 4Z7

D: Mary Louise Macdonald

THOMPSON-OKANAGANRegional Coordinator:

Peter Legg, 542-9031Box 751, Vernon V1T 6M7

Central Okanagan Naturalists:Box 396, Kelowna V1Y 7N8

D: Hugh Westheuser

Kamloops Naturalists:Box 625, Kamloops V2J 5L7

D: Rosalie Eldridge

North Okanagan Naturalists:Box 473, Vernon V1T 6M4

D: Peter Legg, Peter McAllister

North Shuswap Naturalists:General Delivery, Celista

VOE 1LOD: Audrey Sugden

Oliver-Osoyoos Naturalists:Box 1181, Osoyoos VOH 1VO

D: Daphne Malins

Shuswap Naturalists:Box 1076, Salmon Arm VOE 2TO

D: Mary McGilivray

South Okanagan Naturalists:Box 375, Penticton V2A 6K6

D: Bev Grant

KOOTENAY

Boundary Naturalists Association:Box 2194, Grand Forks VOH IHO

D: Peggy Gardner

West Kootenay Naturalists Assoc.:Box 3121, Castlegar V1N 3H4

D: Hazel Street

CARIBOO

Williams Lake Field Naturalists:Box 4575, Williams Lake V2G 2V6

D: Frances Vyse

NORTH CENTRAL B.C.

Prince George Naturalists:Box 1092, Stn. A, Prince GeorgeV2L 4V2

D: Don Wilson

SKEENA

Prince Rupert Naturalists:Box 515, Prince Rupert V8J 1P1

D:

PEACE

Timberline Trail and Nature Club:Box 779, Dawson Creek V1G 4H8

D: Don Johnson

DIRECTORS REPRESENTINGINDIVIDUAL MEMBERS ,

Chris Siddle, 8927 116th Ave., ;Fort St. John V1J 2Y2

Deadline and distribution dates forthe B.C. Naturalist.EditionSpringSummerFallWinter

DeadlineJanuary 15March 15July 15October 15

DistributionMarch 1 -^May 1Sept. 15December 1

— B.C. Naturalist September 1984 (Fall)

President's Message

Since the Federation of British Columbia Naturalist's An-nual General Meeting in-Sechelt, May 1983, a great deal hasbeen accomplished by the Federation and its member clubs.We can be justly proud of our activities. We are ranging in-deed.

A symposium of Parks in British Columbia, sponsoredjointly by the F.B.C.N., the University of British Columbia,and the National and Provincial Parks Association attractedover 350 people to Vancouver in February of this year to dis-cuss some of the problems of regional, provincial and nationalparks in B.C. From this organization came the formation ofthe B.C. Section of the Heritage for Tomorrow Symposium tobe held in conjunction with Parks Canada Centennial in 1985.Again many Federation members are involved.

Two very successful carnps have been held. Last Septemberin Elko and this spring'in Comox, campers were treated to in-formative field trips and interesting talks on local natural his-tory. We now look forward to a chance to explore the NorthShuswap country in 1985.

Conservation issues plays a vital role in the Federation's ac-tivities. These range from the well-publicized wolf-kill pro-gram to the protection of South Moresby, offshore drilling,and where to put the Lower Mainland's garbage. This shortlist gives but a glimpse of the complex diversity of issues whichinvolve the busy chairman of the Conservation Committee,

Hall. The prospects for the future seem to point to even/eater demands on the time and energy of naturalists.

It is the sincere hope of the Federation that our role in publiceducation and nature interpretation will increase. It is only bywinning the hearts and minds of interpretive nature writingcan be appreciated if one considers how many people in B.C.alone have been touched by a modest volume called TreesShrubs and Flowers to Kaow in B.C. by Chess Lyons. In edu-cation we have a big job ahead and the Education Committee

1 needs your help. Education issues are not as clear nor are theyas glamourous as conservation issues, but they are every bit asimportant and arguably more so.

The first step has been taken with the production of thechildren's activity book Sidewalk to Seashore which is nowavailable. The Backyard Habitat Booklet has been progressingmuch slower but a hard attempt will be made to complete itthis year.

The B.C. Naturalist, now delivered directly to each individ-ual member, should stimulate closer ties between the membersand the Federation and that the articles and issues representedin it will hopefully encourage new members. The B.C. Natur-

alist is our most important medium of communication and isgrowing in readership and respect with each issue.

One special undertaking of the Federation this year was thehosting of the Canadian Nature Federation Annual GeneralMeeting and Conference in Vancouver in July. Norm Purssell,and a large committee of people, spent many hours arranginga most successful meeting. Events ranging from the A.G.M.,workshops, field trips, social gatherings and the bookstorewere all blessed with praise from the visitors and beautiful sun-shine for the full length of the event.

All our member clubs have also been very active. Their par-ticipation in community events like nature courses for schoolor youth groups, volunteer programs in local or provincialparks, as wardens of Ecological Reserves, collecting data fornest record schemes or vertebrate zoology atlases, serving onvarious government advisory committees and local planningcouncils, in addition to the usual meetings and field trips oroutings of the club, is very encouraging to all the Executive ofthe Federation.

Over the next year or so I would like to see the F.B.C.N.move forward or perhaps outward in several ways. Through-out the province there are small groups striving to start newnaturalist clubs, while others struggle along a fine tine betweensuccess and failure. One way we can reach out to these peopleis through a "hands on" type of contact. To do this we musthave a solid means of communication and organization. Thistakes money. Funding is available, and we most certainly qual-ify. You should take a look at the list of other organizations,many a lot smaller than ourselves, who now receive funding.Presently, the F.B.C.N. receives a small grant for operatingexpenses. Funding, even of a small nature, would help us toreach out to these new groups to provide assistance and guid-ance, provide monies to help those in remote areas of the prov-ince attend our meetings on a regular basis, hold workshopsfor naturalist types of programs and most importantly, hire ei-ther part-time or full-time staff to'coordinate the various pro-grams that we choose to operate. We have the chance while thefunding opportunities last.

I am aware that some people feel that we should not acceptfunding for a variety of reasons including the fact that fundingcannot be counted on for any length of time. But even over ashort period of tinie, a lot can be done, and programs can bemodified later according to the .funding. There is such as beingtoo cautious; after all, what in life is permanent? As they saynowadays, LET'S GO FOR IT! It is time we reached out intonew areas. The Federation will never grow unless we make theeffort.

We know, as naturalists, that there are many more of us outthere. Building a stronger Federation will only aid our causeand make us a louder voice for conservation, the protectionand the enhancement of the flora and fauna of this province.

Originally presented to the F.B. C.N. Annual General Meet-ing in Vernon~May 1984 and updated for the Fall editionB.C. Naturalist.

Welcomes andThank-Yous

The B.C. Naturalist is pleased to wel-come Trevor Coward to regular con-tributor staff. Trevor has worked as aNaturalist for B.C. Parks, mostly inWells Gray, since the mid 1970s, al-

Jhough his main interest is in lichens, hisnowledge on all aspects of natural his-

..ory is far ranging. At present he isworking to gain support for a proposalto add the Trophy Mountains to WellsGray Provincial Park. Trevor has just

completed the draft of a book for theB.C. Provincial Museum on the Lichensof B.C. and looks forward to it beingavailable in the near future.

A very large thank-you to NormanPurssell and his dedicated committee oforganizers who put in many hours inpreparation for, and during, the Cana-dian Nature Federation Conference inVancouver this past July. Visitors fromacross Canada appreciated the smoothrunning program and the variety of ac-

tivities provided for their enjoyment.A special thanks to Natalie Minunzie

who is stepping down to Treasurer of theF.B.C.N. as of September 1. Natalie hasfound that working full time, attendingaccounting courses at college and mind-ing a home is enough to keep her morethan busy. Natalie's contribution asTreasurer and Chairperson of the Fi-nance Committee has been appreciatedby the Executive and Directors of theF.B.C.N.

B.C. Naturalist September 1984 (Fall)

F.B.C. N. AwardsThis years ELTON ANDERSON

AWARD was awarded to Nancy Ander-son of the West Kootenay NaturalistsAssociation. Nancy is a well-knownmember of the Federation and 'has par-ticipated in many of its activities over theyears. She is presently representing theF.B.C.N. on the Habitat ConservationFund Advisory Committee. Nancy says,"I would like to thank the federation forhonouring me with this prestigious

' award although I am sure there are manyhard working naturalists who deserve itmore than I. The carving is beautifuland has already had many admirers. Iam proud to have it on display in my liv-ing room. It is very special to me not on-ly because of what it stands for but alsobecause Elton was a good friend."

Three CLUB SERVICE AWARDSwere presented to Margaret Barwis,Peggy and Vic Goodwill and FredMcMechan. Margaret Barwis wasnominated by the West KootenayNaturalists. ."Margaret has been amember of the West KootenayNaturalists for many years. She has beenunfailing in her support of club activitiesand of any activities of an environmentalnature. In addition her social conscienceis such as to make her someone whogives unstingingly of her time andresources for any cause or .person whoneeds help."

Peggy and Vic Goodwill werenominated by the Victoria NaturalHistory Society. "That Victoria's RareBird Alert has operated for more thanseven years with a minimum of con-troversy has been soley due to two peo-ple — Vic and Peggy Goodwill. Whenthey were approached by the VictoriaNatural History Society in 1977, they ac-cepted the challenge with both en-thusiasm and trepidation. Their en-thusiasm for the task has not waned inthe intervening years; there never hadbeen any evidence of their trepidation."

Fred McMechan was nominated bythe Williams Lake Field Naturalists, andis the long time president of the club."Fred is quite an achiever, workingdiligently on all activities. He is a tirelesssupporter of our major project, theScout Island Nature Centre, which alsobenefits from his physical work, hoursand monetary donations . . . Fred hasattended many city council meetingswhen necessary about club activitieswith diplomacy and tact . . ."

Winners of SPECIAL SERVICEAWARDS were Ken Farquh arson andTom Perry, and Iva Mann and MayBrown. The work of Ken and Tom intheir tireless efforts to save the SkagitValley is legendary.

Nancy Anderson with the Elton Anderson Award — The Wolverine.photo: Jim Street

Iva and May have given yeoman ser-vice in their effort to have a major parkon the University of British ColumbiaEndowment Lands.

The BARBARA CHAPMAN AWARDfor Young Naturalists has been awardedto Janice Tomlinson. She wasnominated by the Victoria Natural

History Society and is an active memberof its Junior Section. "She has shownoutstanding ability in teaching naturalhistory to children . . . and hasdemonstrated her abilities as a naturalis,creating new exhibits in the nature houti >

ALG

A.G.M. at Vernon, B.C.The Federation of British Columbia

Naturalists Annual General Meeting washosted by the North ' OkanaganNaturalists Club from May 25-27 at Ver-non.

Several "early arrival" field trips wereorganized by Peter Legg for Friday andan informal discussion period was heldat the Okeefe Ranch in the afternoon.Twenty-five people representing clubsthroughout the province talked aboutsuch items as grazing leases, access tocrown land, F.B.C.N. policy, landaquisition for wildlife, and the Heritagefor Tomorrow Regional Groups andFederation participation.

Friday evening a delightful social washeld at the home of Mr. and Mrs.Patrick Mackie giving everyone an op-portunity to renew old aquaintances andto meet several of new Directors.

Saturday was originally planned to bepart business and part field trip butheavy rains made a change necessary andthe A.G.M. carried on throughout theday. Saturday evening a large banquet

took place at the Vernon Lodge Hotel,as the Federations A.G.M. coincidedwith the host clubs annual banquet over300 people were in attendance. Guestspeaker showed slides and films from hiscollection of wildlife photography.

Sunday dawned clear and warm andgroups'formed for a trip to Y Lakeabove Vernon. Birder's and Botanist'salike were treated to a spectacular showand the nature trail quiz was funand informative for all. We were all a lit-tle reluctant to leave for home soon afterlunch wishing we could stay and exploremore.

JFG

FRONT COVERWeb of Araneus, sp. photographed atCampbell Valley Regional Park, Langley, B.CL_Qn a misty September morning. 100 mm lens on bellows. A mirrorwas used~"for illumination to give a"dark field" effect.

Al Grass — B.C. Naturalist September 1984 (Fall)

ptarmigan ptracks DAVIDwith STIRLING

As Autumn draws near British Colum-bia naturalists may be dreaming aboutwarmer dimes, ffyou are going south bycruise ship you might stop for

A DAYIN BERMUDA

Bermuda is really a group of islands,the larger ones joined by causeways andbridges, in the Atlantic Ocean, 1397 kmS.E. of Halifax and 1245 km S.E. ofNew York. The Bermuda Islands standisolated from all other land at the nor-thern edge of the Sargasso Sea and theapex of the imaginary Bermuda,Triangle. Bermuda is closely settled. Thesturdy, pink-roofed houses and man-sions give the island the appearance ofbeing one large better-class residentialdistrict bound together by parks,gardens and golf courses.

Getting around in Bermuda is simple.There are inumerable small taxis whichseat four persons comfortably althoughthree persons are better for a full day'ssightseeing trip. Usual charge formetered taxis is U.S. $11.00 per hour.Buses service the entire island. Perhapsthe best way to get around is by moped.There are rental shops near the docksand costs run less than U.S. $20.00 perday. The speed limit is 20 mph but thenalmost all of the island is within a 20mile round trip.

Bermuda is not a birder's paradise.For world listers it doesn't qualify. Butthe very scarcity of birds makes it in-teresting and challenging especially for anaturalist from a cruise ship with .onlyone or two days ashore.

The common land birds of Bermudaare the Mallard, Rock Dove, MourningDove, Common Crow, Great Kiskadee,Starling, House Sparrow, Grey Catbird,Eastern Bluebird, White-eyed Vireo,Cardinal and European Goldfinch.Seabirds which breed in Bermuda arethe Audubon's Shearwater, BermudaPetrel or Cahow and the White-tailedTropicbird. Remnant populations of thefirst two species still breed on small isletsin Castle Harbour. The Cahow, eaten tonear extinction by early settlers, wasrediscovered in 1951. Twenty-six pairswere present in 1972. The White-tailedTropicbird is common in the vicinity ofsea cliffs and islets from March throughOctober. Us likeness graces postcardsand T-shirts.

Bermuda's paucity of resident birds ismore than offset-by its large quota ofmigrants, rarities and accidentals. Theisland's checklist records over 300species mostly eastern North Americanland and shore birds. Thirty-three of the"35 eastern North American warblershave been seen on the island. Autumn isthe - best time for northern migrants,some'of which over-winter. For seabirdsthe months from March to June producea spectacular migration; during the restof the year the seas are almost birdless.

I rode out from Hamilton to SpittalPond, a small marsh sanctuary main-tained by the Bermuda Audubpn Socie-ty. From the west "parking lot I took themarked trail which encircles the pond.First birds seen were predictably, Starl-ings, House Sparrows and the bi-lingualKiskadee, (it. says "kiskadee" inEnglish; in French, "Qu'est-ce quec'est"). 1 walked under the casuarinasand into the thick evergreen vegetationwhere 1 "pished up" Grey Catbirds anda Northern Waterthrush. Presently, thepond came into view with GreaterYellowlegs, Semi-palmated Sandpipers,an American Bittern and a LouisianaHeron. Stalking in the grass was a GreatEgret. Farther on another view produc-ed Mallards and Blue-winged Tealresting on shore, a Snowy Egret and aLeast Bittern feeding while a CommonGallinule fossicked in the grass.

The heights at Spanish Rock gave mea 180° view of the ocean but no seabirds.The wind driven spray from the heavybreakers produced a glittering sheen onthe sea-grapes and prickly-pear cactiwhich vegetated the rocks.

The tide, coming in quickly, forcedme to wade knee-deep in some places.Brightly coloured land crabs waved theirformidable pinchers and once I nearlystepped on a giant cane toad, an exoticfrom Africa. Back at the parking lot thefinale was a shower of EuropeanGoldfinches raining into the casuarinatrees.

Around scenic Harrington Sound andCastle Harbour I found Common Ternsand an Osprey over the water, RuddyTurnstones and Sanderlings on thebeach, Pectoral Sandpipers and Semi-palmated Plovers on the grass.

On the Old Military Road between thetown of St. George and Fort St.Catherine, I noticed a backyard with abird bath and a large, branchy, deadcedar. I spent the next hour peering overthe hedge at a fine bunch of land birds

-six Eastern Bluebirds, a ScarletTanager, a Northern Oriole, Cardinals,Palm Warbler, Prairie Warbler andseveral Cedar Waxwings. In a woodedravine nearby I saw the Bermuda White-eyed Vireo.

Returning to Hamilton I stopped atthe Botanical Gardens which has a finecollection of exotic trees and shrubsespecially palms and cycads. Here withthe ubiquitous Kiskadees and HouseSparrows were Common Crows andCardinals while the spreading zinniagarden was animated by hundreds ofspritely European Goldfinches.

The whistling tree frogs were startingup their evening chorus before I reachedthe .wharf and home on the cruise shipVolendam. It had been 40 bird species,great scenery and many interesting treesand flowers. My only disappointmentwas not seeing the Tropicbirds. Perhapsit was too late in the season. Late Oc-tober is, perhaps, the best time for bir-ding in Bermuda but just a week too latefor the White-tailed Tropicbird.

Every naturalist visitor should haveDavid B. Wingate's A Checklist andGuide to the Birds of Bermuda, 1973,good for both birds and the general en-vironment, obtainable in Bermuda at theAquarium and elsewhere for $3.00.


Wildlife atlasesProgress report

SPRING/SUMMER 1984

A full species account for the Com-mon Loon has been completed. This willserve as a prototype for a migratoryspecies, which includes much more in-formation than a resident species like theCommon Barn-Owl. Major sections foreach species account now include"Dis t r ibu t ion , A b u n d a n c e andSeasonally" (migration period, ar-rival/departure times, migration max-ima, etc.), "Reproduction" (habitat,nest, eggs, young), "Food", "Popula-tion" (history, trends) and "LiteratureCited".

We are still on schedule to meet theApril 1985 deadline for a draft copy fornon-passerines. At the moment most ef-fort is being spent analyzing tens ofthousands of nest record cards for the145 or so breeding non-passerines. Thisis a useful exercise, not only for thebook, but for the experience in learningwhat information is lacking in the pre-sent format of our nest record cards. In-consistency in recording field data isalways a frustrating problem for resear-chers using the cards. We must continuealso to encourage participants to recordspecific information on habitat, nestingsubstrate, and, when possible, repeatvisits to nests.

It took a lot of work by the threeregional comilers in the Kootenays to br-ing together records of vertebrates forthe atlas' projects but we now have near-ly 20,000 records, which completescoverage for this area. The three-yearproject was completed by Larry Halver-son (Kootenay National Park and EastKootenays), John Woods (MountRevelstoke and Glacier National Parks),and Gary Davidson (West Kootenays).Chris Siddle (Peace River) continues totransfer his records as well.

Copies of the Common Loon ac-counts are now available for par-ticipants.

PUBLICATIONS OFINTEREST

Unfortunately we cannot usually pro-vide copies of the references listed in thissection. Most can be obtained, however,through university, college, and somegovernment offices. All articles preced-ed by an asterisk (*) are the result, inpart, of data in museum collections.

* American Ornithologist's Union.. 1983. CHECKLIST OF NORTHAMERICAN BIRDS, 6th Edition. AllenPress, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877pages.

* Campbell, Eileen C-.and R. WayneCampbell. 1984. STATUS REPORTON THE SPOTTED OWL (Strix oc-cidentalis caurina) in Canada — 1983.Committee on the Status of EndangeredWildlife in Canada Report, Ottawa, On-tario. 62 pages.

* Campbell, R. Wayne. 1984.CHECKLIST OF BRITISH COLUM-BIA BIRDS (TO MAY 1984). BritishColumbia Provincial Museum.

* Campbell, R. Wayne. 1984.BRITISH COLUMBIA ROADSIDERAPTOR CENSUS.— BURNABY TOPRINCE GEORGE AND RETURN,MARCH 18-24, 1984. UnpublishedReport, B.C. Provincial MuseumVertebrate Zoology Division, Victoria. 7pages.

* Coo k, Francis R. 1984. IN-TRODUCTION TO CANADIAN AM-PHIBIANS AND REPTILES. NationalMuseum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa,Ontario. 200 pages.

* Finlay, J. C. (ed.). 1984. A BIRD-FINDING GUIDE TO CANADA. Hur-tig Publishers Ltd., Edmonton. 387pages.

Obee, B. 1984. BIGHORN SHEEP —A FRAGILE RESOURCE. WildlifeReview, 10(8):32-34.

* Vallee, Anne and Richard J. Cann-ings. 1983. NESTING OF THE THICK-BILLED MURRE, URIA LOMVIA, INBRITISH COLUMBIA. CanadianField-Naturalist97(4):450-451.

Vermeer, K. 1983. DIET OF THEHARLEQUIN DUCK IN THE STRAITOF GEORGIA, BRITISH COLUM-BIA. Murrelet 64(2):54-57-

NOTEWORTHYRECORDS

All records are from 1984, March toJuly.MAMMALS

Laurie Rockwell noticed the firstYELLOW-BELLIED MARMOTS ofthe season, 6 animals March 24 near 100Mile House. Others were reported "ac-tive" the fo l lowing week nearKamloops, Falkland and Logan Lake.Two COLLARED PIKAS, "lifers" forGary Davidson, Chris Siddle andMichael Force, were seen amongboulders at Three Guardsman Pass(Haines Road) on May 3. A newsouthern locality record for the "KER-MODE" BEAR, a white phase of theBLACK BEAR, was reported by GarryGrigg south of Riske Creek on June 14.At least three strandings of GRAYWHALES occurred in the vicinity ofBoundary Bay from May 1 through June4. The baleen feeder is very uncommonon the Inside Passage, and as yet there isno conclusive evidence for their deaths.SEA OTTERS continue to do well nearBajo Reef where Deb Ford, West CoastWhale Research Foundation, counted100 in May. Futher south a NOR-THERN ELEPHANT SEAL, irregularin summer, seen near Whirl Bay on May11 provided a 'lifer' for John and DianeCooper. Big mammals, in downtown Iareas of major cities, provided someentertaining and tense moments. OnJune 2 a cow and bull MOOSE showedup on Valley View- Drive (near Mac-Donalds restaurant) in Kamloops. Un-fortunately the female was hit by a carand suffered a broken leg. The bull was"chased out-of-town". On August 4 aMOUNTAIN LION wanted into theP.N.E. in Vancouver! It was later tran-quillized and released in forests nearby.While skiing near Yahk River inFebruary Shirley Pearson was delightedto see the rare MOUNTAIN CARIBOU.This constitutes a . western localityrecord.

— B-.C. Naturalist September 1984 (Fall)

% i

BIRDS_^ Due to the numbers of significant

ff"~Records received, arrival dates for springmigrants have been deleted from thisreport.

Most records of BLACK-CROWNEDNIGHT-HERONS are of immatures soD. Powell was excited to see an adult atthe airport in Revelstoke on April 28.Also in the same are'a Rick Bonarreported late departing TUNDRASWANS (2) on June 27. An EMPERORGOOSE was seen among gulls on RaceRocks (near Victoria) on April 19 byPeter Griffiths. A male GARGANEY,our second record, was located andphotographed (B.C.P.M. Photo No.916) by Richard Cannings on May 23near Pendcion. This was two days afterhe documented (B.C.P.M. Photo No.915) a YELLOW-BILLED LOON atSkaha Lake! OLDSQUAWS, rare in-land in spring were reported at DutchLake near Clearwater (150, May 9,Laurie Rockwell) and Revelstoke (1,May 23, Rick Bonar). Two adult FER-RUGINOUS HAWKS, likely a pair,were .seen by Richard Gibbs and WayneCampbell on May 1 near Pannask Lake.

r

Peter McCallister, Jan Barnett andothers watched 5-7 BLACK-NECKEDSTILTS near Swan Lake (Okanagan) onmay 15 while Chris Siddle photographeda WILLET (B.C.P.M. Photo No. 919)at Charlie Lake (Peace River) on May18. Large numbers of migratingshorebirds were counted on tidal flats inTofino Inlet by Adrian Dorst. At least12,000 WESTERN SANDPIPERS and3,600 SHORT-BILLED DQWIT-CHERS were here on May 1 and April28 respectively. John Cooper picked upa "lifer" near Masset on June 5 byphotographing (B.C.P.M. Photo No.926) a BUFF-BREASTED SAND-PIPER. Rick Howie added a new bird tothe West Kootenay list when he spottedan adult FRANKLIN'S GULL nearNakusp on May 31. On May 4 JohnWoods estimated a thousand or soBONAPARTE'S GULLS at SalmonLake (Douglas Lake area), feeding noisi-ly on a recent hatch of insects. Rarelyare such large aggregations observed in

the interior although the species is acommon spring migrant through theprovince. A GLAUCOUS-WINGEDGULL, banded as a chick insouthwestern British Columbia onAugust 5, 1978 went for a long, longride. On January 11, 1984 its carcass wasdiscovered in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania! It had traversed the continenton a train. There were many reports ofCASPIAN TERNS, the more notewor-thy coming from Delta (32, June 11,Gail Clarke, Dorothy Hill, and others),Charlie Lake (Peace River) (2, July 4,Dave Stewart), Tlell River (1, June 12,Mary Morris and John Cooper) andMasset (1, June 29, Michael McNal-1 andMargo Hearne).

A singing LEAST FLYCATCHER atJericho Park, Vancouver (June 5-6, Hueand Joanne McKenzie m.o.b.) was onlythe third record for the Vancouver.areabut was followed by another a few dayslater in Ladner (Bruce MacDonald).BUSHTITS were recorded for the firsttime at Fender Harbour (1, April 13,Jack Satterly) and Hotsprings Island,Queen Charlotte Islands (10, May 8,Eric Lafroth). The second record of aBLACK-THROATED GREENWARBLER for southwestern B.C. wasseen at Lightning Lakes, Manning Parkby Harold Hosford on June 1.

Jim Street saw his fourth INDIGOBUNTING in the province on July 6 atCreston. Seven other West Kootenaynaturalists also saw the beautiful male asit moved along the dyke in small bushes.A single BLACK-THROATED SPAR-ROW showed up at Surrey Bend (June10, Eric Keranen, m.o.b., photo MikeForce); Reifel Island (June 13, EricLafroth, Jacques Sirois, Dorothy Hilland Doug Swanston) and Burton (June23, Gary Davidson, Bill Sloan andFrances King. A beaut i ful maleC H E S T N U T - C O L L A R E DLONGSPUR was seen near Nakusp onMay 29 by Gary Davidson, Bill Sloanand Frances King. John Woods didn'thave to work hard to find a COMMONCRACKLE! On May 27 one showed upin his yard at Revelstoke. John Woodsalso reports that from late November

(1983) to early June PINE SISKINSwere unbelievably abundant. In fact"there were too many to count," andone truck collided with a flock feedingnear the roadside and killed 208 birds.One of these birds was banded. In fact,it was banded, as an adult, on February12, 1982, at Whiting, New York, andwas recovered by John Woods atRevelstoke on March 16, 1984!!! -

REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANSThe only noteworthy record was pro-

vided by Phil Nolt who caught aGREEN FROG in a mouse trap set nearDuncan on June 27. This introducedspecies is slowly extending its rangenorthward along the east coast of Van-couver Island.

R. WAYNE CAMPBELLVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY DIVISION

B.C. PROVINCIAL MUSEUMVICTORIA, B.C. V8V 1X4

C, P. Lyons says, "The suggestion of ahair braid led to the common name".Campbell River Regional Park, Langley.photo: Al Grass

Ladies Tesses Orchid(Spiranthes romanzoffiana)

DEADLINE:B.C. NATURALIST

OCTOBER 15, 1984

'


B.C. Wild FlowersDICOTS— continued

Gentians belong to a worldwide fami-ly (Gentianceae) with some 800 species.Most of these are to be found in theNorth Temperate Zone, and there are,some 400 species in the United Statesalone. Here in B.C. we have listed 12species in 3 genera (T. & MacB.) ofwhich the King Gentian, Gentiana seep-trum, is the largest and most spec-tacular.

This plant has one to several stout,green, leafy stems arising from a singleroot and growing to a height of fromone to two feet (30 to 60 cm). Each stemcarries at and near its tip one to severaldeep blue flowers one to one and a halfinches long (2.5 to 3.8 cm), a veritablesceptre of blossoms! (Figs. A & B).Under favourable conditions the plantcan reach a height of four feet (120 cm)and the blossoms 2 inches (5 cm) inlength (H.W.R.). When it "sometimesgrows so profusely as to dominate itshabitat" (H.&H.), a bog or wet meadowfull of this gentian at flowering time inlate summer and fall must be somethingto see!

Apart from its size, G. sceptrum istypical of its genus with glabrous leafystem, the leaves arranged in oppositepairs, and characteristic flower struc-ture. The lower leaves in sceptrum aresmall and bract-like but the many upperones are up to 6 cm long, oblong-lanceolate in shape, and sessile, withmore or less clasping leaf bases (Fig. A.).Except for the midrib the leaves are in-distinctly veined, though sometimes apair of veins parallel to the midrib can beseen.

In all gentians the sepals are joined attheir base to form a cup or a tube with orwithout free lobes. In sceptrum the cupis very shallow and the five calyx lobescorrespondingly long. They are greenand leaf-like and very unequal in length,and two are much broader than theothers. The petals also, in gentians, arejoined to form a corolla tube with thelobes never longer than the tube, andthey overlap spirally in the bud (Fig. C.).Little pleats can be seen in the tube wallbetween the lobes if the corolla is openedand its inner surface examined. Theouter ends of these pleats may be"straight across", but are usually ex-tended to form corolla appendagesknown as "plaits". These may be simplelobes, rounded or acute, they may belobed or toothed or, as in the MountainBog Gentian, G. calycosa, cut into nar-row segments. In G. sceptrum the cor-

olla tube flares into five wide lobes withsmall truncate or rounded plaits between(Fig. A.). The corolla is a beautiful deepblue suffused with green towards thebase, with deep green speckles,' orsometimes with chocolate speckles andbrown veins, the speckles arranged instripes or scattered (Figs. A, B, & C.).The orange-yellow anthers are carriedon pillar-like filaments inserted into thecorolla tube opposite the pleats (Fig A).The superior ovary has a single cavitywith numerous ovules attached to its

wall by wide placentae. It is surmountedby a bi-lobed stigma, the style being ab- ,_sent. When ripe the brown capsule splitr 1)'to liberate the seeds. ^

Lewis Clark tells us that "this fineplant is widely distributed in meadowsand boggy lake margins of the coastsouthwards from Prince Rupert"(L.C.). A plant of bogs and wet areas, itis often called the Swamp Gentian, butthis name is also given to G. Dougla-siana. Douglasiana also grows in bogsand lake margins at the coast, and fromAlaska to Vancouver Island (H. & C.)»but extends to higher elevations. Theflowers, up to 15 mm in length, arewhite with the corolla lobes blue only onthe back.

Is G. sceptrum endangered? If it is,the main threats to its continued ex-istance in B.C. are probably two, suchan attractive plant must tempt many topick it, and, since it grows in bogs andalong lake margins, it must be subject toever increasing loss of habitat as wetareas are filled and developed, often forsummer cabins.

We have another spectacular gentians,G. calycosa, the Mountain Bog Gentian.Its many erect stems can reach a heightof 15 inches (42 cm) each ending in asingle erect and bell-shaped flower. Thecolour is deep blue on the corolla lobesshading down into greenish in the tube,It is the nearest we have to the beautifulGentiana acaulis, the Stemless Gentianof the Alps. Its flowers are just as vivid ablue and nearly as large. Moist rockysoils near timberline are good places tolook for this flower (S. & O.). Belowtimberline look also for the Prairie Gen-tian, G. affinis, also known as the LargeGentian, which is not uncommon locallyon rocky calcarious slopes (A. E. P.)This is also a handsome plant, theflowers clustered at the top of the stemwhich may be a foot (30 cm) high. Thespreading lobes of the corolla arepurplish blue to cerulean marked andspotted with white.

Most of us who wander in the moun-tains must be familiar with the GlaucousGentian, G. giauca, though its curiouslyblue-green flowers are easily overlooked.


Each stiff little stem rises from a basalrosette of leaves with one to severalflowers at its tip. It can be foundnywhere from wet subalpine meadows

v along with Swamp Laurel, Kalmiamicrophylla, to quite dryish alpineslopes and ledges: Smallest of our gen-tians is the Moss Gentian, G. prostrata.So far I have seen this only in the Alber-tan Rockies, on Plateau Mountain andBow Pass, but the plant is so small it isvery hard to find unless it is in flower.Moreover the flowers open oniy inbright sunshine, closing at once if acloud should cover the sun. (A. E. P.).Each prostrate stem, sheathed in tinyleaves, ends in a single bright blue flowerwith four pointed corolla lobes which,with relatively large plaits between, giveit the appearance of having eight petals.

Our commonest gentian, the Nor-thern, is called Gentiana acuta in all myold books and in "Ches. Lyons" (C. P.L.) In "H. & C." it is called G.amarella, and in Vascular Plants inBritish Columbia it is listed as Gen-tianelia amarella subspecies acuta. It hasa very wide distribution and must befamiliar to most of us. It is well describ-ed as "a pretty plant with leafy, oftenbranching stems, from six to twenty in-.ches tall, and numerous flowers, withstiff pedicels and leafy bracts, forming

,̂ -sseveral small clusters along the upperI iart of the stem." (M.A.) The flowers

are about half an inch long with 5 sharp-ly pointed corolla lobes and vary in col-our from bluish to pinkish purple,sometimes white. Very distinctive is thefringed crown in the throat of the cor-olla tube. The plant is an annual withvery small, shallow roots so that it is dif-ficult to pick it without pulling it up.

Gentians derive their name from Gen-tius, King of Illyria, who, according toPliny, discovered their medicinal value.They have a clear, bitter juice which issupposed to act as a tonic and they weresought in both Europe and Asia for theirmedicinal use. (C., C. ( D.). Early set-tlers in the United States used somenative gentians in this way and the In-dians reportedly ate the fleshy roots ofthe Showy Green Gentian, Fraseraspeciosa, a plant not listed in T. &MacB. but apparently not uncommon inthe northern Rockies (S. & O.).

*What do we not lose by the infillingof our wetlands!. Only a few days ago Iwas shown a large "stand" of the GiantHelleborine Orchid, Epipactis gigantia,growing splendidly right in Vernon!About half the city lot of about an acrestill includes, unaltered, a relic of thequite extensive cattail marshes whichonce occupied much of the area in northVernon which is now residential hous-ing. Was this orchid once present in theseveral swamps of adjacent Coldstream,now long ago all filled?

ILLUSTRATIONSA . —Gentiana sceptrum, top of leafy

stem with cluster of flowers.*B . —Ditto.**C . —Ditto, with buds.***from slides kindly lent by Mrs.McHaffie-Gow and**by Mr. G. H. Pope of Victoria, B.C.

REFERENCES1 . T. & MacB. — Roy L. Taylor and

Bruce MacBryde, Vascular Plantsof British Columbia.

2 . H.W.R. — H. W. Ricketts, WildFlowers of the U.S.A.

3 . H. & H. — G. A. Hardy andWinifred V. Hardy, Wild Flowersin the Pacific Northwest. *

4 . L. C. — Lewis Clark, Wild Flowersof British Columbia.

5 . H. & C. — Hitchcock and Cron-quist, Flora of the Pacific. Nor-thwest.

6 . S. & O. — R. J. Shaw and DannyOn, Plants of Waterton-Glacier Na-

• tional Parks and the NorthernRockies.

7 . A.E.P. A. E, Porsild, RockyMountain Wild Flowers.

8 . C.P.L. — C. P. Lyons, Trees,Shrubs and Flowers to know inB.C.

9 . M. A. — Margaret Armstrong,Western Wild Flowers.

1 0 .C., C. & D. — John J. Craighead,Frank C. Craighead and Roy J.Davis, Field Guide to Rocky Moun-tain Wild Flowers.

Joan E. Heriot,13422 Westside Road,

Vernon, B.C.,VIB 1Y5

This is the last of Joan Heriot's serieson "Endangered Wildflowers of B.C."She first started doing the article for theB.C. Naturalist six years ago at the sug-gestion of Frank Paul, then editor. Joannow plans to devote more time to theguide to Kalamalka Lake Park. It willundoubtedly benefit from her extensiveknowledge of the area and enthusiasm.

Our deepest thanks to you, Joan, foryour informative, fascinating articlesand lovely drawings (which we alwaysgra te fu l ly received well beforedeadline!). We hope you will be able tofind some time in your busy schedule towrite for us again.

B.C. Ministry Of Environment News

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1.9 Million for Habitat EnhancementThe allocation of $1.19 million from

the Habitat Enchancement Fund for six-ty wildlife and fisheries projects has beenannounced by Environment MinisterTony Brummet.

Individual allocations range in sizefrom $93,000 for the second stage of aprogram to renovate the Meadow Creekkokanee spawning channel in theKootenays, to $3,740 for an experimen-tal underburn on fifty heactares of theCoalmont deer range near Princeton.

The other projects are widelydistributed throughout the province.Money for the projects comes out of theHabitat Conservation Fund, whichreceives all the revenue from a $3 sur-charge on provincial hunting, fishing,trapping and guiding licences; and alsoaccepts donations from the public.

The effects controlled burns have onthe habitat of birds that nest in treecavities will be studied in a project nearKamloops Lake. In another project,Burrowing Owls, birds that nest inhollows underground, are being rein-troduced to suitable habitat at sites nearDouglas Lake and Osoyoos. The littleowls are listed as endangered in BritishColumbia and it is hoped new breedingpopulations can be established.

Another kind of owl, the Short-earedOwl, and other raptorial birds willbenefit from enhancement of theforeshore areas at Boundary Bay, nearVancouver. Removal of accumulatedlog debris will permit natural restorationof the saltmarsh and upland foreshorevegetation, increasing forage areas forshorebirds, herons and waterfowl, aswell as the raptors.

For further information on the opera-tion of the Habitat Conservation Fundcontact Rod Silver, Ministry of Environ-ment, 780 Blanchard St., Victoria, B.C.V8V 1X5.

Caribou Restoration PlannedU.S. Forest Service is developing a

plan for transplanting woodland cariboufrom B.C. into the Selkirk Mountains ofnorthern Idaho and northeasternWashington. The dwindling Selkirk herdof about 30 animals is the only-caribouremaining in the U.S.A., and it shares itsterritory with B.C. and U.S.A.Historically woodland caribou rangedfrom the Rocky Mountains to NewEngland. Copies of the plans areavailable from: Idaho Panhandle Na-tional Forest, 1201 Ironwood Drive,Couer d'Alene, Idaho, 83814.

From: Outdoor News BulletinWildlife Management Institute

Washington, D.C.


TheEnlichenment

My subject is lichens. True, this maynot be the column you thought you werewaiting for. But don't apologize, thelichens are quite accustomed to beingoverlooked and underrated.

Perhaps you're not even certain whatexactly is a lichen. If so, know that youhave company and plenty of it. Youshould also know that you're par-ticipating in a naturalist tradition thatdates back at least as far as ancientGreece, a tradition that may have hadsome early, though admit tedlysubliminal, connection with ourancestors' more generalized avoidanceof the leper. For that, "leprous", iswhat the word "lichen" means in theoriginal Greek.

- Not that everyone everywhere takespart in this conspiracy of silence. TheScandinavians, for instance, have longenjoyed a happy association with thelichens making them the most"enlichened" people on earth. In earliertimes they used to dye their clothing withlichen, feed it to their reindeer, turn itinto alcohol and drink it, make perfumeout of it, and even poison their wolveswith it. Times of course have changed,but still today the Swedes and Finns, atleast, fashion lichen into wreaths, cleartheir steamy apartment windows with it,to drink it as a tea, feed it to their cattle(as well as to their reindeer), and curetheir coughs and colds with it. Is it anywonder that lichen names in northernEurope are nearly as fluent on thelayman's tongue as, for example, thenames of birds here in North America?

Nor is it coincidence that most ofwhat we know of the uses of lichens hascome down to us from northern coun-tries. The boreal forests of the north,after all, are the true home of lichens.'Here they thrive, assailing the senseswith their abundance, imprintingthemselves on the very template of nor-thern mythologies. It needn't come as asurprise, therefore, that Sweden, Nor-way and Finland are focal centres oflichen lore; actually, what is surprising isthat Canada, being equally a northerncountry, is not. Hardly by a single .detailhas Canada contributed to the lichenlore of the world. As a matter of fact,not even the practical knowledge ofCanada's native peoples has found itsway into our New World naturalistnotebooks.

It's not as though the lichens weresomehow inherently dull. Lichens, infact, have nearly all of the qualities thatin any other field could be guaranteed tofire the naturalist's imagination: vibran-

cy of colour, elegance of form, noveltyof lifestyle and, not infrequently, justplain elusiveness. Some would claim thatlichens are tough to tell apart, but then Iguess that's true of warblers, trees, oreven people until you get to know them.A point in the favour, however, is thatlichens confer a special advantage ontheir friends, an advantage not grantedby warblers, or by trees, or even by peo-ple: omniscience. Let's say, for example,that you learn to recognize fifty com-mon lichen species in British Columbia.Of these, probably thirty-five or fortywill greet you in such exotic places asJapan, Siberia, Norway, Austria, evenNewfoundland. To be an internationallichen authority, all you need is the fare.

So if Canada,. being essentially aboreal country, is so licheniferous, whyhaven't we Canadians paid closer atten-tion to the lichens? What's stopping us,say, from asserting this point of distinc-tion with our American neighbours?You know the answer as well as I do:force of habit.

So accustomed are we to importingour cultural identity from south of theline that we've developed a decidedgenius for looking right through thefabric of our heritage. Don't wait for theAmericans to export an appreciation ofthe lichens to us, such is simply nottheirs to export. For once we're talkingtrue, unadulterated Canadiana. Thinkabout it.

But let there be no illusions. It's goingto be a long haul. To other centuriesthan ours, lichens have proved to bestubbornly confidential citizens. Theyare private about their sex lives, theirdispersal mechanisms, their ecologies,private about virtually every facet oftheir existence. If they have yielded theirsecrets at all, it has only been with ex-treme reluctance and upon applicationof such instruments of torture and inter-rogation the experimental sciences havemanaged to perfect the past severaldecades.

For fifty years the cauldron has sim-mered. The lichen specialists have satround the campfire of academia, havekept their own counsel and told oneanother fascinating stories about thelives of lichens. Theirs, however, is acabalistic tongue, and few are thelaymen who have grasped the first

syllable of their meaning. Even so,specialists in other disciplines havesometimes stood within earshot andmade careful notes.

Today, therefore, the cauldron iscoming to a boil, in fact is beginning t<boil over. True to their opportunisticways, lichens have started to colonizethe available surfaces of other disciplinesthan lichenology. Already the list is ofrespectable length: wildlife biology,geomorphology, pollution control, pro-specting, organic chemistry, medicalresearch. The dye is cast; lichens havecome into their own. They surround usnow on every side and must soonbecome an active ingredient in our dailylives.

Natural history has much to gain froma close encounter of the lichen kind. Ifwe're talking about the potential forcontributions to science by naturalists,be it known that hardly a single speciesof lichen has yet been adequately map-ped in the Pacific Northwest. For thereally hard-core naturalists, there alwaysexists the heady possibility of finding anew species. Yes Virginia, there really isa Santa Claus. In case the lister shouldbegin to feel left out, let me mention thatour province is home to no fewer thanfive hundred macrolichen species. Thisfigure purposefully excludes the pro-bably seven hundred addit ionalmicrolichen species which, as a token ofgood will, we should probably leave tothe specialist. Clearly there is room forall.

This is a pragmatic age so let me signoff with mention of a few of the more


serious uses being made of lichens by en-vironmentalists. These plants are coming

n the scene just in time to help uslonitor such twentieth century woes as

the oil on our coastlines, the sulphurdioxide in our air, and the copper, lead,mercury and Strontium 90 in our soiland plants. In this capacity at least, thelichens are willing allies whether the sub-ject is a coal-generated power plant, anope'n-pit mine, a smelter, or a new roundof nuclear Lesting, they have somethingto say to all concerned. The point only isto listen.

Trevor Coward

PHOTOS WANTEDWe are looking for cover shots and

other captioned photo's for the B.C.Naturalist.

Cover shots should have a seasonaltheme and be black and white prints nosmaller than 8x10. Other submissionsshould also be black and white printsand no smaller than 5x7 with good con-trast. Portfolios also accepted.

Please label with subject matter or ti-tle, name, address, phone number. UsePENCIL only and DO NOT write onpicture, press or use labels. All photoswill be returned.

A Nature Guideto B.C.A New Bookin the Works

When B.C.'s sister province publishedtheir "Nature Guide to Alberta," theVictoria Times-Colonist said, "Howabout something similar for British Co-lumbia?"

Joy and Cam Finlay, who assembledthe major ideas, concepts and materialfor the Alberta guide, and oversaw prep-aration of its first major draft, haveagreed to do a nature guide to the betterspots of B.C. The Federation of B.C.Naturalists passed a motion at the 1983A.G.M. to assist the Finlays whereverpossible. Jude Grass, F.B.C.N. Presi-dent, and Yorke Edwards, Director ofthe Provincial Museum, have agreed toact as advisors to the Finlays.

The Finlays hope that many peoplewill share their knowledge of the best na-ture spots in their areas, as was done inAlberta. Cam Finlay used the samemethod for his recently published, ABird-Finding Guide to Canada.

The proposed Nature Guide will have,(1) an Introduction describing how touse the book, safety in the field and out-door ethics; (2) a brief overview of thenatural history of B.C. Each section willbe no more than 1-2 pages and containreferences as to where to locate more in-formation. Sections will be on climate,geology, natural communities, non-flowering plants, flowering plants,spiders and their relatives, insects, fish,amphibians and reptiles, birds and mam-mals; (3) the major part devoted to de-scribing specific sites across the prov-ince; (4) appendices with road logs, fur-ther readings, contacts, check list and in-dex.

If you have any questions, concerns orinformation you think should be in-cluded, the Finlays would welcome hear-ing from you. They have developed asimple questionnaire for reports onnoteworthy sites that is easy and quickto fill in. You can contact the Finlays attheir Victoria address: Joy and Cam Fin-lay, Box 5269, Station B, VictoriaVSR 6N4, or their Edmonton address:Box 8644, Station L, EdmontonT6C 4J4.

IflNCOUI/TERCOMMUNITY

ContinuingEducation Division

NATURAL HISTORYPROGRAMS atKING EDWARD CAMPUS1155 East Broadway, toncouver BC

r

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHYBegins Mon., Sept 24,6 - 8 p.m.3 lectures and field trip 30.00

OKANAGAN WINE & NATURALHISTORY TOURBegins Thurs., Oct 11,8-10 p.m.2 lectures and field trip 60.00

ECOLOGY WEEKENDS-for AdultsBegins Sat, Sept. 22,9 -1 p.m.4 lecture-field trip sessions 48.00

ECOLOGY WEEKENDSfor FAMILIESBegins SaL, Oct. 20, 9 -1 p.m.4 lecture-field trip sessionsAdults: 48.00 Children (under 18):24.00

CREATURES OF COASTALSHORESBegins Wed., Oct 3, 7 - 9 p.m.6 lecture-lab sessions & field tripsAquarium Members: 60.00Non-members: 65.00

PACIFIC SALMONBegins Thurs., Sept 27,6 - 8 p.m.2 lectures/2 field trips 36.00

BRITISH COLUMBIA'S BIGMAMMALSBegins Tues., Sept 18,8 -10 p.m.4 lectures 30.00

BIRD MIGRATIONBegins Thurs., Sept 20, 8 -10 p.m.One lecture/Weekend field trip 95.00

NATURAL HISTORY TOUROF MEXICOFeb., 2 -11,1985 Cost: approx.1580.00Call: Great Expeditions -7344948

HUNTER TRAINING-Conservation& Outdoor RecreationBegins Thurs., Sept 20,6 • 8 p.m.12 lectures/One range session99.00

CONSERVATION AND YOUBegins Sat, Sept 22,1 - 5 p.m.Two workshop sessions (free)

,

INFORMATION & BOOKING:call 875-8200


GOOSE SPITCAMP, COMOXThe Comox-Strathcona Naturalists

undertook the main effort of organiza-tion and program for the 1984 campApril 28-May 6 with support from theF.B.C.N. Camp 'Committee. The ar-rangement proved to be highly suc-cessful and gives encouragement for thenext camp to be organized by the NorthShuswap Club in 1985.

The quarters provided by theH.M.C.S. Quadra Cadet Training Cen-tre and Department of Defense SurvivalSchool on Goose Spit near Comox wereexcellent - hot and cold running water,clean dormitories and excellent facilitiesfor cooking and dining. "A step or twofrom the door" brought us to thebeaches of Comox Bay or the open Gulfor to carpets of spring flowerscharacteristic of the dunes of the Van-couver Island east coast.

The camp regime was largely iri theable hands of Pat Smith with assistancefrom many others of the local club. KayBeamish and Helen Akrigg from theF.B.C.N. directorate provided valuableliaison. Meals, in a now well establishedtradition of excellent camp cuisine, wereproviced by Angie Berger with assistancefrom Dene Baker, Norma Lesik and Ir-ma Otto.

Naturalists, generalist or specialist,surely found the field and evening pro-grams eminently worthwhile. Certainlythe opportunity was there to learn aboutand to enjoy the natural features of eastcentral Vancouver Island and adjacentGulf Islands. There is space here only torecord a modest listing: Field Trips 1)Bird count with Comox Club members,2) Miracle Beach Nature Park withAllan and Jean Brooks, 3) Comox bluffsflowers and bearberry hybrids, 4)Filberg estate and park associated withpast logging and forestry, 5} QualicumFalls Provincial Park and the CWS Mar-shall Stevenson National Wildlife Area,6) Rehabilitation of the Campbell Riverestuary, log sorting and handling by theB.C. Forest Products Ltd. 7) QuadraIsland and Cape Mudge beaches and theKwakiutl Heritage Museum, 8)Demonstration of survival equipmentand training by Comox D.N.D. Searchand Rescue Squadron 442; also a look atair-sea rescue techniques including theuse of their Labrador Helicopter, 9)Denman and Hornby Island naturewalks and visits to Helliwell ProvincialPark, 10) Bog and forest walk, Camp-bell Lake, Strathcona Park Lodge, withKaren Schwalm, 11) a hike up AloneMountain overlooking Comox Lake, 12)Point Holms marine biology with Dr.

John Tayless. Evening Lectures 1) "TheIncredible Salmon" by Dr. Case Grootof the Nanaimo Marine Biological Sta-tion, 2) Slides from F.B.C.N. by PatSmith, 3) Local marine invertebrates (il-lustrated) by John Tayless, 4) Local wildFlowers (illustrated) by Harry Jackson,5) Environmental impact assessment ofthe proposed Quinsam coal developmentby Dr. Dick Murphy and Don Mclvor.

Luxurious living was great but the fealessence of camp is in the companionshipand in what we saw and learned. AtComox we had everything, but let noclub feel that hosting a camp requires anH.M.C.S. Quadra or its equivalent. Weare a group of outdoor people and wethrive on "roughing it". So bid now for1986 or later to show the rest of us yourarea, then plan the camp your way.

For more information on the Comox-Courtenay area:

1. "57 Years in the Comox Valley"Eric Duncan

2. "History of the Comox Valley"Ben Hughes

3. "All About Us" Isabell Stubbs4. "Boss Whistle" Lynn Bowen5. "Coal Dust in My Blood" W.

JohnstorieVCB

Facts and Figures

76 campers paid a total of

Total expensesProfit

$14,950

9,758.865,191.14

The profit will be divided as follows:-14 to the host club - The Comox

Strathcona NaturalistsVA to the Federation of British ColumbiaNaturalists

l/2 to be held'for a research project to bedecided by the host club and theF.B.C.N. KB

photo: Kay Beamish

Eraser EstuaryImplementation to Begin

A program to protect vital wildlifeand recreational resources in the FraserRiver Estuary will be implemented im-mediately according to a joint releaseissued July 6th.

The implementation strategy ispresented in a report prepared by a jointfederal-provincial review committee setup following release of the proposedFraser River Estuary Management Pro-gram in March, 1982.

The implementation strategy proposesa number of steps to improve themanagement of the estuary. These in-

clude:— a set of objectives and policies that

will guide all agencies in the protectionof the estuary environment and permitcontinued economic development;

-, — an administrative structure, in-cluding the appointment of a Manage-ment Committee Executive comprisingsenior representatives from key govern- -*-ment agencies to guide the implementa- 4tion efforts;

— a list of specific tasks that will beundertaken by appropriate agencies atvarious levels of government.


NationalConference heldin Vancouver

The Canadian Nature Federation heldits 13th annual conference at the Univer-sity of British Columbia, July 6th and7th, hosted,by the Federation of B.C.Naturalists. This year's symposiumfocused on the challenges facing theB.C. environmentalist.

The symposium was opened by theHonourable Charles Caccia, Minister,Environment Canada. Mr. Caccia spokeon the need to conserve our parks andwilderness in the context of the worldconservation.

The Canadian Nature Federation is anational, non-profit, conservationorganization representing over 150,000Canadians concerned about the protec-tion of our natural heritage and environ-ment.

The conference had good representa-tion from all across Canada. Visitorswere treated to a variety of events fromSalmon BBQ's to a wine and cheesesocial, to a formal banquet with guestspeaker Dr. Ian McTaggert Cowan.

The Annual General Meeting chairedby President John Willms, outlined theC.N.F.'s operations while ConservationDirector Gregg Sheehy stressed the needfor co-operation between individualsand groups throughout Canada on ma-or environmental issues. The C.N.F. is

planning to develop a newsletter thatwill inform provincial organizations ofC.N.F. activities and other provincesissues.

Dr. and Mrs. Brink receiving theDouglas H. Pimlott award from C.N.F.President John Willms.

photo: Noreen Fairweather

The Honourable Charles Caccia

photo: C.N.F.

NationalConservationaward presentedto Dr. BrinkDr. V.C. (Bert) Brink, past president ofthe Federation of B.C. Naturalists, waspresented with the prestigious "DouglasH. Pimlott Award" at the 13th annualconference of the Canadian NatureFederation held at U.B.C. July 7th thisyear. To mark the event, Dr. Brinkreceived a framed Robert Bateman printof a Hooded Merganser.

The Pimlott Award was established bythe Nature Federation in 1978 in recog-nition of an individual's outstandingcontribution to Canadian conservation.

Dr. Brink serves on numerous Boardsand committees including the F.B.C.N.,the Habitat Conservation Fund and TheNature Trust Boards. He was also one ofthe founding members of the B.C. LandCommission and has been an advisor tothe Canadian International Develop-ment Agency assessing projects in Kenyaand Uganda.

Spotted OwlProject

The Federation of B.C. Naturalistshas undertaken a project in conjuctionwith the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branchto study the Spotted Owl in B.C. In Junemembers of the Vancouver NaturalHistory Society — Birding Section, metwith Regional Wildlife staff, Dave Dun-bar and Doug Wilson to establishguidelines and study areas. HueMcKenzie will be the co-ordinator forthe naturalists part of the project.

In late June, Dave Dunbar attended aconference on the Spotted Owl inCalifornia and since has been collectingall data available on the species. In addi-tion, R. Wayne Campbell of the B.C.Provincial Museum has produced abibliography of the Spotted Owl inCanada for COSEWIC.

Spotted Owls have been reportedfrom the Mount Baker area just south ofthe border. Contact was made withWashington State Wildlife people and atour was arranged on July 28th.Although no Spotted Owls were seen onthat trip members were able to hear one!This winter will see the planning of thespring census with further reports to ap-pear in the B.C. Naturalist.

JFG


SAFARIS GALORE!We offer naturalists a wide range of WILDLIFE TOURSto explore the varied ecosystems of EAST AFRICA'Ssuperb national parks and game reserves, enabling youto observe and photograph a remarkable number ofspecies of animals and birds at close quarters, in theirnatural setting.On all our tours, we travel in small groups, at a comfort-able pace, and use first class hotels and game lodges.Our surprisingly affordable tour prices are fully inclus-ive of airfare, accommodation and all meals whereverwe go.The time to see EAST AFRICA'S extraordinary naturalheritage is NOW, while a magnificent array of wildlifestill survives.

Our popular 3-week escorted tours are designed to show you KENYA'S landscape, culture and wildlife in considerable detail. You ex-plore ail the main national parks: the rolling grasslands of MASAI MARA to see black-maned lion and other predators and many species ofplains animals; the remote semi-desert of SAMBURU for leopard, oryx, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, gerenuk, crocodile and the beauti-ful Gr-evy's zebra; seldom-visited MERU, home of the famous "Born Free" lioness "Elsa" and her cubs, for white rhino; the widely differinghabitats of AMBOSELI, dominated by MOUNT KILIMANJARO, teeming with elephant, buffalo, Masai giraffe, lion, cheetah, and a greatvariety of antelope; and TSAVO with its unique "red" elephants. You spend an unforgettable night at the legendary TREETOPS hotel in thecool ABERDARE MOUNTAINS, relax at lakeside and mountain resorts in the scenic RIFT VALLEY and on the slopes of spectacular MOUNTKENYA, and enjoy the beaches of the glorious CORAL COAST. Highlights of the trip include LAKE NAKURU with its incredible flocks offlamingo and pelican and a myriad other waterbirds, truly described by Roger Tory Peterson as "the most fabulous bird spectacle in theworld;" MZIMA SPRINGS where you can watch hippo and crocodile from an underwater hide; and WATAMU MARINE PARK with itsabundant sea life. Everywhere you go birdlife is prolific: raptors of many species, iridescent sunbirds, bizarre hornbills, gem-like bee-eaters,rollers and turacos, and waterfowl galore. Our independent 2-week SAVANNAH & SEA safaris follow a similar but slightly shorter itin-erary, and we can arrange individual tours of any duration for you at any time.

For our brochures, call 980-5853 or write:KINGFISHER TOURS, 706 East 7th Street, North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 1S6

CottonwoodPark

There is a fine new attraction fornaturalists to see in Prince George ontheir travels through the city.

About 18 months ago, the. Mayornamed a Rivers Committee whose func-tion was to hear from citizens ideas-about how they thought the riversshould be used in the future. Industrywas taking up more and more of theshorelines, and access for ordinary peo-ple was becoming difficult. The Com-mittee held hearings over a period of fivemonths and views were expressed bysuch diverse groups as Fisheries andOceans, the Heritage Advisory Commit-tee, Northern Interior Health Unit,Prince George Environmental Protec-tion Society, Prince George and DistrictLabour Council. Northwest BrigadeCanoe Club and high school students, 36presentations in all. The result was a finereport with 11 recommendations.

It was evident that citizens felt thetime had come to do something abouttwo designated park areas: CottonwoodIsland, an area in the estuary of theNechako River and no longer an"island", and Wilson Park, a stretch of

riverfront a few miles further upstreambetween the CNR line and the NechakoRiver. The Committee recommendedthat development of these two parksshould proceed at once and a federalworks grant be secured to provideworkers.

By May 1, 1984, a trail system andbridges (there are wet gulleys to cross),pcinic talbes, lookout points, a shelter,comfort stations and two parking areaswere in place.

Not a mile from downtown PrinceGeorge, Cottonwood Park, though notas large, provides the atmosphere ofStanley Park — but with no motor traf-fic noisily passing by or through. The bigtrees here are cottonwoods, some ofthem standing since Alexander "MacKen-zis went by. The Park is full of highbush cranberry, a showy species for itsflowers, it big clusters of berries and thewarm colour of its leaves in fall.

Quite recently a pair of bald eagleshave built a nest in the cottonwood. Thisspring they raised two young and thenmoved them away.

There is a network of trails one ofthem extending almost a mile along the.Nechako River. Shortly there will be ashoreline development in Wilson Park aswell.

Mary Fallis

Sidewalk toSeashore

Now available — the Childrens Ac-tivity Booklet. Published by the Federa-tion of B.C. Naturalists, the 124 pagebook features outdoor projects keyedto various areas in Greater Vancouver.(Many activities are suitable throughoutthe province!) The book was written bynaturalists Linda White and JaniceJellicoe and illustrated by RenataKoreman, under the direction of AlGrass and Bert Brink of the F.B.CN.Education Committee. Sponsored by theF.B.C.N., and funded through a Com-munity Recovery Program Grant of thefederal government, allowed for a staffof three to be hired for six months. Thepublishing costs were covered by aPublic Conservation Assistance FundGrant of $3,751 with the balance of costbeing covered by the F.B.C.N. ($3,000).

At present copies are availablethrough museums and nature centers inthe Lower Mainland and Victoria andthrough the F.B.C.N. office. Plans areunderway to arrange for distribution tokey bookstores throughout the province..Cost: $6.50 (Price may vary with seller— price listed is from member clubs orF.B.C.N. office).


Over theeditor's deskRe: President's MessageSummer 1984

Your editorial is RIGHT ON! Con-gratulations on a timely, accurate andwell-written point of view, with which Iagree wholeheartedly as a naturalist, in-tepreter, interpretive program manager,and a volunteer warden for B.C. Eco-logical Reserves.

Bill MclntyreUcluelet

This is a note of appreciation for yourmessage concerning misuses of volunteerwork in cases where naturalists may beused as free labour by government agen-cies and even by consulting firms whichget handsome fees for information.

Not only does this place heavy de-mands on club members' time but it mayalso rob capable and well educatedyoung people of jobs that should ap-propriately by theirs.

There are many young people with en-ergy and ability to do the work requiredby government agencies and consultingfirms. All society would benefit if theywere working. Many have excellent abil-ity to observe, record and teach. Weneed them in such service.

Mrs. Tannis WarburtonVictoria

In her President's Message . . . JudeGrass stated emphatically that natural-ists should not provide . . . "freedata. . ." to consultants. I hope shemeant that naturalists should not be ex-pected to undertake field surveys or pro-vide other time consuming services freeof charge, and not that they should ceaseproviding general information that isstored in their heads or field note-books. . . As a consultant I have alwaystried to make sure that my clients weremade aware of naturalists interests. . . .

The letter concluded with "If natural-ists are asked to provide significantamounts of time or effort then theyshould be paid, or as Mrs. Grass has sug-gested, the amount saved by the recip-ient or company could be donated to aworthy conservation fund."

Donald A. BloodLantzville, B.C.

ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATION KTTS

Environment Canada, in a continuingeffort to promote awareness of Cana-dian environments, has developed aseries of Teacher Resource Kits onvarious environmental issues and topicsfor teachers and youth groups leaders inthe B.C. and Yukon region. The seriesof eight kits is available, free of charge,through the Information Directorate ofEnvironment Canada.

Kit topics are as follows: Weather,Water, Acid Rain, Recycling, andEnergy Conservation, Pollution,Wildlife, Forestry and a General Kit onthe services Environment Canada pro-vides. Each kit is designed in a concep-tual format with each concept supportedby several learning activities.

If you are interested in any of thesekits contact Environment Canada, In-formation Directorate, 800 BurrardStreet, P.O. Box 1540, Vancouver, B.C.V6Z 2G7. Phone (604) 666-5900.

THEY'

HTHENECK.

Tiny new

Vancouver, ts.^-

V6J1*R-ACTUAL SIZE-


Book ReviewsA Field Guide to the

West Coast MountainsStephen R. Whitney. Douglas & Mcln-tyre, Vancouver, 1983. 36 colour and 54black & white illustrated pages by theauthor 288 pp. Paper. $16.95.

Here is a field guide directed primarilyto the amateur naturalist. It is intendedfor the person who has a broad butperhaps shallow interest in all thephysical and biological aspects ofnature. The avid birder or the wellqualified botanist can each carry a bopkspecializing in their particular interestbut the mountain walker needs an easilycarried guide to the wide range ofnatural history found in a specific area.This guide will generally satisfy thoseneeds. The introduction claims it is tenguides rolled into one. Most of these tenare very small but there is not a widevariety of animals to be found in themountains. Almost half the book istaken up by plants.

The title, West Coast Mountains in-cludes all of the Cascade Range fromsouthern B.C. to northern California,the Coast Mountains north to BellaCoola, the area extends to the lowerlimit of continuous forest and on thewest the lowland forests are included.

The book is divided into three parts,the physical aspects, the plants, and the

animals. Part I includes a good descrip-tion of the mountain ranges, the geologyand the climate. Part II is a field guide ofthe ferns and flowering plants and PartIII is a field guide of the animals and issubdivided into butterflies, fish, amphi-bians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Thefish section covers only trout andsalmon, the amphibians coverssalamanders, frogs and toads, and thereptiles covers lizards and snakes.

The book will be needed mostly forthe most easily seen life forms: the plantsand the birds. These two and mammalswere reviewed in more detail to assessthe adequacy of the lists and descrip-tions.

The large plant section has 118 pagesof pictures and descriptions on a matfinish, non-reflecting paper. The il-lustrations are made by the author, someare line drawings, others are coloured.Colours are not always true to life butgenerally are good. Scale is sometimegiven but usually is missing and wouldbe very helpful if used more often. Bothscientific and common names are used.The flowering plants are .divided intosections by flower colour to make it easyfor the non-scientific reader to find theplant description and there appears to bea reasonably complete listing of plantsfound in the area.

The bird section has 33 pages and 124illustrations. The bird paintings are welldone and the list is fairly complete.

Three omissions should be noted: theMerlin, probably the commonest falconof the sub-alpine, the Barred Owl isbecoming common in the CascadeMountains of B.C., and the Cowbird,found in the mountains of the CoastRange. There are two colour correctionsneeded: Vaux's Swift should be shownwith brown underparts, and the HornedLark of the mountains has little or noyellow on the face.

The mammal section has 20 pages in- •eluding 2 pages of animal tracks, andthere are 53 black and white animal il-lustrations. The Columbian GroundSquirrel is not mentioned but is abun-dant on the eastern slopes of theCascades. Illustrations are black andwhite and generally good. It should benoted that ground squirrels, in additionto marmots, are true hibernators.

Butterflies are easily seen and theeleven page section on butterflies will beuseful. The illustrations are good butcolours of many of the plates seem to betoo bright. Note that the red spots onthe forewings of the Phoebus Parnas-sion may be missing and a better iden-tification mark is the striped antennae ofthe Phoebus as compared with the blackantennae of the Clodius Parnassion.

This is an excellent book for use as acomplete guide to the West Coast Moun-tains.

Norman Purssell

WildlifeViewingGuide

Two recently published reports, "TheImportance of Wildlife to Canadians"and "Public Attitudes RegardingSelected Wildlife Issues in British Col-umbia," clearly document the high in-terest and participation in nonconsump-tive, or aesthetic-recreational, wildlifeuses. As naturalists, we share a commonconcern for the well-being of BritishColumbia's wildlife heritage. When seenin their natural habitat, wildlife are animportant part of the visual environ-ment. In British Columbia, such valueswill increase as more people take an in-terest in observing, photographing andstudying local wildlife. The first step inachieving this goal is to identify the ex-isting and the potential viewing sites,and to make this information availableto management agencies and to thepublic.

As part of my master's degree in theNatural Resources Management Pro-gram at Simon Fraser University, I amundertaking a wildlife management pro-ject with three objectives in mind: (1) to

identify existing and potential oppor-tunities within southwestern British Col-umbia for the public, including tourists,to view and to photograph certainwildlife species in their natural habitat.The study area includes the Fraser Valleyand the region between Hope, CacheCreek, Sicamous, Osoyoos and theCanada-U.S. border. These boundariesare flexible to accommodate good view-ing locations that do not He within thisarea; (2) to inform the public as to thelocation of wildlife viewing sites bywriting a booklet guide, including mapswhere necessary and lists of species to be-found, with the best viewing season orseasons noted where applicable; (3) tomake recommendations for habitatenhancement and for improved access ofsome observing locations.

In beginning this project I recognizethat its success depends on the assistanceobtained from groups and individuals inidentifying viewing locations. It is herethat I am asking for your help. I am at-tempting to find observing sites forbirds, mammals, amphibians and rep-tiles in a variety of habitats; even insectobserving sites if you know of any! Nosite is too small. These locations do notneed to be established sites with trailsand easy access. Part of my project in-

volves devising criteria to identify thesites that will be included in a viewingbooklet. It is important to note thatEcological Reserves and other sensitiveareas, where increased visitor trafficwould result in disturbance or destruc-tion of the wildlife resource, will be ex-cluded from the final viewing guide. Thedraft of this guide will be completed inthe fall of 1985.

You can assist by identifying specificviewing locations in your local area and,if possible, throughout my study area. Irequire numerous sites even if many ofthese sites are good observing locationsfor the same wildlife species. I wouldneed to know where each site is located,using either a map or a detailed descrip-tion or both, what species can be observ-ed and the best viewing season orseasons. In the case of group responses,it would be helpful to aslso include thename of someone whom I may contact ifadditional information is required abouta specific site. You may also know ofother resource people whom I shouldcontact.

With the help of a Public Conserva-tion Assistance Fund grant sponsored bythe Federation of British ColumbiaNaturalists, I will be able to travelthroughout the study area next summer.


However, 1 will be keeping my expensesas low as possible to facilitate more timein the field. I need your assistance tolocate inexpensive accommodation andpotential camping sites.

Upon completion of this project avariety of benefits will be realized: (1)the public will be informed aboutwildlife viewing opportunities in thestudy area; (2) full utilization will bemade of the viewing opportunities in thestudy area; (3) suggestions will be madefor habitat enhancement and for im-proved access of some viewing locations;(4) using this project as a model, wildlifeviewing can be developed in otherregions of British Columbia.

If you have any questions regardingthis project or you wish to provideassistance, 1 can be reached by phone atthe Univesity (291-3759) or at home(942-7805), or by mail at the followingaddress: April L. Maurer, MRM Pro-gram, Simon Fraser University, Bur-naby, B.C. V5A 1S6.

Young Flying Squirrels at PlayMrs. B. McHaffie-Gow

VANCOUVER'S SPECIALIST STOREfor

TELESCOPESFor Astro and Land Use

For Marksmenand Naturalists

BINOCULARSFor Hunting and Nature Study

By Celestron — Meade — Edmund — BushnellTasco — Pentax — Royal — Sky Instruments

HANNAY'STELESCOPE CENTRE

V6K2E42299 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C.

Tel.: 738-5717

H E L P "E, L> I • •

Volunteer Naturalistsare needed to lead

school programs

through the bog

environment of

the Richmond

Nature Park.

Training and teaching techniques onbiology of the area are provided. -

Committment of up to 2 hours peir week

during busy season requested.

Contact Linda Byrne at 273-7015.

B.C. Naturalist September 1984 (Fail)

The Trophy Mountain Extension:A new perspective on WellsGray Provincial Park

SUMMARYBy virtue of its size, geography and

natural features, Wells Gray-ProvincialPark promises to assume a keynote im-portance in the British Columbia Parkssystem. However, certain factors existwhich may combine to jeopardize thepark's future status. These can be,discussed under two headings; inac-cessibility and logging.Inaccessibility

British Columbia's wilderness parks,notwithstanding their tremendous ap-peal to visitoxs from other parts of theworld, have not yet won full acceptancefrom British Columbians. A phraseoften heard is that too much of BritishColumbia's land resource is "lockedup" in parks'. In the context of WellsGray Park at least, this objection may bepartly justified: to date, almost no con-cessions to access have been made evenin those portions of the park which havebeen set aside expressly for this purpose.Few trails, for instance, lead to alpineareas. Even visual access is restricted sothat to most people Wells Gray remainsmore an abstraction than a park.Logging

There is a growing concern that theforests of southern British Columbia arebeing cut over at a more rapid 'rate thanthey are being regenerated. Although thelong-term impact of this crisis uponwilderness parks as a whole remainsuncertain, a number of adverse effectsare already being felt. One of WellsGray's prime resources, its wildernesssettings, is being eroded by the growingvisual impact of logging activities. A fewkey areas still remain unlogged,however, as another consequence of theforest industry's growing appetite, thechances of securing these for the preser-vation of wilderness values mustdecrease over time. The logging offorests adjacent to Wells Gray is alsothreatening the park's caribou herds,which rely upon these forests during partof each year. The Ministry of Environ-ment has already made known its inten-tion to place a high priority on themaintenance of Wells Gray's caribou,and it is hoped that the Ministry ofLands, Parks and Housing may soonadopt a similar position.

The present report recommends asouthward extension of Wells Gray Parkto include approximately 6500 hectaresof the Trophy Mountains. It is argued

that this, the Trophy Mountain exten-sion, would benefit the people of BritishColumbia by providing them with apotential for greater involvement in thevalues which Wells Gray protects. At thesame time it would help to safeguard thehigh elevation forests upon which itscaribou depend, as well as maintain itswilderness character. Other benefits arealso outlined.

INTRODUCTIONAt 540,000 hectares, Wells Gray is the

third largest park in the British Colum-bia Parks system. Unlike the province'sother large- wilderness parks, it issituated within a day's drive of severalurban centres, including Vancouver,Calgary, Edmonton, Prince George andKamloops. Recently Wells Gray hasbegun to win international recognitionboth for its wilderness values and for itsvolcanic and other landscape features.In future, therefore, the park promisesto play an increasingly important role inBritish Columbia's growing tourist in-dustry.

When Wells Gray Park was establish-ed in November of 1939, its western,northern and eastern boundaries weredrawn to circumscribe the watersheds ofthe Clearwater and Murtle Rivers — afact that should theoretically ensure themaintenance of its wilderness values in-definitely. The southern and south-eastern boundaries, by contrast, aremore arbitrary in their positioning. Thiswas already recognized at the time ofWells Gray's establishment, when Mr.E.G. Manning, then Chief Forester,stressed that these boundaries were onlytentative and that, as Lyons and Ed-wards (1953) reported, "adjacent areasshould be examined for possible inclu-sion in the park".

In 1952, R. Ritcey recommended asouthward extension of Wells Gray toencompass the Battle Mountain area(Ritcey, 1952). The following year,Lyons and Edwards (1953) submitted aspecial report in which they argued thatthe inclusion of Battle Mountain in thepark would benefit its grizzly andcaribou populations. On June 10, 1955,Wells Gray was accordingly enlarged bysome 55,000 hectares.

During the 1950's and 1960's, publicinterest in Wells Gray centred largelyaround its wildlife populations. Fishing,trapping and hunting accounted for adisproportionately large percentage of

total park use in those years. Morerecently, a trend toward less consump-tive forms of outdoor recreation, par-1

ticularly in parks, has resulted in agreater emphasis on other park features,including physiography, geology andvegetation. Given this modern emphasis,and given also an increasing encroach-ment by British Columbia's forest in-dustry, we can no longer assume thatWells Gray's boundaries necessarilyrelfect the needs of either the park useror, in the long-term, the park itself.PROPOSAL

Two separate extensions, both ofmodest proportions, seem indicated: aTrophy Mountain extension to thesouth; and a Clearwater River extensionto the south and southwest. The presentpaper deals exclusively with the formerproposal, namely to adjust the boun-daries of Wells Gray Park southward, toinclude those parts of the Trophy Moun-tains which lie above 1800 m. In prac-tice, such an extension would enlarge thepark by some 6500 hectares.

The nine peaks of the Trophy Moun-tains (2577 m) rise within the ShuswapHighlands (Holland, 1964), an elevatedplateau of gentle topography intersectedby deep, steep-sided river valleys. Apopular account of the Trophies will befound in Neave's Exploring Wells GraPark (1981), while details of thei"geology, climate, vegetation, flora,fauna and special features appear inCoward (1981b).

JUSTIFICATIONSThe Trophy Mountain extension can

be justified in terms of its variousbenefits to Wells Gray Park, to BritishColumbia Parks, and to the residents ofBritish Columbia. These benefits are ex-pressed in the following eleven points:

1) The Trophies accentuate WellsGray's wilderness setting. The TrophyMountains dominate the southernskyline from most developed areas inWells Gray. At present, those flankswhich are visible from the park areunlogged. If Wells Gray's wilderness at-mosphere is to be maintained, they mustremain so at all cost.

2) TKe Trophies, if included in WellsGray, would give the park greater visualaccessibility. From the crest of theTrophies, virtually all of lower WellsGray is brought into focus in a vistawhich stretches to the northern skyline.Such a - prospectus is at presentunavailable within the park.

3) The Trophies provide ready accessto the subalpine and alpine, Current lthe subalpine' meadows of the TrophMountains can be reached in under anhour from the nearest logging road; acomparable trip to the Fight LakeMeadows of Wells Gray requires ap-


proximately five hours. Already theTrophy meadows are more popular thanall the subalpine areas of Wells Gray'"aken together. If the Trophies were in-corporated into Wells Gray, the parkwould benefit from a resulting greaterpublic awareness of the wildernessvalues it preserves.

4) The Trophies contain various land-scape features which in Wells Gray areeither rare, out-or-reach, or lackingaltogether. Particularly striking, for ex-ample, is the Plateau of Lakes (Neave,1981), an assemblage of more than adozen alpine lakes and tarns. The onlyglacier in the southern Wells Gray areaalso occurs here and, not surprisingly,the Trophies provide an unusually com-plete record of local glacial history.

5) The Trophies to some extent com-plement Wells Gray's major interpretivetheme: the hotspot story. Simply stated,volcanic activity in this part of BritishColumbia is thoght to be associated withan underlying region of thermal upwell-ing which, as a phenomenon, occursnowhere else in Canada. Glacial activityhas modified many of Wells Gray'svolcanoes;-however, only on the westflanks of the Trophies does one findtraces of a cinder cone which has beenessentially erased by erosional processes.

6) The Trophies are climatically moreconducive to summer use than alpine"ireas within Wells Gray. As one pro-gresses northward and northeastward inthe park, precipitation increasesdramatically (Goward, 1981a). To thesummer recreadonist, The Trophiestherefore offer both a longer snow-freeperiod and a greater incidence of sun-shine than areas further north. Thus,even assuming that ready access mayeventually be provided to the peaks ofthe Cariboo Mountains, it must be em-phasized that the drier Trophy Moun-tains would still be available to hikers onsubstantially more days every summer.

7) The Trophy meadows are muchless conducive to biting insects than arecomparable subalpine areas within WellsGray. Owing to the wetness, for exam-ple, of the Fight Lake meadows of BattleMountain, intolerable swarms of mos-quitoes hatch here during July and earlyAugust. At this season, therefore, theonly accessible meadows to which mostvisitors to Wells Gray can in good cons-cience be directed are the meadows ofthe Trophy Mountains.

8) The Trophy meadows give rise toan early floral display which effectivelycomplements that of the later bloomingmeadows of Wells Gray. Goward

81b) has estimated that less that 8]%if the flora of the Trophy meadows is

'duplicated in adjacent park meadows.An especially striking point of differenceis the glacier lily, Erythronium gran-

diflorum which, essentially in the park,covers the Trophy meadows during earlyJuly with a spectacular carpet of clearyellow blossoms. Given that thesubalpine meadows of Wells Gray donot reach their peak of floral display un-til nearly a month later, the annexationof the Trophies would considerably in-crease public interest in the park byfocussing attention on' the subalpineover a longer period.

9) The Trophies, if included in WellsGray, would help to ensure the survivalof one of its hallmark wildlife species,the mountain caribou. It is well knownthat habitat destruction, due mainly tologging, is currently endangering thecaribou populations of southern BritishColumbia. As about 70% of the totalherds in the Thompson-Nicola regioncentre on the Wells Gray area (Swanell,1980), the park is considered to becritical to the survival of these animalshere. Unfortunately, only 10-15% ofWells Gray constitutes good caribouhabitat (Ritchey,1981). Part of the WellsGray herd therefore annually migratesout of the park, particularly southwardto the vicinity of the Trophies. Accor-ding to the best information available,"protection of park habitat alone willnot ensure maintenance of the existingcaribou numbers in the park" (op. cit.),The Ministry of Environment hasrecently placed special emphasis on theprotection of wintering areas adjacent tothe park against forestry interests. Inview of the fact that the Ministry ofForests is at present allowing high eleva-tion logging here, it is hoped that theMinistry of Lands, Parks and Housingwill soon show a similar concern for theprotection of Wells Gray's caribou.

10) The annexation of the Trophies toWells Gray would considerably increasethe representation of the Highland land-form within the British Columbia Parkssystem. It is pertinent to point out thatwhere comparable meadow areasalready appear inside provincial parkboundaries, as in Manning Park, theyhave become a showcase attraction. Atpresent the Highland's most salientfeature, the subalpine meadow, is scanti-ly represented in British Columbia'sparks.

11) Finally, the Trophies represent astunning example of one of the mostdistinctive features of the mountains ofthe Pacific Northwest: the subalpineflower meadow. Contrary to popularbelief, treeline in most parts of the worldis characterized not by flower meadowsbut by dwarf shrubs or grass heaths(Hamet-Ahti, 1978). Even in BritishColumbia, the flower meadowphenomenon is largely restricted to areassouth of about 55 N. As it seems likelythat flower meadows will continue to

figure prominantly in the attractivenenssof British Columbia to potential visitors,it is clearly in the best interests of BritishColumbians to ensure that at least themore spectacular of them are secureagainst the detrimental impact of min-ing, grazing and overuse by all-terrainvehicles. In the context of-the Trophies,logging activities have already openedthe meadows to snow machines; it is on-ly a matter of time before motorbikesfind their way there also. Therefore, ifthe meadows are to be preserved at all,they must be set aside very soonn.CONCLUSION

It must be emphasized that theTrophy Mountain extension, if realized,would significantly enhance Wells GrayPark. The Mountains are themselves afull expression of the two major featureswhich set them apart from nearly allothers; flower meadows and untouchedwilderness. Their inclusion in the parkwould benefit the people of British Col-umbia by offering a new potential forpublic involvement in Wells Gray. At atime when the future of wildernessvalues in provincial parks is at bestuncertain, the resulting stronger pro-prietory attitude toward this park wouldbe welcome.

1989 will be Wells Gray Park's jubileeyear. Perhaps those concerned for itsfuture as a wilderness park could con-sider 1989 as a target date for therealignment of its boundaries to best en-sure that future.REFERENCES

Goward, T. 1981a. Patterns ofclimate in Wells Gray Provincial Parkand its vicinity. Unpub. report.(Available upon request from ParksBranch, Box 70 Clearwater, B.C. VOE1NO).

1981b. In Defense of the TrophyMountains. Unpub. report. (Availableupon request from Parks Branch, Box70 Clearwater, B.C. VOE 1NO).

Hamet-Ahti, L. 1965. Vascular plantsof Wells Gray Provincial Park and itsvicinity in eastern British Columbia. An-nales Botanic! Fennici 2: 138-164.

Hollard, S.S. 1964. Landforms ofBritish Columbia. B.C. Dept. of Minesand Petroleum Resources. Bulletin 48.

Lyons, C.P. & R.Y. Edwards. 1953Battle Mountain Reconnaissance: pro-posed addition to Wells Gray Park.Report to B.C. Forest Service, Victoria.

Neave, R. 1981. Exploring Wells GrayPark. Douglas & Mclntyre, Vancouver.

Ritcey, R.W. 1952. Wildlife surveyand research in Wells Gray Park —1951. Report to B.C. Forest Service,Victoria.

1981. Woodland caribou in theThompson-Nicola Resource Region.

cont. on page 22


ENJOYING INSECTS

" J. Henri Fabre, or France, found thedelights of a lifetime — adventure andfame as well — in observing the near-at-home. He was an explorer whose jungleswere weed lots and "whose deserts weresandbanks..,."

Insects are held in low re.gard by manypeople. Perhaps this is because of thevery few which conflict with the interestsof man, often with spectacular anddevastating results. Yet, of the approx-.imately one million species (estimatesvary according to authors), only severalthousand could be called pests.

Like J.H. Fabre, you don't have totravel far to find places inhabited bythese fascinating animals. In yourgarden, you will find creatures every bitas fierce as the largest predator, albeit ona smaller scale. It only means you'll haveto get down on you hands and knees fora closer look.

Many insects possess remarkablebeauty. Butterflies and moths aregenerally recognized as such, but whatabout others? For example, there's themetalic woodborer, whose whings arelike polished gold, and the lacewing,with its fine, exquisitely netted wings.

Even in ugliness there may be beauty.The habits of the green bottle fly mayrepulse us, but who can deny that itsshiny, metallic green body does notcause us to pause for a second look.

The lives of most insects are im-perfectly understood. There are real op-portunities for the keen observer to addto the fund of insect knowledge. Collec-ting is the usual way to do this, but whatabout insect watching? This may requiremany patient hours of observation andnote-taking, bu the results are mostrewarding.What is an Insect?

Essentially, and insect is an arthropodanimal (jointed-legged) with three bodyparts — a head, thorax and abdomen,and six legs.

Insects wear their skeleton like a suitof armour. Like other arthropods, thisarrangement imposes some importantrestraints on growth and development.For one thing, the insect, like a crab orspider, must shed its old "skin" in order.to grow, in size and go through a periodicmoult.

Most of us are-familiar with the egg-larva-pupa-adult life history, but this isnot true of all insects. Springtails, for ex-ample, have a gradual developmentfrom the newly hatched individual toadult. In bugs, the larva (often called thenymph) looks like an adult except forthe undeveloped wings. The egg-larva-

pupa-adult arrangement is found inflies, beetles, butterflies and bees.1. Edwin Way Teale: The Fascinating

Insect World of J Henri Fabre.

ciccadaNames of Insects

Some people are frightened away by"those Latin names." The problem isthat most insects do not have a "com-mon" name. The only valid name for aninsect is its scientific name. Quitepossibly, however, the best level atwhich to start dealing with a field aslarge as insects is the order. Classifica-tion systems go from the general to thespecific. A simplified system is Phyllum,.Class, Order, Family, Genus andSpecies.

For quick reference, a few orders arelisted here, but for a complete list, thereferences cited at the end of this articlewill assist you.

NAME EXAMPLECollembolla SpringtailThrysanura SilverfishOrthoptera GrasshopperOdonata DragonflyHomoptera AphidHemiptera Stink bugLepidoptera ButterflyCoeleoptera BeetleDiptera FlyHymenoptera Honeybee

(Swan and Papp, in The Common In-sects of North America, list 23orders.)

Equipment NeededNot many years ago, the equipment

list would have read: net, pins, specimenbox. Collecting is still an important jobfor specialists or an absorbing hobby forthe serious amateur. Most of us,however, don't really need to collect andpin specimens. Why not try collecting in-sects with a camera? If it is challengesyou want, insect photography will pro-vide you with more than enough.

Take a hint from the birders and takeup insect watching. This is expeciallytrue of butterflies, where much needs tobe learned about the behaviour of eventhe common species. For this, you will

need a good pair of close focusingbinoculars, a good quality hand lens, 8xor lOx, is useful for looking at detailsuch a wing venation and mouth parts.

Plastic vials may be used to temporari-ly capture insects for examination andrelease without harming them.

A good sweep net for sampling bushesand grassy areas is also quite handy. Forsampling ponds and streams, a goodquality sieve tied to a metre long dowelwill prove useful.

PhotographyThere are several ways of approaching

insect photography. I have listed them inorder of my preference. My goal is toobtain insect photographs which tellstories, not just portray insects as ob-jects like coins or stamps.1. Field Photography — photographing

insects in their natural habitat,unrestrained in any way. This is themost challenging and at the sametime, the most sat isfyingphotography.

2. Studio — cooling insects down andplacing in a diorama set-up. This maybe necessary for very small insectswhere high magnification is requiredor where special details (e.g. face) areto.be photographed. I include hereraising insects where it may be the on-jly way of obtaining photographic lif<!history studies.

3. Drugging or photography of deadspecimens — most insectphotographers avoid these practices.

The equipment needed for insectphotography is an SLR camera and amethod of filling the frame with objects7.5 mm long to 10 mm long. These arereally the working practical field limits.

This means some kind of macro set-up. A macro lens or standard lens withextension tubes will do for a start.Sooner or later, the need for a bellowsunit will arise. This accordion-likefolding device accepts a wide variety oflenses, but a 100 or 135 mm lens woulddo nicely (and these do not have to bemacro lenses). One of the newer longmacros, 100 mm or 200 mm, is an insectphotographer's dream come true, andcan also be used on a bellows. You mayfind the bellows clumsy at first, but onceyou get past the "fumble" stage, youwill never want to put it down. Fordetails of bellows/lens combinations,consult a photographic manual writtenfor your camera.

I recall a fellow who, equipped onlywith a standard lens and extensiontubes, but blessed with infinite patience,did beautiful work.

Lighting in insect photography can bea real problem. An electronic flash isusually essential. It doesn't have to be an


IT-

expensive unit; a lower priced one willdo. Make sure that it has a separate cordand not only hot shoe contact. You willalso need an extension cord for yourflash because it has to be used off-camera.

Some experimentation will be re-quired to get the correct flash-to-subjectdistance. Try not to go below f l l (f!6 isbetter) because depth of field is quiteshallow. Keep a fixed f-stop and more ofthe flash instead. For even better results,experienced photographers use twoflashes, but these are technicalitieswhich you can explore.

Finally, try to use a fine-grained film.Higher speed films are too grainy for in-sect work, except possibly for records.

lacewing

Where to LookHere are a few suggestions.

GardenFlowers attract an amazing variety of

insects, and not just bees, includingmoths, butterflies, beetles and flies. Thisprovides a wealth of opportunity forobserving and photographing.

Watch closely, however, because allthose insects which look like wasps maynot be wasps at all, but flies or beetles.What you are seeing is a masqueradeparty, a great deception. We recognizebees and wasps by their stripes ("warn-ing colouration"). Some beetles andflies (e.g. hover flies) get the same pro-tection as the stingers and biters by hav-ing the same warning patterns, eventhough they can't bite or sting.

Something worth considering is grow-ing plants for insects. For example, but-terflies such as the Western TigerSwallowtail are especially fond of mockorange flowers. Consider that a healthygarden with lots of insects is a treasureof wonder and beauty. What about thestink bug feeding on raspberry juice?What do you know about it? Is it really apest or just a fellow earth-being trying tosurvive?

ForestThe forest, as in all places, has its

grazers, predators and scavengers.Grazers include all the foliage feederssuch as caterpillars and sawfly larvae.Next time you find what you think is acaterpillar, look closely, for it may bethe larva of a wasp-like insect known asa sawfly.

There's a real art to finding cater-pillars but the effort is worth it. What athrill to discover the larva of a hawkmoth ("horn worm") or to findalooperhumping its way along a branch. Someloopers actually look like part of theplant they're on. I recall finding a looperon a fireweed which looked exactly like afireweed seed pod.

The forest floor duff layer consists ofleaves, branches and other things whicheventually return to soil. In this layer,look for ground beetles. These large,black, shiny beetles never fail to attractattention. Pick one up and look for thehitch-hiking mites.

Rotting logs offer yet another habitatfor insects. Termites and beetle grubsuse the logs to make their galleries and,in turn, provide food for woodpeckers.

FieldsFields mean grasshoppers, crickets

and assasin bugs. Here you'll really haveto look hard. At first, these places seemrelatively devoid of all but a few insectsbut nothing could be farther from thetruth. Grasshoppers come in various col-ours and are a real challenge to thephotographer. Crickets chirping fromunder grassy mats quickly stop upon ap-proach. You will have to sit quietly forthem to start up again.

Various bugs such as mirids blend inso well with their background as to bealmost invisible. As your eyes get used t.ospotting them, you'll discover lots ofthese interesting creatures.

PondsPonds make for really exciting insect

watching — on the water, in the water,and in the air. Watch the spider-likepond striders as they skate over the pondsurface. Whirligig beetles scoot fran-tically here and there, spinning aroundmadly. The whirligig is a remarkable in-

sect; it can see above and below thewater at the same time.

In the water, boatmen and backswim-mers row through the water using legslike oars.

Dragonfly nymphs lurk in thesubmerged vegetation waiting for astickleback to come close, then, quick asa flash, the fish is seized by the insect'slower jaw.

The air above the pond is full of in-sects. Graceful mayflies bob up anddown in their nuptial dances; midges fillthe air and dragonflies zoom back andforth scooping them from out of the air.

Gall makers and MinersBerries on leaves are an impossibility,

because for a berry to form, you firstneed a flower. If you open one of theseberry-like objects off a leaf, you'll findinside a tiny grub. Some galls are formedon the stems of popular leaves andenclose aphids. A large gall on roseslooks like a ball of moss and is called the"rose king", while another rose gall hasspines all over it and is sometimes calledthe "devil's pincushion".

Galls are induced by various kinds ofinsects - aphids, wasp-like insects, fliesand even certain moths. Common plantsto look for galls are willow, cotton-wood, rose and goldenrod.

Have you ever seen squiggly lines on aleaf? These are the work of leaf miners -insects who burrow through the mid-tissue of the leaf. '

The world is full of wonderous andmysterious things, but you don't have totravel the world 'round to find them -your own back yard will do.

Curiosity, patience, and a sense ofadventure is all it takes to enjoy insects.

Recommended ReadingBorror, Donald J. and Richard E.White. A Field Guide to the Insects ofAmerica North of Mexico. 1970. H. M.Company. Boston.Milne, Lorus and Margery. TheAudubon Society: Field Guide to NorthAmerican Insects. 1980 Alfred A. KnopfNew York. ,Swan, Lester A. and Charles Papp. TheCommon Insects of North America.1972. Harper and Row. New York.Wigglesworth, V.B. The Life of Insects.1968. Menton Books. New York.

AL GRASSNATURALIST

B.C. PARKS AND OUTDOORRECREATION DIVISION

photos: Al Grass


cont. from page 19

Report to B.C. Ministry of Environ-ment, Kamloops.

Swannell, G. 1980. North ThompsonCaribou. Wildlife Review 9 (5): 16-18.Trevor Coward, Box 70, Clearwater,VOE 1NO.Ed. Note: Please write letters of supportof the Trophy Mountain Extension tothe Minister of Lands, Parks and Hous-ing, The Honourable Anthony Brum-met, Parliament Buildings, Victoria,V8V 1X4.

EXOTICADVENTURES

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$3498.00 Kf:™,22 Day All-Inclusive Escorted Tour viaSwissair, visiting famous Game Reserves,Nairobi and Mombasa.China and Costa Rica bird ing tours alsoavailable.Our Brochure will confirm the ExcitingDetails of these Unforgettable Holidays.

WINGS OF THE WORLD TRAVEL653 Mt. Pleasant Rd.

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Member of BBB —Bonded & Reg'd Co.Celebrating 10th anniversary 1974-1984

Christinas BirdCount Notice

A reminder to clubs planning to con-duct an official Christmas Bird Count(i.e. for publication in American Birdsfor the first time this year. Write beforeNovember 1, 1984 to CHRISTMASBIRD COUNT, AMERICAN BIRDS,950 THIRD AVENUE, NEW YORK,N.Y. 10022, U.S.A., and include (1) amap of your proposed count circle: (2)names of the closest official count toyour area (if you're not sure, see the arti-cle in the previous B.C. Naturalist); and(3) an indication of the size and ex-perience of your count group. Becauseof the increasing numbers of counts,American Birds' editors are now in-sisting on prior application for newcounts. Compilers of new counts shouldreceive instructions and reporting formsby November 30; compilers of establish-ed counts should receive theirs byNovember 10 or 15.

Compilers of UNOFFICIAL countsshould send us complete results as soonas possible after the count to"F.B.C.N., 1200 Hornby St., Van-couver, V6Z 2E2." Official counts areforwarded to us anyway after initialchecking in New York.

We strongly urge all of you to do anofficial count if you don't already. Thesmall fee per observer which is requiredis a small price to pay for making yourcount results available to the thousandsof people throughout North Americawho will be interested in them.

Dates for this winter's count are anyday from December 15, 1984 to January1, 1985. Thanks to everyone for sendingus your previous count results., and wewish you all a successful and enjoyableChristmas Bird Count this winter!

Wayne Weber & Dick CanningsRegional Christmas Bird Count Editors

Western and Northern Canada

Manning Park Lodge andGibson Pass Ski ,̂Facilities Sold

The provincial government has ac-cepted an offer from the private sectorto buy Manning Park Lodge and GibsonPass ski facilities.

Gibson Pass Resorts Inc. will pay$500,000 to buy the lodge and the im-provements on the ski hill. They will ob-tain a 50-year park use permit which willgive them the right to use designatedareas of the park for the lodge and skihill operations. They wil] provide andcharge for summer canoe rentals andwinter cross country groomed trails. Inaddition to the $500,000, the Company,will pay the government 2% of allrevenues received.

The company's future plans includeexpansion of the lodge to 200 rooms asdemand w a r r e n t s , an en la rgedrestaurant and the addition of a beautysalon.

The "new* Manning Park Lodge, aconcrete structure, was officially openedin June, 1972 after a fire in 1970destroyed the previous wood lodge. Thesuccessful bidders also obtain ancillarybuildings located at the lodge, plus staffhousing for full time employees, as wellas maintenance and support facilitieslocated in the Pine Woods area.

Minister Anthony Brummet reaffirm-ed that no public land will be sold. Allother recreational opportunities at Man-ning wil! continue to be provided byParks staff.

Advertising RatesFull Page $200.00!/2 page 100.00!4 page 50.00For information contact:

H. E. Aikens—433-61604521 Neville StreetBurnaby, B.C. V5J 2G9

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New PublicationsRECREATION ACCESS IN B.C

Recreation Access in British Colum-bia: A User's Handbook is nowavailable from the Outdoor RecreationCouncil for $5.00. Prepared by ORC incooperation with the West Coast En-vironmental Research Foundation, thisreport reviews the present legislation andpolicies which affect public access. Aswell, it examines solutions and ap-proaches used in other jurisdictions, andhighlights problems which recreationistshave experienced in B.C. Concludingthat rights of access on Crown land arepoorly protected, the report contains anumber of recommendations to the pro-vincial government. The report will bepresented by the Council to the Environ-

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Coyotephoto: D. R. Dean

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ment and Land Use Committee. Copies-are available from the Council for $5.00.For further information contact: JudithCullington, ORC. 687-3333. 1200 Horn-by St., Vancouver, V6Z 2E2.

TREE FARM LICENCESIN BRITISH COLUMBIA

This 8 page brochure is available freefrom the B.C. Ministry of Forests, In-formation Services Branch, ParliamentBuilding, Victoria, V8V 1X4. Varioustopics are covered by short statementsincluding history, cutting permits, stum-page and rent, public access, harvest re-quirements and silviculture respon-sibilities.

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Up and coiningSEPTEMBERSept. 10

Sept. 18

Sept. 28-30

Sept. 28-30

Sept. 30

OCTOBEROct. 1

F.B.C.N. Director's Meeting, 6:15 p.m.,Burnaby Lake Nature House, 4519 PiperAve, Burnaby.British Columbia Heritage for Tomorrow,Vancouver Island Region Public Meeting;7:00 p.m., Newcombe Auditorium —B.C. Provincial Museum, Victoria. Con-tact: Bruce Downie, 727-3182.Interpretation Canada Fall Workshop inthe Kootenays at Balfour Beach Inn eastof Nelson. Theme — Water, Water,Everywhere. Cost approx. $90. Contact:Daphne Van Alstine (Nelson) 825-4723,Joley Aldam (Lower Mainland) 731-1155,or Robin Hood (Victoria) 478-3344.National and Provincial Parks Associa-tion, B.C. Chapter, Annual Meeting atPender Island. Contact: Lucy Alderson(Vancouver) 732-8584.Rivers Day. Will you be participating?Contact Outdoor Recreation Council,1200 Hornby St., Vancouver, 687-3333.

F.B.C.N. Directors' Meeting, 6:15 p.m.,1200 Hornby St., Vancouver.

Oct. 4-5

Oct. 5-9

Oct. 15

Oct. 23-26

NOVEMBERNov. 1-3

Nov. 3

DECEMBERDec. 3

B.C. Museums Association Annual Con-ference — Burnaby. Contact: 609 Super-ior St., Victoria, B.C. V8V 1V1.National Association for Environmental"^Education Conference, Chateau LakeLouise, Banff, Alberta. Contact: Joy Fin-lay, Box 8644, Station L, EdmontonT6C 4J4.Deadline for material for Winter 1984B.C. Naturalist.Living with Hazardous CommoditiesConference — Richmond. Contact: FraserValley College — West Campus, 33844King Road, R.R.#2, AbbotsfordV2S 4N2.

Across the Border Transboundary En-vironmental Issues in the Pacific North-west, co-sponsored by the EnvironmentalStudies Programme, University of Vic-toria. Contact: Mary Ransberry, Univer-sity Extension Conference Office, Univer-sity of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, Victoria,B.C. V8W 2Y2.Fall Directors' Meeting hosted by the Vic-toria Natural History Society. DetailsT.B.A.

F.B.C.N. Directors' Meeting, 6:15 p.m.,1200 Hornby St., Vancouver.

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ial Committee is looking for some-one to help our Adman HughAikens in finding advertisers for thenewsletter. Experience is not neces-sary, but the person should be ableto spend time during the weekdaysin visiting with prospective clients.For more information contact HughAikens, 4521 Neville St., Burnaby,V5J 2G9; phone 433-6160.

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