Summer 2015

“Know nature and keep it worth knowing”
Nictitating Membrane
Raptors now flying "Friendlier Skies
BC Wolf Kill
The Magazine of BC Nature
www.bcnature.ca • Summer 2015 • Vol. 53 No. 2 • ISSN 0228-8824
BCnature
Volume 53 No. 2
In This Issue:
Regular columns:
Editorial........................................................................................3
Letters to the Editor.................................................................... 4
Presidents Report - Climbing onto the Rock..............................5
Natural Mistakes..........................................................................6
Conservation report....................................................................7
Book Review.. ...........................................................................28
The Last Word...........................................................................35
Spotlight on BC Nature Club...................................................36
Feature
South Chilcotin Camp................................................................8
Harrison Salmon Camp..............................................................9
Photos of UBC Insects...............................................................10
Purple-lined Sallow Moth...........................................................11
BC Naturalists Foundation Update............................................12
Gir.l Guides - Invasive plant species...................................................13
BC Wolf Kill...........................................................................14
BC Nature Science Fair Awards.................................................15
Comox Valley Host AGM 2016 - Prelude..........................................16
Raptors now flying "Friendlier Skies"........................................17
Club Moss..................................................................................20
A First count - IBA - ebird Protocol.......................................... 21
Salmon River - Vancouver Island Treasure................................21
2015 BC Nature Awards............................................................22
AGM Recap - Salt Spring Island 2015.......................................25
Tofino Camp Recap...................................................................27
YNC/Nature Kids.....................................................................29
Nictitating Membrane...............................................................30
Bioinsensitivity...........................................................................31
Why Hamilton Mack Laing Matters Part 2...............................32
Stewarding for the Environment............ ..................................34
Notices:
Accessing BCnature Online..........................................................4
Dates to Remember....................................................................13
Club Listing by Area..................................................................20
From the Cover - Robber Fly - Hirtichona sackeni (Diptera:
Asilidae) Aggressive predators, robber flies have large eyes
to spot their insect prey and a large beak for stabbing it
with, in order to suck out its juices. They either ambush
their dinner or
catch it while
on the wing.
In BC, many
species live in
warm, sandy
habitats such
as the South
Okanagan and
on the Gulf
Islands.
In association with the Elders Council for Parks in
British Columbia, BC Nature's home office is located at
the Heritage Centre in Mount Seymour Provincial Park.
Please visit Elders Council at
http://www.elderscouncilforparks.org/
Color Version of BCnature is available online www.bcnature.ca
Objectives of BC Nature
(Federation of BC Naturalists)
• To provide naturalists and natural history clubs
of BC with a unified voice on conser vation and
environmental issues.
• To foster an awareness, appreciation and
understanding of our natural environment, that
it may be wisely used and maintained for future
generations.
• To encourage the formation and cooperation of
natural history clubs throughout BC.
• To provide a means of communication between
naturalists in BC.
BCnature magazine is published quarterly by
BC Nature - Circulation 5,400
Editorial Team: Penelope Edwards piedward@telus.net
Betty Davison
manager@bcnature.ca
John Sprague
sssprague@shaw.ca
Website: www.bcnature.ca
BC Nature Office - manager@bcnature.ca
Editorial: Peter Wood - CPAWS
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BC Nature reserves the right to edit submissions for length,
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Cover Photo: Don Griffith - Beaty Biodiversity Museum
Photograph : Robber Fly
BC Nature Executive
President
Kees Visser
Vice President
Alan Burger
Past President
John Neville
Treasurer
John Troth
Recording Secretary
Claudia Copley
Conservation Chair
Rosemary Fox
Communications Chair
Penney Edwards
Kootenay Coordinator
Joan Snyder
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Jude Grass
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Fred McMechan
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John Neville
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2
BCnature Summer 2015
Editorial
By Peter Wood
Roads to ruin
Decade-old recommendations gather
dust while BC wilderness is carved
up by hundreds of thousands of
kilometers of road. When is enough,
enough?
ecently, the Forest Practices
Board, BC’s independent
forest watchdog, released a report that takes stock of the province’s road network, and the results are staggering. It estimates
that BC has over 800,000 kilometers of road. This is greater than the distance to the moon
and back, or 20 times around the earth at the equator. Most
(600,000 km) of this is attributed to logging and resource
roads, and the report estimates that up to 25,000 km more
are built every year. The report also finds that 34,000 km of
road is built on extremely steep slopes, making it ten times
more likely that a landslide will occur. A quick Google satellite scan reveals the mess that this has created: our province
has become a Byzantine labyrinth of roads.
I’m conflicted. As a backcountry enthusiast, I use resource
roads to access some of my favourite places to go hiking, skiing and camping. However, I know that roads are terrible for
wildlife, like caribou and grizzly bear, now wiped out from
much of their original habitat. The coast and southern interior have been particularly hard hit by roads built for forestry.
This industry has had to go increasingly further afield each
year to find timber, having depleted forests closer to the communities that depend on them. There is very little left that has
not been "roaded", so this obviously can’t go on forever. While
roads support needed economic activity, we need to decide
R
what we want left after these resource projects have wrapped up, as
this activity will expand to however much we allow.
Meanwhile, the northeast of BC is criss-crossed by roads for gas
extraction, and there are 200,000 km’s of seismic lines, used to
explore for gas, over and above the already extensive road network.
Far-ranging animals such as caribou are in dire straits. We should
be considering what these species need in order to survive before
we commit to large LNG export agreements. Once export facilities
and pipelines are built, we will be locked into a massive expansion
in fracking wells and associated infrastructure.
The report describes an overall chaotic situation, with very little
control or coordination, leading to more industrial roads being
built than are necessary. Roads are not being deactivated when they
are supposed to be, allowing unwanted access and poaching. All of
this leaves the rest of us on the hook for cleaning up industry’s mess,
while wildlife pays the price for the habitat loss.
The report provides a sound rationale for why we need a clear
plan, backed by legislation, that sets out how roads should be managed in this province, and areas that we want to maintain road-free.
But this is nothing new; the Board issued similar recommendations
a decade ago, decrying the confusing patchwork of administrative
responsibilities and legal requirements for road construction, use,
maintenance, and deactivation. This week’s report concludes that
very little progress on these issues has been made since then. Why
not?
It is time to set objectives for road management based on the values that we seek to maintain, such as wildlife, traditional use, and
recreation. If we fail to do this, the default scenario is that roads will
continue to expand with little thought for the long-term well-being
of the province.
Peter Wood is director of terrestrial campaigns for the BC chapter of the
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. He has more than 15 years of
conservation-related experience, both within BC and internationally. He
holds a PhD in Forestry from the University of Toronto, and a BA in
Environmental Studies from UBC.
Whiskeyjack Nature Tours
TOURS FOR NATURALISTS
***YUKON & DEMPSTER HIGHWAY***
Land of the Midnight Sun
Tour I, 18-29 June 2015 (12 days)
Tour II, 1-12 July 2015 (12 days)
Cost $3700 (dbl occup) + GST from Whitehorse
The Yukon is a fabled land whose very name evokes archetypal images of wilderness and a frontier populated by
colourful characters. On this tour we will experience both the natural and human landscapes of this fascinating and beautiful land,visiting
the Klondike, the Dempster Highway, and the Mackenzie Delta. The Dempster is renowned as a naturalist’s paradise with its varied
and beautiful landscapes, sought-after bird species, large mammals and we visit at the peak of the wildflower display. At latitude 66N
we cross the Arctic Circle and enter the Land of the Midnight Sun. We also fly across the Mackenzie Delta to Tuktoyaktuk
on the Arctic Ocean.
***THE SUNSHINE COAST FOR NATURALISTS***
20-24 July 2015 (5 days) Cost $1490 (dbl occup) + GST from Vancouver
The Sunshine Coast exemplifies the best of coastal British Columbia as the temperate rainforest meets the blue of the
Salish Sea in a confusion of magnificent fjords and green islands. We visit the Sunshine Coast’s scenic highlights, including
a full day cruise to world famous Princess Louisa Inlet, We also visit Jedediah Island and take a sunset cruise to
Hotham Sound. The Sunshine Coast’s culinary offerings are an important part of this tour and we will sample
the best available. All meals are included, except for 4 dinners.
***FALL COLOURS of the TUNDRA***
Dempster Highway, Yukon
27 August - 3 September 2015 (8 days) Cost $1800 (dbl occup) + GST from Whitehorse
I have frequently been requested to offer a tour to the Dempster Highway in the fall (late Augustat this latitude) to
view the tundra as it turns red, mauve, orange and gold. Poets and truck drivers alike wax lyrical about the magnificence
of this iconic Canadian destination in fall. We spend 3 days on the Dempster, driving as far as the Richardson
Mountains, north of the Arctic Circle. Tour also includes 3 nights in Dawson City & Top of the World Hwy.
Leader: Tony Greenfield WHISKEYJACK NATURE TOURS BOX 319, SECHELT, BC, V0N 3A0
Tel: 604-885-5539, E-m: tony@whiskeyjacknaturetours.com
Full Details & itineraries at website: www.whiskeyjacknaturetours.com
BC reg #34425
BCnature Summer 2015
3
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I disagree with Mike Nash that BC is a world
leader in forest practices. I served on the Public
Advisory Committee for timber companies here
in the Okanagan from 2002 – 2005. I reviewed
the reports prepared by the companies, went on
their tours to look at their logged areas, and
attended the meetings to discuss their reports
and logging issues. The companies prepared
these reports, selected the areas for our field
trips, and conducted the meetings. I found that
I was not in a position to judge whether their
logging practices were good, bad, or indifferent.
I was but a figurehead giving credibility to
industry and government. I submit that the
only way to know whether forestry practices are
good is to have strong environmental legislation
and public servants, both professional foresters
and forestry technicians, approving the logging
plans and inspecting the logging to ensure
compliance with regulations which are both
enforceable and environmentally meaningful.
Here in the Okanagan much of the logging
takes place in our community watersheds.
It is generally accepted that to maintain
water quality adequate for drinking, the
ECA (Effective Clearcut Area) should be
maintained at a low to moderate peak flow
hazard. Over time the ECAs continue to rise
in all watersheds with some now reported to
be at high peak flow hazard. This trend is
clearly unsustainable and is adding increased
treatment costs to water purveyors and
ultimately to us public consumers of water.
During the 1990s we were fortunate to have
LRMPs (Land and Resource Management
Plans) developed for most of the Okanagan.
The process of plan development was led
by Ministry of Forests with participation
available to all interested stakeholders
including BC Nature representative Harold
King. Unfortunately with the reduced staff
and mandate for BC Ministry of Forests, the
LRMP is languishing on office shelves and its
logging and other land use restrictions ignored.
Cross country ski trails supposedly protected
by the LRMP are now subject to logging.
Moreover, land supporting native vegetation
and supposedly protected by the LRMP are
being trashed by off-road vehicles. Even though
the LRMP is now defunct, it is still cited as an
excuse for not creating a National Park here in
the South Okanagan Similkameen.
Mike Nash seems to recommend that the
Forest Practices Board be used as a model to
control pollution. I believe this would benefit
the polluters and the political party in power but
not us citizens who own the resources. Indeed,
we already have such a system in place here in
BC because our environmental legislation puts
the onus on companies to regulate and monitor
their environmental impacts themselves. They
report their findings to government, but the
environmental regulations required of them
are weak compared with the previous laws we
had between 1970-2001. According to the
4
BCnature Summer 2015
Environmental Law Centre, BC’s environmental regulations are so vague and weak as to be
nearly unenforceable. The number of government inspections now is less than half what it was
before 2001 and likewise for reported environmental infractions. As BC’s industrial operations
have not decreased since 2001, our air, land, and water are not less polluted now; they may
seem less polluted because we have less information now. To properly steward our resources we
need properly trained government inspectors observing and sampling environments potentially
impacted by industry.
I know that present and past Forest Practices Board members including Mike Nash are highly
educated experts in their fields, and I believe they have done and continue to do worthwhile work
as described by Mike Nash in the Spring Issue of BC Nature. However, I do not believe that their
work is a substitute for independent environmental inspection and sampling by public servants
working to protect our environments and ecosystems.
Dr. J. E. Bryan, SONC
Dear Editor
Thanks to Sue Staniforth for the good gardening advice on invasive plants.
It would be very interesting if she could explain in more depth the Invasive Species Councils'
statement that "Invasive plants are the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss."
Can the Invasive Species Council point to some examples in BC?
The huge impact of introduced rats and deer (not plants) on the Haida Gwaii archipelago
comes to mind. The big change in the interior forests stands out as well, but that is climate
change, beetles and forestry practices.
Invasive plants grow where the ground has been disturbed and there has already been habitat
loss, such as along roadways and railroad tracks, and in range land that has been overgrazed.
The Invasive Species Councils, like the ISC of Metro Vancouver, are also pesticide spraying
contractors. They have advocated to the Metro Vancouver municipalities to spray Knotweed.
They are partnered with Dow Agrichemicals, which primarily promotes glyphosate-based
pesticides like Roundup. Roundup is currently under review by Health Canada and being banned
in many parts of the world. Recent studies are showing that it adversely affects amphibians, is a
carcinogen, and binds with soil making nutrients unavailable, to say nothing of the vast sterile
fields of industrial agriculture that Roundup creates leaving nothing for migrating birds and
butterflies to eat.
See: https://avaazmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/Roundupsources.pdf
Invasive species are a complex problem that needs to be addressed regionally and spraying is not
a solution. ISC justifies the use of pesticides in our urban areas by the simplistic overstatement
that "Invasive plants are the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss." Please
elaborate! I hope to read further articles on the topic. 
Janice Wilson
Dear Editor
Upon closer examination, I’d say something looks fishy here. The fish displays what appears
to be a knife-cut the length of it's belly. Was this young heron accepting gifts from a baiting
photographer? Why then would its photographer bother to gut it? Did the photographer beg,
borrow or steal the fish from an angler prior to tossing to this voracious “teen”? Did the stealthy
heron lift it from a busy casting angler focussed on her cast and fly presentation? Or, was it
salvaged from a poacher who upon seeing an approaching camera chose to toss his illegal prey.
The tummy slit says there’s more story behind this photo, I suspect. 
Larri Woodrow
ishing to view your BCnature Copy in electronic pdf format? Newer
W
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After you have notified the office of your wish to view the electronic copy,
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BC Nature Annual Report (AGM Report) is also now available behind
members only access. See what the other federated BC Nature clubs are
doing in other areas of the province.
Presidents Report
We have been granted leave by the Federal Court of Appeal
to proceed to challenge Cabinet’s approval of the Northern Gateway project. For the TransMountain project two
Climbing onto the Rock
rounds of questions were posed, but as usual, with inadBy Kees Visser
equate responses. Later in September oral hearings will
n May, BC Nature held its AGM begin, but no cross-examination will be allowed; a first for
and Conference on Salt Spring
the NEB. We are also very concerned about the Roberts
Island. This was my first conferBank expansion, looked after by our special representative
ence as your President. Looking
Trevor Jones. As you can see ELC and our representatives
back over the last year, it has been are keeping very busy; many thanks to them.
a steep learning curve, and my
Late this summer, I intend to travel to the Cariboo and
education continues on a daily
Pacific Northwest and will be visiting a number of our
basis. My thanks to all the Comclubs, and towns where we have no clubs yet; I will present
mittees, Project Coordinators, BC on some geology topics and of course BC Nature. Then
Nature Representatives, our Oflater in October, I will be in Princeton and Osoyoos. Clubs
in these areas are having some difficulties and I like to
fice Manager and not to forget, my fellow Executive members. BC
Nature has been able to stay the course and show some membership encourage our membership to support them. In November,
growth in the past year; all this, not withstanding, while faced with a I intend to visit Comox and Campbell River.
Unfortunately, there will be no FGM this year. As an
not so conservation-friendly provincial and federal Government.
alternative, I would like to encourage our members to
There are still a few areas of concern that we will need to address
attend the Nature Canada AGM being held in Sidney, from
as a federation, mainly our aging membership, and therefore lack
of younger members. This lack of younger members, translates to a September 24 to 26. This is not a BC Nature event, but I
understand that the Victoria Natural History Society will be
shortage of volunteers able to do all the essentials for BC Nature:
assisting with program.
“Know Nature and keep it worth knowing.” At the AGM, many
For 2016, we will have an AGM in Comox, and an
great ideas were submitted by the clubs on how to increase our
FGM in Prince George. I am convinced that both confermembership with younger people.
ences will be a great success, and I would like to thank the
Over the last year, I have been working with a small committee
Comox Valley Naturalists Society and the Prince George
(Jim Morrison, Gwyn Thomas and Janet Pattinson) on a new fiveNaturalists Club for their willingness to organize these
year Strategic Plan. This plan, addresses major concerns in our
events.
federation and some workable solutions to these problems. I am
The 2015 AGM on Salt Spring Island was a great event
pleased to report that it was passed at the AGM and is available for
and huge success with a large program of outings, presentaall members on our website. A daunting task, but with some hard
tions and workshops. Registration topped 225 members
work, all the objectives will be attainable.
with most outings filled up. We hope you enjoyed your stay
Our BC Nature Foundation is doing very well with your investon Salt Spring Island!
ments steadily growing. This year $16,000 was granted to 10 clubs.
(See page 12)
The hard work continues on our ongoing projects, BC Important Bird Areas (IBA) and Harnessing Nature Knowledge, details of
Flora & Fauna
which you will find in our AGM report. Thanks to the gaming grant
Field Tours
and our surplus BC Nature Funds we are able to continue to fund
these two important initiatives. Krista Englund, former contractor
Sign up for these
for IBA, has now gained full-time employment and has left IBA. I
would like to thank her for her work both as a professional and as a
Fabulous
volunteer. At the same time, please join me in welcoming our new
Birding Tours
IBA coordinator, James Bradley. Krista Kaptein and Bill Kinkaid
continue their important work for Harnessing Nature Knowledge.
Their ongoing efforts can be viewed at www.bcnatureguide.ca. I have
forwarded the portion of our website to BC Parks and the Ministry
of Environment.
Bolivia - Sept. 10 - 24, 2015 - $4385 US
On-going improvements and additions can be seen in the
(From Santa Cruz)
BCNature magazine, the BC Nature website and Nature's Voice (BC
Nature e-news) Social media continues to evolve and our Facebook
Seychelles - Oct. 19 - 28, 2015 - $3679 US
Page and Twitter feed, although available, are still in their infancy.
(from Mahe)
Your Executive has been kept busy with a multitude of conservaColombia
March
1-16, 2016 $ 3995 US
tion issues (in conjunction with the Conservation Committee)
(from Bogota)
and our Education Survey, which was developed by the Education
Committee, has brought out some surprising results. Both Commit- Hungary & Slovakia May 30 - June 7, 2016 $ 2495 US
tees are making great strides, but will have to keep moving forward
(from Budapest)
while facing growing pressure on our environment. When you read
China-Poyang
Lakes
Dec. 1-16, 2016 $ 3635 US
the Conservation and Education Reports by their respective Chairs,
(from Shanghai)
Rosemary Fox and Margaret Cuthbert, you will be more appreciative of their work. See www.bcnature.ca for the full AGM Report.
The Environmental Law Centre (ELC) and our special repreFlora & Fauna Field Tours
sentatives for both the Northern Gateway pipeline (Rosemary Fox)
1093 Scollard Dr., Peterborough, ON K9H 0A9
and the Transmountain extension ( Elaine Golds) are busy keepwww.florafaunafieldtours.com
ing track of our intervenor status. Enbridge has stopped their TV
flora_fauna_tours@hotmail.com
ad campaign on the Northern Gateway, but I notice that Kinder
Tel: 705-874-8531
Morgan is ramping up their TV ad campaign on Transmountain.
I
BCnature Summer 2015
5
Natural Mistakes
Keen's Birding Basics for Beginners
By Clive Keen
ould you give a Birding for Beginners talk" said he. "Not my
area", said I, thinking that I'd have no choice but to drone
on about buying a field guide and 8 x 42 binoculars and suchlike,
thus sending myself and the audience to sleep. But since then
I've had second thoughts. There is in fact some really useful stuff
beginning birders should be told, but nobody ever thinks to do
so. And it would save so much grief. So here, having mulled it
over, is a summary of the talk I should have given.
1. Coolth - If you're seriously worried that you might look
uncool while birding, take up something else. The essence
of cool is being a detached, dispassionate, rather cynical,
observer. It just can't be done if you take up birding and see
your first Vermillion Flycatcher, Lazuli Bunting or Canada
Warbler. For a while, you'll be the epitome of uncool. Why
do you think so many people take up birding later in life?
It's because they couldn't give a fig any more about looking
cool.
2. Ducks - If you've passed the coolness hurdle (good for you,
you've shown some sinew), start by learning the ducks. It
does rather confirm the fact that birding isn't cool, but
ducks don't hide behind leaves and they hang around long
enough for you to figure out what they are. You don't even
have to learn any songs, which is absolutely not an activity
suited to beginning birders.
3. Learning Bird Songs - See above.
4. Ducks Revisited - Don't start with ducks if they have
been breeding lately. They'll be in what's called "eclipse
plumage," which means that all their showy feathers have
been moulted and they'll be both boring and impossible to
tell apart. Ducks in their spring wedding paraphernalia are
great. If they have kids growing up, they are a big yawn.
5. Communications with Birders - Don't say much, and
preferably don't say anything, when you're in the field
with experienced birders. Above all, avoid telling them
that you're seeing something really rare, as you'll only get
corrected and feel like a dribbling moron. Even questions
can be dangerous. Well-meaning people will tell you that
there are no stupid questions. Sorry, but there are.
6. Communications with Normal People - Only talk to nonbirders about the birds you see if they (the birds, not the
people) are hawks or owls. The bigger hawks get a bit of
respect from the general public, and everyone seems to get
a kick out of owls. Non-birders might even look at the bird
photographs you take, as long as they are of hawks or owls.
Yes, it'll be tempting to tell people about your first Henslow's
C
6
BCnature Summer 2015
Sparrow or Plumbeous Vireo, but you must resist the urge.
You might have the strength of personality to survive the
charge of being uncool, but you mustn't add "Really Boring"
to the charges levelled against you.
7. Avoiding the out-terms - Remember to call a beak a "bill,"
and absolutely never say "sea gull."
8. Pronouncing Bird Names - Don't get too bothered about
"correct" pronunciation of bird names. When you produce
a nice original pronunciation (Hornéd Lark, for instance)
you could give the impression that you know something that
others don't. But it's safer just to keep quiet (see 5 above).
9. Optics - if you can afford expensive optics, don't brag and
show them off. The best birders often have lousy binoculars.
Their eyesight, hearing, and field knowledge are so good
that binoculars for them are an optional extra. Indifferent
birders, on the other hand, need all the help that expensive
manufacturers can offer.
10. Attire - Tilley hats are optional.
11. Understanding what birders are saying - Here's a crash
course in terms you'll need.
• Birdy. Lots of birds around, as in "This is a really birdy spot."
• Burn up. To beat around in the undergrowth in some
desperation, hoping to flush a bird. Severely frowned upon;
don't get caught doing it.
• Crippling view. Believe it or not, it means "extremely good
view." Yes, weird.
• Dip, Dip out. To twitch unsuccessfully. i.e to rush off,
sometimes for great distances, to find a rarity and then fail
to do so. Something for you to look forward to.
• Dirt Bird. Common birds that beginners need to remain
disdainful about. So don't get excited when you first identify
a Cowbird.
• Empid. Any of the ten North American members of the
genus empidonax: flycatchers that are small, visually hohum, hide in the trees, and are so similar to one another
that you're allowed to say they are "hard".
• Grip, Grip off – To see a bird which another birder missed
and gleefully tell them you’ve seen it. The greater the glee,
the greater the gripping off. Very tempting for beginners,
who don't get to feel superior very often.
• LBJ. Little Brown Job. It's more acceptable to say 'It was an
LBJ" than "Damned if I know."
• Sp, pronounced "sper". When the species of a bird is not
known, but it's clearly in a particular family, it's a sper. For
example someone might have seen a "tern sper," which would
be written down as "tern (sp)".
• Stringy. A suspect identification, usually involving claims to
have seen a rarity. The fear of being considered a stringer
(a repeat offender) keeps most of the birding world honest.
"Stringer" is the very worst insult in birding. Don't, above all
else, let it apply to you. 
not only the loss of wildlife habitat, but,
perhaps even more significant in this
By Rosemary Fox and Conservation Committee particular instance, the loss of valuable
agricultural land in a province that
Mount Polley Mine - Submitted by Fred had very little to begin with. The case
against Site C includes its predicted huge
McMechan
esearch is ongoing toward determin- cost which the public will bear through
ing the effects of the August 4, 2014 increased rates, and the failure of BC
breach of the Mount Polley tailings stor- Hydro adequately to consider alternatives,
age pond which resulted in the spilling of such as BC’s geothermal reserves, even
25 million cubic metres of mining efflu- though it was urged to do so by the Joint
ent and scour material into the waters of
Quesnel Lake.
At the end of January, 2015 an independent panel of mining engineers, commissioned by the provincial government, to
assess the physical reasons for the spill
determined that a weakness in the foundation of the dam was a significant factor.
They also found that the outside slopes
of the dam were too narrow and steep so
that the buttressing of the dam was inadequate.
The UNBC Quesnel River Research
By Peter Arnell
Centre is also active in monitoring the
effects of the disaster. Since this event the
Centre is tracking the behavior of the sediNootka Rose
ment plume which spread across the lake.
It will also plan to track other unknowns Review Panel.
such as the effect of the breach on the South Okanagan Similkameen National
Park Update - Submitted by Eva Durance
food web.
Experts hired by The Secwepemc Tribal A telephone poll on the proposed South
Council are overseeing the work done by Okanagan Similkameen National Park
(SOS) national park was conducted
the experts hired by Mount Polley Mine.
Still to be determined are the human of 501 randomly selected people in
causes of the dam failure. Will the gov- the two affected provincial ridings and
ernment adequately address its role in the Regional District of Okanagan
this disaster? Also to what extent did the Similkameen March 9 - 13 by McAllister
management of Mount Polley Mines con- Opinion Research. Results show that local
support for the park has increased in the
tribute to this event?
Northern Gateway - The controversial past five years (when an identical survey
Northern Gateway pipeline proposal was held) from 2:1 to more than 3:1,
to transport tarsands oil to Kitimat and opposition to the national park had
for export to Asia received federal reduced markedly to just 21% . Support
government approval in June 2014, cuts across occupational, recreational,
subject to 209 conditions. In April 2014, age, gender, and political lines giving the
the town of Kitimat held a non-binding lie to the naysayers’ attempts to polarize
plebiscite on the Northern Gateway the issue.
project, in which 58.4% of Kitimat Some key results are:
residents voted against the project, and • 79% of ranching and farming
households and 67% of households
41.6% voted in favour. This must have
that participated in riding ATVs and
been quite a blow to Enbridge and its
snowmobiles supported the national
supporters, and since giving its approval
park proposal.
in June the federal government has
•
Almost nine out of ten residents
been very quiet on the subject. Now,
(89%) polled felt the protection of
people are beginning to wonder if the
endangered species was an important
federal government is quietly allowing
priority for the region.
the Northern Gateway project to wither
and die.
Meanwhile, the April 2015 • Upwards of eight of ten residents
(79%) said that regional MLAs
spill of bunker oil from the cargo vessel
should follow the lead of local
M/V Marathassa into Vancouver’s scenic
Chambers of Commerce, tourism
English Bay has reinforced public concern
associations, regional governments
over government plans to increase greatly
and First Nations who all support rethe export of oil from BC ports.
engagement in the park process.
Site C - BC Government approval of the
While
the SOS National Park Network
controversial Site C dam in December
2014 has not put to rest the decades-long committee members are delighted at these
controversy over the project, including results, the reaction of the Boundary
Conservation Report
R
BCnature Summer 2015
MLA, Linda Larsen, was predictably
negative and in a letter to the Oliver Daily
News, Minister of Environment Mary
Polack said that the government has no
plans to reopen the park discussion.
Trans-Mountain Pipeline - Submitted by
Elaine Gold
In partnership with Nature Canada, BC
Nature is an intervenor in the Trans Mountain Expansion National Energy Board
hearing. In mid January, intervenors had
their second opportunity to submit questions, i.e., “information requests” (IRs) to
Trans Mountain. The BC Nature IR consisted of 125 pages of detailed questions.
The majority (117 pages) of this submission was prepared by our two marine bird
experts, Caroline Fox and Anne Harfenist,
with the help of our lawyers; they focused
on a large number of extremely detailed
issues relating to marine birds. I prepared
eight pages of draft questions which were
then edited by one of the lawyers at U Vic,
Mark Haddock.
As a volunteer for BC Nature, I have
focused on terrestrial issues related to the
proposed provincial park crossings as well as
potential impacts on some Metro Vancouver Regional Parks. These proposed crossings include Finn Creek Provincial Park,
North Thompson River Provincial Park,
Lac du Bois Protected Area, Bridal Veil
Falls Provincial Park as well as Surrey Bend
Regional Park and Colony Farm Regional
Park. The pipeline will not actually cross
Colony Farm Park but the open fields of
that Park have been proposed for use as a
pipeline assembly area for the 1 km-plus
section of the pipeline that must be drawn
under the Fraser River. To my mind, the
most egregious of these proposed crossings
is Lac du Bois which, unfortunately, the
City of Kamloops has indicated is their
preferred pipeline construction location
to avoid disturbing urban development
closer to the highway where the original
pipeline right of way is located.
Trans Mountain had a deadline of
February 18 to respond to our IRs. This
time around, unlike last spring, there was
not an opportunity for us to review their
responses and submit a second round of
questions/clarifications. Our only permitted response this time was limited to filing a notice of motion with regard to the
inadequacy of their responses – this was
filed February 26 along with a 112-page
document which pointed out why and
how their responses to our IRs were considered inadequate.
The next major step in the process
will be to submit written evidence. The
deadline for submission of this is May 27
(although all these deadlines keep shifting). After that, no more new evidence
can be submitted. Oral hearings will
begin in September 2015, but details on
where they will be held and the length
Continued P. 8
7
of time intervenors can take to present
their arguments have not yet been made
available. If a portion of the hearing is
held in Vancouver, I will try to be present,
if I am allowed to attend. Similar to the
Enbridge hearings, it would not surprise
me if the public was only allowed to view
a live screened presentation. It is also
important to note questioning and crossexamination of witnesses (a critical part
of a judicial process) will not be allowed
during the oral presentations.
In general, I have found my limited participation in this process to be frustrating.
As we all know, the hearing process is
flawed and quite biased. In addition, the
responses provided by Trans Mountain
do not inspire confidence. For example,
when asked if they will respect the bird
nesting season or fisheries window to
avoid impacts on fish and wildlife during construction, their responses are tempered by weasel words such as “where possible” or “where feasible.” We all know
what that means. In addition, because the
possible construction periods are so far in
the future, details that could provide us with some assurance regarding, e.g., restoration
of native grasslands after construction remain worryingly absent.
To provide some perspective, a fairly large number (approximately 400) of intervenors
were approved to participate in this NEB hearing. However, through a perusal of the
website, I note that many of them have not taken advantage of the opportunity to fully
participate in this process. I worry this may leave gaps in the process and some issues
could remain unaddressed.
Wetlands - Submitted by Peter Ballin
Bev Ramey attended the Wetland Stewardship Partnership meeting on January 30,
2014. Two issues became the priorities: Habitat Mitigation or Compensation, and Outreach. Other discussion topics included an engagement strategy to build political will to
conserve and protect wetlands, and coordination of existing wetland mapping.
On Mar 11, 2014, the Water Sustainability Act was introduced into the BC Legislature
as Bill 18.
Bev Ramey raised questions about the restoration proposal for the Point Grey Tidal
Marsh on behalf of BC Nature.
Two WSP subcommittees met on the phone to discuss Engagement & Political Will
and Mapping.
On January 21 2015 Greg Ferguson represented us at the WSP meeting, where discussions centered upon member projects, the new Water Sustainability Act, the Canadian Wetland Strategy, the Wetlands Action Plan, the Green Bylaws Toolkit, Mitigation, Public awareness and engagement, Mapping, and opportunities provided by the
National Wetland Conservation Fund.
Greg and Peter, amongst other BC Naturalists, attended the February 2 BC Wildlife
Federation Wetlands Program at Burnaby Lake, a large gathering where a number of
Lower Mainland wetland issues were discussed. 
2015 The South Chilcotin Experience - August 20 - 23, 2015
Hosted by BC Nature By Betty Davison
**FOUR SPOTS LEFT**
ome enjoy BC Nature’s summer camp at Gold Bridge in the South
C
Chilcotins. Located on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains,
the South Chilcotins lie within a transition zone between the Coast
Mountains and the Chilcotin Plateau. This favoured position produces a rainshadow. This means sunny skies and a dry climate.
The area is renowned for its biodiversity, with vegetation ranging
from Douglas Fir to alpine tundra. Plants, representing both temperate vegetation to the south and boreal vegetation to the north, occur
together. Massive ancient firs give way to the Trembling Aspen and
meadows brocaded with an abundance of wild flowers that bloom
from May through to September, at their preferred elevations. An
outstanding variety of wildlife inhabits our guide area. California Bighorn sheep, Moose, Mule deer, Mountain goat, Grizzly, Black Bear
and Wolf are both plentiful and frequently sighted.
Between the botany and the birding, this four-day camp offers something for everyone. Hiking will range between moderate and strenuous, or choose to ride horseback as your preferred mode of transportation.
This three-night, four-day camp includes guided interpretive hikes (horseback riding is optional), birding, introduction to local
plants, wildlife viewing, presentations by regional experts on the local ecosystem, the First Nations connection to the Chilcotins,
South Chilcotin Park, and Nature Deficit Disorder.
Accommodation is rustic to camp-style (Shared Rooms and Bathrooms). Rooms can accommodate 21 people in the main ranch
house (includes some bunk beds), eight in the prospector cabin, six to ten in the apartments. Please be prepared to share and definitely let us know if you wish to have specific roommates! Total cost of the Camp is $710.00 and includes all meals from dinner on
Thursday to lunch on Sunday (and all meals in between), shared accommodation, four guided tours over four days(in groups of 10),
four presentations by local and knowledgeable presenters, plus birding (early morning or early evening). We will post the complete
schedule and additional information on our website www.bcnature.ca There are still a few spots available, please telephone or email
BC Nature office - 604-985-3057, manager@bcnature.ca After your reservation is confirmed, registration of $710.00 will need to be
sent in. Remember that: All rooms are on a "Shared Basis" and in camp-style setting. Tolerance of your fellow roommate may necessitate
bringing ear-plugs or sleep aids. A few of the rooms do have bunk beds.
Why are you receiving this magazine? Your membership through one of BC Nature's federated clubs automatically
makes you a member of BC Nature. We are now a Federation of over 5,700 members with members located in towns
from Prince Rupert to Cranbrook and West to Tofino and Sooke! Your unified voice for Nature matters! Your citizen
science through bio-blitzs, bird counts, monitoring of all things nature assist in keeping stock of all that is nature in BC.
Thank you for volunteering!
8
BCnature Summer 2015
Harrison Salmon Stronghold Camp
Hosted by BC Nature & Chilliwack Field Naturalists
November 26 - November 29, 2015
By Janne Perrin
ou are invited to participate in the Harrison Stronghold: Season of the Salmon & Eagles Field Camp. The Camp area,
located 100 km from the city of Vancouver, is easily accessible via
Highway #1 or #7 from Vancouver or from the Interior.
The site is within the lower Fraser Valley, a broad floodplain
bordered on the north by the Coast Mountains and on the
south by the Cascade Mountains. Sedge marshes cover much of
its open habitat at the mouth of the Chehalis (Sts’ailes) River,
while the Harrison River is bordered by linear stands of large
Black Cottonwood, Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir. The
Harrison River hosts all five species of salmon, Steelhead Trout
and the famous White Sturgeon. Here the biggest run of Chum
Salmon in British Columbia, attracts a gathering of Bald Eagles
unrivaled in North America The habitat in the Harrison Salmon
Stronghold is an example of a crucial salmon system that faces
industrial and urbanization pressures.
This four-day camp features salmon & eagles, winter birding,
species at risk, local habitat restoration projects & history, a HarA view of Mount Breakenridge
rison river jetboat tour, an evening with David Hancock featuring
a dinner of locally-caught “ Harrison Select Salmon” The menu is
specially developed for this BC Nature Event by the historic Pretty Estates’ Chef, Jonathan Gee.
On Thursday and Friday, field campers view restoration projects on Maria slough, Cheam Wetland and the Miami River. Maria
Slough hosts Chinook and Oregon Spotted Frog. Robert Schaefer, DFO community advisor, shows us the enhanced channels and
speaks on some of the history of the slough, the creation and the success of the spawning channels. Additional expert leaders and
speakers will be on hand to explain how unique the Fraser-Harrison area is. Among them Dr,. Michael Church, “river guru”, Denis
Knopp, “SAR aficionado”, Monica Pearson “ Oregon spotted frog expert,” Andrea Gielens, “Painted Turtle researcher”, and Gordon Gasden, “FVRD parks and bird expert”.
On Saturday and Sunday we view the Harrison Stronghold/ Harrison estuary/ Chehalis Flats/Moris Valley - explored from land
and water. The Harrison-Chehalis Estuary is designated an international IBA and a North American Salmon Stronghold, the first
in Canada. We will also tour the Chehalis River fish hatchery.
BCN has assembled a group of expert leaders and speakers who will highlight successes and challenges of the area. Dr. David
Hancock eagle expert; David Moore, Harrison Stronghold Coordinator and the manager of the Sts’ailes -Scowlitz Harrison Fisheries
Authority and Kathy Stewart, IBA caretaker for the past 17 years. Jo-Anne Chadwick, owner and guide for Fraser River Safari hosts
a trip up the Harrison River with lunch at the Kilby Restaurant and a tour of the historic site included.
Accommodation in the award-winning Harrison Beach Hotel gives Early bird registrants Lakeview rooms with a stunning view
of Mount Breakenridge. Rooms feature fireplaces, queen beds, fridge and microwave. The Harrison Field Camp is for those who
appreciate creature comforts after a long day in the field. Before our evening meal and program participants can use the hotel’s
indoor pool or walk half a block to the public hot mineral water pool (reduced special/senior/ $6.65). Registration opens June 15,
2015. Price $700.00. Telephone BC Nature Office 9:00 am - 604 985 3057 and manager@bcnature.ca. Phone Registrants will take
initial spots with email registrants taking up balance of spots available.
All rooms are on a "Shared Basis." Tolerance of your fellow roommate may necessitate bringing ear-plugs or sleep aids.
Y
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BCnature Summer 2015
9
Photos of UBC’s Insect Collection now online
By Don Griffiths
t has been my privilege for the past six years to photograph
the UBC entomology collection now housed at the Beaty
Biodiversity Museum. I want to tell you how to access and enjoy
this resource.
First a bit about the collection. The Spencer Entomological
Collection was established in 1953 by Entomology Professor
G.J. Spencer. Other collections were incorporated over the
years until there are now about 650,000 specimens, mostly
pinned and in drawers but some on slides, in envelopes or alcohol vials. There are also some spiders and other arthropods but
the bulk are pinned insects primarily from BC and the Yukon.
Some are from the rest of Canada, the US and a smattering
from around the world. A few were collected in the 1800’s and
lots from about 1910 on, with ongoing sampling continuing
to add to the collection. Most insects, with their exoskeleton,
a similar material to your fingernails, preserve very well just
pinned and sealed in glass topped drawers.
I have mostly completed photographing one or more specimens of each species in the collection. I generally take three
views of each specimen (dorsal, ventral, and lateral). This has
resulted in more than 30,000 photos representing about 8,500
species. The collection does not have every BC species (an
unknown total number) but likely has ones you will regularly
encounter. Most insects are too small to be appreciated with
the naked eye so the photos are taken with a microscope that
magnifies between 1.6 to 160 times. This creates a tiny depth of
field so the system takes a series of photos at slightly different
focal planes (usually moving a small fraction of a millimeter
between images) to create a series of photos of different focal
planes that are scanned by a computer to select the most in
focus part of each and merge them into a single image. I hope
these lovely images will help you appreciate the small scale
beauty all around us. As you likely do not have time to scroll
through 30,000 photos of bugs (I’m sure you would love to) I
will explain how you can navigate through the photos.
The photos are housed on the Beaty Biodiversity Museum
web site. The address is www.biodiversity.ubc.ca/entomology_pictures/ or Google the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and look for
the Spencer Entomological Collection there.
The photos are organized taxonomically so a little taxonomic
review. Insects are in the Phylum Arthropoda and Class Insecta.
As such you will not find photos of non-insect arthropods such
Photos Courtesy Beaty Biodiversity
Museum (Including Cover Photo)
I
The Parasitic Ichneumonid wasp (Order Hymenoptera, Family
Ichneumonidae) Mesostenus clitellatus
10 BCnature Summer 2015
The Tiger Beetle (Order Coleoptera, Family Carabidae, Subfamily
Cicindelinae) Cicindela purpurea audobonii.
as spiders, scorpions, mites or wood bugs. Insects have six legs and
other arthropods do not.
The next major taxonomic level down is Order and insects are
divided into about 30 orders. The first page you see on the photo
website is a grid of insect orders. As few know the scientific names
of orders, the site uses photographs to guide you, so do not be shy
if your Latin is not up to speed. If you are trying to identify an
insect just click the Order photo that best matches. You will then
get a similar grid of photos representing the Families in that Order.
Family is still a broad taxonomic level so there is often a large range
of different looking insects within a family. We have tried to select
a common and typical example to guide you as well as showing the
diversity within the order. You might find it enjoyable and informative to scroll down the Family pages and see the delightful range
of forms in the insect world. Our photos represent more than 400
Families from around 20 Orders.
When you click one of the Family thumbnails you will see the
individual photo thumbnails running down the page sorted alphabetically by genus then by species name and view. Some families
will only have a single specimen while others have several hundred.
You can scroll down and get a quick survey of the entire family.
When you click on one of these images you will get the final full
screen photo itself. I will warn you that there are thousands of species and it is often not possible to identify insects to the species level
without dissecting the genitalia, so do not get discouraged if you
only get to the Family or Genus level on an identification.
Most of the pinned collection is represented. There are about
10 large families that need some curatorial work before they are
ready to be photographed and some insects types that are too thin
skinned or tiny to preserve in a pinned state. Some insects shrivel
and curl a bit and dragonflies and some others tend to loose their
bright colours, so if you are trying to match a specimen to the photos, please take this into account.
If you have any interest in insects I hope you will give the site a
look and that it will enhance your love and understanding of these
amazing creatures. Even if you currently aren’t interested, maybe if
you give it a look you may find them as beautiful and fascinating
as I do.
If you have further questions about insects or spiders you can contact the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and talk to Karen Needham,
the entomology curator.
Don Griffiths is a passionate naturalist and long-time member of Nature
Vancouver. He has been most active with the summer camp committee.
After retiring early from a long career as a theatre technician at UBC
Don has worked part time for six years photographing the insect collection
at UBC.
Join us for Something
Extraordinary!
Observations - Purple-lined
Sallow Moth
By Bryan Kelly-McArthur
yrrhia exprimens
P
larva - photographs
below(Purple-lined Sal-
New Brunswick & Grand Manan
August 15 - 24, 2015 with Jared Clarke
Leisurely birding & whale-watching in delightful areas!
Borneo: Bristleheads & Orangutans
September 7 - 21, 2015 with Richard Knapton and Paul Prior
Pre-tour Peninsula Malaysia September 1 - 7, 2015
Superb wildlife in excellent national parks & reserves.
Orangutans, Hornbills, Argus Pheasant & much more!
Quebec in Fall: Birds & Whales
September 24 - October 3, 2015 with Pierre Richard
Several splendid wildlife spectacles - from thousands of
Snow Geese to impressive encounters with big whales.
low Moth) was observed
accessing and feeding on
Castilleja miniata (Common Red Paintbrush)
seed in August, 2014, on
forested benchland above
the Moberly Marsh north
of Golden in the Columbia Valley.
The larva was observed
feeding on the paintbrush
foliage as well, but was
By Libby Avis
quite determined to access
the seed within the seed
capsule by both chewing through the capsule wall (note several
capsule access holes in the image), and by direct access via the
top opening of capsule. Video clippage was made of all feeding
preferences.
Larvae of P.exprimens are noted as having preference for seed,
bud, and flowers of various hosts, but also foliage feeding on
same, (See E.H.Strickland Entomological Museum, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, for species
notes).
This species is reported from two locations only in BC
(E-Fauna) and although it is recorded as uncommon to rare in
the Pacific North West (Butterflies and Moths of the Pacific North
West Forests and Woodlands) one might expect it to be more widespread than is presently reported.
Habitat is noted as ranging from moist forests to open
wooded areas and edges, and from bogs to urban settings. 
New Zealand
November 17 - December 4, 2015 with Russell Cannings
Kiwis, penguins, parrots, superb seabirds, astonishing
Tuis and the bizarre shorebird, the Wrybill!
Ecuador & the Galapagos Islands
October 22 - November 1, 2015
Pretour: Birding the Andes October 18 - 22, 2015
Enjoy one of the world’s greastest wildlife experiences,
join our expedition cruise to the Galapagos Islands!
Eagle-Eye Tours
BC Licence #34413
Travel with Vision
Call now for your free catalogue!
1-800-373-5678
www.eagle-eye.com
BCnature Summer 2015
By Bryan Kelly-McArthur
11
BC Naturalists’ Foundation
Investment Earnings support Club
Projects
By Bev Ramey
he BC Naturalists’ Foundation investments have now grown to more than
T
half a million dollars, indeed a significant milestone. In addition to this
capital and since its formation in 1991, the Foundation has distributed in-
vestment earnings of approximately $150,000 in grants to BC Nature and
its member clubs for conservation and education projects, mostly for club
support grants. As the Foundation’s capital grows, its earnings are able to
provide increasing grants for naturalists’ projects.
The Foundation in February awarded grants totaling $15,000 to support
projects of ten clubs as follows:
• Arrowsmith Naturalists - Signs of Forest Stewardship on trailway park
near Errington Elementary School.
• Chilliwack Naturalists - Swallow Conservation in BC’s Fraser Valley
• Friends of Semiahmoo Bay - Boundary Bay Beach Hero Marine Interpretive Program
• Lillooet Naturalists - Invasive Species Educational Features
• North Okanagan Naturalists' Club - Northern Pacific Rattlesnake Den
Population monitoring
• Northern Amphibians Naturalists Society - Invertebrate Biodiversity Collections in Northwestern BC
• Prince George Naturalists - Hudson's Bay Wetland Project - Phase 2
• South Okanagan Naturalists Club - Replacement of Bird Blind at Vaseux
Lake
• WildResearch - Community Building for the BC Nightjar Survey
• Williams Lake Field Naturalists - Golden Eagle Inventory & Monitoring, Fraser and Chilcotin Rivers
What an interesting array of worthwhile projects! The Foundation is pleased to support these undertakings and looks forward
Name: WM_6482_BrianCooteAd_V1_1214
Publication:
to publicizing
progressFile
reports.
The Foundation held its AGM and
Directors meeting at Salt Spring Island as part of BC Nature’s
Trim: 7.25” x 4.7”
Material Deadline:
Canadian Marketing
Floor
100
Yonge
Street,
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Bleed:
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Mech
Res:
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Insertion
Dates: of its Directors are posted on the Foundation’s website
AGMToronto,
and ON
Conference.
The
Foundation’s
Financial
Statements
and
names
M5C 2W1
Colours: CMYK
page: http://www.bcnature.ca/bc-naturalists-foundation/

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nature Summer 2015
BC
WM_6482_BrianCooteAd_V1_1214.indd
1
15-01-13 11:04 AM
Girl Guides working to stop the spread of invasive species in BC
a new Alien Invader Challenge
program that introduces girls and
young women from age 5 to 18 to
the harm that invasive species can
cause and what they can do to limit
their spread.
“We partnered with BC Girl
Guides to create a comprehensive
program to raise awareness and
promote positive behaviour change
related to invasive species,” says
Susan Staniforth, Education Manager of the Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC). “Guides are
enthusiastic, engaged young people
who spend time outside, and the
Invasive Species Challenge – Alien
Invaders Challenge will support them to be “eyes on the ground” for invasive species across BC.”
The Invasive Species Challenge – Alien Invaders introduces Girl Guides to native
and invasive species, educates them about invasive species in their communities,
and promote actions they can take. The girls find ways to have a positive impact
on their communities by participating in activities that both educate the public
and manage invasive species to help create a safe environment for native plant and
animal species to thrive.
Tree Planting Demonstration
The Alien Invaders program includes all the necessary materials needed to carry
he Invasive Species Council of BC has out a variety of age-appropriate activities, including all instructions, worksheets,
teamed up with BC Girl Guides to create background research, identification cards, regional invasive species listings, activities, games and challenge requirements. Activities include scavenger hunts, making
local field guides, invasive species tag, invader puppet-making,
PROTECTING NATURE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA THROUGH SCIENCE AND OUTREACH creating an invasive plant "Wanted" poster, field trips to identify
and map invasive species, and a community weed pull.
“ISCBC has offered such great support, including written activities, photographs, and access to their experts and
resources, which has been wonderful to help us develop the
Invasive Species Challenge,” says Julie Thomson, BC Program
Adviser of Girl Guides of Canada. “We finally have an Invasive
Species Challenge that all levels of Guiding can earn!”
About the Invasive Species Council of BC
The Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC) is working to
minimize the ecological, social, and economic impacts caused by
the introduction, establishment, and spread of invasive species.
Their goals are to: educate the public and professionals about
invasive species and their risks to ecosystems and economies
WildResearch seeks volunteers to Common Poorwill through activities such as workshops, seminars and newsletters;
survey for nightjars across BC. coordinate research relating to invasive species and make this
Due to their nocturnal habits, available to the public; and undertake and support actions that
improve the health of BC’s natural ecosystems. 
little is known about Common From Girl Guides of Canada, BC Council.
T
Volunteers Wanted Alan Burger Signing up for a BC Nightjar Survey route will require two to three hours of surveying and one hour of data entry. Each route needs to be surveyed once between mid-­‐June and mid-­‐July. Visit our website to sign up for a route near you! nightjars@wildresearch.ca BCnature Summer 2015
Nighthawk and Common Poorwill populations and there is concern that they may be declining. Help us learn more! Common Nighthawk Warren Lee www.wildresearch.ca Dates to Remember - 2015
Mt. Robson Bird Blitz - June 5 - 7, 2015
Manning Bird Blitz - June 19 - 21 2015
Chilcotin Camp - August 20 - 23, 2015
Tatlayoko Camp - Sept. 6 - 11, 2015
Harrison Hot Springs Eagle Camp - Nov. 26 - 29/15
Resolutions Submission - Feb. 28, 2016
Club Support Grants - Feb. 28, 2016
AGM 2016 - Comox Valley - May 12 - 15, 2016
Mittlenatch Camp - May 2016
Fraser Canyon Rafting Camp - June 2016
FGM 2016 - Prince George - September 2016
13
B.C. wolf kill a misguided effort to save mountain caribou
By Anne Murray
y first sighting of a Canadian wolf in
the wild was unforgettable. Our family
was enjoying a winter barbecue in Jasper National Park. As our dinner sizzled on the fire,
the wolf loped into view, travelling steadily
towards us, but keeping to the forest edge.
As it came closer, it paused, sniffing the barbecue aromas, and gave us a long stare. My
two small children quietly froze—instinctively
sensing that time had stood still. A Canadian
Timber Wolf: we were awed and thrilled. All
too soon, the wolf moved on along the forest
edge and into the trees.
The thought of killing such a beautiful
wild animal, by shooting at it from a helicopter, fills me with revulsion. Many of us feel
the same way, judging by the tourism businesses, conservation groups, and individuals
that have signed onto Pacific Wild’s open
letter to Premier Christy Clark opposing the
wolf cull now taking place in B.C. The cull
is a provincial government plan to protect
endangered Mountain Caribou by systematically exterminating more than 180 wolves.
The wolves have been targeted as the culprits
in the caribou’s demise, despite long-standing evidence that changes to the landscape
and climate warming are the underlying
problems. Is killing wolves the right way to
save mountain caribou?
Caribou are beautiful animals too, and,
like the wolf, are emblematic of the north,
occurring in mountains and forests across
Canada as the woodland caribou subspecies. In B.C. and Alberta, Woodland Caribou are subdivided into three “ecotypes”:
northern, boreal, and mountain caribou.
This classification is not genetic, but is based
on a herd’s behavior and habitat. In northern British Columbia, south to the Itcha
Ilgatchuz range, northern caribou are still
quite numerous. However, populations of
Mountain Caribou, particularly those in the
South Peace River area and the Selkirks, are
declining rapidly and sub-populations are
small and fragmented. In the Selkirk region,
one herd has declined from 46 animals to 18
in the last five years.
Mountain Caribou are distinguished from
other ecotypes by their adaptation to life in
the old-growth forests of the interior mountain ranges where snow pack is high in winter and slow-growing arboreal lichen grows
thickly on the trees. Living in such remote
areas has always been challenging and tenuous for the caribou. They were safe-guarded
from many predators by the remoteness of
their habitat and the challenging winter conditions.
In the last hundred years or so, Mountain Caribou habitats have been opened up
to forestry operations, oil and gas developments, snowmobiling, skiing, and other
activities. A checkerboard of roads and cutblocks emerged in place of old-growth forests.
M
14
BCnature Summer 2015
Climate warming shrank snow
packs and glaciers. When forests
were logged, second-growth vegetation flourished. These shrubs
provided browse for moose and
deer, which were soon followed
by wolves, bears, and cougars.
Female mountain caribou use
high elevation habitats when
giving birth and these mountain tops were now accessible to
predators. Through many years
of change, mountain caribou
gradually lost ground. Biologists,
naturalists, and outdoor recreationalists observed the declines,
yet were unable to influence the
societal forces that were driving
By Wikipedia Commons
habitat loss.
Canadian Timber Wolf
Initiatives to prevent the decline
of caribou included surveys and
studies, wolf sterilizations, and caribou of Zoology. From 2006 onwards, nearly
transplanting programs, taking animals 1,000 wolves were killed by shooting from
from larger herds and placing them in helicopters and by strychnine poisonsmall ones. A group of conservation ing. Hundreds of other animals, such as
organizations formed a mountain cari- moose and deer, were killed to act as bait
bou conservation program to address to attract the wolves. The deaths were slow
the problem and to lobby for habi- and painful. In a highly unpleasant aspect
tat protection in the Kootenays. (The of the killing, both in Alberta and now
55,000-hectare Darkwoods purchase in in BC, so-called “Judas” wolves are used.
the South Selkirks by the Nature Con- These are pack leaders that are radio-colservancy of Canada was one outcome.) lared, tracked, and then left alive after the
Despite these efforts, habitat disruption rest of the pack is killed, so that they will
continued and the mountain caribou lead the hunters to a new pack.
When I read this, I barely found it credkept dying. Attention turned to grey
wolves, which were following the moose ible. What a horrible way to treat any aniinto previously inaccessible areas, and mal, let alone an intelligent, fascinating,
increasingly going after female caribou social animal like the wolf. What does this
do to Canada’s fast-fading tourism image
and attacking calves.
The decision was made for a wolf cull, as a country of nature, wildlife, and the
with the goal of killing every wolf in the great outdoors? It is truly shocking to conaffected caribou herd areas. One-hun- template this wholesale slaughter of hundred-and-twenty to 160 wolves are due dreds of wild animals, particularly ones as
to be killed in the South Peace district charismatic and iconic as the wolf, when
and 24 in the South Selkirk. The wolf there is absolutely no guarantee that their
kill is due to be repeated each winter for demise would be at all beneficial to the
five years, for a total budget of $2.1 mil- mountain caribou’s survival.
Even if this course of action were suclion. According to assistant deputy mincessful
in saving some caribou lives, their
ister Tom Ethier speaking on the CBC
News, an analysis will be done at the end populations will take many decades to
of five years to see “whether this effort recover to sustainable numbers, particuwas worth it”. This statement is extraor- larly in areas where habitat is still being
dinary. Among others, Ian McAllister disturbed and degraded. Consequently,
of Pacific Wild writes that no existing the culling program would likely continue
research shows that killing wolves saves for many more years.
With such small herds of these specific
caribou. He points out that caribou probranches
of the caribou family, it may
tection has been a problem for 40 years,
so this is not a sudden emergency but a now only be possible to protect them in
long failure to do the research, stop the enclosed sanctuaries until their numbers
habitat destruction, and obtain proper can increase and suitable habitats be
restored. This is likely to take many years,
public input.
Culling wolves for caribou protection but has been somewhat successful with
was previously attempted in Alberta other species, elsewhere in the world. One
and failed to achieve any improvement thing is certain: the iconic Canadian wolf
in female or calf survival, according to should not be slaughtered for the sake of
a 2014 report in the Canadian Journal our human errors and inaction. 
BC Nature Science Fair Awards, 2015
By Marg Cuthbert
tudents participating in Science Fairs not only study a subject in science but also gain research, time management, communication
and presentation skills. They also meet their peers with common interests. Some have the opportunity to meet science professors
and visit a university and its’ laboratories where they are encouraged to aspire to attend and keep asking questions.
In Canada, there are a half million students participating in Science Fairs, with 5% of those nominated by their school to go to one
of 100 Regional Fairs. 500 students across Canada are then nominated for the National Youth Science Canada Fair which will be held
in Fredericton, New Brunswick this year. If you can find time to support the local Science Fair in your community I highly recommend assisting as a judge. It is great fun to meet the students and discuss their projects with them. Better yet, contact your local school
science teachers and offer to be a "Naturalist Mentor" to share local, nature knowledge and assist youth over a short period to develop
a meaningful outdoor project. You can encourage their monitoring of plants, fungi, turtles, frogs, bees, birds, bats and species at risk
or encourage their participation in an aspect of streamkeeping, shorekeeping or wetland keeping or encourage an invasive removal
and/or planting project. The time commitment to assist in mentoring of students for their Science Fair project is from December to
April, (judging and awards in April) about three and a half months. You could make a great difference in a student’s future!
BC Nature has awarded $75.00 to each of these Regional Science Fair winners:
S
District
Student Name - Project Name
Cariboo Mainline
Kieren O'Neil - Deciphering Recycling
George Gavriel & Tasha Jollymour - Dissolve Disperse, Resolve
Central Interior
Elizabeth Schulz - Investigating Correlations & variations of lymnae stagnalis
Georgia legault - Grabby Hair
Central Okanagan
Matthew Levi & Trevor Malyk - Eco-Friendly Oil Absorbents
Jeanine Looman - Drive by Fast Food
East Kootenay
Chelsea Snadberg - Angler Fish - A Bioluminescent Creature of the Deep
Gillian Craig - The Heat is on
Fraser Valley
Alyenne Kerpan - The Mountain Beaver
Greater Vancouver
Ricky Zhang & Joshua Lorincz - How Movement Influences the Effectiveness of Camouflage
Jan Lim & Kristen Anderson - Bioremediation of Cigarette Toxins Utilizing the Pleurotus
Northern BC
Kevala Van Volkenburg - Bats
Jesse Palmondon - Breathable Rock: A Novel Approach to Isolating Oxygen in CaSO4H2O for Potential
Martian Exploration
Northern Vancouver Island
Tabini Lightheart - Tidal Power Pump
Chloe Williston - Does Weather Make a Difference in Black-Capped Chickadee Calls and Feeding
Pacific Northwest
Kiri Daust - How Fast Does Ice Melt: The Extent and Implication of Glacial Retreat in the Skeena Watershed
South Fraser
Madilynn Ukrantiz & Jaden Young - Acid Rain in Canada
Zainab Vajahath & Kathleen Briones - A Hairy Situation
Vancouver Island
Lauren Ebata - Catching Fire (Ants)
Veronica Evens & Taylor Novak - Quels polluants communs ont plus d'effet sur les plants aquatiques
West Kootenay
Ivie Lock-Luttmer - Dead Zones
Yukon Stikine
Noah Wright - Is your apple still a fruit?
Kaleb Pritchett - What cleaner works best for removing oil from feathers?
Photos to the left show the presentations of BC
Nature Awards to the winners in the Junior category, to
Joshua Lorincz and Ricky Zhang from West Point Grey
Academy, (Far Left) - project "How Movement Influences
the Effectiveness of Camouflage," and to the winners
in the Senior category, Kristen Anderson and Jan Lim
(right) from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary - project
"Bioremediation of Cigarette Toxins Utilizing the
Pleurotus Ostreatus."
This year, there was a lower senior student participation
in Science Fairs due to the teacher job action. As a result
these Fairs were unable to find senior projects that fit the
criteria for the BC Nature Award.
Think of the students who couldn’t participate but would
have if a BC Nature "Naturalist Mentor" volunteered! You
can make all the difference. 
BCnature Summer 2015
15
BC Nature & Comox Valley Naturalists (CVN)
Host the 2016 AGM & Celebrate
CVN 50th Anniversay
May 12 -15, 2016
Forests are important in
mitigating climate change.
They are cool places.
By Terry Thomin
Tide Pools at Point Holmes
T
he Comox Valley on the east coast of Vancouver Island features a great
diversity of habitat, from the intertidal areas of the Salish Sea to the
east, subalpine and alpine terrain of the mountains to the west, wet western hemlock forest to the north and drier Douglas Fir forest to the south.
The Beaufort Mountains and the Vancouver Island Range form the western
backdrop of the Valley with the Comox Glacier forming the dramatic centre
piece. The Comox Valley is also the northern reach of the once abundant
Garry Oak meadows.
This area also is rich in cultural diversity with remnants of archeological
significant fishing weirs covering the Comox Bay. In 2004 the Comox Bay
was declared an archaeological site.
At the heart of the Valley is the Courtenay River Estuary. More than 23
creeks and rivers enter the Estuary and Baynes Sound . The mixing of waters
here results in a highly productive estuarine ecosystem.
Plans are being made to make this one of the best AGM's ever. Stay tuned
to the Fall Magazine for Registration information, presentation and outings
schedules. The 2016 AGM is be held at the Courtenay Westerly. Mark your
calendars for this event.
Office Note: For those that have never attended an AGM or FGM because you have
perceived these conferences to be all meetings, think again! These conferences are educationrich events - with outings to many areas you would not venture on your own, let alone with
experts to explain all that you are seeing. A wide-range of topics are covered in these outings
and presentations from birds, botany, geography and local conservation areas, to species at
risk and local projects. Everything to appeal to all naturalists.
There are excellent presentations from both local and regional experts in all things nature.
Yes, meetings are certainly held, but mainly for BCN Executive, BCN Club Directors and
the BCN Foundation, and they are planned now for times that do not interfere with the
outings so that all of the directors and executive can also participate in all of the outings
with the rest of the members.
There is generally a two-hour Annual General Meeting (AGM) which is the business part
of the whole weekend. But a few hours out of four days is a short time to be cooped indoors
to ensure the ongoing success of BC Nature.
16 BCnature Summer 2015
The natural world
needs you.
Turn your ideals into action through
innovative programs that balance
theory and practice across all aspects
of ecological restoration.
Native Species and Natural
Processes
professional specialization certificate
Register now for the next course:
Design Principles for Natural
Processes
Starts Sept. 2015 (by distance)
Restoration of Natural
Systems diploma/certificate
Applications to both programs are
accepted year round.
Offered as a partnership between the
School of Environmental Studies and the
Division of Continuing Studies.
E-mail: artssci1@uvic.ca
Phone: 250-721-8458
www.uvcs.uvic.ca/sustainability/
Learning that shapes who you are.
Raptors now flying “friendlier skies”
By Gary F. Searing
ven if you are a white-knuckle flyer, the last thing you think
about when you are sitting on a plane taking off or landing
are birds. Yet bird strikes with aircraft are not as rare as you might
imagine, especially with fast-flying aircraft such as today’s commercial jets. The rate of strikes at major airports ranges from a couple
of strikes per month to a couple per week or more. Fortunately,
most of these strikes are inconsequential to the aircraft, but unfortunately not to the birds.
From the bird’s point of view, airports are large grasslands, often
surrounded by concrete jungle and thus provide an oasis of habitat. These airport grasslands supply food in the form of grass (for
grazing birds and small mammals), insects, small mammals (for raptors, herons and coyotes), and a variety of other foods especially
when water is also present (e.g., frogs, snakes, earthworms). Even
the birds that are attracted to the habitat attract other birds that
come to prey on those birds. Because aircraft are not perceived by
birds to be a threat, they are largely ignored, much to the peril of
The author catching a Red-tailed Hawk with a Balchatri Trap
birds using the airport.
Bird strikes to aircraft are typically not left to chance. Almost
every airport in Canada is required to prepare a management plan that details how wildlife on the airfield will be managed to
prevent strikes to aircraft. Airports then develop a program that meets their needs and can range from operations personnel
responding to wildlife hazards when notified by the control tower to a full-time program with dedicated personnel using a
variety of tools to move birds off the airfield.
Control of birds is not easy at anytime. It takes knowledge of the bird’s behaviour, training in when and how to use of the
tools available, persistence and experience. And each species of bird's responds differently to control. Some, like waterfowl,
are relatively easy to control largely because they are hunted and have adapted to use “safe” areas thus are easily moved using
pyrotechnics and other measures. Others, like crows, are very intelligent and quickly figure out what wildlife control personnel
are doing and learn very quickly how to avoid them while still using the airfield. Fortunately, they are also very adept at avoiding
aircraft. A few groups of birds are virtually impossible to remove from airports with any conventional approach. These include
raptors (eagles, hawks, falcons, owls) and herons. With the exception of eagles, most raptors using the airport have small territories or home ranges that are used for feeding. These birds not only are hard to move, they do not move very far and quickly
come back to their territory. Thus moving them often makes them more dangerous to aircraft because it puts them in the air
and then requires them to fly again to return to their original location – and accomplishes nothing.
In the past (and still practiced at many US airports) raptors on airports were shot. However, beginning in the late 1900s, airports began experimenting with capturing raptors and relocating them a long distance from the airport. Some airports thought
that they could rid themselves of raptors using this approach. Not only was this a pipedream, it is not even desirable. Most
birds that return to the airport are adults that hold territories there or winter there every year. These birds, at least those that
survive, have territories that are in relatively safe areas of the airport (that is, they do not often cross the runway). Territorial
birds, such as Red-tailed Hawks, keep other Red-tailed Hawks and even some raptors of other species out of their territories
thus limiting the number of raptors present at the airport. When those birds are permanently removed, many more juveniles
than normal are able to occupy the airport resulting in the airport shooting more hawks or there are more strikes with hawks.
Portland International Airport (PDX), followed shortly by Seattle International Airport (SEA), began a program more than
10 years ago of capturing Red-tailed Hawks and placing numbered wing tags on them before translocating them from 30 to
more than 200 km away from the airport. The tags allowed the
airport, and any interested observer, to identify the individual
bird and thus build a history of that bird from the time of its
capture. With this information we can determine the percentage of tagged birds (of each age group) that return to the airport, the strike rate of tagged birds, and even the movements
of tagged individuals that are resighted. This information has
been invaluable in the ecological management of raptors at
these airports.
Returning adults that show signs of being territorial were considered to be resident birds and were monitored, but not killed.
Other tagged hawks returning to the airports may be captured
and relocated a second and even a third time, but never intentionally killed when at the airport (note that some have been
killed by other airports). Not only have these tagging programs
removed a large number of non-breeding raptors from these
airports dramatically reducing the strike rate thus making the
airports safer for the flying public,
Adult Red-tailed Hawk checking out its pre-packaged dinner
Con't P. 18
E
BCnature Summer 2015
17
Raptors now flying “friendlier skies” Con't
but the tagging programs have also resulted in additional
knowledge which both helps biologists better manage
raptors at airports and yet poses a host of new questions that
still remain to be answered. And it is accomplished without
killing a single raptor!
Five years ago, the Vancouver International Airport
(YVR) began a similar raptor trapping, banding, tagging
and translocating program. The success of each of these
programs varies because of the location of the airport,
choice/availability of relocation sites and the natural movement patterns of relocated raptors. Portland is able to move
birds to many different areas in three cardinal directions
(they cannot move birds north into Washington), Seattle
moves birds only north to Bow, Washington (and has the
lowest return rate of the three airports) and YVR moves
most birds to the Chilliwack area. Interestingly, birds from
YVR and PDX have never showed up at either of the other
two airports, but four SEA birds have made their way to
YVR. This is one of those unanswered questions that we
continue to try to understand.
Public sightings of tagged birds are the key to successful
gathering of information on tagged birds. Each airport uses
a different colour wing tag (PDX uses orange, SEA uses
blue and yellow, and YVR uses white). By reporting the tag
number (or alphanumeric code), exact location and date
the movements of birds can be tracked over long distances,
even as far south as California. Repeated sightings of the
resident birds at the airport form the basis for management
of those birds. If we know where the bird lives, rather than
simply moving it away from a runway (which may be moving it further from its territory), technicians doing wildlife
control can know exactly where to move the bird to get it
back to the centre of its territory even if it means moving it
across the runway (when no planes are around of course).
This allows us to manager individually each tagged bird at
the airport and maximize its chances for survival (while
minimizing strikes).
Meanwhile, every time you see a tagged raptor and report
it, you will receive a complete history of the bird since it was
banded. It makes sighting these birds far more interesting
than you might imagine. The management of tagged raptors
at the airport has been so successful that YVR is about to
begin tagging Great Blue Herons to try to manage them at
the airport in a similar manner to reduce strikes (and heron
mortality).
To be a part of this management and conservation effort,
when you see a tagged hawk, try to read the tag code. If it
is a white tag, the code will either be a letter followed by
a number or a number followed by a letter. If the tag is a
different colour, the code is simply a number. Please note
the wing that was tagged and the exact location and send
that information along with the date that the bird was seen
to Gary Searing at gfs@airportwildlife.ca.
Gary F. Searing, M.Sc., is a wildlife biologist with over 40 years
of experience working with wildlife all over the world. He has
been involved in building and developing the wildlife management
program at the Vancouver International Airport since 1989 and
began the raptor tagging and translocation program in 2010.
He now specializes in developing ecological-based airport wildlife
management programs, training airport staff and providing advice
to airports. He is also the Executive Director of the Birdstrike
Association of Canada.
18
BCnature Summer 2015
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tours in the Chilcotin Mountain
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*10% Discount for BC Nature Member*
www.chilcotinholidays.com
South Park Entrance
Gun Creek Road, Gold Bridge, BC, Canada VOK 1PO
Phone: (250) 238-2274
BCnature Summer 2015
19
Clubmosses - Ancient Survivors
By Terry Taylor
ost plants look markedly different from their ancient ancesM
tors that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, but there
is one group of higher plants that are exceptions to that rule.
You can see them for yourself in your local woodland. They are
the Clubmosses. These are not mosses, but the most primitive
of the higher plants. They look superficially like large mosses,
due to their narrow leaves, and creeping growth form, but are
tough and woody unlike true mosses. Although liverworts and
mosses were the first land plants, the Clubmosses were the first
higher land plants.
The oldest fossils of the first higher plants appear in the fossil record 400 million years ago, and they look very similar to
By Rosemary Taylor
our present day Clubmosses. At that remote era two groups
of plants appeared, and competed for dominance of terrestrial
"Running Clubmosses"
environments. One group became the Clubmosses and their
relatives, and the other group gave rise to all the other plants. The Clubmosses look
essentially the same
as their ancestors, but the group we usually consider as plants are very different from the plants from which they sprung. None of
those plant groups are surviving. They became extinct eons ago. Why, then, are the Clubmosses still with us. Nobody can answer
that question.
By the Carboniferous Period, over 250 million years ago, the two lineages appear to have been about equal in their conquest of the
land. This is the warm, moist period when the major coal deposits were laid down, hence the name carboniferous. By that time true
forests had evolved, but they were very different from our forests. The trees of those forests were giant Clubmosses - Lepidondendron
and Sigillaria, and horsetail trees - Calamites.
There is evidence that these trees thrived in their tropical rainforest conditions to such an extent that they extracted too much carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere. Their remains accumulated in the swamps for millennia after millennia, becoming locked away as coal.
The coming cold period, the Permian, was a disaster for these rain forests, and coniferous trees took over.
A few survivors of this ancient lineage are still with us today, although they are small plants, and few in number. Most are tropical,
but you can see some of them yourself, in the local woods. They are called Clubmosses, because many of them have narrow leaves,
and look superficially like mosses. They, however, have woody tissue, unlike mosses, and are wiry and tough. The clubs are the spore
producing cones on the tips of the branches.
The most common species is the running clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum). This species grows as a creeper across the ground, and is
covered with pale green, very narrow leaves. Arising from the creeper are vertical branches that bear pairs of spore cones. The spores
were at one time used as flash powder, due to their flammability, and were called lycopodium powder.
Relatives of the Clubmosses are the Spikemosses, Selaginella. The best known example is the Resurrection Plant, a tropical species,
sometimes grown as a house plant. We have a tiny member of this genus, Wallace’s Spikemoss (Selaginella wallacei), that grows in mossy
patches on dry rocky outcrops. Its four rows of leaves are closely appressed, producing a square stem.
If you are not sure what these unique plants look like, there are good images on Google. Although not showy like flowering plants,
the Clubmosses give us a rare glimpse into a world that ceased to exist more than 200 million years ago. Since that time our solar
system has made a complete circuit of the rotating Milky Way galaxy. 
Federated Clubs of BC Nature
Lower Mainland Clubs
Abbotsford-Mission Club - Abbotsford
Alouette Field Naturalists - Maple Ridge
Bowen Nature Club - Bowen Island
Burke Mountain Naturalists - Coquitlam
Chilliwack Field Naturalists - Chilliwack
Delta Naturalists Society - Delta
Friends of Semiahmoo Bay - White Rock
Langley Field Naturalists - Langley
Little Campbell Watershed Soc. - Surrey
Nature Vancouver - Vancouver
Pender Harbour & District Wildlife Soc.
Royal City Naturalists - New Westminster
Squamish Env. Cons. Soc. - Squamish
Stoney Creek Env. Comm. - Burnaby
Sunshine Coast Nat. Hist. Soc. - Sechelt
Surrey Environmental Partners - Surrey
Whistler Natural History Society - Whistler
White Rock Surrey Naturalists - Surrey
WildResearch - Burnaby
Yorkson Watershed Enhance. Soc. - Lgly.
20 BCnature Summer 2015
Kootenay Clubs
Fernie Nature Club - Fernie
Rocky Mountain Naturalists - Cranbrook
West Kootenay Naturalists - Castlegar
Thompson Okanagan Region
Central Okanagan Naturalists Club Kelowna
Kamloops Naturalists - Kamloops
Lillooet Naturalists Society - Lillooet
Nicola Naturalists - Merritt
North Okanagan Naturalists Club Vernon
North Shuswap Naturalists - Scotch Creek
Oliver Osoyoos Naturalists - Oliver
Shuswap Naturalists - Salmon Arm
South Okanagan Naturalists - Penticton
Vermillion Forks Field Naturalist Princeton
Northern BC
Bulkley Valley Naturalists - Smithers
Kitimat Valley Naturalists - Kitimat
MacKenzie Nature Observatory - MacKenzie
Northern Amphibian Nats. Soc. - Terrace
Prince George Naturalists - Prince George
Quesnel Trail & Nature Club - Quesnel
Timberline Trail & Nature Club - Dawson
Creek
Williams Lake Field Nats. - Williams Lake
Vancouver Island
Arrowsmith Naturalists - Parksville
Comox Valley Naturalists - Comox
Cowichan Valley Nat. Soc. - Duncan
Nanoose Naturalists - Nanoose Bay
Pender Island Nats - Pender Island
Rithet's Bog Cons. Soc. - Victoria
Rocky Point Bird Observatory - Victoria
Salt Spring Trail & Nature Club - Salt Spring
Island
Victoria Nat. History Soc. - Victoria
A First Count using the IBA eBird Protocol.
By James Bradley
n March 14, under cloudy and threatening skies, eight keen
birders and conservationists gathered at a coffee shop in
Parksville to get the first IBA (Important Bird Areas) eBird count
underway. Site Caretaker for the Little Qualicum Estuary to Nanoose Bay IBA, Christopher Stephens, arranged the count and
had rustled together an additional five hardy volunteers. Including
IBA Coordinator James Bradley, and a representative from IBA
partner Bird Studies Canada, David Bradley, the eight present was
a fitting number as Christopher proposed dividing the IBA into
four zones, to be covered by two birders each. Each zone was delineated on the basis of local knowledge of where birds concentrated
within the IBA, and several estuaries and other natural topographic breaks along the coast fit Christopher’s suggested zones well.
By James Bradley
After a strong coffee and with a growing desire to know just how
many birds were in the IBA, the count began at 9:00 am. Taking
care to avoid double counting birds that were on the zone boundaries, or moving between zones, volunteers counted for three and a Volunteer counters double-checking the numbers at tally-up, following
half hours before convening again at the coffee shop for a tally up. the first BC IBA eBird Protocol count
The count was a success, with the rain holding off and significant
numbers of birds detected. The Global 1% threshold counts were tallied for both Thayer’s Gull (3,811 individuals counted) and Surf
Scoter (10,221), and the numbers of gulls and waterfowl were impressive. A continental 1% threshold was also tallied for Mew Gull
(6,828), and in total more than 41,000 waterbirds were present. Reliable numbers like this can be hard to come by, but the IBA eBird
protocol is a standardized and replicable method, and it was a satisfying feeling to all present to know what species was using the IBA.
The numbers of birds counted (which can be viewed in eBird) show the continuing importance of this stretch of coastline for a
variety of species. The seasonally rich marine system at this IBA, underpinned by the annual herring spawn, is what attracts the
vast numbers of birds and what the IBA Program seeks to protect. Thanks are due to the Site Caretaker Christopher Stephens, for
organizing the count, as well as to all the volunteers who helped to make it a success. We look forward to repeat efforts in the future
and encourage other IBA Caretakers to give it a go! 
O
Salmon River – A Vancouver Island Treasure
waiting to be conserved By Steve Housser
Photos Courtesy of Nature Trust
lthough The Nature Trust of BC
A
has a significant number of conservation properties on Vancouver
Island, it has been several years since
we have added to our Island portfolio.
This is about to change. The Nature
Trust is working to acquire an exceptional 165 acres of private land along
the lower Salmon River and estuary
south of Sayward, BC.
This significant coastal wetland habitat is a perfect fit with the Salmon
Bank of the Salmon River south of Sayward
River properties we already own. It
complements 257 acres secured by The Nature Trust and its conservation partners since 1978.
This new acquisition will allow a larger, contiguous area of protection at the Salmon River
estuary and along its banks.
This strategic opportunity will enhance critical habitat for numerous species of fish and
wildlife including Great Blue Heron, Marbled Murrelet, Northern Pygmy Owl, Roosevelt Elk
and all species of Pacific salmon: Coho, Chinook, Chum, Pink and Sockeye. The area is also
Salmon River Estuary home to sea-run Cutthroat Trout, Dolly Varden Char and it boasts the largest steelhead in
home to largest steelhead on
BC!
Vancouver Island
Now all we have to do is take advantage of this fabulous opportunity. That means a targeted
fundraising campaign for this Vancouver Island treasure. Our goal is to raise $162, 500 by June 26, 2015. We are asking for support
from all individuals and groups who love the great outdoors and want to save critical habitat for future generations.
Please consider contributing to The Nature Trust of BC. To make a donation or for more information, please visit our website:
www.naturetrust.bc.ca or call our office toll free at 1-866-288-7878
As a leading non-profit land conservation organization, The Nature Trust of British Columbia is dedicated to protecting BC’s natural diversity of
plants and animals through the acquisition and management of critical habitats. With the support of many donors and supporters, we have conserved
more than 173,000 acres across British Columbia since 1971. Vancouver Island is one of our top priorities with 36 properties. Places like Cathedral
Grove, Swan Lake Christmas Hill, Cowichan River, Nanaimo River and Englishman River have benefited from our land conservation work. 
BCnature Summer 2015
21
2015 Award Winners
015 turned out a bumper crop of worthwhile BC Nature Award recipients. Due to no FGM this year, all awards were presented at
2Awards
the AGM except for the three recipients that were not in attendance. Congratulations to all award recipients for a job well done.
for Krista Englund, Al Grass and Doreen Olson will be given out by their perspective clubs and articles featuring their
biographies for their good works for nature will be featured in the Fall magazine.
Bill Merilees – Ian McTaggart-Cowan
Outstanding Naturalist Award
will have been a member of Nature Vancouver for 60 years;
THehishehashasyear,alsobeenBillbeenaMerilees
volunteer for as long as he has been a member!
involved with many other nature, history and youth organizations.
Often, Bill is the catalyst for a new nature-related idea or project, but promptly
encourages others to become involved. Most notable of these is the Nature Tours,
which started with a bus tour to the Columbia Gorge. It was so successful that the
tour program expanded both inside and outside Canada. Bill would involve nature
clubs and experts, as well as mentoring some participants in the hope that they would
run their own tours. That happened often!
Bill’s Nature Tours included trips to prairie grasslands, the Grand Canyon, the Bella
Coola-Chilcotin region, Vancouver Island, Australia, and Haida Gwaii. These nature
trips also generated considerable amounts for Nature Vancouver’s Special Project
Funds, used to support activities not normally covered by the Society’s regular budget.
Bill also ran day trips, for example, to Vancouver Island during the herring spawning
season. That has become a “standard” annual event for Nature Vancouver.
Bill is also an author. His publications include Gardening for Wildlife, Attracting
Backyard Wildlife, and Things to Do with Kids Outdoors; Ideas for Grandparents.
One of his books, Newcastle Island: A Place of Discovery, was the impetus for Nature
Vancouver to hold camps there.
One project with an historical component in which Bill played a key role took place
in the 1970s, when he managed successfully to get the Crown to release a 14-acre site
for a model Doukhobor Communal Village, in Castlegar. Bill was also one of the proponents who worked to establish Jedediah
Island into a Provincial Park, and was one of the leaders who brought the Castlegar Outdoor Education Centre into being. Bill
shares his own discoveries and research in a generous, informed way with others, to enhance their understanding and knowledge.
This was also the way of Dr. Ian McTaggart-Cowan. 
Anthea Farr – BC Nature Regional Award
or more than 35 years, Anthea Farr has contributed extensively to BC Nature, not
F
only in club executive positions but also as a driving force for permanent legacies that
sustain nature, and to educate youth about it.
Three such legacies are to be highlighted here to show Anthea’s dedication and
enthusiasm. They are enclaves of natural habitat within expanding communities.
The Forsland-Watson Wildlife Area is now a 77-acre tract of diverse natural habitat and
trails amidst expanding communities. Anthea participated in the first talks with Albert
Forslund when he was considering the donation, in 1978, of 58 acres to the Province,
and encouraged the gift of an additional 19 acres. Now, 37 years later, Anthea is still part
of the property management.
Back in 1955, Brydon Lagoon was a sewage settling pond. Thanks to much convincing
by Anthea and other Langley Field Naturalist, Brydon Park Nature Lagoon came into
being. The effort to maintain it continues 37 years later, as the pond has followed the fate
of Beaver Lake in Stanley Park and is filling in.
Firehall Lake, cum Brookswood Pond is the third legacy in which Anthea was deeply
involved. She and her family did surveys of plants, birds, insects and mushrooms, submitting lists to the Langley Municipality. Those lists appeared in posters for an Open House
to discuss the future of this area. The public responded, the municipal leaders listened,
the small lake remained intact, and in fall, 2010, a new parkland was improved, escaping
the alternate fate of part of the lake disappearing to development.
Anthea did not help to create these legacies alone. She garnered the cooperation of
provincial ministries, municipal governments, Ducks Unlimited, the Nature Trust, The
Wild Bird Trust and others.
Anthea has also served as Ecological Reserve Warden for the Fraser River Islands. And
she has devoted time to children and youth, as a leader of the Nicomekl Young Naturalists Club.
She is a living example of the BC Nature mission: To Know Nature and Keep it Worth Knowing.” 
22
BCnature Summer 2015
Genevieve Singleton - BC Nature Regional Award
enevieve Singleton’s life as a naturalist took wing under the guidance of Freeman King,
G
soared with further education and led to her own career as a park naturalist and marriage to ecologist David Polster.
While she helps manage David’s bioengineering business, Genevieve has contributed 30
years of extraordinary, passionate volunteer service to the Cowichan Valley Naturalists. She
organizes monthly morning coffee-house programs, which attract large audiences to hear
local and regional speakers on a wide variety of nature-related topics.
Genevieve has and continues to be deeply involved with the Conservation Committee,
representing the club on local committees such as the Cowichan Watershed Board and the
Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable. She works to bring together Cowichan Tribes, regional
and provincial governments and Island Timberlands to protect Eagle Heights and other
sensitive habitat areas. She is the club liaison for the Bring Back the Bluebirds Project of the
Garry Oak Recovery Team.
Genevieve has organized the Happy Wonderers club outings and leads nature walks for
schools and community groups. She has been a driving force in the preservation, restoration and educational programs of Eves Provincial Park. She also has been a long-time
warden of Honeymoon Bay Ecological Reserve, and, more recently, the warden of Mount
Tzouhalem Ecological Reserve.
For many years, Genevieve was the Cowichan Valley Nats representative on the BC Nature
Board and is the former BC Nature Vancouver Island Regional Coordinator.
For several decades, Genevieve has furthered the aims of BC Nature across the Vancouver
Island region with dedication, devotion and energy. 
Jean Gelwicks - Club Service Award
bout 8 years ago, two members of the Salt Spring Trail and Nature Club, Jean Gelwicks
A
and Zeke Blazecka (the Club’s President at the time), came up with a plan to work
together with another organization, Island Pathways, to form “Partners Creating Pathways”.
The plan was to demonstrate that safe, low-cost multiuse pathways could be constructed
where sidewalks did not exist, first around Ganges village, but with an eye on a future network of pathways all over Salt Spring Island.
Through indefatigable work, Jean leveraged small amounts of community funding to get
large grants, and together with Zeke, put an army of volunteer engineers and civilian diggers
to work to create several pathways mainly on the north side of Ganges.
Jean eventually became (and still is) the driving force working with government agencies
on all levels, granting agencies, various groups, committees, and landowners, while Zeke
acts as the engineer; turning plans and projects into reality with the help of countless
volunteers.
We would like to honour Jean, Zeke and all others involved with this initiative as exceptional
community members and friends of nature. Jean is a tremendous innovator, educator and
coordinator yet she also takes on many aspects of the work herself, from grant writing
to promoting to teaching to physical labour. She is also an incredibly unselfish person
who wishes to share this award with the people who helped make these accomplishments
possible. The team of volunteers who have worked with Jean and Zeke over the past years
to create the Ganges walking paths includes: Philip Grange, Gary Lehman, Richard Shead,
Donald McLellan, Kees Ruurs, Nigel Denyer, Glen Trarup, and Andrew Haigh. Partners
include: BC Ministry of Transportation, Capital Regional District, CRD Parks and
Recreation Commission (PARC), CRD Transportation Commission (SSIEC), Salt Spring
Island Trail and Nature Club and Island Pathways.
Eric Marshall – BC Nature Club Service Award
ike George Vancouver, Eric Marshall was born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. He
L
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Zoology from the University of London.
While still in the U.K., Eric was head librarian for the Freshwater Biological Association in
Windermere and for the science library at Royal Holloway College, University of London.
Eric came to Winnipeg in 1967 to set up the library at the Fisheries Research Board of
Canada, renamed the Eric Marshall Aquatic Research Library when he retired in 1992.
Eric moved to Cowichan Bay in 1996. And, like George Vancouver, he explored the diversity of life on our coast while volunteering at the Marine Ecology Station.
But unlike George Vancouver, Eric stayed at Cowichan Bay and has been president of
the Cowichan Valley Naturalists since 2004. He masterminds evening meetings and coffeehouse mornings, being the speaker for a number of those events. He and his wife, Dorothy,
are regulars at the weekly winter Swan and Goose Counts. When needed, Eric is there for
club-involved eelgrass planting, beach seining for juvenile Chinook, riparian planting, and
forage fish surveys.
BCnature Summer 2015
23
He also is present when there are municipal meetings on matters of environmental concerns, as a soft-spoken but steady advocate
for nature. Eric represents the club on the Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable, the Somenos Marsh Management Committee and
the Technical Advisory Committee of the Cowichan Watershed Board. Eric is also a member of the management committee for
the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre.
Eric and Dorothy were recognized by the Cowichan Chamber of Commerce as 2012 Volunteers of the Year for their dedicated,
diverse work in the community.
Elisa Kreller - BC Nature Volunteer Appreciation Award
Kreller served for four years as Treasurer for BC Nature, plus six years as TreaEAslisa
surer for the BC Naturalists Foundation.
BC Nature treasurer from 2004 to 2008, Elisa organized the Financial Statements
in such a manner that the annual review engagements by the outside accounting firm
always went smoothly. She explained well, at executive meetings, the basis for the line
items and accounts enabling efficient oversight of finances. At Fall General Meetings
and Annual General Meetings, Elisa presented the statements in a way that could be
readily understood by members.
Elisa became a Director of the BC Naturalists Foundation in 2008; a year later she
became its Treasurer. Once again Elisa organized and presented the Foundation’s
Financial Statements for six years in a format well received by the outside accounting
firm performing the annual review engagement.
Elisa contributed to the Foundation in two additional ways. The Foundation had policies put together over the past two decades by a variety of directors, the result being the
policies were unnecessarily lengthy and at times difficult to understand. Elisa drafted a
succinct version, including new policies where necessary and led the Foundation Board
in a review of them during the next year. Secondly, Elisa reviewed all donations to the
Foundation since its inception in 1991, to determine the actual “capital” of donations
to the Foundation, compared with earnings of those investments. This is important to
know as the Foundation retains all its donations in perpetuity.
Now after 11 years of service, Elisa is retiring from the Foundation. It is said that
managing finances is a thankless task, and especially for our organization as most naturalists would rather focus on natural history education, conservation, or enjoying being
outdoors in nature. However, it is essential that our finances are well managed and
understood. Elisa has performed this role responsibly and effectively. We sincerely thank her. 
Paul Levesque – BC Nature Club Service Award
aul Levesque has been instrumental in developing, growing
P
and fostering WildResearch since its inception in 2010. But his
volunteer contributions go back 15 years to 2000. Paul is a profes-
sional biologist who has contributed his knowledge and skills, on a
volunteer basis, to numerous organizations and programs, perhaps
most significantly to WildResearch.
The mission of WildResearch is to identify and develop solutions to conservation issues, using a multi-disciplinary approach.
The organization’s prime goals are the research and monitoring
of wildlife, including species at risk, through environmental education and community engagement. WildResearch currently has
more than 260 members, and is a BC Nature member club.
Paul’s recent involvement with nature started with a position
of director-at-large for the Rocky Point Bird Observatory on Vancouver Island. His involvement on the RPBO continued to 2007;
including terms as vice-president and president. Paul started the
now well-established owl monitoring program, and the annual
Bird Banding Workshop, the first such program open to the general public in British Columbia.
He was one of the founding directors of The WildResearch Society, holding the vice-president and president positions during a fouryear period. Paul left the WildResearch executive last year to pursue other natural history work, but remains involved as a volunteer.
Paul’s leadership has driven the development, by WildResearch, of three major citizen-science programs: monitoring of migratory
and resident songbirds at the Iona Island Bird Observatory; the BC Nightjar Survey, and butterfly monitoring. Paul has also helped
WildResearch develop workshops and events such as wildlife identification field trips, pelagic seabird-viewing excursions, résuméwriting workshops and a weekly newsletter.
Paul has contributed to other initiatives across BC. He recently located some of the only black swift nests ever to be found in the
province, contributing an article to a local peer-reviewed journal to share his findings. He has also been a long-time volunteer research
assistant for a long-term barn owl monitoring project in the Lower Mainland; his contributions have helped with the recovery of this
species, currently listed as Special Concern 
24
BCnature Summer 2015
2015 BC Nature Conference and AGM
Synopsis of Events, May 7-10 held on Saltspring Island in Ganges
"Living by the Salish Sea-Protecting Our Ecoregion"
Hosted by the Saltspring Trail and Nature Club
Thursday, May 7 (all events were held at the Artspring Theatre
in Ganges except for the banquet*)
any participants arrived either early Thursday morning or
Wednesday night to participate in the Thursday Excursions.
All of the excursions were at full capacity. The early birds
left for Pender, Mayne or Galiano Islands. Lucky participants
were treated to a full day outing by inflatable boats to the
neighbouring islands. Some were fortunate to observe an orca
pod! Tidal pools and marine life exploring were the order of
the day with leaders Bob Vergette, Michael Dunn and Ken
Millard. Thank you to all for a great day on the neighbouring
View From Mt. Erskine outing
islands. Others arrived for a workshop on Nature Photography
(by Ron Watts, Dave Denning and Pierre Mimeau) which took
them to the North End of Salt Spring to learn all about the subject. This chance to work with experts in the art of photography
was educational and illuminating! Others attended the Stewards in Training with Jean Gelwicks, Cathy Lehihan and Charlotte
Bowman at Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve. The last group were treated to a very informative Geology work shop at ArtSpring
with Jack Gunn and Dr. Jim Monger. Participants that managed to get in on any of these outings had an outstanding and
educational experience!
Later in the afternoon, the BC Nature Executive and Directors Meetings were held in the library across the street and after a light
dinner, everyone converged on ArtSpring to listen to Dr. Bob Weeden. Dr. Weeden's presentation was then followed up with a must
see revue called "Only Planet Cabaret." This revue featured wonderful story-telling, poetry and songs about our beleaguered Earth
and what we can do about it. For snippets of this very entertaining "Caberet" - visit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQzkzh3AlOE
Friday, May 8
The sun shone brightly at 5:30 am the following morning birding at Burgoyne
Bay. Approximately 54 species were heard or seen in this provincial park. By
9:00 am we were fully ensconsed in our seats in ArtSpring to listen to some great
speakers, and a welcome from Philomena Williams (Cowichan Tribes, Elder).
Presentations were given by: David Denning - focusing on minute intertidal
creatures, Dr. Linda Gilkeson - the insects of Saltspring, John Neville - the
diversity of Saltspring birds, Genevieve Singleton & Philomena Williams - the
traditional and current uses of coastal plants, Dr. Tara Martin - speaking about
the deer impacts on plants and songbirds and David Hancock - Bald Eagles, the
urban invader. I was fully absorbed by Dave Denning's talk about inter-tidal
life mainly at the microscopic level which was made fascinating by his many
Calypso Orchid
macro-images taken through a microscope of minute life-forms in the seawater.
Genevieve Singleton and Philomena Williams gave a talk on numerous coastal
plants, showing and saying their Salish names and some uses by the first nations peoples. Bald Eagles were the topic of David
Hancock's presentation where he told us of his use of an aircraft since age sixteen to survey the eagle populations in the area of the
Salish Sea and saw none on the US side of the border until more recent times. He also spoke about the Bald Eagles at Harrison
Mills and the challenges they face. David will be one of the leaders on the Harrison Salmon Stronghold camp being hosted by BC
Nature and Chilliwack Field Naturalists in November 2015.
In the afternoon, there were field trips to Ruckle Park, North Ganges pathways, Andreas Vogt Nature Reserve-Gary Oak restoration,
Blackburn Lake Nature Reserve-wetland, Mt Erskine-botany, Mt Maxwell-dry Douglas Fir/Arbutus, intertidal boat excursion-marine
biology, Alvin Indridson Nature Reserve-habitat restoration, Foxglove farm-sustainable farming and Burgoyne Bay-Gary Oak ecosystem. Kent Anders led our group up Mt. Erskine through a cool Douglas Fir forest with delights in the understory such as Calypso
Orchid and Striped Coralroot, topped by a magnificent view up the coast past Crofton.
After a wonderful Salmon barbeque dinner in the late afternoon sunshine, presentations by Elizabeth May, MP (Green Party) for
Saanich and the Southern Gulf Islands, and Ian McAllister, author, researcher & co-founder of Pacific Wild, were held in ArtSpring.
Elizabeth May, spoke about her personal relationship with her friend Farley Mowat, and the relationship to nature that he taught her
family. Ian McAllister, whose latest book is Great Bear Wild-Dispatches from a Northern Rainforest, updated us on his recent research
which has revealed how seamless the connections are between the terrestrial and marine environments and therefore demands a
much tighter management linkage between the BC and Canadian Governments whose jurisdictions are terrestrial and marine
respectively. Pacific Wild is using data-loggers, drones, hydrophones and other tools to discover the many surprising interplays of
life along the central BC coast.
Saturday, May 9:
For the very hearty, 5:30 am came early for early morning birding. Due to the times that the tides were low today, the AGM was
held in the morning with our opening speaker, Gary Holman, MLA (NDP) for North Saanich and Gulf Islands. Mr. Holman spoke
of Saltspring Island as a model for achieving local land protection. He called for return to and reinforcement of former environmental
protections, a strong climate change action plan, broadening the carbon tax to include all sectors to have it generate revenue that
can be reinvested in solutions/measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions, support creating more trails and pathways, focus on key
M
BCnature Summer 2015
25
areas to protect such as the Sacred Headwaters and the South Okanagan Similkameen National Park proposal, strengthen the ALR
protections and curb urban sprawl so agricultural lands are kept intact.
Our next presentor was Anne Murray, who presented on the BC Breeding Bird Atlas. Anne noted that the 5 year program saw
more than 1,250 birders observing over 300 breeding birds directed by 48 regional coordinators. The data generated took two years
to analyze, generating valuable information such as which species had expanding or contracting ranges and what direction some
species were moving their ranges towards. To see some of this information (it is being released in stages and is free for all to access),
visit www.birdatlas.bc.ca.
In the afternoon, the same field trips were available as the previous day plus a birding/wetland outing to Ford Lake led by Dr. Bob
Weeden, which I participated in. Ford Lake is a Ducks Unlimited project that combines an active livestock operation with wetland
conservation, giving mixed results.
On Saturday night, the banquet was held in the Harbour House in the Orchard Room. Our Master of Ceremonies, Arthur Black,
greeted us warmly and effortlessly guided the banquet, awards and the introduction of our guest speaker.
The keynote speaker, Ramona de Graaf, gave a presentation about "Living on the Salish Sea-Saving our Ecoregion". She highlighted
the significance of shore-spawning forage fish (Herring, Anchovy, Sand Lance, Surf Smelt, Sardine, Capelin and Eulachon) as a vital
feedstock for larger fish, birds, seals, sea lions and whales. These small, abundant fish convert zooplankton to protein that feeds
species at higher levels in the food chain, making the Salish Sea a forage fish dominated food chain. As such, these forage fish are far
more valuable when left as feedstock for more prized fish than what can be earned by catching them commercially. Threats to these
fish species include warming oceans, habitat changes to foraging and spawning areas (e.g. shoreline hardening to prevent erosion)
and water pollution. Recommended steps of action: use "soft engineering" solutions to protect shorelines (eliminate seawalls/riprap
armouring), maintain shoreline vegetation and use local governance to establish marine shoreline protection policies, OCPs and
bylaws.
We all owe a huge "Thank you" to Nieke Visser and the Conference Organizing Committee of the Saltspring Trail and Nature
Club for organizing and hosting the highly successful and stimulating events and activities of the BC Nature 2015 Conference and
AGM. Superbly done! 
www.elderscouncilforparks.org
Seniors Nature Programs - April to October 2015
HERITAGE CENTRE - 1620 Mount Seymour Rd.
*Note schedule subject to change.
*Registration required - FREE
* Outreach Coordinator
Tel: (604) 986-4892
eliseroberts@shaw.ca
Old Buck to Baden
Powell Heritage
Hike with Deep
Cove Heritage Soc.
Mount Seymour Heritage Walk. Join us for a trip back in time
to the early days of Mount Seymour - Trail easy.
1620 Mt. Seymour
Rd. Heritage Ctr.,
N. Vanc. - Thurs.
July 9 - 11:00 am
LUNCH, WATER
Suitable footwear raingear
Wildflowers Close
Up - Photography
Walk with Robert
Alexander at Yew
Lake
Experience breathtaking wilderness so close to our community.
Take photographs of beautiful wildflowers in meadows and
wetlands. Introduction by Friends of Cypress Provincial Park
Society - Trail Easy
Cypress Prov. Park
Meet at Black Mtn.
Lodge - Hike to Yew
Lake 2 km walk
Thurs. July 16 11:00 am
CAMERA
LUNCH, WATER
Suitable footwear raingear
"Birds, Butterflies,
and Blooms" with
Al Grass
Explore nature’s beauty around Yew Lake. Introduction by
Friends of Cypress Provincial Park Society - Trail easy
Cypress Prov. Park
Meet at Black Mtn.
Lodge. Hike to Yew
Lake - 2 km walk
Thurs. July 30 at
11:00 am
LUNCH, WATER
Wear suitable
footwear / raingear
Hollyburn Heritage
Society “Searching
for the Nasmyth Mill
Site on Hollyburn
Ridge”
AM: Join Don Grant for a film by Hollyburn Heritage Society.
Learn about the fundraising campaign to rebuild Hollyburn
Lodge, an important part of our mountain cultural heritage.
PM: Hike up Mount Seymour with Alex Douglas, History
Project Indoor / outdoor - Trails moderate
1620 Mt. Seymour
Rd. - Heritage Ctr.
- Mt. Seymour Prov.
Park - Thurs. Sept. 3
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
LUNCH, WATER
Wear suitable
footwear / raingear
Culture Days with
Jana Kumi
Woodblock printing
is an important
Japanese art form.
During this workshop, Janna Kumi will lead us through a little
history and some of the Japanese printmaking techniques. You
will learn how to carve your wood block and then print it on
special mulberry papers. Indoor / outdoor. Trails easy, some
roots and loose rocks.
1620 Mt. Seymour
Rd. Heritage Ctr. Fri. Sept. 25, 10:00
am to 2:00 pm
LUNCH, WATER
Wear suitable
footwear / raingear
Mushroom Walk
with Monika
Gorzelak
Trees talk to each other through the relationships they
form with fungi. The mushrooms we see are just a small
manifestation of the connections created in soil. Learn to
identify mushrooms and imagine the talking network they
create. - Trail easy
1620 Mt. Seymour
Rd. N. Vancouver
Heritage Ctr. Thurs. Oct. 1 at
11:00 am
LUNCH, WATER
Wear suitable
footwear / raingear
26
BCnature Summer 2015
Tofino 2015 Camp a Great Success!
By Anne Gosse
he BC Nature TofiT
no Camp was a very
busy one again this year
and all the camp participants raved about how
they enjoyed it. A bit of
rain fell on our first day
but after that it was sunshine all the way!
On the Whales & Hot
Springs Boat Trip we
observed a Grey Whale;
counted his breathing
spouts, saw him dive with
great swishes of his huge
tail several times. We By Anne Gosse
also witnessed a young
injured gull floating
A happy group of "Tofino Camp 2015 pariticpants
in the ocean being
attacked by two Bald Eagles while other gulls tried to fend them off. On the rocks
of Cleland Island, we saw different colonies of Steller's Sea Lions, California Sea
Lions, and Harbour Seals, plus Cormorants, and we also drifted by several rafts
of floating curious Sea Otters.
On the Birds & Bears Boat Trip we sighted thousands and thousands of
shorebirds resting on the mud flats. A Turkey Vulture waiting for leftovers was
perched beside two Bald Eagles who were tearing away at a fish. Two glossy Black
Bears were seen along the shoreline turning over rocks and nibbling on crabs.
The Meares Island boat taxi deposited us by the boardwalk trail into the majestic
ancient old growth forest. The small dock had disappeared in the winter storms
leaving some to belly flop in and out of the boat. The high wooden path needed
repairs in places, so we carefully watched our feet while stopping to admire the
huge giant trees; some 1300 years old. A mink was seen scattering into the trees
along the way.
Pacific Rim Park Warden Pete Clarkson led us birding on Wickaninnish Beach
and told us about the Tsunami cleanup effort still on-going in the area. He
is heavily involved in the clean-up and he is now in a film soon to be released
called "Debris" - NFB Documentary by John Bolton - plus he is to appear in a
documentary called "Lost and Found".
Birding with Andy Murray we found Western, Least, Semipalmated Sandpipers,
plus Sanderlings, Whimbrels, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitchers, a few Spotted
Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and Marbled Godwits were seen being flushed
up by a Prairie Falcon over the tidal mud flats through the many set up scopes.
Swarms of dipping, swaying, and moving flocks were seen over nearly every beach
and mud flat in Tofino. By the end of our camp we had counted 79-80 different
species of birds.
Bob Hansen ex Pacific Rim Parks, George Patterson of the Botanical Gardens
and Dan Harrison of the Rainforest Education Society again stepped up to provide
our nature camp
with some great and
interesting
talks
and walks. New
this year, Tofino's
RedCan Catering
who supplied our
meals and were
given a standing
ovation for their
fantastic culinary
efforts by camp's
end. We all left
Tofino awed by the
beauty and wildlife
By Anne Gosse
of this fantastic and
lovely area. 
Birding on the Tofino Mud Flats
BCnature Summer 2015
TOFINO CAMP, 2015
By Annie Kaps
Chorus:
It ain’t gonna rain no more, no more,
It ain’t gonna rain no more.
How in the heck can I Tofino trek,
If it ain’t gonna rain no more?
Verses:
Anne had a nature group,
Shore birds on mud flats;
Who number twenty-four.
Eagles in the trees.
If the boats were bigger,
What kind of passing swallow,
She’d register many more.
Tell me, would you please.
To Hot Springs Cove she led us.
Sea otters, they’re so cute,
No signs were there that stated:
A float upon the sea,
“Pre-dip showers not optional”,
Looking like they’re waiting,
Because that’s what us awaited.
To be served a cup of tea.
Whale fins and water spouts;
What wonderful catering!
Seagull killing raptor:
Gourmet meals brought he;
Who’d have thought our cameras,
But lacking at Ecolodge,
Such scenes would capture?
More than one cup coffee.
Watch out for sea otters,
Pacific Rim National Park,
Many sea lions too.
The Society Rainforest Education,
Who’s the list keeper,
Our First Nation peoples too:
To add these animals to?
Ever preaching conservation.
Board the water taxi,
Was that a varied pallet,
Anyway you can:
Our brown bear feasted on,
Use your walking sticks,
Noshing on whatever,
Or belly flop like Anne.
Turned-up rocks did spawn?
If directionally you’re challenged,
To birding list compiled
Get there how you can.
Add a couple more.
Come on, get creative.
Do we have as many,
Hitch a ride like Joyce and Anne.
As counted years before?
27
Book Review
Peterson Field Guide to Moths of
Northeastern North America
Beadle, David & Leckie,
Seabrooke
Copyright 2012
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishers,
611 pp. Paperback
$29.00 US.
Reviewed by Dean Nicholson
n the long tradition of Peterson field guides comes the latest,
Iother
a field guide for moths of northeastern North America. Like
Peterson books, the paperback edition is compact and easy
to transport in the field. The book is designed for the amateur
moth enthusiast and gives good information on moth life history
and moth taxonomy, as well as on observing, collecting and photographing moths.
The authors provide useful information on the ranges and habitat requirements of the various moths, including the types of forest or vegetation habitats they can be found in. With more than
11,000 moths recognized in North America the authors acknowledge that it would be impossible to provide a field guide for such
a large area. Instead they have opted to focus on describing nearly
1500 of the "most common or most eye-catching" moths from a
rather small area of North America.
The authors use examples of moths from all the major tribes and families, which gives the reader a wonderful sense of the amazing diversity of moth species. The moths are displayed with photographs, with a silhouette image alongside to show the actual size
of the insect. Using the familiar Peterson system of arrows, the authors highlight some of the key field identification marks to help
separate species. Each moth also has a corresponding graph illustrating its flight period, and many also have an accompanying map
that identifies the known or expected range for the species.
At the back of the book is a checklist where enthusiasts can start to record the species they have seen. The major drawback to the
book is suggested in the title. This book is designed for naturalists in eastern North America. Although there are many moths which
can be found throughout North America, there are many more which are more regionally restricted. Using this field guide would be
similar to using Sibley’s Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America to identify birds in British Columbia – you’re going to find a lot of
birds in the book but there are going to be many birds that you can’t find. Despite that, the book offers a good overall introduction
to the wonderful diversity of moths in North America, and would provide a good starting point for the amateur who is interested in
learning more about a part of our natural history that is often overlooked. 
Book Review
The Sea Among Us: The Amazing
Strait of Georgia
Richard Beamish & Gordon
McFarlane
Madeira Park, BC, Harbour
Publishing, 2014
Price $39.95 US
Reviewed by Penney Edwards
ecause of the immense activity it supports, both human and
B
non-human, the Strait of Georgia, heart of the Salish Sea,
certainly is the best-known body of water in BC and one of the
most famous in Canada.
This intriguing, natural phenomenon is subject to pressures,
such as being surrounded by two-thirds of the population of British Columbia, navigated by a huge flotilla of marine craft, from
kayaks to tankers, while supporting an extensive variety of marine
and land wildlife, a complex ecosystem.
The Strait of Georgia is, according to the authors, Richard
Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, one of the most at-risk natural
environments in Canada.”
The Sea Among Us, is described as a “comprehensive study of
the Strait…in all its aspects, from geology to anthropology. The
intended reading audience is the general public. This “coffee-table” large format work is designed to be a “comprehensive and
entertaining reference for anyone living in the area, visiting, or just interested in learning about the strait.”
Each chapter is authored by recognized experts in their particular fields, who apparently volunteered their time to write their
chapters, including Terry Glavin (Pre-contact era), Richard Thomson (physical ocean), Andrew Trites (marine mammals), Rick Habro
(invertebrates and marine plants) and Douglas Bertram (coastal birds).
My only concern, especially with the particularly scientific chapters – geology, the physical ocean and biological oceanography, is
the each author’s apparent assumption that readers will have some familiarity with their respective topic. I do not have a scientific
background, but have done enough informal study to realize that the material is written for a reader with a fairly high level of knowledge. I fear that these authors might lose readers who either give up or decide to skip these important chapters. Or there might be
a mad scramble to dictionaries of biology, or chemistry, or oceanography. That is not altogether bad, but might be discouraging.
That said, this excellent work deserves our respect and attention. The extensive photos and diagrams complement clear, informative, consistently good writing.
Although the book is not inexpensive, there is a “feel-good” payback. All author royalties go toward the Pacific Salmon Foundation, which is using this book to launch its Salish Sea Marine Survival Project (2014-2018) a multi-disciplinary program to “tackle
the challenge of restoring sustainable Chinook and coho fisheries within the strait.” That work might help the threatened Southern
Resident Killer Whale population to increase.
While this book concentrates on one particular body of water on the BC coast, much of the material applies to many other parts
of our coast.
Overall, this is a fine addition to the literature of BC’s human and natural history, highly recommended for any naturalist’s
library. 
28
BCnature Summer 2015
YNC / NatureKids* By Kristine Webber
NEWS FLASH
New Name, Same Game
ast fall we asked
friends and members of the Young
Naturalists' Club of
BC what they thought
about our name-- Did
they like it? Did it
clearly describe who
we are and what we do? Was it a helpful name when talking
to other people about the YNC? We received LOTS of great
feedback and many suggestions for a new name. So we struck
By Maxim de Jong
a committee, polled our members and the final result is a new
name: NatureKids. Our new logo is at the top of this article.
This year is our 15-year Anniversary, it is a great time to build
Young Naturalists build elevenTree Swallow Boxes, 4 Barn Owl Boxes, 6
on past successes, and look forward to the next 15 years with
Wood Duck Boxes and paint 4 bat boxes to be installed at the Great Blue
a fresh and relevant brand and the same very relevant misHeron Nature Preserve Wetlands, the Browne Creek Wetlands and the
sion and model. We know it may take some of our friends
Camp River Wilderness Area.
and partners time to get used to the new look and name but
we are pretty sure you’ll understand as BC Nature went through a similar process, when you changed from the Federation of BC
Naturalists.
YNC/NatureKids is working hard to provide today’s modern and hyper-digital childhood with fun, safe opportunities for children
and families to re-connect with nature at a deeply personal level. We know that this is the best way to ensure the next generation
cares for and is willing to speak up and step up for Nature. And we are so glad that you are on this journey with us! Thank you to
the many individuals and organizations, especially BC Nature, that contributed to our shared success this past year. It truly has been
a group effort with so many dedicated volunteers (club leaders, nature mentors, special event ambassadors, board members and
NatureWILD authors) investing in excess of 7000 hours to bring children and nature together in 2014.
We would like to acknowledge the special longstanding relationship the YNC/NatureKids has with BC Nature and that many of
YNC/NatureKids Clubs have with their local BC Nature Club. Your gifts whether in time, dollars or knowledge have enabled rich
and varied experiences in nature for young naturalists that are available nowhere else, and which will enable them to grow up to be
strong advocates for nature tomorrow.
Below is a selection of program highlights from 2014:
• 94 Volunteer Club Leaders ran 52 Nature Clubs in schools
and communities for 679 families - 1500+ children across
BC. 2014 saw a number of new clubs start including club
in the Nass Valley serving a community with a high First
Nations population.
• 242 Explorer Day adventures were delivered by volunteer
nature mentors and local experts. That represents a
whopping 4840 individual in-nature experiences for
children and their families!
• YNC members stepped up for nature restoring or cleaning
up 4,751,234 square meters, planting 475 indigenous trees,
shrubs or plants and installing 58 structures such as bird,
bee and bat boxes for wildlife.
• 4 issues of NatureWILD Magazine were produced covering
topics such as Striped Skunks, Nighthawks, Marbled
Murrelet, Nurse Logs and the Passenger Pigeon (to name
but a few!) and of course the ever-popular Ask Al (Grass)
• A new educational resource was developed with the
assistance of an engaged team of youth. Meet Your Coastal
Rainforest Friends card deck introduces young naturalists
to three different groups of coastal rainforest plants. This
The Wilderness Committee
resource combines kid-friendly facts and activities, water
colour artwork and photographs. For further information,
needs you to help save wild places and animals.
including a current club listing, financial statements and
Become a member and join one of Canada’s
annual report please visit the website: www.ync.ca.
leading environmental organizations!
A reminder that BC Nature members can now contribute to the
Check out our website and sign up
“NatureKids Forever Fund, established in 2012 to ensure that the
NatureKids can continue to provide children with critical earlyfor weekly action alerts:
age outdoor adventures and opportunities to step up for nature
WildernessCommittee.org/elerts
now and forever. Contributions can be made online at www.ync.
ca or by contacting the YNC.
Canada’s largest member-based wilderness
WILDERNESS
C O M M I T T E E
L
WANTED
Wilderness Lovers
preservation organization since 1980.
BCnature Summer 2015
29
Nictitating Membrane
By Marcia Mason
ecently, I photographed a Northern Harrier with a membrane partway across the
eye. This made me realize that I couldn’t remember the name of the membrane
and really knew little about it. I had learned from PBS’ “Nature” that it is employed
when a Peregrine dives down to catch prey at 200 mph or when an American Dipper
dives into the frigid waters to collect salmon eggs and other goodies but not why a
bird sitting on the fence would employ it or who, in wild, has them. So my research
began.
I learned not all my questions could be answered, but this is what I know!
What is it? The Nictitating Membrane comes from the Latin word Nictare, to blink.
It is also known as the third eyelid, haw or inner eyelid. It is usually translucent or
clear. Unlike the first and second eyelids, which open and close vertically and meet
in the middle of the eye, the Nictitating Membrane moves across the entire eye horizontally, as evidenced by the pictures of the Northern Harrier to the left bottom. The
upper eyelid resembles that of humans; the lower lid closes when the bird sleeps; and
the Nictitating Membrane, hinged at the inner side of the eye uses cartilage to sweep
By Marcia Mason
horizontally across the eye’s cornea from the medial side. Birds can actively control
the opening and closing of the membrane. I assume the rest of the animal kingdom
Northern Harrier - clear-eyed
with the membrane can as well.
Who has the membrane? Many mammals have a vestigial Nictitating Membrane
that does not cover the whole eye. Even humans have vestigial remnant of the membrane, known as the plica semilunaris, a crescent-shaped piece of skin folded permanently in the corner of the eye closest to the nose. A number of mammals have the
full version, including seals, polar bears and camels.
Some birds (it is not known if all birds have one), reptiles and sharks have full Nictitating Membranes. The full membrane is rare among primates, with the exception
of lemurs and nocturnal primates.
What does it do? The membrane protects the eye from the wind, bright light, debris
etc. and moisturizes the eye while retaining visibility. This is extremely helpful for
birds of prey flying at high speed. Many diving birds and animals use it to protect their
eyes while they are swimming underwater and in these species it is usually transparent
so that they retain 100 percent of their visual acuity while submerged. I have read
that the Nictitating Membrane of the American Dipper, an amphibious songbird, is
cloudy, milky, or opaque but I cannot find proof of this. Birds of prey also use the
membrane, during the feeding of eager chicks, to protect their eyes.
By Marcia Mason
Woodpeckers employ the membrane when they drill into a tree. Evidently, a millisecond before its bill hits the trunk the woodpecker unconsciously activates its
Nictitating Membrane. This helps to prevent the bird from developing eye injuries,
Partial coverage of the membrane
which would otherwise be induced by its continual hammering and from debris.
Similarly, predators such as the owl cannot risk repeatedly blinking their eyes
while on the hunt for small prey, or risk harming their eyes while darting through
woody terrain. The Nictitating Membrane functions as goggles for these birds,
while the additional moisture created by the membrane also aids their vision.
American Robins and other prey birds employ it when evading capture.
Aardvarks close their membrane when eating termites to keep from getting bitten; polar bears use it like sunglasses to filter ultraviolet light and prevent snow
blindness, while also working as waterproof goggles in the salty, cold water; sharks
use this protective covering when biting to prevent injury against thrashing prey.
Some mammals, such as the sea
lion, activate it while on land to
remove anything caught in their eyes.
This appears to be the primary function of the membrane in most animals. Although the exact function of
the Nictitating Membrane remains
By Marcia Mason
unknown in cats, it is thought that
Three quarters coverage of the membrane
it is used to protect the cat’s very
large cornea when it is stalking prey
through long grass.
So why was my Northern Harrier closing the membrane? It appears that it was moisturizing the eye and removing any debris, which might have accumulated while it was
hunting/flying.
Summary - The Nictitating Membrane is just one more way an animal’s body is
By Marcia Mason
adapted to the specific environment where it resides. 
100% coverage of the membrane
R
30
BCnature Summer 2015
Bioinsensitivity
By Bill Merilees
s I survey the world around me I cannot help but scratch my
A
head regarding much of what I observe. As a person with
an exceedingly strong passion for nature and natural processes,
I harbour considerable frustration when I observe practices that
are counter intuitive to our planet’s well being. These I consider
to be bioinsesitive!
This word is not in my dictionary – nor my spell checker (which
underlines it in red), and when I Googled the word, it does not
appear. Musical sound tracks and all sorts of other tangential references are listed but not bioinsensitive! Its meaning is very simple; Bio – of living things + insensitive - not having the capacity to
feel, understand or appreciate. Whether this is truly a "new" word
This site was then manicured almost too bare soil.
for the English lexicon I cannot say – but – it is a very good, relatively
simple word for naturalists to use when venting their "environmental"
frustrations. Naturalists by definition are biosensitive, but much of what we too regularly see taking place around, is otherwise.
For example: Recently at the Buttertubs Marsh Conservation Area we had two enormous English Oaks blow down across the walking trail. The Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) was close to a metre!
The first was quickly trimmed, the branches chipped, the rounds
removed, and all but two lengths of the trunk, too heavy to move,
were left behind. The site was then manicured almost to bare soil.
All this was done under contract, at considerable cost.
Quick intervention at the second windfall avoided this harsh treatment. Here only the section of the trunk and primary branches
directly over the trail were removed. These were cut into manageable
"chunks" and roughly stacked on the down-hill side of the trail. The
long limbs reaching out over the marsh were left. They have now
become a perch for herons, basking places for painted turtles, and
a nightly rendezvous for the local beavers who gather here to gnaw
off the inner bark. (see photo - left) As many as five beavers have
been seen at one time, much to the delight of local visitors. Cost
– a fraction of the above – with an added enjoyment factor that is
immeasurable!
As the author of two books promoting wildlife gardening, I
describe a good wildlife garden “as one having an orderly presence
verging on chaos”. Show gardens, those neatly manicured, weed free
and pest eradicated creations, decorated with genetically modified
(but gorgeous) flora, also strike me as being bioinsensitive. Granted,
many of these creations are exceedingly eye pleasing, but lacking in
native biodiversity, remain comparatively quiet and sterile.
During my working life as a Park Naturalist/Interpretation Officer it seemed our nature interpreters were often at odds with Park
Managers. Regulations regarding hazardous tree identification were
a licence for wholesale removal, rather than the retention of shorter
but safe snags, stumps and rotten logs valuable to wildlife. Overmanicuring and mowing of pathways and semi-wild areas, especially
where flowers added a touch of colour, likewise appeared bioinsensitive.
In all our cities, towns and municipalities, outdoor work crews
often seem oblivious to the community’s natural heritage. We desperately need the infrastructure designed and installed by our civil
engineers but why can’t we install these services more lightly on the
land? Let’s combine some planning foresight with practical conservation knowledge. For example, riparian protection legislation has
become a positive program in our province. Everywhere a tree can be
"spared" means we won’t have to wait years for a sapling to become
a viable wildlife replacement. The inclusion of a biosensitive training component into formal education curricula as well as on-the-job
training and professional development opportunities could certainly
improve our impact on our environment. As demonstrated above,
this can be cost efficient as well.
Now that we are well into the twenty-first century is it not about
time we realized there are often greener ways of doing things today
by modifying the practices of the past? Any move from being bioinsensitive to becoming biosensitive would seem a wise and pragmatic
direction to follow. 
BCnature Summer 2015
31
Why Hamilton Mack Laing
Matters Today - Part 2 By Loys Maingon
he Canadian Museum of Nature,
T
opened in 1915 as the Victoria Memorial Museum in Ottawa to house the
in support for field work
was particularly accelerated between 1970 and
natural history collections of the Geologi- 1990, when increascal Survey of Canada. It came to be bet- ingly few students were
ter known as the Canadian National Mu- trained in taxonomy.
seum. In 1990 it was split into two new It was only in the late
institutions, The Museum of Civilization 1980’s that the twin
and the Museum of Nature. The latter re- questions of "species biocently underwent major renovations and diversity” and “ongoing
re-opened 2011.
anthropogenicly-driven
The splitting of the National Museum extinction” emerged as
in 1968 into the Museum of Man and the global concerns, wellNational Museum of Natural Sciences, and articulated by Niles
its subsequent series of re-organizations in Eldrege’s 1991 book, The
Laing with Poachers work on Juniper Mountain
the 1980’s and 1990’s culminating in the Miner’s Canary. When
Ashnola, BC - October 1928
complete renovation and re-opening in E.O. Wilson published
Photo courtesy of Comox Museum
2011 reflect the changing focus of science, his two great works: Ants
as well as the renewed interest in the col- and The Diversity of Life in
lections and in the men and women who 1990, he heralded the return of scientific lections. As one of the top North Ameribrought them together. These individu- and popular interest in taxonomic diver- can collectors, Mack Laing collected over
als were good field naturalists and skilled sity, and in the importance of natural his- 10,000 vertebrate specimens in his lifein taxonomy, the discipline of identifying tory museum collections, together with time, the majority of which he collected
species-level differences.
the articulation of a growing concern for for the National Museum of Canada.
The value of museum collections
In the postwar period, field biology, the plummeting environmental health of
around
the world has recently been borne
natural history and taxonomic studies suf- the planet.
out
by
Dutch
research on sources of bee
fered a progressive and steep decline, makThroughout the 1980’s it had become
6
ing way for experimentation, quantitative increasingly clear that the rate of urban declines. To understand environmental
biology and microbiology, which were of and industrial growth was outstripping changes that are driving wild bee popugreater interest to industry and govern- the carrying capacity of the planet. One lation declines these researchers turned
ment than basic field research. The decline of the best indicators of the state of the to museum collections of bee specimens
planet’s “health” was, from 1872 to 2011 in the Netherlands.
and continues to be, They examined 40,000 wild bee specithe decline in species mens and analysed pollen from their legs.
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of Nature of Canada is future to unassuming collectors like Laing.
In three expeditions funded by Canada
an international treaand
the United States between 1933 and
sure. It houses more
than 7 million speci- 1935, Laing recorded and sampled marine
mens in geological, bird populations. The species record and
paleological, botani- the specimens he collected then are a
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Con't P. 33
32
BCnature Summer 2015
Salish Sea, that could yet contribute to understanding present
calamities, such as the recent death of an Orca and her calf
off Courtenay.7 Tissue analysis of these samples could provide
clues as to the state of the environment in 1935, when Salish
Sea Orca and marine bird populations were not in imminent
danger, as they are today.
Some may complain that Mack Laing – as most of his contemporaries, including his best-known student, the late Dr.
Ian McTaggart-Cowan - hunted and killed the specimens they
collected, and that the museums are distasteful necropolis.
However unpalatable and unsavoury this may be to our innate
squeamishness, no picture – no matter how good- will ever
replace the information content of specimen collections. No
picture will ever give us access to the histology and the genetic
history of disease and climate changes that a specimen carries.
Mack Laing and his fellow collectors did not only leave a substantial written and photographic record of nature as they saw
and recorded it between 1919 and 1945, they also left us an
exceptional material record of scientific information that will
undoubtedly prove increasingly important in understanding
environmental changes in the coming Age of Climate Change.
To deny the importance of Mack Laing and his fellow naturalists today, is to deny the importance of the scientific work of
the Geological Survey of Canada in every facet of Canadian
environmental work carried out today.
Environmentalists and would-be “protectors of nature” who
would deny the importance of Mack Laing and his fellow collectors and their own debt to these important predecessors,
effectively deny the scientific foundation of the environmental
work they claim to be doing. This denial of the museum collectors’ scientific legacy is no different than supporting the current government’s cutbacks to basic government science. Both
are denials of the value of basic science. What motivates it is
best left unsaid.
All environmental science in Canada began with the
establishment of The Geological Survey of Canada, whose first
actual function was the determination of the Dominion’s
natural history. As F.J. Alcock noted in 1947, in the first
history of the Geological Survey: “In fact, the Survey for a long
time, although primarily geological was in reality a natural
history one.”8 It is not just a case of the old adage, “they
who deny history are doomed to repeat it.” If one does not
understand the value of the past, and respect the value of the
natural history legacy left to us by men and women like Laing,
then how can one claim to protect land or even understand, a
legacy for future generations? 
Special thanks for this article are owed to Dr. Richard Mackie
(BC Studies at UBC) and Ms. Chantal Dussault, Museum of
Nature, Ottawa)
1. Mackie, Richard (1985). Hamilton Mack Laing: HunterNaturalist. Victoria: Sono-Nis. (Remains the most comprehensive
account of Mack Laing’s life.)
2. Laing, Hamilton M. (February 1929). “Oil-Black Death of
Waterbirds: The bird-world faces a new menace, oil-polluted waters,
a tragedy on the West Coast.” Forest and Outdoors.
3. Palmer, Ralph S. (1973). “Francis Harper.” The Auk 90(3).
737-738. Norment, Christopher J. (2000) “Francis Harper (18861972).” Arctic 53 (1) 72-75.
4. Dalton, Anthony (2010). Arctic Naturalist: The life of J. Dewey
Soper. Toronto: Dundurn Press.
5. Mackie, Richard. Private correspondence.
6. Schepper, Jeroen et al. (2014) “Museum specimens reveal loss of
pollen host plants as key factor driving wild bee declines in The
Netherlands”. Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences.
7. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/necropsy-onkiller-whale-j-32-reveals-orca-had-full-term-fetus-1.2863303
8. Alcock, F. J. (1947). A Century in the History of the Geological
Survey of Canada. Ottawa: King’s Printer.
BCnature Summer 2015
Zambezi River,
Namibia
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33
Stewarding for the Environment
By Kate Robertson
oan Snyder knew from a young age that nature was her
Jmoved
passion. During her growing-up years in the US, the family
around often. “My dad always found places for us to
walk and canoe in semi-wild spaces like woodlands, coastal
beaches and rocks, lakes, mountains and rivers, where I
learned a lot about the natural world and soon came to love it
and the wild places and organisms that live there.”
While pursuing an undergrad degree at Jacksonville University in Florida, she realized, “I was a biologist when I took
my first biology course,” –and Joan’s discovery of nature as a
career was launched. Next, she moved to Atlanta to earn her
Master’s and PhD degrees in biology and plant ecology with a
special interest in lichens. This interest in lichens led Joan to
pursue post-doc study in microbial ecology with an emphasis
on lichen growth under environmental stress.
In 1973, Joan moved to Nelson, BC to teach at what was
then Notre Dame University, where she says, “I took up the
cause of the Mountain Caribou decline in the West Kootenays. This was a perfect match for me, since lichens are the
caribou’s primary food and I could do lichen research and
work for the caribou at the same time.” Her advocacy for the
environment was well underway, as Joan soon came to realize
“that the wild places and their inhabitants were being diminished and in many cases disappearing altogether. Thus, most
of my ‘spare time’ since moving to Canada has been spent
in environmental conservation and ecosystem management
activities.”
Notre Dame University shut its doors in the late ’70s, so in
1980, Joan and her husband moved to Alberta, where they
taught at various universities and colleges for 19 years, and
Joan continued her Mountain Caribou research. During this
period, she was even more heavily immersed in environmental issues and became involved with several important organizations, like the Public Advisory Committee to the Environmental Council of Alberta.
Rene Savenye Scholarship for 2015
In September 2015, BC Nature
will award a $1,500 scholarship
To qualify, a candidate must be:
• a member of BC Nature or the spouse,
son or daughter of a member
• registered at an accredited institution
of higher learning in BC in a degree
program in a discipline that contributes
to an awareness, appreciation and
understanding of our natural environment
Information and Applications for
Scholarships may be obtained by:
* visiting BC Nature website, refer to
the education tab - download and fill in
the form and submit by using the electronic
Submit button.
For queries; please email:
manager@bcnature.ca
Thank you to those who applied
for the 2015 Scholarship. The
successful applicant will be notified by
September 2015.
BC Nature wishes to acknowledge the many generous
donations made in memory of the late Rene Savenye, which
made this scholarship possible. Future scholarships depend
on future donations.
34
BCnature Summer 2015
When she took retirement in 1999, Joan and her husband
moved back to the West Kootenays, but there was no slowing
down for Joan in her environmental stewardship. “I felt I wasn’t
ready to retire from being a biologist, working on and defending
the environment that is being so relentlessly assaulted by the
environmental policies we find ourselves in here, and all over
the world. So, I looked around and decided the Naturalists,
both locally and provincially, were effectively doing conservation work through activities like letter writing, supporting local
scientific research on the environment, membership in various
communities, educational programs and members spending
time enjoying this beautiful province on hikes, and meetings of
BC Nature in various parts of the province.”
Joan found she resonated deeply with BC Nature’s motto: “To
know nature and keep it worth knowing” — so she joined the
West Kootenay Naturalists Association (WKNA) and became
involved in the BC Nature programs. Her involvement with
them has been steadily increasing, serving previously as president to WKNA and as a member of the Invasive Plant Council
and currently the Kootenay Coordinator for BC Nature. She is
also the BC Nature representative on the Mountain Caribou
Project and the Coast to Cascade Grizzly Bear Initiative.
Although environmental issues may be Joan’s primary passion, they are not her only interests. “Since I was very active
during my working years, I find I have a lot more free time now
that I’m retired to pursue any environmental goals, hobbies
(like jewelry designs) and recreational activities, and lots of reading,” she says.
Add to that attending regular exercise classes, plus numerous
volunteer positions with other local organizations, and it’s clear
that Joan, even in her 70s, likes to stay busy and active. Despite
this busy schedule, Joan realizes self-care is necessary, and adds,
“of course, as we get older, our bodies do not always co-operate
with the pursuit of our goals, so we sometimes have to adjust,
slow down for a while and do what we can!”
Joan believes strongly that it is important for seniors to get
involved in environmental conservation.
“Even if we are, as I like to call us, ‘stellar nuclear waste,’
we have only this one beautiful life to live and that means we
should learn all we can about this universe and participate in
every way possible to interact meaningfully with our fellow
travellers and help maintain the ecosystem, integrity and beauty
of this planet while we are here,” she says. “We should consider
ourselves stewards of the earth, rather than plunderers and
this means we must stand up for what is right. Seniors are not
only experienced, but knowledgeable, and their involvement is
important and not to be overlooked.” Joan most evidently lives
by these words.
Joan’s tips on how to become involved with conservation and
environmental issues:
* Go online and look for environmental issues important to
you (i.e. pipelines, Jumbo, Y to Y, Creston Wildlife Centre,
Eco Society, etc.) and find what initiatives are available for
you to pursue, such as joining a group that is writing letters or
marching on the street.
* Join local clubs doing what you are interested in (i.e. nature
clubs, environmental societies). Look up your local Naturalists’
club on the BC Nature website.
* New Volunteers are always needed. Whatever you have to
offer will be welcomed.
* Donations are also always welcome for whatever cause you are
interested in.
* Get political! Nothing changes without political action. Talk
to your municipal representative, MLA, MP and the Opposition
about your environmental concerns and find out how you can
participate.
Article courtesy of Senior Living - http://www.seniorlivingmag.com/
articles/2014/11/stewarding-for-the-environment
The Last Word "Leatherback
Turtle" By Caitlin Birdsall
ost British Columbians are unaware that an enormous,
M
ancient reptile cruises our coast each summer and fall. Its
been swimming in the oceans since the Jurassic period and at
BCnature Summer 2015
learn something new this summer
Photo: Ron Long
its largest, can reach the size of a smart car. It’s the Leatherback
Sea Turtle.
While most people picture sea turtles in tropical areas, the
Leatherback is known to venture into temperate waters. In
British Columbia, the majority of Leatherback sightings have
occurred off western Vancouver Island, although sightings as
far north as Alaska have been recorded. Special adaptations,
such as a large, cylindrical shape, thick layer of fat and the ability to control blood flow to reduce heat loss, allow Leatherbacks
to withstand the cold. In fact, these adaptations allow Leatherbacks to maintain a body temperature as much as 15-18 degrees
Celsius higher than the water around them.
Venturing into the North Pacific Ocean does not happen by
accident. Like most wildlife, Leatherbacks are motivated by
food. For them, the perfect snack is soft and gelatinous: jellyfish. While jellyfish may not sound like a nutritious meal, it’s
not the quality, but the quantity of prey that sustains these large
turtles. A
study by
Dalhousie
University
researchers
estimates
that Leatherbacks in
the Atlantic may
consume
an average
of 330 kilograms (wet
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
mass) of
jellyfishes
per day. The Leatherback is an efficient predator with a mouth
and throat covered in downward-facing, fleshy barbs that ensure
once a jellyfish is captured, it can’t escape.
The California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME)
and transition zone from Mexico to British Columbia is rich in
jellyfish, which encourages Leatherbacks to undertake enormous migrations. The turtles that appear off our coast nest
primarily in Southeast Asia. The turtles travel across the Pacific
covering distances of more than 10,000 kilometres in a year.
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in
Canada (COSEWIC) listed Leatherbacks as endangered in
1981, a status they still have today. Excessive harvests of eggs
and adults, incidental bycatch in fisheries and coastal development on nesting beaches have caused a catastrophic collapse
in Leatherback numbers. Ingestion of plastic marine debris
that resembles their jellyfish prey is of growing concern. Since
the 1960s, 37% of necropsied Leatherbacks have had plastic in
their digestive tracts.
Protecting Leatherbacks is an international effort, but British
Columbians can play a part by choosing sustainable seafood
that limits bycatch (learn more at oceanwise.ca), reducing their
plastic consumption and contributing to shoreline cleanup
efforts (shorelinecleanup.ca), and supporting sustainable tourism development while vacationing in sea turtle nesting areas.
Mariners can also help in B.C. by taking a photo and immediately reporting any sightings of sea turtles to the Vancouver
Aquarium’s B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network at 1-866-I-SAWONE or online at wildwhales.org. 
gardening, yoga , photography,
ecology and more...
Highlights this summer include:
June 13 - Flower Photography
June 13 - Native Tree ID Workshop
Starts June 16 - Yoga in the Garden
June 18 - Rapt in Nature Garden Walk
Starts July 6 - Yoga for Seniors
July 11 - Know your Bees of BC
July 16 - Rapt in Nature Tropical Walk
(at Bloedel Conservatory)
August 12 - The Botany of Beer
September 12 - Introduction to Bird Watching
for details visit
vandusengarden.org
or call 604-718-5898
VanDusen: 5151 Oak St. | Bloedel: Atop Queen Elizabeth Park
35
Spotlight on a BC Nature Federated Club
Kitimat Valley Naturalists
By Walter Thorne
his northern club has both challenges and Natures beauty in the small city of Kitimat. Around Kitimat is the head of
T
Douglas Channel, BC’s largest fjord; the club members are blessed with a rich diversity of habitats from alpine to marine. Youcan expect up to 300 species of birds. Being the gateway to Princess Royal Island, there are many large Humpback
whales (see photo), Fin whales and Orcas.. You can conceivably observe Grizzly, Black, and Kermode Bears within the same
day.
The town motto
states, Kitimat is a
“miracle of nature
and industry”. The
encroachment of
industry, including forest products,
aluminum, LNG,
and Lord forbid, oil,
is ever increasing.
There are still fears
that the Enbridge
project could become
a reality. Several
LNG projects, including Chevron’s Kitimat LNG and Shell’s
LNG Canada, are
well underway with
billions spent to date.
Yet the companies
are still not in a final
approval position.
By Walter Thorne
One positive aspect to
the Chevron project
is the fancy new access road on the west side of Douglas Channel which travels south of Kitimat to Bish Creek, opening up
all kinds of new vistas. This road has restored our public access to the west side of Douglas Channel.
The newly rebuilt aluminum smelter will be overall cleaner except for SO2. This is a concern and club members are currently challenging the permit process.
Working with the Haisla Nation and
environmental groups such as Douglas
Channel Watch, KVN members continue
to advocate for the environment, with all
levels of government and industry and enjoy
representation on both the Rio Tinto Alcan
Kitimat Public Advisory Committee and the
LNG Canada Community Advisory Group.
The club maintains three BC Coastal Waterbird Sites and manages projects including
Streamkeepers at Pine Creek. Recently, the
community had a bird observation gazebo
constructed at Maggie Point (Photo left) at
the Kitimat delta. The 20-member club also
observes amphibian and bat house sites.
Periodically they offer bird count tours and
natural history presentations at the museum
By Walter Thorne
or library. We welcome visitors from the
frontier
and beyond.
 2R9
BCnature is published four times a year by the FBCN,1620 Mount Seymour northern
Road, North
Vancouver,
BC V7G
Publications Mail No. 41804027