Series consists of records created and collected by Gary Runka during and after his time with the British Columbia Agricultural Land Commission. In the early 1970s, Runka served as the first general manager of the BC Agricultural Land Commission, the independent provincial body that has administered BC's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) for over 40 years. As the first manager, Runka spearheaded the establishment of the ALR undertaking the technical tasks of setting ALR agricultural use boundaries, policies and procedures, as well as the building awareness and support for farmland preservation within government and with the public. He later served as Commission chair. Records include correspondence, informational material, publications, clippings, news releases, memoranda, symposium/conference material, reports, speech notes, and other textual material. Also includes seven maps, two buttons, six floppies, eighty slides, and one audio cassette tape.
Photograph is a group portrait of BC Agricultural Land Commission staff members at a Christmas party. Back row, left to right: Patti, Terry Lewis, unknown, Julie Glover, Gordon Gram, Gary Holisko, Kirk Miller, unknown, Shirley Brightman. Middle row, left to right: Eve Lew, Jim Plotnikoff (Santa). Front row, left to right: Verona Hoosen, unknown, Jane Perch, Denise Jankovich, unknown, unknown.
Photograph is a group portrait of the British Columbia Canada Land Inventory team. Back row, left to right: Rob Hawes, unknown, Ivan Cotic, Terje Vold, John Wilcox [?], Keith Valentine, unknown, Alec Green [?], Horst Baender, Dick Marshall, unknown, John Senyk, Bill Watt, Neville Gough, Dan Blower, unknown, Gavin Young, Craig Brownlee. Middle row, left to right: unknown, Peter Murtha, unknown, unknown, John Harris, Al Aldred, Gary Runka, Ed Oswald, Mary Redmond. Front row, left to right: Rick Williams, Gerry Howell-Jones, Chris Stanley-Jones, Larry Lacelle, John Jungen, Tom Pierce, Jim Van Barneveld.
File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC Experience: Establishing Priorities for the Use of Rural Land Resources" for the Canadian Institute of Planners Annual Conference in Kitchener, Waterloo.
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This is a second speech GGR gave at the 1980 CIP Conference.
The 'rural' stage is set by stating that BC is 94% crown land of which 53% is unreserved crown land - so lots of rural land to plan for.
The paper largely outlines 8 examples of rural land use priorities in BC including:
- Integrating rural land use policy under the Environment and Land Use Act
- Agricultural Land Commission Act protecting farmland
- Forest and Range Act
- Municipal and Regional government community, settlement and regional plans - largely on non-crown land
- The Federal government's amended Fisheries Act
- Special Statutes Planning - The Islands Trust Act
- Crown land Planning Strategies
- Environment Planning via an Environment Act, Water Basin Plan and Wildlife along with complimentary legislation.
The paper helps to place the farmland preservation in the context with other land use planning efforts in British Columbia."
This CD-ROM contains digital records collected and produced by Gary Runka during his consultancy work for client job 593 / 601, the Grasslands Conservation Council of BC's "Facilitation and Consultations for Mitigating the Fragmentation and Development of BC Grasslands Workshop" project. Includes the following documents:
- "BC Grasslands Mapping Project: A Conservation Risk Assessment - Final Report" (May 2004)
- "The Grasslands of British Columbia" (April 2004)
Item is an original BC Min. of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food publication by M. Robbins entitled "BC Horses: A Significant Agricultural Activity".
This CD-ROM contains the digital publication, "BC Land Summit Conference Proceedings, May 12-14, 2004" in PDF format.
File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC Land Use Issues and Smiling Frogs" for the Agricultural Institute of Canada Foundation.
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This presentation, which was accompanied by slides (not with speaking notes) reviews five diverse land use issues of which three involve agriculture, two of which were directly linked to the ALC.
The 'Smiling Frogs' metaphor is wonderfully explained as the heat is turned up and down on land use issues and complacency is something to be avoided.
GGR was directly involved in some capacity with each of the issues reviewed and, therefore is in a position to provide an "insiders" point of view. The five issues were:
- Burnaby Business Park (Burnaby Big Bend) - Lower Mainland - a very succinct overview is provided for this win-win accomplishment which directly involved ALC decision-making.
- Charlotte-Alplands (West Chilcotin) - involved an exploration of forest, recreation and wilderness tourism opportunities and the identification of potential conflicts.
- Fraser River Delta (Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust) - considers the successful coming together of agricultural and wildlife interests in an area that has both internationally significant wildlife habitat and an important part of the Pacific Flyway but also comprises one of the best agricultural areas in Canada.
- Mid-Coast (Greenpeace and Western Forest Products) - provides insights into a very hot issue that had some success and some failure in trying to get two very opposed sides together in which the Land and Coastal Resource Management Planning process is struggling.
- Six Mile Ranch (Kamloops) - every so often the ALC is faced with what might be referred to as an application of province wide notoriety and Six Mile Ranch assuredly fit this description. The application involved a proposal in the Kamloops area (but some distance from Kamloops) to use an area of interior grasslands ALR for urban development in the form of residential, resort and golf course. GGR sums up his feelings nicely on this land issue - "My involvement in this fiasco is indirect and that of "Citizen Runka" and perhaps more specifically as a student of government stupidity."
Item is a document entitled "B.C. Peace River Cattlemen" showing the brand symbols of various cattle ranches in the Peace River region.
File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC Soil Conservation Issues: How Serious are They?" for a BCFA Soil Conservatiori Seminar - March 10,1987.
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Stressing the importance of soil conservation, this speech begins by noting that all land and water users (not just agriculture) - on-site or off-site - are involved with soil conservation.
The paper is broken into 3 sections:
(1) Framework Considerations in which the diversity of BC's landform and climate is noted. The key soil conservation issues from a provincial perspective are reviewed including:
- erosion;
- sedimentation;
- acidification;
- organic matter loss; and
- soil compaction.
(2) Economic Considerations - the estimated loss annually in agriculture due to soil erosion is 30 to 50 million dollars.
(3) Legislation and Institutional Structure Considerations - BC is noted as having no provincial legislation that has soil conservation as its main thrust.
While the ALC Act and ALR are not directly mentioned, soil conservation is an important associated issue related to farmland preservation."
Item is a booklet entitled "BC Wildlands Central Interior Region".
File consists of selected professional development declarations and records submitted to the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists (BCIA) and the Canadian Consulting Agrologists Association (CCAA). Submission of these professional development records was required for ongoing membership with the associations. These records also provide a record of Gary Runka's ongoing professional involvement in the disciplines of resources management, environment and climate, land use and reclamation, agriculture, and soil science. Also includes a version of Gary Runka's resume circa 1998.
File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC's Agricultural Land Reserve - Its Historical Roots" at the Post World Planners Congress Seminar.
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Vancouver hosted the World Planners Congress in June 2006 and the day following the Congress the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada hosted a full day seminar entitled "Planning for Food".
GGR provided an important overview of the BC farmland preservation program. The speech begins with comments outlining the factors motivating the government of the day to enact legislation to preserve agricultural land. The presentation was then broken into three time periods including:
The Formative Years (1972-1975)
The Refinement Years (1976-1996)
The Uncertain Years (1996-????)
GGR in his summary poses some less than optimistic questions and observations. He states that despite successes "there are growing
concerns that, over its history, the focus of the program has subtly shifted - from an agency devoted to farmland preservation, to a rationing board." He sees the focus on application review as being detrimental to the Commission's role of promoting and encouraging farming in the ALR. Given this shift in direction he presents several suggestions to get the program back on track.
The presentation ends with a challenge to the people of B.C. to decide whether the next segment of the B.C. farmland preservation history is entitled 'The Rebuilding Years' or not."
File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "BC's Land Use and the Current Land Inventory".
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"Although page 4 of this speech is missing (or possibly intentionally deleted), this document provides a detailed explanation of the CLI ratings and may well have been the basis of interpretation guidelines for agricultural capability mapping used by the ALC.
GGR at the time was the B.C. Land Inventory Field Coordinator.
It appears that slides at one point accompanied this speech."
Item is an original copy of the 1996 "Bella Coola Local Resource Use Plan" prepared for BC Ministry of Forests, Mid Coast Forest District.
This CD-ROM contains a Word document version of "Bella Coola Valley Invasive Plants: Fall 2008 Inventory and Recommendations" (2008) by Erin Williams, along with an accompanying cover letter.
File consists of a meeting agenda, minutes, mission statement, and promotional postcards for the Bella Coola Watershed Conservation Society.
CD disc contains two documents:
- "IBHPB ICRP Pages 1-338 - Working Draft Dec 12_08.pdf" which is a document entitled "Ekati Diamond Mine Final Interim Closure and Reclamation Plan - Working Draft" from December 2008 prepared for BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc.
- "BHPB ICRP-Appendices-Dec12-08.pdf" which is the appendices for the above document.
Audio cassette is Tape 1 of a recording of a Biologists Workshop for the Biodiversity Ranches project. Recording is from 9:00-11:00 am on July 20, 1999.
Audio cassette is Tape 2 of a recording of a Biologists Workshop for the Biodiversity Ranches project. Recording is from 11:00 am-12:00 pm on July 20, 1999 on Side A and 8:30-9:30 am on July 21 on Side B.
Audio cassette is Tape 3 of a recording of a Biologists Workshop for the Biodiversity Ranches project. Recording is from 1:00-3:00 pm on July 20, 1999.
Audio cassette is Tape 4 of a recording of a Biologists Workshop for the Biodiversity Ranches project. Recording is from 13:30-4:30 pm on July 20, 1999 on Side A and 9:30-11:0-00 am on July 21 on Side B.
Audio cassette is Tape 5 of a recording of a Biologists Workshop for the Biodiversity Ranches project. Recording is from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm on July 21, 1999.
Audio cassette is Tape 6 of a recording of a Biologists Workshop for the Biodiversity Ranches project. Recording is from 2:00-4:30 pm on July 21, 1999.
Item is a reproduced conference paper for the 4th North American Forest Soils Conference entitled "Bio-Physical Land Classification in Canada" by authors M. Jurdant (Canadian Forestry Service), D.S. Lacate (UBC), S.C. Zoltai (Northern Forest Research Center), G.G. Runka (B.C. Department of Agriculture), and R. Wells (Newfoundland Research Centre).
Item is a photocopied version of "British Columbia Cross Country Ski Area Study" prepared by Nordic Group International under Canada-British Columbia Tourism Industry Development Subsidiary Agreement.
Item is an original report by the BC Min. of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food entitled "British Columbia Grains and Seeds Strategy: An Industry Development Plan".
File consists of selected correspondence, mailings, newsletters, pamphlets and workshop information from the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists (BCIA). Gary Runka was a long-time BCIA member. Includes issues of the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists (BCIA) Newsletter, the BCIA Special Report for the 65th Annual General Meeting, workshop materials for the BCIA 2012 ethics workshop, and the BCIA Committee on Principles of Stewardship Report to Council (29 March 2010).
Item is an original typescript of "British Columbia Recreation Sector Analysis East Kootenay Intersector Evaluation" by the Canada Land Inventory (ARDA) Recreation Sector, led by W.C. Yeomans.
Item is a photocopied version of "British Columbia Snowmobile Area Inventory Study" prepared by BC Snowmobile Federation for the BC Ministry of Tourism.
File consists of G. Gary Runka's business card collection, which includes many unique examples of business cards from BC, Canada, and beyond. Includes cards for personal contacts and businesses as well as business contacts.
Item is a copy of "Campbell River Area Park Plan" by the Regional District of Comox Strathcona.
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Photograph is a group portrait of the Canada Land Inventory team , possibly related to the National Soil Survey. Individuals identified: Norm Sprout (back row, 5th from left); Les Lavkulich (back row, 6th from left); Dr. Charlie Rowles (back row, 6th from right); Pat Duffy (3rd row back, 6th from right); Gary Runka (3rd row back, 5th from right).
Item is a pamphlet entitled "Canada Land Use Monitoring Program (CLUMP)".
Photograph is a group portrait of the attendees at a Canada National Land Use meeting. Back row, left to right: Gary Runka, Bruce Chambers, Frank Heaps, Vern Spencer, Peter Whiting. Middle row, left to right: Bob Scace, Lee Munn, Bill Bourgeois, Jim Murphy, Gerry Acott, Dave Rochefort. Front row, left to right: Mike Simmons, Les Cooke, John Hetherington, Betty McGregor, Daniel Paquette, Peggy Thompson, Patsy Murphy.
Item is an original copy of "Canada's Environment: An Overview" by Environment Canada.
File is a Greenpeace presentation folder with a package of reports and ephemera about the Canadian Great Bear Rainforest.
File consists of two original unbound volumes of the draft report "Carcross Valley - Marsh/Tagish Lakes - Atlin Road Land Management Planning Project" released September 1979 by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the Government of the Yukon. Volume 1 consists of "Review Framework and Resource Data" and Volume 2 consists of "Resource Data Maps".
Item is a draft of "Cariboo Forest Region Resource Inventory Database".
Item is a draft of "Cariboo-Chilcotin Grasslands Strategy: Interim Report on Grassland Encroachment and In-growth".
Item is a photocopied copy of the 1992 "Cariboo-Chilcotin Tourism Resource Inventory Study: Explanatory Notes" prepared by Ethos Consulting, G.G. Runka Land Sense Ltd. and Bioquest International Consulting Ltd. for BC Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Cariboo-Chilcotin Region.
Item is an original BC Wild booklet entitled "Cassiar: British Columbia's Fragile and Imperiled Northern Wilderness".
Item is an original copy of the presentation booklet "Celebrating 35 Years of the Agricultural Land Reserve: 1973-2008" created by Farmland Defence League of BC for an anniversary event. Includes an article by G. Gary Runka entitled "BC's Agricultural Land Reserve - Its Historical Roots".
File consists of working records of the Central Coast Plan Implementation Monitoring Committee. The purpose of the committee was to monitor and report progress toward implementation of the British Columbia Central Coast land use plan and make recommendations on plan revisions to Provincial and First Nation governments. The land and resource management planning (LRMP) process in the Central Coast area began in 1996. In April 2001, an interim agreement was signed by the Province and stakeholders. Includes a promotional DVD created by the provincial government.
Item is an original copy of "Charlotte-Alplands SRDZ Forest Recreation and Wilderness Tourism Opportunities" prepared by G.G. Runka Land Sense Ltd. et al. for the Anahim Round Table and Forest Renewal BC.
Series consists of the client file project records of G.G. Runka Land Sense Ltd., Gary Runka's consultancy business (co-owned with Joan Sawicki until 1991). G.G. Runka Land Sense Limited was incorporated as a company on 30 Nov. 1978 and dissolved on 30 Nov. 2018. Most business activity ceased after Gary Runka's death in July 2013. The company provided comprehensive professional services in land inventory, environmental assessment, integrated resource management, land and water use conflict resolution and interdisciplinary land use planning. Over the course of the company's operation, Gary Runka and his firm consulted on 681 assignments ranging from very large projects (such as the Site C project) to small residential/commercial land capability assessments.
The Land Sense Ltd. client files generally include records such as correspondence, contracts, invoices, project reports, publications, ephemera, memoranda, map excerpts, legal documents, meeting materials, clippings, and handwritten notes. Some client files are accompanied by related maps, photographs, aerial photographs, and/or digital records on storage media.
Item is an original Canada Department of Agriculture Publication 1190 entitled "Climate and Agriculture in Central British Columbia".
This unpublished document from the BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks Communications Branch collates information about the issue of climate change circa the year 2000. Includes polling highlights from a poll of BC residents about climate change in 1998; a summary of points about media interest in climate change circa 1998-2000; and a short listing of supportive business comments on climate change circa 1999-2000.
Item is an original Canada Department of Agriculture Publication 1434 entitled "Climate of the Lower Peace River Region".