On March 7, 1956 the Cassiar Reporters Guild published one issue of an untitled newspaper simply titled "The Cassiar?" (vol.1, no.1) along with a "name that newspaper" contest call out to the local community. It is believed that no other issue of this first volume was published until December 7, 1957 when The Asbestos Sheet (vol.2, no.1) was published. The Asbestos Sheet, was generally published twice a month and ran from December 1957 to September 1976; after which time both its name and its format changed: the 8-1/2 x 10" news bulletin changing to an 11 x 17" newspaper; and The Asbestos Sheet becoming the Cassiar Courier. The Courier was published monthly from fall 1976 until February 1991 when it stopped circulation shortly before the closure of both the mine and the company town.
Subseries consists of records relating to the Free Piston Development Company, for which Noranda Mines Ltd. provided capital funding. Adam Zimmerman was the comptroller for Noranda Mines at the time and monitored the Free Piston Development Company's progress; the relationship between the companies was ended in 1967.
Free Piston Development CompanySubseries consists of correspondence relating to the Department of Environment (Environment Canada), the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), and environmental issues. Includes correspondence regarding Ministry of Environment programs and procedures; the Canadian forestry industry; forestry licenses; pollution and legislation controls for industry pollution; oil spills; polychlorinated biphenyl pollution; floods and flood control mechanisms; dams and stream diversions; trapping legislation; and wildlife conservation. Also includes correspondence regarding inquiries intro fisheries management legislation and policies; fisheries licensing; salmon fisheries issues; inquiries and statements of opinion about the yearly seal hunt; whale conservation; the economic zone off-shore fishing limits; small craft harbours; sport fishing; and the roe herring fishery. Contains speeches given by the Minister of Environment or given on his behalf and news releases from Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
With support from the Muskwa-Kechika Trust Fund as a Seed Grant, Dr. Paul Sanborn carried out a pilot study of soils in relation to prescribed burning in the Northern Rocky Mountains, in collaboration with Perry Grilz, then a Range Officer in the Ministry of Forests. Sanborn and Grilz conducted 3 days of field work in July 2001. Sanborn wanted to test the utility of plant-derived opal (phytoliths) as a soil indicator of vegetation history, in the hope of distinguishing natural grasslands from those created by anthropogenic burning.
Subseries consists of documents and correspondence regarding the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources and issues about mining, energy generation, and pipelines in northern British Columbia. Includes correspondence about the state of energy in Canada; wind, solar, and other forms of alternative energy; conservation of energy; use of nuclear power, coal, oil, and natural gas in Canada; and general inquiries about the oil and gas industry. Also includes correspondence regarding proposed mining projects, particularly in northern BC; the development of pipelines in Canada; the environmental impacts of mining and pipelines; and inquiries and statements of opinion about proposed pipelines such as the Kitimat-Edmonton pipeline, the Mackenzie Delta pipeline, and the Alaska Alcan pipeline. Supplemental records accompany much of the correspondence and include reference material, newspaper articles, and informational reports.