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File consists of an untitled published piece in Country Life Column by Gary Runka.

Commentary by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This article focuses a report of the B.C. Round Table on the Environment and the Economy - "A Better Way - Creating a Sustainable Development Strategy for B.C." published in 1990. The thrust of the article concerns the disregard for agriculture in the report. The report identifies six key principles which amount to reasonable objectives / goals but in contrast agriculture fares badly in the report. Three examples are provided of the report's failings with respect to agriculture. Four key questions are asked including, "How can we best protect the limited high capability agricultural land base from alternate use competition?"

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Agricultural Land and Its Management".

Commentary by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This paper has no indication of the audience or date but given that there are several references to 1990 reports, it probably dates to 1991.

Although the scope of this paper is national in several aspects, its primary focus is on the B.C. farmland preservation efforts.

Comment is made on the question of farmland being regarded as a 'commodity' vs 'scarce resource'. GGR draws upon a theme found in other speeches and papers when he notes that 'To some degree, the call for a new "foodland ethic" is based upon the belief that public policy should more adequately take into account the social value of foodlands, quite apart from the dollar value...."

The paper is broken into several sections:
(A) The Setting;
(B) Agricultural Land Loss, (which includes some excellent statistics - p. 2-3)
(C) Some Agricultural Management Issues,
(D) Action Response (this section briefly reviews farmland preservation efforts in each province with a particular emphasis on B.C. p. 5-6),
(E) The Future.

GGR lists the following action steps that BC should pursue:

• Repeal ALC Act appeals to Cabinet;
• Rescind the outright golf course use within the ALR; and
• Introduce Soil Conservation Legislation"

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Working Together Towards Identifying and Protecting Land for Nature in the Kamloops Area" to an unknown audience.

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "The Importance of Agriculture to BC and the Creston Valley" Creston Valley Agricultural Society.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The speech begins with a number of recent urban newspaper headlines illustrating the level of awareness and the stress on agriculture.

The paper is broken into several major topics:
(I) The Options - in which two perspectives are outlined - one positive that agriculture has social value and is vitally important to the province and second, that agriculture is ultimately doomed.
(II) The Agricultural Land (Water) Base - 11 different land use planning issues are reviewed from an agricultural perspective. It is stressed that agriculture must become a more integrated part of the overall planning process.
(III) The Economic and Social Well Being of the Farming Community. It is noted that there are strong feelings in rural communities that government bureaucrats impose planning and resource management decisions on them rather than plan with or for them. Thus, if agriculture is to thrive it must, once again, become a more integrated part of the overall planning process and the agricultural land base must be assured.
(IV) The Ecological and Economic Sustainability of Agriculture - A key agricultural land conservation measure will be the redirection of regional and local urban growth to available and suitable lands outside the ALR. Provincial and local zoning is seen as a first step framework for managing competition for agricultural land.

Betterment Recapture - this (possibly Henry George inspired) comment reflects the need to recapture a portion of the appreciated value when agricultural land is converted to urban uses as a hedge against speculative forces.

The paper ends by encouraging farm areas like the Creston Valley to take pride in their agricultural community because the opportunity exists for a vibrant, healthy sustainable future."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Agriculture in the Urban Shadow" at the Agricultural Land Commission Symposium - Urban Growth and the Agricultural Land Reserve: 'Up not Out' - March 9,1993.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This represents an important, highly pertinent speech concerning farmland preservation in B.C. The speech was given at the ALC Symposium marking the 20th anniversary of B.C.'s farmland preservation program. The speech rings as relevant today as it did when delivered 22 years ago.

It begins by identifying two perspectives - one, those committed to an agricultural future, contributing diversity and having a social value and two, those that feel agriculture is ultimately doomed and is only an interim use, especially in the urban shadow, until a "higher and better" use comes along. GGR states that we need to honestly state which perspective we are guided by.

There are a host of important themes woven through this paper including:

1. While farming on the urban shadow benefits both the urban and farm communities, the negative impacts of urban/farm adjacency are predominantly borne by the agricultural community.
2. In describing the situation prior to the farmland preservation legislation in the 1960's and early 1970's agriculture was consistently the "loser user".
3. Even in the earliest days of the Commission, urban shadow issues were identified and the ALC recognized that provincial zoning was only a first step, and taken alone, was not enough.
4. The BC farmland preservation program has been at least as successful as anywhere else in North American and looked on with envy in many other jurisdictions.
5. GGR believes that after 20 years we are worse off today than when the program started due to (i) elected provincial politicians involved with the application process (ii) the ALR / Golf Course fiasco and (ill) the ALC has become paralyzed in their Appeal Board mode.

Several (13 starting on p. 7) urban shadow issues are outlined and GGR states that we must be serious about addressing urban shadow issues.

The paper ends with an outline of "where we need to be tomorrow" and GGR states: "I recall when the program began in 1973 we argued that all of the compromises with respect to agriculture had already been made, if we were to keep the options open for future
generations In British Columbia. If that statement was true then, how much more true is it today, 20 years later?"

From the Symposium concluding remarks, Gary Runka stated that based on his experience and discussions during the symposium, he believed that the following initiatives should be given priority:

• Information and education programs
• Communication between farmers, government and the public
• Regional land use planning
• Integration of government policies to a strong farmland preservation strategy
• Provincial agricultural strategy
• Programs which insure farms can be viable

The Symposium proceedings have been compiled in a 67 page ALC publication."

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Landscape Level Planning - Fitting People into the Watershed" at the Stewarding Our Watersheds Conference.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"The first half of this speech takes a very broad sweep in defining landscape units and the provincial planning system. In the second section "Entering the People Use Maze", the paper focuses more locally on the Salmon River watershed and discusses the findings of a survey associated with the Langley Rural Plan.

The survey results demonstrated that for both rural and non-rural residents in Langley, 'the country atmosphere' was why they had chosen to live in Langley. Residents also disagreed with the statement that it was unpleasant to live in an agriculture area.

The third section - "Techniques of Integrating Balanced, Sustainable People Use" into the Watershed" considers eight tools that will assist achieving "landscape level" planning, one of which is the ALC Act.

Besides these direct references to agriculture, country atmosphere and ALC Act; the Langley Rural Plan drew heavily on the survey that GGR refers to and the Plan, which was largely comprised of agricultural lands, was inspirational in the development of the Commission of work "Planning for Agriculture".

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Action Steps to Sustainable Agriculture" at the Forum on Sustainable Agriculture in Summerland.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech opens with a relatively broad discussion of sustainability- how defined - and how this relates to agriculture. "We've got to develop the ability to view farming in a conceptual sense, to view food production sustainability over the full horizon, including the urban world, as well as farm field."

The speech is broken into 3 sections with sub-sections:
(1) From a Practical Management Point of View. What Does "Sustainability" Mean on the Farm, Orchard or Ranch? Several points are made including the protection of land through the ALR. The principles of sustainability in, "Towards a Strategy for Sustainability" are listed.
(2) From the Food Producers Perspective, What are the Gaps in Practical Requirements to move Toward Sustainability? The points identified in the July 1994 workshop "Future of Agriculture in the Okanagan" are listed and noted as key points.
(3) With Land and Water Resources under Stress, What are the Action Steps to Regional Multicommodity Agricultural Sustainability? Under this topic seven sub-topics are explored:
a) sustainability and security of the land base with a particular emphasis on parcel size and the need for consolidation, land tenure, cost and speculation;
b) sustainability and water resources;
c) land use competition, compatibility, and planning process access - with an emphasis placed on the need for the farm community to have access to the planning process and a nod to the importance of Agricultural Advisory Committees. It is recognized that this will take an integrated effort of the ALC and Municipal Affairs;
d) vertically consistent policies and regulations from local to federal;
e) Right to Farm (with a plea to revisit the then current 'Agricultural Protection Act');
f) public education;
g) food policy; and
h) Socio-economic strategy for agriculture"

File consists of a speech given by Gary Runka entitled "Consensus Decision Making" for an Executive Development Program.

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:

1. 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.
2. Charlotte-Alplands (West Chilcotin) - involved an exploration of forest, recreation and wilderness tourism opportunities and the identification of potential conflicts.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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."

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 "Managing Conservation Lands to keep Nature's Pulse Beating" for the BC Trust for Public Lands.

Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"GGR's was the opening address at the workshop. While this speech is focused on the issue of Best Management Practices (BMP), comments about the ALR are woven into the presentation. This copy of the speech appears to be a draft version and includes several hand-written amendments with some points crossed out.

In the opening, mention is made of the grounding that the 2008 document "Taking Nature's Pulse: the Status of Biodiversity in British Columbia" has provided the workshop.

This speech provides an historical overview of the broader provincial context of BMP's drawn from 40 years of GGR's experience. The following is a selection of his comments:

• BMP's are part of the "tool kit" of policy and management mechanisms that have been experimented with over the decades to try to rationalize human economic activities with the needs of other species and overall ecosystem well-being.
• Historically the 1960s and 70s Canada Land Inventory program that emerged from the Resources for Tomorrow conferences was a significant benchmark mapping land capability for agriculture, forestry, recreation, wildlife and waterfowl use (of which GGR was centrally involved).
• Within BC, using the CLI, the 1973 Land Commission Act authorized the establishment of a provincial zone to protect those sacred lands with the biophysical capability to grow food.

One point was not used in the speech (crossed out). The speaking notes, however, include a reference to the Land Commission legislation originally having a complimentary conservation objective that had since been removed. GGR makes the point that still having the conservation function may have contributed positively to current struggles to preserve natural habitat. Regardless, it is noted that the concept of the ALR has been a unique, effective and, most importantly a lasting management practices tool for conserving lands identified as biophysically significant.

A further selection of points made:

• We need to evolve BMP tools that are adaptable yet resilient in the face of changing knowledge, climate change and ever-evolving social priorities.
• Traditionally, planning has been most associated with local governments in the form of official community, regional and neighbourhood plans and as an outgrowth of the ALR - Agricultural Area Plans.
• Environment Farm Planning - by agreeing to engage in the conservation planning process, participating farmers and ranchers have qualified for funding to carry out farm improvements benefitting conservation and biodiversity.
• The work of the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust is outlined (p. 8)
• "My final words of wisdom are - Be focused and be pragmatic"
• "Many of the best intentions to standardize land management practices for conservation lands have been great on paper - but never quite make it on the ground."
• And, if BMP are not implemented effectively on the ground, they cannot play the critical role they need to play in 'keeping nature's pulse beating'."

File consists of a 1973 BC Land Commission photographic slide and audio tape set entitled "Land Commission Act and the Agricultural Reserve Plan" that was used in original public hearings throughout the province. The 80 slides included with the presentation materials were created mostly by Gary Runka. The audio cassette is a recording of the presentation with speakers Bill Lane, BC Land Commission Chair, and Gary Runka, BC Land Commission General Manager.

This "The Land is Yours" film is a promotional film produced by the British Columbia Department of Agriculture in Kelowna, ca. 1968 or 1969. The film was produced by Gary Runka and hosted by Russ Richardson. Runka and Richardson provide commentary throughout the film. The film was directed by Nobert Hartig.

Disc contains a single file, "GGR 2A.ppt", which is a PowerPoint presentation by Gary Runka entitled "The Agriculture Land Reserve: What it is and how it got here" created April 18, 2002.

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).

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.

Photograph is a group portrait of the attendees at the Federal-Provincial Canada Land Inventory Coordinators Meeting in Victoria, March 31-April 1, 1971. Starting from the back row, left to right, attendees included: John Senyk, B.C.; Jim Allin, B.C.; Fred Frederickson, B.C.; Red Ward, Ontario; George Rathwell, Saskatchewan; John Foster, Ottawa, Charlie Rowles, B.C.; David Glover, Ottawa; Bill Yeomans, B.C.; Don Coombs, Ottawa; Harold Hoyt, N.B.; Brian King, Ottawa; Art Benson, B.C.; Scott Johnston, Ottawa; Dan Blower, B.C.; Vic Solman, Ottawa; Don Benn, B.C.; Dick Spilsbury, B.C.; Les Lavkulich, B.C.; Doug Lacate, B.C.; John Wilcox, B.C.; Alf Leahey, B.C.; Mike Romaine, Ottawa; Dick Marshall, B.C.; Gary Runka, B.C.; Norm Sprout, B.C.; Ken Beanlands, Newfoundland; Mick Roberts, Ottawa; Paul Lajoie, Ottawa; Pat Duffy, Ottawa; Bert Brink, B.C.; Merv McKay, Manitoba; Rich Goulden, Manitoba; Reg McCormack, Ottawa; Gerry Howell-Jones, B.C.; Marcel Belzile, Quebec; Paul Deane, Ottawa; Laurie Farstad, B.C.; Stu Scott, Alberta.

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.

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 depicts Gary Runka receiving a Agricultural Institute of Canada Fellow award at the 1990 AIC Convention at the Penticton Conference Centre.

Photograph depicts recipients of the 1990 Agricultural Institute of Canada Fellow award at the 1990 AIC Convention at the Penticton Conference Centre. Gary Runka is third from right.

This external hard drive contains back-up files from Gary Runka and Joan Sawicki's computers. The digital files consist of personal, professional, and business records. Includes textual documents (PDF and Word format), spreadsheets (Excel), digital images (JPEG), and email backup files.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting North Nechako neighbourhood area existing land use in 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting Hart Highway neighbourhood area existing land use in 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting the College Heights and southwest (Vanway) neighbourhood area existing land use in 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting the North Nechako and Hart neighbourhood area proposed land use in 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting the Blackburn neighbourhood development area's proposed sector plan in 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting the VLA neighbourhood proposed zoning in 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting public representations at the VLA neighbourhood zoning hearing that occurred on April 12, 1976.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting zoning proposed by Prince George Alderman A. Stauble for the VLA neighbourhood.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting zoning proposed by the Prince George City Planner for the VLA neighbourhood.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting existing land use for the Van Bow neighbourhood area.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting existing land use for the Van Bow neighbourhood area.

Item is a hand drawn and coloured map by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting existing zoning for the Van Bow neighbourhood area. Also includes two hand-drawn mylar overlays for the map; one showing "Opportunities & Constraints" such as housing age and condition and the other showing "Subdivision Activity" over decades of development in the Van Bow area.

Item is a map annotated in colour by the City of Prince George Planning Department depicting major residential development proposals from June 1975 to August 1977 in the City of Prince George. This map was drawn for the City of Prince George interim Community Plan.

Item is a map depicting proposed land use between 1978 and 2012 in the City of Prince George. This map was drawn for the City of Prince George Community Plan; this particular version of the map was displayed in City of Prince George council chambers through 1979.

Item is a map depicting a future low density development plan for the Peden Hill neighbourhood in Prince George.

Item is a map depicting a future medium density development plan for the Peden Hill neighbourhood in Prince George.

Item is a map depicting a future high density development plan for the Peden Hill neighbourhood in Prince George.

Item is a map depicting the areas of spring and fall shadow in the Peden Hill neighbourhood in Prince George.

Item is a map depicting the areas of winter shadow in the Peden Hill neighbourhood in Prince George.

Item is a map depicting the Vancouver Carney study neighbourhood area in Prince George.

Item is a map depicting land use in the Vancouver Carney study neighbourhood area in Prince George. Also includes two mylar overlays that show the outlines of "unit 2" and "unit 3" development areas.

Item is the Proposed Land Use Map, 1978-2012, referred to in By-law No. 3138, the City of Prince George Official Community Plan. The original draft of this map was completed on October 24, 1977. This version of the map was amended in July 1982.

Item is Map 1 of a group of five maps relating to a City of Prince George Study of Construction Aggregates by the firm Willis, Cunliffe, Tair & Company Limited. Map 1 shows development areas and population for 1984 and 1994. As the map is undated, it is unclear whether the 1984 and 1994 dates are future estimates.

Item is Map 2 of a group of five maps relating to a City of Prince George Study of Construction Aggregates by the firm Willis, Cunliffe, Tair & Company Limited. Map 2 shows development areas and aggregate requirements for 1984 and 1994. As the map is undated, it is unclear whether the 1984 and 1994 dates are future estimates.

Item is Map 3 of a group of five maps relating to a City of Prince George Study of Construction Aggregates by the firm Willis, Cunliffe, Tair & Company Limited. Map 3 shows geology of the Prince George area and known sources of construction aggregates.

Item is Map 4 of a group of five maps relating to a City of Prince George Study of Construction Aggregates by the firm Willis, Cunliffe, Tair & Company Limited. Map 4 shows development areas, aggregate sources, and requirements for 1984 and 1994. As the map is undated, it is unclear whether the 1984 and 1994 dates are future estimates.

Item is Map 5 of a group of five maps relating to a City of Prince George Study of Construction Aggregates by the firm Willis, Cunliffe, Tair & Company Limited. Map 5 shows drill hole locations.

This map is part of Schedule B of the 1993 Official Community Plan, Bylaw No. 5909 for the City of Prince George. This particular map depicts the central area of the City of Prince George, including the Bowl area, the VLA, the Crescents, South Fort George, Heritage, and Peden Hill.