Item is an original reprint of an article by G.S. Andrews entitled "Air Survey and Photogrammetry in British Columbia" from the March 1948 issue of Photogrammetric Engineering journal.
Fonds consists of original, silent 16mm reels that portray the natural, social and land use history of the Bella Coola and Chilcotin regions named the "Natural and Guiding History of the Bella Coola and Chilcotin Regions".
Possible locations that Al Elsey filmed include: Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Anahim Lake, Alert Bay, Nimpo Lake, Bulkey Valley, the Rainbow Mountains, Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Dean River, Bella Coola River, Tchaha Lake, the Chilcotin region, the Ulkatcho Mountains, Lassard Lake, Fenton Lake, Atnarko River, Wells Gray Park, and Holt Homestead.
Item is an original copy of the "ALC Handbook: A Window on the Agricultural Land Reserve" by the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission which was updated in installments between 1996 and 1999. Also includes six floppy disks that contain the ALC Electronic Library of documents.
This CD-ROM contains the published Agricultural Land Commission Handbook Electronic Library 1999 Edition. Software install on a compatible computer is required to access the content.
Image depicts some farmland near Alexandria, B.C.
Item is a copy of "American Wilderness: A Unique Conservation Concept" Background Fact Sheet.
Item is a typescript of a paper by M. Murtha entitled "An Approach to Land-Use Planning based on the Canada Land Inventory".
Item is a photocopied typescript of "An Evaluation of Integrated Resource Management Plans in the Kootenay Region of British Columbia" by Dr. John Hill.
Slide depicts an apple tree blossoming in a backyard. The yard is surrounded by a wooden fence. Original slide index description: "Apple blossoms Kelowna."
File consists of an article written by Gary Runka entitled "Balanced Agriculture - Its Social Value" for the Symposium o n Decoupling, Ottawa - February 10-12,1988.
Commentary on this speech by Barry Smith of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands:
"This speech was prepared for publication in the July 1988 edition of t he "Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics".
The Symposium explores the social and economic values of agriculture and this paper primarily pursues the social value side of the equation and asserts that a healthy agricultural sector has a social as well as economic value to Canada.
The paper is broken into four sections:
(I) The Farm;
(II) Rural Communities and Regions;
(III) Canada and Beyond; and
(IV) Summary.
Under these broad topics the paper considers several themes, many of which have a strong or direct relationship to farmland preservation. B.C. and Quebec programs are directly mentioned. A few of these themes are captured here:
- "balanced agriculture" ... let it imply a balance between economic considerations (market forces) and social values
- It is not easy to design legislative programs that will accommodate both the legitimate financial concerns of those who husband the land and the desire of society to protect a scarce resource
- Society must share in t he responsibility to retain foodlands. "...both Quebec and British Columbia accepted this responsibility in their agricultural land preservation legislation by bring in associated commodity income insurance programs along with the provincial designation of land within agricultural land reserve zoning."
- A need for balance between private rights of land ownership with stewardship and the responsibility of government to intervene when private interests do not coincide with public interests.
- The urban majority will have a growing influence on the way farmers and agriculture will be treated in coming decades
- Any country is wise to ensure that it retains the option to produce at least a portion of its own food
- Do we want agriculture driven by a "trade environment" or do we as a country have other social goals that we wish to pursue, of which international trade is part?
- It is in Canadian society's general interest to have economic and social cohesion when considering agricultural policy reform."
Item is a photograph of a river bend and the surrounding country taken from the air.
Item is a photograph of a rural area taken from the air.
Item is a photograph of boats docked on the shore behind piles of grain or straw.
Item is a photograph of rows of plants in a garden.
Item is a photograph of people harvesting grain by hand.
Item is a photograph of sheaves of grain against a brick wall.
Item is a photograph of a woman working in a field.
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.
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."
Image depicts a field of hay somewhere in Beaver Valley.
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 consists of transcript of interview with Bob Dunsmore, CNC Forestry Dean who discusses forestry and agriculture education at College of New Caledonia.
Harkins, BobItem consists of interview with Mabel Peterson who discusses domestic, family life and community life in small communities in North Central British Columbia c.1920s-c.1970s.
Harkins, BobItem consists of transcript of interview with Marilyn Rack who discusses birding and farming in Prince George region..
Harkins, BobItem consists of typed transcript and tape summary of interview with Olive Foote who discusses her family's history in Fort Fraser, Stellaco area c.1930s and later move to Prince George region.. Includes discussion of her father working mineral claims in Endako area c.1950s
Harkins, BobItem consists of transcript and tape summary of interview with Tom Payne who discusses his life, emigration from England, service in World War I, and career as shoemaker in Quesnel. Also discusses his subsequent work at the Experimental Farm in Prince George
Harkins, BobPhotograph features a wooden box of pears sitting on grass, bushes in background. Handwritten annotation on recto of photograph: "This is a prize box of pears." It is believed that this photograph was given to Lillian & A.K. Bourchier by their niece Jean.
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".