File contains correspondence between Northwood Pulp and Timber Limited, the Prince George Forest Region, and the Aleza Lake Steering Committee regarding cut blocks to be harvested, particularly trees that have been infested by the spruce beetle.
File contains diagrams of areas to be salvaged in the Aleza lake Research Forest and pre-harvest silviculture prescription reports from Northwood Pulp and Timber Limited.
File contains maps and information related to climate station installation, including reports and tables.
File contains photocopied correspondence relating to climate monitoring stations.
File contains a trail guide, a report on potential trail building, and related maps.
File contains handwritten messages, photocopied invitations to a field tour, and related correspondence.
File consists of chainsaw-cut stump data in selected plots for June and July 1993 and May 1994.
File contains climate data of soil and air temperatures, correspondence relating to climate studies, original and photocopied receipts for items related to the study, and computer generated graphs.
File contains requests for cutting authority and correspondence relating to logging between the Prince George Forest District and Northwood Pulp and Timber Limited.
File contains correspondence regarding Estate Modelling plans for the Aleza Lake Research Forest and handwritten notes from meetings.
File contains road reconstruction project reports, photocopies of invoices and work orders, records of daily costs, photocopies of hired equipment daily time reports, related correspondence, and maps.
File contains two different working and management plans for 1992 to 2002 as submitted by the Aleza Lake Steering Committee.
File contains overview diagrams of Northwood cutting permits inside the Aleza Lake Research Forest, cutblocks showing harvesting and silvicultural history, detailed activity reports by cutblock, and 1992 Northwood cost summaries.
File contains Aleza Lake Experiment Station Climate Station data from 1952 to 1980 and three accompanying floppies with weather data and Fortran programs.
File contains original and photocopied drafts of working plans and drafts, planning projects, original amendments to special use permits, handwritten notes, related correspondence, and photocopied maps.
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:
- 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.
- In describing the situation prior to the farmland preservation legislation in the 1960's and early 1970's agriculture was consistently the "loser user".
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 climate station data printed from computer disks, original and photocopied soil description forms, and original copies of ecological and terrain mapping reports.
File contains correspondence regarding funding for research project and computer generated maps.
File contains 1991 regeneration data of permanent sample plots and a 1992 work term study report on the significance of the basal area on regeneration factors.
File contains map sheets with information relating to the historical recording of information concerning silvicultural treatments carried out on specific areas of land. This includes records concerning changes in the forest cover, changes in prescriptions, cut boundaries, changes in site prescriptions, original copies of silviculture prescriptions, and site plans.
File consists of budget proposals and forecasts for 1993/94 and 1994/95 with recommendations of road maintenance as the central expenditure.
File contains proposal updates and project expenditure lists.
File contains pre-harvest silviculture prescription reports and related correspondence between the Ministry of Forests, the Prince George Forest Region, and Northwood Pulp and Timber Limited.
File consists of a photograph commemorating the signing of the first Aleza Lake Research Forest Management Plan. Front row, left to right: Ken Pendergast, BC Forest Service Prince George District Manager; Harry Coates, BCFS Forest Research Technician (1957-1993); John Revel, BCFS Silviculture Forester (1960-1993). Back row, left to right: Mike [?], BCFS Prince George Silviculture Manager; Henry Benskin, BCFS Research Branch; Michael Jull, BCFS Research Silviculturist, Prince George Region; Dan Lousier, BCFS Prince George Region Research Section Head; Brian Harding, Northwood Pulp & Timber Ltd. Woodlands Manager.
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 contains drafts of management and working plan for the period of 1992 to 2002, the final draft for the management and working plan, and related correspondence between Mike Jull and those involved with the Aleza Lake Research Forest.
File contains reports on the analysis of permanent sample plots in the Aleza Lake Research Forest.
File contains handwritten journal lists of remeasured permanent sample plots and charts of remeasured permanent sample plots.
File contains orginal and photocopied correspondence relating to silviculture field courses and graphs pertaining to volume and diameter changes.
File contains a 1997 field tour guide of the Aleza Lake Research Forest, and 1997 and 1998 government publications on research projects conducted at the forest.
File contains handwritten notes and a handwritten memorandum.
File contains typed file notes and charts of remeasured experimental plots, as well as a floppy disk
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 contains proposals and recommendations, and first and final drafts of 5 year working and management plans for 1991.
File contains correspondence regarding logging in the Aleza Lake Research Forest from the Ministry of Forests.
File consists of working copies of aerial photos, vegetation tables printed from computer disk, photocopies of plot sheets, and lists identifying species.
File contains an original informational brochure on ecological reserves in British Columbia and correspondence relating to the transfer of the Aleza Lake Research Forest to a university research forest.
File consists of recorded DVD, containing the following video recordings:
- Harkins! - Nov. 23, 1990
- CKPG-TV excerpt- Oct. 3, 1992
- CKPG-TV: Bob Harkins Comments- Dec. 18, 1992
- CKPG-TV: Bob Harkins Comments- April 5, 1993
- UNBC Convocation Address by Bridget Moran – May 26, 1995
DVD Summary
Context: DVD contains recordings originally broadcast on CKPG-TV News, the Prince George CBC affiliate station. It contains multiple recordings of either interviews with Bridget Moran or TV broadcast announcements and news stories relating to Moran’s publications and awards; as well as an excerpt from the May 1995 UNBC Convocation Ceremony featuring Moran’s Convocation Address.
Individual video segments as follows:
(1) Harkins!
Date: 23 November 1990
Length: 30’ minutes
Scope and Content: Contains a recording of a Bob Harkins of Harkins! interviewing Bridget Moran on her books Stoney Creek Woman, Judgement at Stoney Creek and her upcoming publication A Little Rebellion.
(2) CKPG-TV News excerpt Date: 3 October 1992 Length: 2’46” minutes
Scope and Content: Recording of CKPG-TV News excerpt featuring Bridget Moran speaking about her latest publication A Little Rebellion while at a Mosquito Books book signing event.
(3) CKPG –TV News: Bob Harkins Comments
Date: 18 December 1992
Length: 3’minutes
Scope and Content: November weather forecast for Prince George and region, followed by Bob Harkins Comments featuring Bridget Moran and her new book A Little Rebellion.
(4) CKPG –TV News: Bob Harkins Comments
Date: 5 April 1993
Length: 1’35”minutes
Scope and Content: Bob Harkins Comments featuring Bob Harkins speaking about Mary John and Bridget Moran receiving the Governor General’s Award for Outstanding Community Service from MP Brian Gardiner at a ceremony at Mosquito Books in Prince George.
(5) UNBC Convocation Address Date: May 26, 1995
Length: 11’53”minutes
Scope and Content: UNBC president Geoffrey R. Weller introduces Bridget Moran who then delivers her Convocation Address to the students of the May 1995 graduating class. Her speech focuses on change
– positive change - in the realm of education.
File consists of:
- "A Summary of Historical Orders-in-Council affecting the Aleza Lake Forest Reserve", Mike Jull, 18 Dec. 1996
- Photocopied memorandum from F.S. McKinnon regarding "Transfer of Aleza Lake to D.F. Prince George", 9 Sept. 1963
- Photocopied 1928 article by P.M. Barr from Forestry Chronicle 4(3) entitled "The Aleza Lake Experiment Station: Its Development and Purpose"
- "A Brief History of the Aleza Lake Experiment Station", [Tim Decie, 1981?]
- Contact information for living relatives of Percy Barr, as of 1990
- Photocopy of 1930 article by Percy Barr entitled "Spruce Reproduction in British Columbia"
- Photocopy of records from BC Archives from a visit by Harry Coates from the file GR 1348 "The Young Mens Forestry Training Program"
- Photocopy of excerpt regarding "Amanita Lake/Diameter Limit Logging"
- Various small-scale maps and charts regarding Aleza Lake
- "Aleza Lake Research Forest Information Session Notes with Mike Jull, Manager of ALRF"
File contains minutes of Aleza Steering Committee meetings, and correspondence regarding various administrative concerns, including budget proposals.
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 is focused on renewed interest in the development of a provincial land use strategy. The article outlines the lack of action for over 20 years in the development of such a strategy.
Several key land and water uses that warrant consideration are listed - starting with agriculture - along with a list of overriding issues.
The position of GGR is clear in the last paragraph - 'The time for a provincial land use strategy was yesterday"..
Although farmland preservation is not specifically identified it would, one would have to think, clearly be one element of a land use strategy."
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."
During a year away from studies in 1987-88, Dr. Paul Sanborn developed a successful grant proposal to the Science Council of BC (SCBC) to pursue a postdoctoral project with Dr. Tim Ballard in relation to sulphur-deficient soils in BC and prescribed fire. This project built on an existing broadcast burning study conducted by Macmillan Bloedel Ltd. near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, led by Bill Beese (later at Vancouver Island University). Dr. Sanborn's work addressed sulphur forms and amounts in the soils at these sites, and the chemical processes influencing sulphur availability in relation to prescribed fire.
Only one part of this work was eventually published:
Sanborn, P.T. and T.M. Ballard. 1991. Combustion losses of sulphur from conifer foliage: Implications of chemical form and soil nitrogen status. Biogeochemistry 12: 129–134.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00001810
The remainder of the work was documented in this Project Completion Report to SCBC, dated February 28, 1990, and entitled "Effects of Prescribed Fire on Sulphur in Forest Soils".
Thirty-four data files were selected for archival retention. There is some redundancy of content among these, with some formatted for incorporation as tables in the report appendices, and others containing some of the same data, but set up as input files for a statistics program. These account for almost all of the data listed in the Project Completion Report appendices. No glossary of variable names is provided, but these should be identifiable by referring to the Report.
File consists of memoranda from Per Saxvik to Bell-Irving regarding "Fraser River Flow Analysis with Reference to Fish Passage Capacity through the Main Fishways at Hell's Gate". Also includes a "Fraser River Canyon Fish Passage Summary Report (June 1988) Updated October 1989" by Per Saxvik of SEP Engineering.
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."
File consists of an original draft copy of the "Kokanee Glacier Park Master Plan", as well as the "Background Report for Kokanee Glacier Park Master Plan" and the "Kokanee Glacier Park Master Plan: Public Handout and Questionnaire". These items are accompanied by correspondence related to the Master Plan.
File consists of notes, clippings, and reproductions relating to the Cariboo and Northwest Digest publication. Also includes a CD-R that contains Sedgwick's index spreadsheet and accompanying documentation about the publication.
During the 1980s, Agriculture Canada pedologists Scott Smith (retired from Summerland Research Station, formerly based in Whitehorse) and Charles Tarnocai (retired from Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa) had a large field program which addressed the trends in soil development in the central Yukon. Across this region, particularly between Whitehorse and Dawson City, the land surfaces and surficial deposits vary greatly in age due to the differing extents of glaciations over the past ~2 million years.
Tarnocai and Smith shared the unpublished data and soil samples from this work with Dr. Paul Sanborn, and this resulted in a student project published as:
Daviel, E., P. Sanborn, C. Tarnocai, and C.A.A. Smith. 2011. Clay mineralogy and chemical properties of argillic horizons in central Yukon paleosols. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 91: 83-93. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss10067
This data set consists of transcribed data from lab data sheets, showing McQuesten-Dawson City paleosol data from the Tarnocai and Smith 1983 AAFC Yukon Paleosol Study. The data set includes chemical and particle size data for Tarnocai & Smith samples, as determined by the Ag Canada lab. Note that the “Site” column indicates the NTS topographic map sheet (e.g. 115P/13) for the sampling locations.