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story page 33

story page 26

s t o r y p a g e 16

story page 15

story page 12

‘16

Co ver Photo

issue no. 62

The grass is always greener on the other side of winter. Photo Paul Glover

Fea tures 8 10 12 15

Summer music program is serious fun

By Paul Glover

32 30

26

The Dirt on Composting Outhouses

By Christoph Dietzfelbinger

“It’s All About the Caribou”

How the Gwaii Haanas Agreement inspired a national park in Canada’s far north

By Dave Quinn

Singing, Winging Signs of Spring How casual birdwatchers are contributing to scientific knowledge

By Emily Bulmer

Depa rtm en ts 5

16

Orchestra North

In Other Words

Editorial and cartoon from the seasoned and the silly

On the Fly

Fishing in northern BC with Brian Smith

28 33

31 34

contents

story page 8

April / Ma y

Postcard Parks

Exploring & Camping in northern BC

By Matt J Simmons

Sunny Slopes and Garden Growth

Approaching your crops from a new angle

By Norma Kerby

The Aparagus Ex-spear-iment

By Emily Bulmer

Suskwa Crossing

A bridge made of telegraph wire

By Morgan Hite

Resource Directory

Services and products listed by category

The Barometer

A seasonal reading of the Northwest

by Char Toews

Top Culture

Explore the rural route to northern culture with UNBC’s Rob Budde

Story Comm en ts?

Tell us what you’re thinkin’. Comment on any story at www.northword.ca

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APRIL/MAY ‘16

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contributors

Joanne Campbell

PUBLISHER/ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

joanne@northword.ca t: 250.847.4600 f: 847.4668 toll free: 1.866.632.7688

Amanda Follett Hosgood EDITOR

amanda@northword.ca

Brian Smith is a writer and photographer who has fly-fished BC’s waters for over 45 years. He recently published his second book, Seasons of a Fly Fisher, and lives with his wife Lois in Prince George.

Hans Saefkow is an awardwinning editorial cartoonist, illustrator and set designer. If you see this man, do not approach him, feed him, or listen to his idle chatter. It is simply best not to encourage him.

Morgan Hite has lived in Smithers for 20 years, makes maps, goes hiking, gets lost, writes articles, reads things and dreams about travel.

Charlynn Toews has published

in daily and weekly newspapers, national magazines, and loves a good regional. She writes a regular column for Northword from her home in Terrace.

NORTHWORD MAGAZINE Northword Magazine is the only independent, regional magazine that covers northern BC from border to sea. Our goal is to connect northern communities and promote northern culture; we put a vibrant, human face on northern life with great articles and stunning images. Northword Magazine—BC’s top read, for a reason.

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Shannon Antoniak

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

shannon@northword.ca

Sandra Smith

LAYOUT DESIGN, NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE

sandra@northword.ca

Christoph Dietzfelbinger is

a UIAGM mountain guide and avalanche professional who builds outhouses in his spare time. He also grows potatoes, makes cider, and operates the Burnie Glacier Chalet.

Rob Budde teaches creative writing and critical theory at the University of Northern British Columbia. He has published seven books (poetry, novels, interviews, and prose poems). His most recent book is Finding Ft. George from Caitlin Press.

Matt J Simmons writes about

BC’s incredible landscapes, both natural and cultural. Author of The Outsider’s Guide to Prince Rupert, Matt is always seeking his next big adventure, but has a habit of choosing cold, mosquito-infested landscapes...and loves every minute.

Paul Glover is a piano tuner, musician, gardener, photographer, editor and writer living in the hills outside Smithers. He believes that strong music and arts programs make strong communities.

Norma Kerby is a Terrace-based writer and environmental consultant.

Her passions include amphibians, natural ecosystems, sustainable living and adaptations of wildlife and people to northern British Columbia.

She occasionally writes poetry about the North’s uncertain future.

Emily Bulmer is a longtime Smithereen who enjoys subjecting herself to unscientific experiments in living. She occasionally records her findings and reports positive results most of the time.

Dave Quinn uses boots, backpacks, kayaks, canoes, skis and a keyboard to explore the interface between society and wilderness. Dave is a Wycliffe, BCbased dad by day and Outdoor Guy on CBC’s Radio West by night.

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editorial

In Other Words

hans s aefkow

Pick your plan: A, B or C?

by Joa n n e C a mpb el l ed i to rial@no rt hwo rd. c a

The saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Usually planning works.

Sometimes, though, it can be as difficult as predicting the weather.

Take Northword, for instance: When we’re in the last stages of putting the next issue together, there is a point at which the articles and the ads are laid out on their pages, based on how many ads we have sold. This layout is Plan A and we go with it until the last possible minute. Usually, Plan A works just fine; it’s a breeze. Everyone gets their ads in and off to the presses we go. Sometimes, on the last day before we go to press, things get a little stormy: fewer ads come in than expected and that’s when we go to Plan B, the alternate layout. On the other hand, if more ads than expected come in, we happily go to sunny Plan C and change the layout accordingly.

That last day can be a nail biter, I tell ya, but whether the day be breezy, stormy or sunny, there’s always a plan: A, B or C. But this is just weather.

What we really have to watch out for is a change in the >climate</i>. Literally.

Like most of us, we roll with the northern economy, which, in turn, rolls with climate change: the declining market for oil and LNG has affected extraction, processing and shipping. Warmer winters enable pine and now spruce beetles, which affect the logging industry. It’s difficult to plan for the future when climate change clouds the visions in our crystal ball.

As I write this, in mid-March, the winter is getting kicked out the door by an over-eager spring. The snow is nearly gone and the birds are flocking back. The dog lies on the deck soaking in the sun and I saw my first mosquito two weeks ago. At this rate, by the time May rolls around, the snowpack will be nearly gone and we’ll be in forest-fire season already. Hopefully, it’ll be

a lovely, warm (but not hot) spring with gentle rains and caressing breezes.

Flowery but not too frisky.

Hope aside, it’s all a guess at this point. We can’t predict the weather for next week, never mind April and May or the rest of our adult lives. But what else can we do but plan?

I’m a planner. Here’s my plan: Plan A (status quo, situation Normal): Start tomato seedlings for the deck greenhouse. Put mosquito screens on windows. Dust off kayak. Walk dog and mow lawn as needed.

Plan B (longer, hotter spring/summer/fall): Plant tomatoes directly into ground. Buy litres of citronella. Shave dog and replace lawn with gravel.

Plan C (summer only; abolition of winter): Select Pinot noir root stocks for the vineyard and draw up blueprints for the tasting house. Invest in DEET shares or replace kayak with camel and hold sand-dune boarding lessons on the hill behind the house.

As you can see, I’m unsure as to whether this future involves too much water or too little, resulting in a condition known as “flailing to plan.”

Planning for every eventuality is kind of fun and a decent distraction. It makes me feel less impotent in the face of an uncertain future. Perhaps, when it comes to worrying about how to deal with the effects of climate change— instead of planning how to roll with the punches—I should do my bit to help avoid the fight altogether if it’s not too late to pull our punches. Then I could just stick with Plan A and business as usual.

In the meantime, anyone want to invest in a vineyard?

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r summe

ka re n pric e

O

r a t N s e o h r c t r h i m s a s r e g r o i o r u p s c i f s u u n m

T he p arti ci pan ts at Orc he st ra N ort h’s 2015 Su mmer P rogram cel eb rate the event.

by Paul Glove r p aul@no rt hwo rd.c a

The audience hushes as the conductor and codirector stride down the aisle. At the front of the room, the orchestra members fall quiet. After some introductory remarks, the conductor raises her baton and the concert begins.

This is serious classical music. Tonight’s program includes pieces by Beethoven, Berlioz and Bruch. The musicians are deep in concentration, simultaneously reading their scores and watching the conductor. The audience sits in rapt attention, some with eyes closed as they take in the complex harmonies.

But wait—there’s something familiar here.

Didn’t you see some of these same musicians square dancing on Main Street a day or two ago?

You recognize others from a soccer scrimmage in a nearby park. You saw some of them out for a hike on the mountainside just the other day—and weren’t they carrying musical instruments? Come to think of it, haven’t there been a lot of classical concerts, large and small, springing up all over town the past week?

Welcome to the Orchestra North Summer Program, a classical music intensive for musicians of all ages from across northern BC that is fostering the region’s musical culture while embracing its community spirit.

Genesis of a music program Orchestra North was founded by Roxi Dykstra, an internationally renowned professional violist and violinist who grew up in Houston, BC. I first met Roxi in 1993 when we were both performing in the orchestra of a local production of The Messiah. She was just 10, but I was impressed by her spunky enthusiasm and spirit—not to mention her proficiency on the viola, which seemed nearly as big as she was. As the youngest among 120 musicians who were part of the show, she more than carried her weight.

“It was in large part that experience that inspired me to start Orchestra North,” Dykstra told me recently by phone from Lisbon, Portugal where she has a four-month contract playing viola with the Portuguese National Symphony. “It was such a powerful experience for me to be around all those musicians, playing challenging music, 8 | APRIL/MAY ‘16 |

www.n o rthword.ca

The 2014 leadership team, from left to right: Alyssa Stevenson, violin; Judith Souman, viola; Sebastian Ostertag, cello; Roxi Dykstra, viola; and Chantal Lemire, violin/viola.

learning from each other and forming lasting bonds. As an adult, I realized I want to help provide that experience for other northern musicians.”

In 2012, Dykstra organized a Smithers-area production of Vivaldi’s Gloria, with an orchestra and a choir of 100 voices. “Guest musicians and others from outside the area were so impressed with the quality of our musicians. They’d ask, ‘How does your orchestra have so much enthusiasm? How do you even have an orchestra?’”

Sebastian Ostertag, former principal cellist of the Prince George Symphony, had worked with Dykstra on a number of musical projects there and developed a tremendous respect for her talents and energy. He was quick to jump on board when she described her concept for Orchestra North.

The following summer the first Orchestra North Summer Program took place in Smithers, attracting some 45 participants and several professional musicians as instructors. The week was a great success and the following year enrolment jumped to 70. Last year it was nearly 100.

“The people who took part wanted to come back,” Dykstra says. “My professional colleagues who were instructors are super eager to see this kind of development for young musicians and they want to take part, too. As a result, the level of musicianship among the instructors is very high.”

The weeklong program includes a variety of instruction, from basic instrument skills to playing in ensembles of various sizes. Children as young as seven may join. Adults who have played an instrument in the past are encouraged to take it up again. Beginner and intermediate players are placed in orchestras and ensembles matched to their ability for instruction and fun music-making.

More advanced students can audition for the symphonic program.

To keep things well rounded, informal activities are included during the week, such as square dancing, soccer and hiking.

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One of the experience highlights is the opportunity to meet other music students from the region. Musicians have come from as far as Dunster and remote islands off the BC coast. “As much as we can, we want to remove barriers to participation,” Dykstra explains. “All ages and skill levels are welcome. Thanks to generous local sponsorship we can keep the costs down and bursaries are available.

“The reason we can pull this off is because of the big heart of the community.”

Breaking barriers “When I was a kid, I had to go to Vancouver for musical development of this calibre,” she adds.

“Growing up in the North, I’ve experienced a prejudice against isolated and rural areas—that we can’t produce high-quality music and musicians.

This is another barrier I’m determined to break.”

Participants get a number of chances to perform in a variety of settings. One of the most popular is Classics on Main, where some 18 different ensembles, comprising all participants at every skill level, rotate short performances among eight different street venues in downtown Smithers.

“Rain can make this challenging,” Dykstra laughs. “The string instruments are held together with water-soluble glue.”

The program has grown and evolved over its few short years. This year, the number of performances has doubled from last year and includes The Spirit of the North Classical Music Festival, which takes place Aug. 11-13 with 10 concerts featuring internationally renowned soloists, local

c o ntribute d pho to

Orc he st ra N ort h mu si ci ans stream acro ss the ro ad as they head to Smi t h e r s ’ Ma i n S t re e t f o r a s e r i e s o f p e r f o r m a n c e s .

favourites, chamber music and orchestra concerts, and the Orchestra North symphony concert as the finale.

Ostertag has worked with Dykstra each year as an instructor and co-director. He likes the way Orchestra North builds community.

“It can be lonely playing music if you’re just stuck in a practice room,” he says. “This program puts musicians together, drawing from an enormous geographical area— basically the size of Germany.”

Ostertag and Dykstra have organized a similar but smaller version of the BC program in Owen Sound, Ont. “Last year was a pilot project, but it was successful and we will do it again in 2016,” Ostertag says.

for a week before the regular program. They work together in small chamber groups, developing skills and repertoire before touring to perform in various northern communities.

These young musicians gain experience and become teaching assistants during the following week.

Young violinist Kiri Daust has thrived from his participation in Orchestra North and the Academy Program.

“It is absolutely amazing!” he enthuses. “It’s by far the best music camp I’ve been to. Not just the music experience, but the bonding among musicians Roxi Dykstra and the forging of networks.”

Currently doing postsecondary studies in Squamish, he says he will be back for this year’s program.

“I would like to keep doing it as long as I can. I Long-term results definitely want to do some music teaching and Another component of Orchestra North is its maybe direct an orchestra.”

Academy Program, which puts the best young The Summer Program could not happen players together with professional musicians without the help of many people. Thea Ewald, who Dykstra describes as a “volunteer extraordinaire,” shoulders the bulk of the event’s organizational responsibilities.

“Let’s face it: musicians aren’t always the best organizers,” Ewald says. She offered her help the first year and found there was a lot to do, “everything from organizing venues to finding missing instruments.” She is amazed each year at the transformation from the chaos of Monday morning to the finished product of Friday evening when some 100 instrumentalists join forces in one mass symphony for a final performance.

Although the Orchestra North program is only active for two weeks each year, Dykstra says it produces long-term results. Participants ld form lasting connections with other northern a ew ea musicians and with their instructors. Young th students become advanced students and in turn help less-experienced players. “ B i g a n d sma ll, w e ’ll t ak e them all.” Dalen “Above all, this musical experience builds Ew al d f rom Te rra c e ( lef t) po ses beside F elix stronger and better communities. It makes us N el l e s of P rinc e G e orge.

This musical experience builds stronger and better communities.

It makes us better and more compassionate people.

better and more compassionate people,” she says.

“Our main challenge in the North is not any lack of talent, interest or resources, but is in our geography and how dispersed we are. Orchestra North is overcoming this challenge by bringing people together through music.”

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JOIN IN THE BAND Anyone interested in joining Orchestra North can register online at www.orchestranorth.com. For a paper registration, email admissions@orchestranorth.com.

For

more

information visit the website or Facebook.com/ OrchestraNorth, or phone 250-847-2186.

This year’s early registration fee (until May 15) is $199, with normal registration set at $250. A family discount of $50 per additional family member is available and need-based bursaries are available upon request.

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APRIL/MAY ‘16

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THE DIRT ON composting

outhouses

by C h r i stoph D iet z felbi ng e r i n fo @bear mount a i n e e ri n g. c a

Every rural dwelling should have an outhouse.

Outhouses rarely plug up, their pipes don’t freeze, they operate without a water supply and they remind their users that there is no mysterious sink into which unpleasant and unwanted things disappear. They allow us to step outside to a different place and to look at our houses and lives from another point of view—literally.

Outhouses are also great savers of drinking water. Even low-flush toilets make a nasty, stinky excrement soup out of six litres of perfectly good water every time you push that button, while conventional toilets can use more than twice that.

If you’ve built a conventional system, you know how expensive pipes, septic tanks and lagoons are, and how easily they malfunction.

Outhouses need not be smelly, dark places where one trembles to plant a buttock. They can be friendly, pleasant places. Like mine, which I will proudly introduce to you here.

Overseas inspiration When I built the remote Burnie Glacier Chalet in the Howson Range southwest of Smithers in 2001, I had to address sanitation in a place far from city

sewers and flush toilets. I remembered how much money and effort the alpine clubs in Europe were putting into the sanitation of their huts.

A mountain hut in the Alps is not what we are used to in Canada. Some house 200 people and accommodating 80 guests is not a large operation.

There are many of them, and their summer and winter seasons are long. All those people make a lot of excrement, and it has to go somewhere.

Conventional sewer systems are challenging and expensive to build in cold areas with no soil at the heads of large watersheds.

I remember some hardcore biffies like the one at the 3,700-metre-high Bivacco Ghiglione in Mont Blanc: the drop through the metal floor down to the glacier was substantial, and updrafts would return used papers to the sender. Those things became unacceptable around the time I left in the mid 80s.

In 2001 British Columbia, a pit toilet would have been permitted, but I wanted to keep human waste out of the water table. So we built a composting outhouse, which has served beautifully for 15 years. I’m grateful for its work. Imagine absorbing fully 1,000 dumps in one winter and

digesting it all in the summer! Yet it does, year after year, without any input of power or water.

Well, I have to knock down the poopsicles once a week with a breaking bar, but that’s no big deal.

It rolls downhill…

Here’s the beauty of composting outhouses: instead of making up to 20 litres of nasty sewage out of the modest 0.25 litres of your average dump, they basically make the dump go away. Feces lose about 90 percent of their volume in the composting process. All it needs is time and space. The more the better.

It works very simply: build the outhouse on a 30-degree slope. Make the bottom impermeable; concrete works really well, but other materials do, too. Make the slope between three and five metres long and place the throne on top. Build a well-secured hatch into the bottom front, and let the relief begin.

The feces, together with paper and a bulking agent like sawdust, peat or leaves, glaciate slowly down that slope and decompose on the way. Vent the compost chamber so there is a slight draft down the hole, and the place does not even smell

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bad. Shovel out what remains once a year for heavy-use sites and every few years where it’s less.

Use the compost in your garden.

No pathogens survive several months outside the human body, and the organisms that break the compost down take care of any survivors.

Outhouses need not be smelly, dark places where one trembles to plant a buttock.

The Y Factor I know: there is the yuck factor. In North America, feces just aren’t cool. We’d rather dump them, more or less treated, into rivers and oceans. But feces and urine contain, among other good stuff, potassium and phosphorus, both non-renewable resources that are vital in industrial agriculture.

Night soil was—and still is—collected, sold and used as fertilizer in many areas of the world. It is problematic if it is not composted properly, but once that has happened, it can go right back into the soil.

This is the basic concept. You can go a lot further with a urine-separating toilet, which allows the waste to be treated independently. By keeping the compost drier, it decays better and smells less, and flies find it less attractive to breed in.

Separett is a Swedish company that sells urine-separating toilet seats. They come with a cushy Styrofoam seat that is comfortable at below-freezing temperatures. Even the ladies in my household like it. The seat requires some plumbing: The urine hose needs to be plumbed into a pipe that takes the fluid to a bucket if you

want to use it as fertilizer (a great way to use that potassium and phosphorus) or a greywater rock pit if you don’t.

In many countries, composting toilets are promoted by government and other agencies to increase sanitation and make the compost available for agriculture.

This is a low-tech, economical approach that is documented in fascinating films on YouTube. According to videos, outhouses in India improve women’s safety and health because people don’t have to go into the fields alone to defecate, and the fertilizer decreases dependency on imported and expensive chemicals.

ch ristoph dietz felbin ger

ch ristoph dietz felbin ger

C om pos ti n g toi l ets are re m a r ka b l y s i m pl e: bu i l d th em on a 3 0 - d e g re e s l ope th at’s s ev er al m e t re s l o n g w i th an i m per m eabl e b o t t o m .

Mater i al s gl aci ate s l ow l y d o w n t h a t s l ope an d decom pos e o n t h e w a y.

My next project, for which I left a hole in the floor at home, is the Indian-manufactured triple squat pan. I haven’t bought one yet because the minimum number is 500. While I consider going into business as a shithouse consultant once I can’t mountain guide anymore, that number seems a bit optimistic. The unit separates urine and is plumbed for washing in the back. Yes, many millions of people do not wipe. They wash.

My latest project, an outhouse I built at home before attempting to reproduce it in the backcountry, I finished just before the ladies got back from a trip. They approved, calling it nicer than they had expected. A few days later, the indoor toilet was plugged.

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APRIL/MAY ‘16

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CARIBOU How the Gwaii Haanas Agreement inspired a national park in Canada’s Far North

dave qu in n

“IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CARIBOU”

Th e s pectacu l ar H or n aday R i v er ’s can y on s an d w a t e r f a l l s a re o n e o f t h e w o n d e r s o f t h e n o r t h .

by Dave Qu i n n

d aveq@wildsig ht .c a

John “Muffa” Kudlak was born and raised tion of lands deemed critical to their culture and in Paulatuk, NWT, a hamlet of just over 300 way of life. residents and one of the most northerly permanent To this end they proposed three protected settlements on the Canadian mainland. areas as part of the Inuvialuit land claims settleHe grew up on the land, enjoying all the ment: Aulavik National Park to protect the rich reasons Paulatuk is a great place to live. Arctic migratory bird habitat of the Thomsen River char return every summer to the Hornaday, Valley on Banks Island, Ivvavik National Park Brock and Horton rivers. Beluga and polar bear on the Yukon-Alaska border to protect the frequent the coastal region. Most importantly, calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd the Bluenose-West caribou herd returns every and Tuktut Nogait National Park, to protect the summer on its annual migration from treeline calving grounds of the Bluenose-West caribou back to the barren arctic coastal highlands near herd. town to have their calves.

Kudlak’s life as a hunter and an Arctic guideFrom caribou to salmon outfitter changed when a ban on international The people of Paulatuk liked the co-management trade in sea mammals made it impossible for him model pioneered by the Haida with the to find clients. More recently, drastic declines in groundbreaking 1993 Gwaii Haanas Agreement. caribou numbers have halted all trophy hunting This unique model required neither the federal of caribou. It was clear to Kudlak that Paulatuk government nor the Haida Nation to officially needed a new economy—a solution that cede their respective title claims and interests protected the interests of multiple stakeholders on the land inside the park reserve boundaries, while protecting the environment and allowing but instead allowed them to move forward with locals to continue practising their culture on the their shared interest in protecting the landscape. land.

Traditional Haida activities were allowed to R es i den ts of P au l atu k , N W T, a h am l et of j u s t In the 1990s, Kudlak got involved in the land continue and both parties share management ov er 3 0 0 res i den ts an d on e of th e m os t n or th er l y claims settlement process for the Inuvialuit per m an en t s ettl em en ts on th e C an adi an m ai n l an d, decisions.

Settlement Region. A sprawling 90,650 square To better understand the Gwaii Haanas Agreetook i n s pi r ati on from th e h i s tor i c Gw ai i H aan as kilometres, the region contains some of the most ment, a team from Paulatuk travelled south to A greem en t, n egoti ated by th e H ai da on B C ’s extensive, pristine wilderness left on the planet learn firsthand from the Haida. It was a long n or th w es t coas t, w h en pl an n i n g th e co-m an aged as well as some of the most coveted natural journey: 19-passenger Twin Otter to Inuvik, Tu k tu t N ogai t N ati on al P ar k . resources: diamonds and oil in abundance. jet to Yellowknife, Edmonton, Vancouver and, One of the settlement process’s goals was finally, back north to Sandspit. Kudlak came to clarify the rights of access for resource extraction companies. Diamonds, south representing the Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee. gold and oil all called to hungry investors. The Inuvialuit aimed to balance “I remember that trip like it was yesterday!” he recalls with a grin that lights economic development of the north for northerners with permanent protecup the tundra. “The Haida people were our hosts. I ate so much salmon I Great Bear Lake

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The park contains 360 archeological sites, as well as numerous large tundra lakes full of legsized lake trout and searun arctic char. Hornaday River’s canyons and waterfalls are one of the wonders of the north.

could barely walk! They also eat seaweed. We have seaweed here too, but we never eat it! The size of the trees is what impressed us the most, and the canoes and poles and houses they made out of them. We have nothing like that up here.”

The Inuvialuit wanted Parks to protect caribou calving areas while ensuring residents could continue to live off the land, with any benefits from the park remaining in Paulatuk: “The Gwaii Haanas co-management model lets everyone into the room, to make decisions that are best for the land and best for the people that are a part of that land,” Kudlak says.

Like the Haida, the Inuvialuit are inseparable from their traditional lands. Without salmon, skloo, gow and a healthy ocean, the Haida culture loses much of its essence. Without caribou, char, lake trout, muskox and time out “on the land,” much of what the Inuvialuit have become over thousands of years would be greatly diminished.

“When we are at home the satellite dish comes on, the furnace fires up and we are all stuck to our little cellphones,” Kudlak explains. “Come the weekend, we have to disconnect and get back onto the land. We cannot live away from the land.

Out here is where we are alive.”

With help from the Haida, the Inuvialuit of Paulatuk pursued co-management of Tuktut Nogait National Park. After six years of negotiations, an agreement between the federal government, Northwest Territories, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Inuvialuit Game Council, Paulatuk Community Corporation and Paulatuk Hunters and Trappers Committee was signed in June 1996, protecting over 16,000 square kilometres just south of town. The park contains 360 archeological sites, as well as numerous large tundra lakes full of leg-sized lake trout and sea-run arctic char.

Hornaday River’s canyons and waterfalls are one of the wonders of the north.

Most importantly, it protects the calving grounds of the Bluenose-West. This herd was estimated at 112,000 animals in 1992, but has, like most other caribou herds across Canada, been in freefall ever since. The 2015 estimate pegs the herd at a mere 15,000 animals, just over 10 percent of historical numbers. Climate change, industrial activity and overhunting are all to blame. Spring ... continued on Page 14

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da ve quinn

Aviag sivik Lak e (Man y C ach es L ak e), gatew ay to 1 8 , 0 0 0 s qu are k i l ome t re s o f s t u n n i n g , p ro t e c t e d Arc t i c w i l d e r n e s s . ... continued from Page 13

green-up arrives up to three weeks earlier than normal and the caribou migrations arrive too late to make the most of the best nutrients, a timing that is critical for successful calving and lactating.

Protection of the calving grounds and protection from overhunting is also a critical part of managing the herd’s future. Sixteen communities rely on these caribou as they follow their extensive migration routes, so the potential for over-harvest is real. There has already been a switch to reindeer meat from the large herd near Inuvik and to muskox from Banks Island where a harvest of up to 3,000 animals is allowed.

“It’s all about the caribou,” Kudlak states. For him, the park offers insight into his past, as well as a rare opportunity to earn some income while sharing his wisdom with visitors.

“We try to not even have aircraft fly over the park while the caribou are calving and while the calves are small in May and June,” he explains. “People are welcome to hike anytime, but all our fly-in trips or research that needs helicopter or plane support is planned for August after the caribou begin to move south.”

The last three known Dawson caribou on Haida Gwaii were shot in 1908 as specimens for the Royal British Columbia Museum. While the Haida did not rely significantly on caribou for sustenance, caribou meat is critical for Inuvialuit to feed their families. In a community where a litre of milk or a brown head of broccoli (when it is available) sets you back $10 and a B-grade Christmas turkey can cost over $200, the economics of harvesting healthy, local food weighs nearly as heavy as the cultural connections that this harvest provides.

Conservation and co-operation Canada’s parliament officially finalized the Tuktut Nogait protection agreement in 1998 and additions to the park from the neighbouring Sahtu Settlement Region added a further 1,850 square kilometres, bringing Tuktut Nogait to 18,000 square kilometres, just shy of the size of the entire SkeenaQueen Charlotte Regional District at 19,700 square kilometres.

Today, Tuktut Nogait is Canada’s second co-managed park. The model is gaining traction throughout the national parks system and around the world. The Déline First Nation entered into Canada’s third protected area co-management agreement with the 2009 creation of Saoyú-ʔehdacho National Historic Site, which protects over 5,500 square kilometres on the Northwest Territories’ Great Bear Lake. Déline First Nation consulted with Tuktuk Nogait’s management board members during the negotiations to protect Saoyú-ʔehdacho and it is hoped that this model will trickle out to many protected areas across Canada.

After Gwaii Haanas, Tuktut Nogait was the first in what is hoped to be a long list of Canadian protected areas that are co-managed by the federal government and local First Nations based on the model created in Haida Gwaii. Co-management is a made-in-the-northwest solution to some of the modern conservation and cultural challenges of the 21st century.

The best way to visit one of Canada’s most remote and least visited national parks is via the Parks Canada Basecamp experience.

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Singing, winging signs of spring How casual bird watchers are contributing to scientific knowledge

by Emi ly B u l me r ad vent uremily@yaho o. c a

As the snow melts and reveals muddy pathways, neglected dog deposits and last fall’s unfinished yard work, many people just want to get the heck out of town.

But while some folks buy tickets to Mexico to escape the brown season for a few weeks, there are tropical travellers making their way north. Every year birds migrate from the southern US, Mexico and Central America to breed in northern BC and beyond in the Arctic. As pussy willows pop and crocuses reach for the sky, giving hope of warmer weather to come, the migration cycle marks the true arrival of spring. Bird biologist Kerrith McKay spends each spring witnessing the flurry of arrivals.

“It starts in April with the waterfowl,” she says. Geese, ducks, swans and cranes pass through northern BC. While some make their summer homes here, many are on their way to breeding grounds in the Arctic. It seems a

long way to go to have babies, but the payoff is worthwhile: a feast of insects as they hatch all across the tundra. Birds rely on this constant food source to feed their young until they are ready to fly south.

“The cranes arrive in April and going out to see them is kind of like a rite of spring,” McKay remarks. Sandhill crane migration is a spectacular sight, with noisy funnel clouds of birds landing in flooded fields and valley bottoms.

Travelling from New Mexico and Texas all the way to the Arctic, sandhill cranes can fly more than 500 km per day at an elevation of up to 3,600 m.

“Overwintering habitat and summer breeding habitat are really important, but it is the stopover habitat that can be the most limiting for migrants,” McKay says. Fields, marshes, forests and greenways are critical for rest and refuelling as the birds make their long and perilous journeys north. “There ... continued on Page 25

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NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA T h e K h u t ze ym a t e e n G r i zzl y S a n c t u a r y i s a p ro v i n c i a l p a r k o n BC ’s n o r t h c o a s t . Yo u c a n ’t c a m p h e re ( f e w w o u l d w a n t t o ) b u t i t ’s w o r t h t h e d a yt r i p , followed by coastal camping in t h e P r i n c e R u p e r t a re a .

POSTCARD Exploring & camping in northern BC

BC P arks

parks

by Matt J S i m mo ns thewr it er@mat t jsim m on s. c om

The days are getting longer. The warmth of the sun is starting to break through the wall of winter. What will you do with the extra hours of light, the warmth, that sense of the world opening itself up to possibility?

Road trip perhaps? A hike to see new growth pushing through the melting snow? Or maybe that big adventure you’ve been planning all winter? Every year, the landscape opens up again and with it comes a sense of freedom— the possibilities for exploration are infinite.

For most, camping is a spring and summer thing. All across this vast region are parks and protected areas managed by the BC government. Some are small, perfect places for weekend-warrior camping, with good amenities and drive-in sites; others are seemingly endless tracts of rugged landscape, where you can set out with a pack and disappear for days, if not weeks.

It would take every page of this magazine to cover all the parks in northern BC, so this is just a small sampling. To find out more about any of these parks or explore other ideas, head over to www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks.

North Coast Waking up to the sound of surf rolling in on a beach is a unique pleasure.

On the archipelago of Haida Gwaii, the camping is exquisite. Free from snow most—if not all—of the year, Haida Gwaii has plenty of options for exploration from a tent.

Naikoon Provincial Park is a great place to start. Covering a sizeable chunk of the northeast part of Graham Island, Naikoon has two official campgrounds—Agate Beach and Misty Meadows—and includes North Beach, 16 | APRIL/MAY ‘16 |

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Rose Spit Ecological Reserve and several amazing trails. You can camp on North Beach for free, but you have to be self-sufficient and always remember to respect the natural ecosystem.

On the other side of the Hecate Strait sits one of BC’s most extraordinary parks: the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary. It’s a special place. Human use of the park is limited and strictly controlled to protect its grizzly bear population. Trips into the park are typically arranged through a registered, park-sanctioned guide and are limited to boat access only. If this is an article about camping, you ask, why include a park that doesn’t allow camping? Well, because it’s amazing and you should go.

Here’s the plan: catch a boat out to the Khutzeymateen to immerse yourself in the world of bears and when you’re done, take a short drive to Prudhomme Lake Provincial Park, just outside Prince Rupert, where you’ll find a welcome place to pitch a tent.

Terrace Anhluut’ukwsim Laxmihl Angwinga’asanskwhl Nisga’a, also known as Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Provincial Park, is jointly managed by the BC government and the Nisga’a First Nation. About 100 km north of Terrace, the park is a mix of natural history, namely, volcanic activity—one of the most recent examples in Canadian geological history—and cultural history.

Because the volcano spewed immense lava flows so recently (only 250 years ago) this terrifying natural event features prominently in Nisga’a stories, mythology, legend and history. The lava flow destroyed two villages and took ... continued on Page 18

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cou rtesy of bc parks

South o f Terrace, Lakel se Lake i s o ne o f the area’s mo st popul ar and f ami l y - f ri end l y campi ng and b o ati ng si tes. (also shown at right)

co urte sy o f b c pa rks

co urte sy o f b c pa rks

co urte sy o f b c pa rks

N a i k o o n Provi n ci al Park on H a ida Gwa ii’s G r a h a m I sl an d h as campgrounds a t A ga t e Bea c h a nd Mi s ty Mead ows, whic h prov ide e a sy a c c e s s to North Be a c h, Rose Spit E co l o g i c a l Res erve an d some a ma z ing t ra ils.

N is ga’a Memoria l La v a Be d Prov inc ia l P a rk, abou t 1 00 k m nort h of Te rra c e , is a m i x of n atura l a nd c ult ura l hist ory.

... continued from Page 16

the lives of 2,000 people. What’s left is a combination of gripping stories and a spectacular landscape of incredible volcanic features. Add the Nass River, epic mountains, flora and fauna, and you’ve got the makings of a memorable camping trip.

South of Terrace, about halfway down Highway 37 to Kitimat, is one of the most popular camping and boating sites in the area. Lakelse Lake is much loved by visitors, travellers and locals alike. It’s part of the Skeena River watershed and boasts an impressive population of old-growth trees—cedar, Sitka spruce and hemlock. The lake is great for swimming in summer, the campgrounds have plenty of amenities and the park has a number of trails to hike.

18 | APRIL/MAY ‘16

Northern You don’t ever forget Mount Edziza. If you happen to meet someone who has been there and engage them in conversation about the park, their eyes tend to glaze over a little bit and their voice catches a wistful wind of excitement.

The park covers a vast landscape, much of which is in the alpine. The mountain itself is a dormant volcano and the evidence of its eruption covers an immense plateau: a desolately beautiful place. While there are some limited camping amenities at Buckley and Mowdade lakes (including bear caches), this is a true backcountry wilderness where visitors have to be skilled, ... continued on Page 20

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matt j. simmon s

The B abi ne M o untai ns’ Si l verki ng B asi n b o asts the i d y l l i c J oe L’ O rsa b ackco untry cab i n. B e sure to w atch f or w i l dl i f e!

co urte sy o f b c p a rks

co urte sy o f b c p a rks

T he Ba b i n e Mou n tai n s e a st of Smit he rs cove r 3 1 ,000 s tu n n i n g he c t a re s wit h t ra ils r a ng i n g from day h i kes t o mult i-da y t re k s.

co urte sy o f b c p a rks

Th e e ff o rt requ i red to a c c e ss Ta t she nshini- A lse k P ro v i nc i a l Park (ei th er driv ing t hrough t he Yuk on or c a t c h i n g a ferry to A la sk a ) is we ll wort h t he rew a rd : part of a UNE SC O World H e rit a ge Sit e , i t i s t he larges t protec t e d a re a in t he world a nd i nc l ud e s s praw l i n g gl ac ie rs, prist ine riv e rs a nd Mo un t Fai rw eath er, B C’s highe st pe a k .

T h e Ba b i n e Mo u n t a i n s e a s t o f S m i t h e r s

... continued from Page 18

knowledgeable, self-sufficient and prepared for encounters with wildlife.

Typically accessed by floatplane, Mount Edziza is the northern adventure and one well worth all the required planning.

Farther north, shortly before you hit the BC-Yukon border, is a little place called Boya Lake Provincial Park. You probably wouldn’t come here unless you were on a road trip up to the Yukon or Alaska, but if you are making that journey, it’s a great spot to spend a night. The lake is sublime and its remoteness instils a feeling of timelessness, set smack dab in the middle of a great wild expanse. With plenty of drive-in campsites and a few spots to launch a canoe, Boya Lake is a place you should write into your itinerary if you’re heading north.

To get to Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, you have to either drive up through the Yukon (passing Boya Lake on the way) or catch a ferry to Alaska and make your way from Haines or Skagway. The triangular-shaped park is in British Columbia, however, and is home to BC’s highest peak—the incongruously named Mount Fairweather.

20 | APRIL/MAY ‘16

The effort getting here will be rewarded. Together with bordering parks in the Yukon and Alaska, Tatshenshini-Alsek is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest protected area in the world. Big mountains, sprawling glaciers and pristine rivers protected from source to sea are what set this place apart.

Bulkley Valley The Bulkley Valley has numerous provincial parks with great trails, lakes, rivers, mountains and campgrounds—a smorgasbord of outdoor recreation opportunities. One of the largest parks in the area is the Babine Mountains.

East of Smithers, the park covers over 31,000 hectares with trails ranging from day hikes to multi-day treks. The Silverking Basin boasts the idyllic Joe L’Orsa backcountry cabin and wilderness camping is allowed throughout the park.

Folks looking for a bit of adventure might consider paddling the lake chain in Nenikëkh/Nanika-Kidprice Provincial Park, near Houston. It’s a spec... continued on Page 22

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matt j. simmon s

The Northern Rocky Mountains are as stunning as their southern counterpart, but without the crowds of Banff and Jasper.

Liard River Hot Springs, which boasts a campsite as well as bathing pools with boardwalks, benches and change rooms, is a highlight when driving the Alaska Highway.

court esy of bc p arks

court esy of bc p arks

court esy of bc p arks

Mu n c h o L ake, w h i ch bo rde rs N ort he r n Roc k y Mou n tai n s Provinc ia l Pa rk , ha s tw o o ff i c i al B C Parks ca mpgrounds— not t o m e n ti on s pectacula r v ie ws.

Uncha Mountain Red Hills Provincial Park, on the shores of Francois Lake, features a variety of ecosystems including grasslands and low-elevation old-growth forests.

... continued from Page 20

tacular place where travellers will discover a well-defined canoe route with portage trails and wilderness campsites along the way. The views are memorable, to say the least.

For a spot offering well-maintained campsites with amenities and easy access to groceries and supplies, check out Tyhee Lake, in Telkwa. Not far off Highway 16, Tyhee Lake is a great place to set up shop for a night or a few days while you explore the area. It’s perfect for swimming, boating and spending time with friends, old or new.

22 | APRIL/MAY ‘16

Interior Beaumont Provincial Park between Burns Lake and Prince George, on the shores of Fraser Lake and not far from the lake’s namesake town, is an ideal spot for fishing, boating, swimming, windsurfing (Fraser Lake is known for steady winds) and, of course, family-friendly camping during the summer season (May 15 to Sept. 14). ... continued on Page 24

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... continued from Page 22

In the Uncha Mountain Red Hills Provincial Park, on the shores of Francois Lake, travellers will find a unique landscape and a great place to hike. Its location features a microclimate that encourages a variety of ecosystems to flourish, including grasslands and low-elevation old-growth forests.

There are no designated camping areas here, but visitors are welcome to camp in the backcountry, taking care to respect these rare ecosystems and all their associated plant and animal life.

as you’ll often see in Jasper or Banff, you’ll find almost no humans at all. And yet, the landscape is strikingly similar to its southern counterparts—in other words, jaw-dropping.

It’s a wild place (there are no campsites or amenities in this park) so if you intend to explore by foot, boat or horse, plan your trip well and stay safe.

Not much farther north, and bordering the Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park, is Muncho Lake. Here you’ll find two official BC Parks campgrounds, from which you can stage explorations, either out on the lake or up one of the surrounding mountains.

Farther still, Liard River Hot Springs is a highlight when driving the Alaska Highway. There’s a campground, but the big attraction is the hot springs themselves. BC Parks built an elaborate system of boardwalks, benches and change rooms to accommodate the many visitors who come every year to take a dip. The structures don’t take away from the natural beauty of this place, though, and anyone passing by should definitely take the opportunity to soak in the pools.

Typically accessed by floatplane, Mount Edziza is the northern adventure and one well worth all the required planning.

Prince George A short drive east from Prince George, Purden Lake is a natural refuge from the hustle of city life. Popular with locals, the park features a large campground, boating, fishing and swimming opportunities, as well as lakeside trails.

North of the city is another great spot for camping and exploring: Crooked River Provincial Park. The sandy beaches at Bear Lake are popular with families and three short trails provide an opportunity to explore the lodgepole pine forest, stretch your legs and look for birds and other wildlife. Crooked River features in the historic travels of both Alexander Mackenzie and Simon Fraser.

Alaska Highway Heading up the Alaska Highway is a rite of passage for many people.

Americans from the “Lower 48” (as Alaskans refer to the rest of the country) are particularly drawn to the route, exploring its history and epic landscapes simultaneously. Oh, and they are indeed epic. Coming from the south, after you pass through Fort Nelson, you’ll hit Stone Mountain Provincial Park and its bordering neighbour, the Northern Rocky Mountains Provincial Park.

The Rockies are incredible wherever you experience them, but up here it’s different. The biggest difference is population, both local and transient. Here, instead of a bevvy of tourists snapping shots of peaks and glaciers and lakes,

To the east Mount Robson is one of the most iconic views in BC. The snow-covered peak has been photographed thousands of times for publication and likely millions of times by tourists, travellers and amateur photographers alike—for good reason. The mountain looms up from its surrounding landscape, imposing and magisterial. Approaching from the west on Highway 16, the first views are enough to make you consciously pay more attention to the act of driving, because you know that it holds your gaze and, well, nobody wants to crash their car while looking at a mountain.

There are three campgrounds in the park and plenty of great trails to hike.

During summer, this park can be very busy. Have a look online for information on how to book a site in advance.

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are many species you can see that are just passing through—sandpipers, yellowlegs and flocks of white-throated sparrows. They may not be breeding here, but you will see them.”

yellow flash of feathers and quick movement can draw an observer’s attention from afar. Some of the warblers that breed in northern BC include Wilson’s, Townsend’s, the yellow-rumped and the Canada warbler. Beyond identification, watching what the birds are doing for a few minutes opens up a new world.

“From when they arrive until the middle of July, they are in a state—staking out territory, finding a mate and raising their young,” McKay says. Whether you catch two males in a sing-off for territory or a mate or watch a pair build an intricate nest, there is a lot going on if you take the time to observe it.

Birds do it, bees do it As spring progresses, songbirds start to arrive in northern BC to breed.

“May and June is the the most fun time to watch birds. Starting in May, you can observe a new species every few days right into June,” McKay says. When they arrive, they are singing to find mates and defend territory, giving away their location, and because the leaves aren’t out, Amateur observations they are very easy to see.

Watching birds isn’t only about “If you are trying to learn what you see and hear; it is also new birds, it is the best time. about what is absent. Some It’s not daunting because Bulkley Valley birdwatchers everything comes in gradually. have noticed a marked decline If you can hear a bird three or in the red-breasted nuthatch. four times and get a visual on Kerrith McKay “They are not as ubiquitous it, you might remember it. It as they once were,” McKay can be hard to go out in the says. “They are easy to idensummer and hear all the birds tify, especially with their ank ank call, but I looked at once, especially when it is harder to see them.” back on some point counts (observations) and By walking through a wide range of habitat, their numbers are definitely down over the last including shoreline, open fields, aspen forest and few years. We know that songbirds in general are mixed forest at both low and higher elevations, in decline … and long-term bird studies help us you increase your chances of seeing a wide range understand these changes.” of birds.

She explains that long-term studies are rare “I really like the western tanager,” McKay says. and, as government priorities change, there often “They are really beautiful with red and yellow isn’t funding. There is hope, however, as citizen plumage and as close to a tropical-looking bird science increasingly supports bird research. One that we will get. They can be found high up in example of this is Bird Studies Canada’s Breeding the aspens.”

Bird Atlases. Volunteers make observations on However, it isn’t always possible to see everybreeding birds and they are put in the public thing you believe is there. Some shy species such record. As scientists can’t collect all the data, as the sora, which you’ll find in the wetlands, or “using everyone’s observations over the long term the hermit thrush, found in the forest, will only makes a lot of sense,” McKay says. make themselves known by their call. RedAnyone wishing to participate in the winged blackbirds are always easy to see and hear Bird Studies Canada programs can visit near any body of water with their konk-kor-ee-ah www.birdscanada.org for more information. A call and the males’ trademark red and yellow bird book, binoculars and a notebook and pencil markings. are all you need.

The warblers, with their patches of bright yellow Bird studies and volunteer observations are plumage, are not necessarily easy to spot, but the

We know that songbirds in general are in decline … and long-term bird studies help us understand these changes.

especially important with the growing impact of climate change. Bird migration is timed with photoperiod, or how many hours the sun shines in a day, and not temperature. Insects, however, hatch according to temperature. If breeding ground temperatures warm up before the birds arrive, breeding is out of synch with the food source. An early hatch can also turn the predatorprey relationship on its head; insects can prey on chicks before they have grown any feathers to protect them, which has been observed in the case of the peregrine falcon in the Arctic. When observations like this are passed along to organizations tracking the information, it helps answer questions when patterns change or populations decline.

Whether you are a seasoned birder checking off a “life list,” an appreciative bystander or a citizen scientist, watching spring bird activity is an opportunity to tune in to the world around us.

Going for a walk and paying attention to the birds can be exciting and relaxing at the same time.

Spring bird migration brings the fields, forests and skies to life and gives us earth-bound humans a chance to stand in awe of their heavenly accomplishments.

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Sunny slopes and garden growth Approaching your crops from a new angle

by Nor ma Kerby nkerby@t elus.net

On a moderate, southwest-facing slope near Terrace, the remnants of a 100-year-old orchard grow as ragged witness to the agricultural era in the lower Skeena Valley. Years ago, as a child, I would join my family in picking fruit from those aging, broken trees. Even then, I wondered why someone would plant apple trees on a slope, rather than across the flat land at the bottom.

As we picked apples in the fading autumn sun, the warmth of the slope, compared to the cool air in the meadow at the base of the hill, should have told me why old-timers sought out south-facing slopes for their fruit orchards. Their understanding of slopes’ climatic advantages has largely been lost from many modern methods of gardening and farming.

At the upper boundary of the mid-latitude zone, many communities in our region are located above 55 degrees in what is classified as the subarctic zone. Our share of the solar radiation hitting the Earth’s surface is less than 50 percent of that reaching the tropics. Any technique that increases the amount and quality of sunshine reaching your garden and warming your soil is an advantage for growing food.

The sun is most intense when it strikes perpendicular to a surface. As it is never directly overhead at our distance from the Equator, the advantage of a southerly slope is its ability to capture more intense radiation than that hitting flat land.

A garden designed to take advantage of this will have warmer soils and higher productivity, as long as there is sufficient moisture.

This is how it works: If we start March 20, the spring equinox, for a garden at the latitude of Smithers or Terrace (54 degrees north), the maximum angle the sun rises above the horizon is 36 degrees, with incoming sunshine arriving at an angle of 36 degrees to a flat surface. The slope perpendicular to the incoming radiation can be calculated on the geometric principle that the

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If you are fortunate enough to be located on a south-facing slope with tillable, fertile soils and sufficient moisture, your garden will be warmer and more productive than one on flat land.

sum of the remaining angles in a right-angle triangle is 90 degrees. Therefore, a southfacing slope of 54 degrees would receive the most intense sunlight.

If you wish to encounter the earliest exposed ecosystems in the spring, a south-facing slope in the range of 40 to 60 degrees will often be the one that has melted the quickest and has the most wildlife activity. By the summer solstice on June 21, the sun has reached a maximum noontime altitude of 58 degrees, with a southerly slope of 32 degrees receiving the most intense radiation.

In the Bulkley Valley, the upper reaches of these types of slopes are the hottest and driest summer locations and can experience ground-moisture shortages. On slopes where there has been limited environmental damage, these warm, dry slopes support naturally treeless ecosystems. If we were farther south, such as the Okanagan Valley, the mid and lower reaches of these southerly slopes would be supporting fruit orchards or vineyards.

In the northern interior, they are often the best locations for productive hayfields and pastures.

Value for northern gardeners If you are fortunate enough to be located on a south-facing slope with tillable, fertile soils and sufficient moisture, your garden will be warmer and more productive than one on flat land or a north-facing slope. Even a short slope, as long as there is sufficient moisture, can offer significant advantages for growing heat-loving crops. One family I know near Smithers lives in the lower third of a steep, southwest-facing hill. The warm

air generated by the slope acts as a warming oven to heat the garden boxes and greenhouse clustered on the bench for their home.

If your garden is like mine, on flat land, you can construct micro-slopes to take advantage of incoming solar radiation. My garden is raised above the surrounding ground and solar radiation hitting the sloped, raised edges elevates soil temperature in a band around the garden. This is the zone where I plant my early potato varieties. Most years we are able to eat new potatoes by July 1. For the remainder of my heritage potatoes, the rows are oriented east to west. Hilling the plants creates long, south-facing micro-slopes that allow soil warming and better potato productivity.

For heat-loving crops such as pumpkin and squash, dirt mounds elevate the soil and take advantage of solar radiation heating the small slopes. For finicky crops such as corn, which in the inland coastal valleys is very much a hit-andmiss crop depending upon weather conditions, I have constructed my garden in steps. Years when I feel like gambling on the weather, I plant corn along the edge of the highest step in order to take advantage of my garden’s warmest soils.

Soaking up sun Some old-timers took slopes and solar radiation to an even more interesting level. To understand what they were doing, there is another characteristic of incoming radiation that we need to understand.

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An y r i s e i n slope will give a heat a d v a n t a g e t o y o u r g a rd e n .

that radiation is transmitted into the ground as heat depends upon the colour and type of material at the surface.

Wet, light-coloured, organic material is a poor conductor of heat and is one reason why soils stay cool and moist under compost layers. If hot, dry soils are a problem for your garden, then compost layers will keep the root layers moist and cool. If colder soils are a problem, thick organic layers on the surface may reduce soil temperatures to the point that crops such as carrots and turnips do not grow well. Even non-root crops such as kale and broccoli will be less productive growing in soils that are too cold for vigorous root growth.

To elevate soil and air temperatures, some

northern BC homesteaders used lithic gardening techniques, or the use of rock to conduct heat into the soil. Large, dark-coloured stones half buried along the north side of a crop, such as a cluster of kohlrabi, will not only capture radiation on their sloped sides, but will rapidly conduct this heat into the ground. The old-timers who lived at higher elevations or in colder valleys could dramatically increase their vegetable crops by using this technique. Some even went as far as building stone walls on the slopes, which also helped develop terraces of garden soil and direct cold-air drainage away from their plants.

We live in a zone where solar heating strongly contrasts between microhabitats. Whether it is

building a thermal wall in your greenhouse, using micro-slopes and stones to raise your soil temperatures or making your soil as dark as possible, adapting your garden to the characteristics of our northern sunshine will give direct benefits in the amount of food that you can grow.

Information about the cycles of solar altitude and length of daylight, as well as the abilities of various materials to reflect or absorb solar radiation or conduct heat, can be found in a technical book available on-line called Smithsonian Meteorological Tables. It is initially a challenging book to use, but has a wealth of information about solar characteristics at different latitudes.

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The asparagus exspeariment Once established, this tender perennial is a welcome addition to the garden —and your dinner plate Asparagus is pretty carefree once you get it established.

by Emi ly B u l m e r advent uremily@ya h oo. c a

I cuss, you cuss, we all cuss for asparagus! Well, maybe the melodious sounds of the asparagus truck isn’t exactly a reality in your neighbourhood, but that doesn’t mean there is any less joy when the first green tip of an asparagus spear breaks the warm spring earth.

Most vegetables taste better when grown close to home and for asparagus this is especially true.

If you think you don’t like asparagus, try some from a farmers’ market or your own backyard and you will be amazed. No fibrous strings, no bitter taste: homegrown asparagus is melt-in-yourmouth sweet and needs almost no dressing up.

Dave Cody knows asparagus better than many, having spent 37 years growing it on his Telkwa farm. Last year, he grew 350 pounds. He has about 50 regular customers and distributes his product at local drop-off points. The demand certainly outstrips supply, so if you can’t get your hands on Cody’s asparagus, you can start a crop of your own. Growing asparagus at home is a long-term project, but one that is well worthwhile.

Seeds or transplants An asparagus bed can be started from seed or from transplanted crowns. Asparagus started from seed

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is very small and fragile for at least a year, but can be started in a container for added protection.

Once sprouted, they are so small they look like grass. Make sure the soil is well drained and has plenty Dave of nutrients to feed the young plants. When fall comes, sinking the container deep into your garden adds extra protection from the cold. The following season you can transplant the tender shoots into a nursery bed.

According to Cody, the best way to prepare asparagus beds is the “trench method.” Using a rototiller, hoe or spade, dig a trench about eight inches deep. Fan the crowns on top and roots in the bottom of the trench. Backfill the trench gradually with compost and organic matter, burying the crowns over the course of the season.

“This gives the crown the ability to put roots down deeper, which prevents winter-kill,” Cody says. “I’ve experienced probably five years of winter-kill (and lost) 20 or 30 crowns—it is kind of heartbreaking after all that work. Frost will heave the plants closer to the surface, which also increases the possibility of winter-kill.”

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To avoid winter-kill, ensure you have well-drained soil, a thick layer of mulch and snow cover, if possible, to provide extra insulation from the cold. Cody advises keeping the earth flat around the Cody crowns rather than mounding: “Water will run off the mound and won’t be evenly distributed in your bed,” he says.

Once in place, ongoing maintenance consists of feeding and weeding the crop.

“Asparagus is a heavy feeder,” he says. “They are up there with corn. You have to feed it or you pay the price.”

He uses a combination of compost, fish fertilizer, slow-release organic fertilizer and dolomite lime.

“I also save the ashes from the woodstove to maintain a pH of around 7 and keep down some of the weeds that don’t like ash.” He no longer uses manure: “I used manure one year and the result was a wicked crop of sow thistle. Now there’s Grazon (a herbicide) I have to look out for, so I stay away from manure.”

Cody recommends using a heavy mulch to keep the weeds down. In about two years, once the

Harvest Asparagus is a perennial, so it cannot be completely harvested. Cody says, “Always let some stems grow—that’s what feeds the root system.

Leave them to grow through the fall and they get knocked over in the winter. The foliage is dead and crispy in spring after it has dried out. We clip and burn them and then reintroduce the ash back into the ground.”

He recommends harvesting conservatively until the third year.

“A normal crown will produce 20 to 30 spears once it is established and you want to leave 10 to 15 percent for the plant to nourish its roots. As time progresses past the fourth, fifth and sixth years, you can cut more heavily.” Like most perennial plants, eventually asparagus needs to be divided. “You should divide the older crowns at about seven or eight years.”

A relative of the lily family, asperagus is treated in the same way: Once lilies become over crowded you have to divide them so they keep on blooming.

em ily bul mer

mulch has decomposed, add a slow-release fertilizer, then lay more mulch on top.

“Asparagus is pretty carefree once you get it established. Past the third year (it does) appreciate the care and will pay you for it in the future.” He recommends new growers “keep it small so you can tend to it and keep up with the weeds.”

Pests are not a problem, according to Cody.

“The asparagus beetle hasn’t made the journey this far north. I think it is too cold here for it to survive the winter.” Anthracnose is a fungal disease that can affect asparagus, presenting as rust-coloured foam and difficult, if not impossible, to defeat, according to Cody: “Remove the plant and burn it. Once it is in the soil, there’s not much you can do.”

Cody grows three varieties: Mary Washington, Viking and Guelph Millennium. “I lean towards the hybrid, all-male varieties—they are the heavier producers. I tried the purple variety two years in a row and they all died. I tried the white and it didn’t do very well, either.” Since 1977 he’s tested about nine varieties. “I’m sticking to the three I have for now. They work well on this farm.”

A s par agu s : a l on g-ter m i n v es tm e n t t h a t p a y s m a n y s e a s o n s o f d i v i d e n d s .

Happily, this means you have more asparagus to expand your bed or to give away to your friends.

When cutting the asparagus to eat, store it tips up in a jar or plastic bag with some water at the bottom—just like flowers. “You can trick them in to thinking they are still alive and they will keep for about seven days,” Cody says.

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Asparagus is fantastic steamed, grilled or lightly stir-fried. Although it is a long-term gardening project, the tender, green shoots are worth it.

If you share a bit with your friends or pass on a crown or two, it is a treat that can be paid forward and your friends might not be so green with envy.

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column

Top Culture

Campfire sites of decolonization

by Rob Budde rbudde@shaw.ca

A central moment in the history and future of this region is playing out at the junction of the Moberly and Peace rivers, where Treaty 8 land stewards are camped in the path of clear-cutting in preparation for the planned construction of Site C dam.

The provincial context for the Rocky Mountain Fort camp and the Treaty 8 Stewards of the Land resistance to the controversial project includes the Lelu Island Declaration opposing Petronas and LNG development, the Unist’ot’en camp resisting TransCanada/Enbridge/Pacific Trail pipelines, the Secwepemc protest in the Mount Polley disaster aftermath, the Tahltan defence of the Sacred Headwaters against development on Klappan Mountain—all within the context of the legal

rights and rightful occupation of traditional lands established in the Supreme Court of Canada’s 1997 Delgamuukw decision.

As at other sites, the assertion of mere existence and simple presence on traditional lands at Site C is causing a legal and ethical pause in the seemingly endless progression of development and resource extraction mayhem. While the legal system is involved—the stewards, including Helen Knott, Yvonne Tupper, and Ken and Arlene Boon, have been issued an injunction and civil law suit—there remain huge questions about how the region will respond.

Environmentalists like David Suzuki have voiced their support of the land stewards, but a more diverse cross-section of northern BC’s population is starting to see the wisdom in the movement’s goals. Northern BC is a unique place on this planet and government and corporate activity have not made the region’s long-term health and people a priority.

There are numerous arguments against building Site C. The one I understand most has to do with First Nations’ rights. As a social justice issue, I do not see how the courts, and the court of public opinion, can possibly support its construction.

“We continue to be involved in the peaceful, lawful exercise of our Treaty Rights to protect the land and highlight our concerns about the irreversible, negative impacts that this project will have on the Peace River Valley and on the exercise of our constitutionally protected Treaty 8 rights,” Art Napoleon from the Saulteau First Nation said in a press release.

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In the text of January’s Lelu Island Declaration, these rights are also stated: “It is our right and our responsibility as First Nations to protect and defend this place. It is our right to use this area without interference to harvest resources for our sustenance, and commercially in support of our livelihoods.”

Beyond this, defence of the land has enormous implications to all people living in the region.

When the short-term jobs are gone, what will be left?

I met with Treaty 8 steward Helen Knott and immediately sensed her commitment and integrity. At the same time, I also felt her exhaustion and vulnerability. Her vehicle had just been vandalised in a cowardly but threatening act a few nights before. She deserves and needs support.

She is fighting a hard battle by merely standing her ground and asking for her right to be. Her identity is tied to the land that she camps on to protect.

To believe in this place, one must fight so that it is not taken away. It is a region that has supported a variety of communities and distinct societies for thousands of years; our legacy should not be allowing arrogant, greedy government leaders to destroy it.

But when the knowledge and teachings of the land outweigh the belief in the legitimacy of your power to control, well then we find ourselves here.

- Helen Knott, 2016 N

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On the Fly Dragonfly nymph: an insect imitation sure to snag still-water trout

by B r i a n S mit h fl yfishingnut 4 7@gm a i l . c om

There are three common species of dragonfly nymphs found in BC lakes: the “climbers” or darners, which have long and tapered bodies; the “sprawlers,” who are short and squat in shape; and the “burrowers,” or Gomphus nymphs, which are so similar in size and shape to the sprawlers that a fly tier uses the same pattern to imitate them.

As adult insects flying around, the darners are the long blue or olive ones we see and the sprawlers are the smaller red-shouldered variety.

All of the species crawl to shore to hatch, usually during hot summer months, and when they are on the move to land they resemble a small army of tanks with a purpose—hatch, find a mate and populate.

When there is no hatch activity, fly fishers use a searching pattern: one that represents an insect and food source always available to the fish, such as scuds, leeches, caddis larvae, damselfly nymphs and the like. As a searching pattern for still-water trout, you will be hard-pressed to find a better insect imitation than a dragonfly nymph fished near the bottom of a lake with a full-sinking line.

I don’t weight my nymphs, preferring instead to use deer hair as an under-body that floats the fly weed-free above the bottom using a number three or four full-sinking line and a short nine-foot leader to get the pattern down. To fish it, make your cast from shoreline to deep water, let the line pull the fly down for a minute or two, and then begin six- to 12-inch strip-and-pause routines.

U s i n g d e e r h a i r a s a n u n d e r- b o d y f l o a t s t h i s d r a g o n f l y n y m p h a b o v e t h e l a ke b o t t o m .

Brian’s darner dragonfly nymph pattern: Thread: UTC 140 olive Hook: Tiemco 200R # 6-10 curved nymph hook Tail: moose hairs, hook-gap length Rib: medium copper wire, over abdomen Underbody: deer hair dyed olive on top of shank, under abdomen Abdomen: dubbing yellow-olive (I use Ligas 49 mouldy olive for this one) Wing-case: turkey primary, over thorax and eyes Rear legs: legs-on-a-stick (knotted pheasant primary fibres), angled down and back Eyes: v-rib, burned to shape Front legs: legs-on-a-stick, angled down and forward Thorax: peacock herls

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Creekstone Press

Quality books of regional interest For more titles, visit

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Hazelton launch • April 14 • 7 pm • The Hazel Branch | Smithers book signing • April 15 • 4-6 pm • NWCC Gathering Place 32 | APRIL/MAY ‘16 |

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First, build a base of tying thread on the hook shank so the moose hairs won’t slip. For the tail, attach a bundle of 10 to 12 moose hairs at the shank’s two-thirds point and bind them as far as the hook bend. Take a turn of thread under the hairs at the bend, run your thread back to the two-thirds point, attach the ribbing wire and secure it at the hook bend.

Next, to create an under-body on the rear twothirds of the hook shank, attach a pencil-width portion of deer hair at the two-thirds point, bind it with thread leaving a small gap at the bend, then fold the hairs back to the two-thirds point and follow it with your tying thread, binding it very tightly to the shank.

To finish the abdomen, return the tying thread back to the hook bend, form a dubbing loop and apply this over the under-body, finishing the abdomen by twisting five to six turns of ribbing material over it and shaping it with a dubbing teaser.

For the wing-case and thorax section, take a one-cm section of turkey primary; fold it once and tie in at the end of the abdomen. Next, attach the rear legs. The leg knots should be at the rear of the abdomen, trimmed to the length of the tail. Attach the V-rib for the eyes a half hook-eyelength from the hook eye, trim it to body width and burn the ends to form the eyes. Attach the front legs behind the eyes and angle them so they sweep down and forward. For the thorax, build a dubbing loop with three to four peacock herls, tie this in at the wing-case and wrap it forward and around the eyes. Finally, bring the wing-case forward over the thorax, legs and eyes, and then tie off the fly pattern.

For a final step, apply five-minute epoxy onto the wing-case and eyes with a dubbing needle.

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mo rg an h ite

SUSKWA CROSSING:

A bridge made of telegraph wire

T h e re i s n o re a l t r a i l t o t h i s f r a g i l e a n d h i s t o r i c Su s kw a R i v e r b r i d g e , b u t y o u c a n f i n d i t i f y o u a re w i l l i n g t o d o a b i t of exploring in steep terrain.

by Morga n H ite morga njh@bulkley.ne t • m ore m a ps a t bvt ra i l m a ps. c a

If you go down to the Suskwa River where it passes through a tight canyon some four and a half kilometres above its confluence with the Bulkley, you will discover the remains of a very old bridge, an airy span built from nothing but telegraph wire and wood.

A survey map from 1913 shows an “Indian Bridge” at this site. It makes sense: travellers coming down the Bulkley to Hazelton had the choice of crossing the Suskwa or using the log-and-rope cantilever bridge at Hagwilget that so terrified early Euro-Canadian visitors.

Hagwilget Bridge was reinforced with surplus telegraph wire before it was replaced by an iron bridge in 1912. A similar kind of reinforcement seems to have happened with the Suskwa bridge in the late 1800s. But where did the wire come from?

The first telegraph line to come through the Bulkey Valley was the Collins Overland Telegraph in 1866. This line was supposed to run from New Westminster up through BC, Yukon and Alaska,

cross at the Bering Strait and eventually go to Europe. The entire project was dropped when word arrived that a transatlantic cable had been laid. At this moment the telegraph-building crew had made it as far as Nangeese Creek, up the Kispiox River. Rolls of telegraph wire may have been abandoned at Anderson Flats (across the Bulkley from Hazelton), at Fort Stager (in Kispiox) and at Nangeese.

At the Suskwa, they used a lot of wire: the span is perhaps 30 metres long, with three main bundles of 15 wires each crossing the full distance (over 1000 m of wire in total). Planks were wired in to make a deck and longer poles ran along the sides. This may have been done by locals or it may have been a road crew sent out from Quesnel during the 1898 Yukon gold rush. Today, the wires’ anchors are hidden beneath moss, many planks are gone and you would definitely not want to try to cross this bridge.

There is no real trail to this fragile and historic bridge, but you can find it if you are willing to do

a bit of exploring in steep terrain. Leave Highway 16 about 10 km east of Hazelton (20 km west of Moricetown) and turn onto the (unsigned) Suskwa River Forest Service Road. Cross the Bulkley and drive on to a point 300 m before the 7-km marker. Here the road climbs a hill and curves right, and on the inside of the curve are two old posts that used to hold a sign. Park on the outside of the curve.

Enter the forest on the north side of the road. If you find yourself in the vast, quiet, green, mossy cedar forest, you’re in the wrong place: you want a patch of mixed trees and bush. Bits of flagging tape of various colours have been hung up, some generally along the route, some not. There is a faint trail, and it heads down the crest of a small ridge. The route eventually drops steeply off this ridge to the left, just before you come to the water.

The bridge spans the small gorge just upstream of where the trail comes down. Watch your step at the edge of the gorge!

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Ba rom eter

A dry spring: Wistful recollections of wet and wonderful weather

by C h a rlyn n To ews edit or ial@no rt hwo rd. c a

EDMONTON — Farmers across Western Canada will likely see a continuation of dry, mild conditions for the rest of the winter and extending into spring as the lingering effects of El Nino continue to be felt in North America and around the world.

The Western Producer is happy for the farmers, and I should be too, because I eat food: For growers, that means a return to more normal precipitation levels as the year progresses, with better rainfall distribution likely beginning in June and continuing for the rest of the year.

But what about “April showers bring May flowers”? Isn’t spring supposed to be wet?

In April 1966, the famously floody Red River flooded. The CBC archives tell the tale of wet Winnipeg: “In 1966, it all happens again.

Heavy snow late in the season. Thick ice on the river. Water downstream with nowhere to go.

Predictions come that this flood is going to be even worse than 1950.”

Meanwhile, nearby in the dry, riverless town of Steinbach, I remember that spring as one big glorious puddle. Steinbach means stony brook and there was a creek there when the Mennonites arrived in the 1870s. As flatlanders who diked Holland and drained swampland in Prussia for Catherine the Great, when they saw water—they diverted it. There was a series of culverts in the town where I grew up, tall enough for six-year-old girls to walk through in summer, a small trickle of melt-water meandering through in spring.

But the spring when I was seven years old, when puddle boots were a girl’s best friend, our lame waterway became a roaring river and the park across the street from my house a magical lake.

When it comes to the mighty rivers of northern BC, flooding is not child’s play. Ice-jam floods caused by freeze-up or the break-up of ice have caused much flooding on the Skeena and Bulkley rivers. That same spring, in April 1966, the Highway 16 bridge across the Bulkley River at Smithers was lost during a spring ice jam flood.

D. Septer tells us more in Flooding and Landslide Events Northern British Columbia 1820 – 2006.

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More dangerous yet was April 1, 1912. Prince Rupert recorded five inches of rain; on April 3, a “blizzard” dumped over seven inches of snow.

The Vancouver-bound S.S. Chelohsin was badly damaged during the heavy gale. The ship was driven onto the rocks in the Skeena Slough south of Prince Rupert.

In 1931, Smithers reported a week of warm weather at the end of April. In Walcott, between Telkwa and Houston, children residing on the west side of the Bulkley River were unable to attend school due to the river’s flooded condition.

The highway west of Hazelton was dangerous due to large rock and mudslides near Kitwanga. Travellers were advised not to go much beyond Skeena Crossing.

In 1942, the heavy, warm rains that occurred May 25-26 were described as “torrential downpours.” The Skeena and Bulkley rivers reached flood levels. Several small creeks were reported to be on the rampage.

I would have been very proud and pleased to know the word “rampage” that spring when I was at the end of Grade 1, and to use it to describe our little brook.

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Centrally located on Smithers’ Main Street, the Fireweed Motor Inn is the place to stay! We‘re walking distance to the town’s best restaurants. Or book a kitchenette and fill the fridge with groceries from one of Smithers’ two grocery stores, literally across the street.

1515 Main Street, Smithers, BC Tel: 250.847.2208

stay@fireweedmotel.com • www.fireweedmotel.com

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arts www.tourismsmithers.com