British Columbia Magazine

Time is running out to have a treasured name live on in a lichen species. The contest to name two new species of lichen found in British Columbia’s rainforests closes December 15, so get brainstorming and start bidding.

The two species of lichens were discovered by researcher Trevor Goward who has donated his dibs on naming rights (which, under scientific protocol, usually go to the person who describes it). Instead, The Land Conservancy of British Columbia and the Ancient Forest Alliance are holding online auctions for the public to bid for the right to name the lichens. All proceeds will go to the two environmental groups. Goward refers to the auction of the naming rights as “taxonomic tithing,” and encourages other researchers to do the same.

Make a bid on the respective lichen species by visiting the websites of The Land Conservancy (1-877-485-2422) or the Ancient Forest Alliance (250-896-4007).

Visitors to the Vancouver Aquarium over the coming weeks will see a tower of canned salmon and tuna to rival any grocery-aisle display. The massive Ocean Wise Canstruction Inukshuk, on display through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, was devised to show Olympic spirit while highlighting Canada’s Ocean Wise sustainable seafood program.

[photo: Meighan Makarchuk/Vancouver Aquarium]

Twenty aquarium staff members and 25 volunteers put in more than 400 person hours to construct the sculpture. It’s roughly three metres tall and about half that wide, made entirely of Ocean Wise-recommended tinned fish donated by Vancouver-based Raincoast Trading. The inukshuk symbol, a traditional marker for the Inuit people of Canada’s Arctic, inspired the official logo of the 2010 Winter Games.

How many cans did it take to make the inukshuk? Stay tuned. The Vancouver Aquarium’s CAN You Guess Contest runs until February 13. Guess the correct number of cans and you could win two tickets to an Olympic speed-skating event at the Richmond Olympic Oval, courtesy of BC Hydro. Enter in person at the Vancouver Aquarium, or online at www.visitvanaqua.org.

When the installation is dismantled, the cans of fish will be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society for distribution in the community. The sculpture was created in cooperation with Canstruction Vancouver, the local chapter of a design/build competition that encourages creation of giant canned-food sculptures to help fight world hunger.

On Saturday night, I attended a wonderful benefit concert by singer/songwriter Chris Frye. A fellow resident of my Esquimalt neighbourhood in Greater Victoria (and member of both The Bills and the Marc Atkinson Trio), Frye and friends performed songs from his “Raised on Rhythm and Rhyme” solo album. The more than two-hour event was entirely in support of a local conservation group known as the Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT).

British Columbia Magazine ran a feature profile in the Fall 2008 issue about The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC), another vigorous land-protection agency. You can read the full article online here. TLC and HAT are just two of the volunteer-driven, non-profit groups working to preserve threatened pockets of green space in our B.C. backyards. They deserve far more publicity and support than they receive for their tireless work, which gives such benefit to us all.

And since we can’t run a feature story about every one of these groups, let me take this opportunity to introduce you to HAT.

The group was established in 1996 to protect locally significant habitat, endangered spaces, and the species at risk that occupy these areas on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. HAT accomplishes that goal with three conservation tools:

1. Acquisition projects: raising funds to purchase properties such as Ayum Creek in Sooke and the Matson Lands Garry oak meadows in Esquimalt.

2. Conservation covenants: working with individual landowners and various levels of government to protect habitat without directly purchasing it.

3. Public education: creating new bridges between scientists, conservation organizations, landowners, politicians, decision makers, and the public to facilitate the conservation of endangered spaces and species.

HAT is currently working to protect a watershed in the Millstream area, and to ensure a future for western painted turtles and sharp-tailed snakes on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Learn more about this organization’s events and initiatives online at www.hat.bc.ca.

A shining beacon of good news broke through the cloud of economic gloom last week. With the province’s announcement of a management plan now in place for the Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbians can celebrate a major ecological accomplishment  on B.C.’s central and north coast. The globally important wild area is home to thousands of species of plants, birds, and animals, including the rare white Kermode “spirit bear.”

The “Ecosystem-Based Management system,” released March 31, 2009, is the product of three years of collaboration. Since 2006, the province has been working with  environmental and community groups and coastal First Nations to find ways to balance environmental protection in the area with the need for sustainable jobs and the economic interests of coastal communities.

Representatives of 20 First Nations groups, and environmental groups such as Greenpeace Canada, ForestEthics, and the Sierra Club BC, endorse the new plan. Industry and local municipalities are also on board with the five-year plan.

Under this new commitment, 20,000 square kilometres in the area is now legally protected from logging. Roughly 64,000 square kilometres—an area larger than some countries—will be part of a combined land use planning area. The management plan includes $120-million for First Nations communities to help develop a conservation economy as an alternative to traditional logging. A new regulated system of low-impact logging will conserve half of the natural range of old growth in the region.

“A vision born from environmental and economic necessity is becoming a reality on Canada’s west coast,” said Stephanie Goodwin of Greenpeace in a written statement. “It’s a conservation model that other parts of the world can look to, a model that shows how protection of ecological values and human well-being can be advanced without undermining each other.”

Did you know there are GIGANTIC cedar trees growing in a British Columbia rainforest more than 600 kilometres inland from the West Coast? B.C. is the only place in the world where inland temperate rainforest occurs in abundance. The zone is concentrated in the wettest valleys along the windward slopes of the Rockies and Columbia Mountains (including the Monashees, Selkirks, and Purcells).

Here are a few other surprising facts and figures from our Summer 2008 feature article on “The enchanted Incomappleux forest.”

1,500
Age, in years, of some of the oldest western redcedar trees growing in the Incomappleux River valley, in the Selkirk Mountains southwest of Glacier National Park.

9
Girth, in metres, of some of the largest Incomappleux redcedars—that’s more than three metres in diameter.

13,460
Total area, in square kilometres, of rare inland temperate rainforest in B.C., including the wet and very wet subzones.

100
Approximate distance, in kilometres, from the town of Revelstoke, along highways and logging back roads, to the quaint Mountain Hostel in the Incomappleux Valley.

I was one month into my daily commute from Saltspring Island to British Columbia Magazine’s offices in Victoria when I spotted the handwritten note. Posted on a bulletin board near the ferry terminal, it read:

“Wanted: ride to Victoria. Will share costs.”

Seeking relief from high ferry, gas, and parking costs—and from the eco-guilt of driving alone into the city—I tore off one of the tiny phone-number slips and made the call. And that’s how I started ride-sharing with Nicole.

A study published last week by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and Bell Canada reminded me that there are high-tech ways to find a ride-share, too. Here in British Columbia, the Jack Bell Foundation’s online ride-share database promotes both casual ride-shares (with commuters sharing rides in their own vehicles) and formal ride-shares (commuters riding in a Jack Bell Ride-Share van or car).

The WWF study suggests that if Canadians made better use of information and communications technology—for example, to arrange ride-shares; to work from home; or to participate in e-meetings—harmful emissions could be reduced by as much as 20 million tonnes nation-wide. That’s the equivalent of taking 3.2 million cars off the road!

Interested in saving money and reducing your carbon footprint? Register your route at the Jack Bell Ride-Share website.

To read the WWF/Bell Canada study, Innovating Toward a Low-Carbon Canada: Using Technology to Transform Tomorrow, click here.

By the end of June, British Columbians will open their mailboxes to find a big, fat, $100 opportunity waiting for them—formally known as the Climate Action Dividend.

The cheques, issued by the Government of British Columbia, are intended to provide incentive for B.C. residents to choose a “lower-carbon lifestyle.” They are also meant to ease the discomfort of the new provincial carbon tax that comes into effect July 1. All carbon-based fuels will be taxed $10 per tonne of greenhouse gas generated, which works out to 2.4 cents/litre for gasoline at the pump—up another 7.35 cents by 2012—and 2.8 cents/litre for home fuels.

While some may be tempted to use the money to fill up their tanks, others are considering the most effective way to invest in the environment. The Tyee, an alternative online news magazine, recently polled its readers and found that British Columbians have great interest in pooling their resources to make a larger, collective impact.

Need ideas? The Tyee—working with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the Pembina Institute—has launched an informative website: www.greenyourcampbellcash.ca. The site showcases climate-action projects throughout the province, all willing to put your money to good use.

Now that I have a few good options for my $100 cheque, only one question remains: what will the Carbon Tax Dividend Fairy look like? Anita thinks she’ll definitely be green. I picture a winged sprite with pointy shoes and Carole Taylor’s smile.

Here are three great pieces of “green” news to help you celebrate Earth Day in B.C.

The provincial government announced today that it will introduce spring legislation to create 11 new Class A provincial parks and more than double the number of conservancies in the province. It will also establish a $9-million endowment fund for conservation groups.

The four Capers Whole Foods stores in Greater Vancouver, along with the chain’s 270 outlets throughout Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., stopped using plastic bags today.

City councillors in Kelowna recently voted to extend the city’s Eco-Pass program, which rewards drivers of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles with free on-street parking for a one-year period.  Similar incentive programs exist in other B.C. municipalities, including Duncan and Vancouver.

It is known as “the heart of the Fraser.” A 90-kilometre gravel reach between Hope and Mission, this stretch of the Fraser River is one of the richest aquatic systems on Earth. 

At least 30 different species of fish spawn in or migrate through this part of the lower Fraser. It supports millions of pink salmon in peak years, as well as resident populations of endangered sturgeon.

In a feature story called “Islands of the Fraser,” published the Fall 2000 issue of British Columbia Magazine, I wrote about this vital river and some of the threats to it. Productive as it is, the waterway is under extreme stress from urban growth, agriculture, resource extraction, and industrial development.

For 14 years, the Fraser has ranked high in the list of B.C.’s Most Endangered Rivers, released annually by the Outdoor Recreation Council (ORC). Now, in a new report prepared for the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, ORC rivers chair Mark Angelo and fellow British Columbia Institute of Technology instructor Marvin Rosenau say it’s time for action.

Their report calls for proactive conservation measures such as the acquisition of key private properties, the conversion of Crown land to protected areas, improved law enforcement, and the repair of past ecological damage.

“Regardless of the negative issues outlined in this report, British Columbians should take the optimistic view that what remains of this rich ecosystem can be protected and somewhat restored,” the authors conclude. 

To learn more, visit www.heartofthefraser.bcit.ca

You will almost certainly never see a northern spotted owl in the wilds of southwestern British Columbia. Fewer than 20 of the birds remain, down from a historic high of 300 to 500 pairs. But that doesn’t mean you should stop caring about the species, which continues to sound the alarm for all manner of animals at risk.

Enter Jared Hobbs, Ministry of Environment biologist and professional photographer with his important and compelling new book, Spotted Owls: Shadows in an Old-Growth Forest, with text by noted Okanagan ecologist Richard Cannings (Greystone, $36.95, cloth, 136 pages).

In the summer of 2005, I accompanied Hobbs by helicopter and foot into the Stein Valley near Lillooet to see the owls for myself. The experience left me with mixed emotions:  saddened to witness the downward spiral of these precious birds, but feeling fortunate to have at least seen them before they vanish altogether, the victim mainly of logging of their old-growth habitat and, to a lesser extent, of competition from the more resilient barred owl.

Hobbs’ remarkable collection of photos takes me back to the forest, deep into the owls’ shadowy world, and shows why we are all richer for maintaining ecological diversity–and what we stand to lose if we do not take care of our natural world.

For more about Jared Hobbs and his new book, please visit his website (www.hobbsphotos.com).