We’ve planned an exciting menu of optional field trips for Thursday, July 10^th.  The CSSS meetings have never visited our area, so there’s much for newcomers to see.  Whether you have an agricultural, forestry, or earth science orientation, we have landscapes, soils, and research sites that will interest you.

All field trips will depart UNBC at 8:00 AM and should return by 5:00-6:00 PM.  Exact return times cannot be guaranteed, so any travel plans that require an evening departure from Prince George on July 10^th are made at your own risk.  Accommodation in the UNBC residences will be available on the night of July 10^th.

Space will be limited on some trips, so register early!  If you need more information, please contact Paul Sanborn (sanborn@unbc.ca).

Some Important Points About Safety:

We expect pleasant, warm weather in early July, but bring outdoor clothing (rain jacket, sunhat, fleece vest or sweater) suitable for all-weather summer activity.  Wear sturdy footwear with good ankle support (light hiking boots are recommended).  Some field trips may involve walking up to 1 km on rough hiking trails, so please be alert to potential tripping hazards.  This is particularly important on Trip 4, which will include a short walk on a young lava flow.  The flow surface is very uneven and jagged, so please explore this feature cautiously.

Insects can be part of any summer outdoor activity, and although the mosquito and black fly season is usually over by early July, bring insect repellent.   If you have an insect sting allergy (e.g. wasps, bees) that is severe enough to cause concern, you are responsible for bringing any medication that you might need.  If you have such an allergy, or any other health concern that you feel we should know about, please identify yourself to the trip leaders before boarding your bus.

Field Trip 1:  Challenges of an Agricultural Frontier

Organized by the Cariboo-Central Interior Chapter of the BC Institute of Agrologists, this field trip will give participants a first-hand look at the challenges of ranching and farm expansion on an agricultural frontier. 

The morning portion of the tour highlights the impacts of the current mountain pine beetle epidemic on ranching, invasive plants, timber production, and soil properties.  This unprecedented natural disaster is unfolding across much of the BC interior, and presents ranch managers with unexpected problems, including removal of natural barriers to cattle movement, and changes to the hydrology of riparian areas.

Pine beetle-related mortality and salvage logging are transforming
the forest-agriculture interface of interior BC (Photo: B. McBride).

In the afternoon, you will visit an area of recent agricultural expansion north of Prince George.  Detailed soil and agricultural capability surveys of vacant Crown land identified a substantial area suitable for agricultural development.  Based on the soil capability information, economic-sized farm parcels were created, and the area now supports successful new dairy farms and cattle ranches.

Field Trip 2:  The Inland Rainforest – BC’s Best-Kept Secret  

More than 500 km the Pacific Ocean, east-central BC has a globally unique ecological treasure:  the inland rainforests of the interior wet-belt.  Despite good access from the main highway between Prince George and Jasper National Park, until recently, few visitors have explored the remarkable old-growth redcedar groves of this rare and endangered forest landscape.

You’ll meet local researchers who’ve worked hard for more than a decade to bring this area the scientific and public attention that it deserves.  It’s a fascinating interwoven story of the links between tiny lichens and big trees, and how these have supported the tenuous survival of the mountain caribou.  You’ll have a chance to walk through stands that were likely quite impressive well before the first European settlements were established in eastern Canada.  And you’ll visit an forestry research area where the silvicultural and ecological implications of partial harvesting systems are being studied.

Old-growth redcedar grove in the inland rainforest (Photo: M. Geertsema)		Aerial view of the Lunate Creek silviculture systems research area (Photo: P. Sanborn)

Field Trip 3:  Science and History at the Aleza Lake Research Forest

The BC central interior has a long history of forestry research, beginning with the establishment of the Aleza Lake Research Forest  in 1924.  The 9000 hectare research forest is 60 km east of Prince George, and has been managed jointly by UNBC and UBC since 2001.

In addition to its impressive old-growth spruce-fir stands, Aleza Lake contains examples of almost every silvicultural system used in the BC interior over the past century.  Some long-term field experiments have been monitored faithfully for over 80 years.  And one of the earliest soil surveys in BC was conducted at Aleza Lake!  After a period of dormancy after the early 1960s, Aleza Lake was rededicated to research and educational purposes in 1992.  In addition to new and continuing research projects, Aleza Lake receives increasing use for courses and field trips.

Although most of the early studies addressed partial harvesting systems and natural regeneration, more recent work has involved soil conservation and rehabilitation, and forest carbon balances.  You’ll learn about this research first-hand from some of the scientists involved in these studies, view representative examples of Aleza Lake’s soils and forest stands, and get the historical perspective from Research Forest staff.

Experimental shelterwood logged in 1995.  This site was horse-logged during World War I.  (Photo: P. Sanborn)		Sampling a soil monolith, Aleza Lake, 1956 (Photo: E. Peterson)

Field Trip 4:  Shaping the Plateau Landscape - the Natural Disaster Tour!

Glaciers, forest fires, insect plagues – even volcanoes!  

Despite its subdued and gentle appearance, BC’s central interior plateau has had a dramatic history of natural disturbance processes before and since the end of the last ice age.

This trip will visit the area southwest of Prince George, and head west from the forestry community of Quesnel.  You’ll travel through more than 100 km of forests ravaged by the current mountain pine beetle epidemic, view the aftermath of a large wildfire, and learn about the forest disturbance regimes of this region.  We’ll examine an example of the extensive Luvisolic soils that dominate the glaciated landscapes of this region, and see the results of accelerated salvage harvesting.

We’ll end the tour at the Nazko cinder cone the easternmost and youngest expression of the Anahim volcanic belt that extends inland from the Coast Mountains.  This small volcano last erupted only 7000 years ago, and we’ll examine the distinctive soils formed on the deposits from this eruption. 

And to add some suspense, a rash of small earthquakes struck the Nazko area   in mid-October 2007.  Perhaps we’ll have some special effects for our field trip?

Nazko cinder cone, 100 km west of Quesnel, BC
(Photo: P. Sanborn)