Physical: The reserve is at the western edge of the granitic Kitimat Ranges, and contains rounded mountains which were over-topped by Pleistocene glaciers moving westward to the sea. Mountain slopes facing all compass directions are present. Three small subalpine lakes and several tarns (small alpine lakes) occur. Unnamed creeks drain reserve lands west into Rainbow Lake and north to Gamble Creek. Precipitation here is very high. Much snow accumulates above the 500 m level and persists into late spring or early summer on north-facing slopes.

See the Full PDF report at: Skeena River ER 63
Biological: Low elevation forests represent the very wet hypermaritime subzone of the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone. Stands dominated by western hemlock, a mixture of western hemlock and lodgepole pine, and western redcedar are present. Typical understory species include Alaskan blueberry, oval-leaved blueberry, salal, false azalea, deer fern and mosses. Specimens of amabilis fir over 300 years old grow here near the northern limit of the species range.

Extensive subalpine forests cover all high-elevation terrain and extend down to the 270 m level on north-facing slopes where snow persists until early summer. These stands tend to be scrubby and contain much bog. They belong to the hypermaritime forested and parkland subzone of the Mountain Hemlock Zone. Subalpine forest stands are typically dominated by mountain hemlock and yellow-cedar and also contain lodgepole pine. Understory plants include Labrador tea, cranberry, lingonberry, mountain heathers, cloudberry, fern-leaved goldthread, rosy twistedstalk and sphagnum moss. Common plants of the more open bogs are tufted deer-grass (muhly), beak-rush, deer-cabbage, sundew, swamp gentian, white marsh-marigold and sphagnum moss. More detailed floral inventory and community descriptions are needed.

There is potential for wolverine to use the reserve, but the vertebrate fauna has not been surveyed.

Cultural:The ecological reserve is within the asserted territory of the Tsimshian First Nations.

Significant species: Grizzly Bear– blue listed

Menzie’s burnet–blue listed

ER WARDEN ACTIVITIES

• Monitor/report illegal activities where observed
• Survey flora and fauna present in ER
• Monitor for invasive plants (control or eradicate where possible)

Scientific  Names of Species Mentioned In The Gamble Creek  ER Account

Flora:

Bog Cranberry (Oxycoccus oxycoccos) Art Carson photo

azalea, false (Menziesia ferruginea ssp. ferruginea)
beak-rush, white (Rhynchospora alba)
blueberry, Alaskan (Vaccinium alaskaense)
blueberry, oval-leaved (Vaccinium ovalifolium)
burnet, Menzies’ (Sanguisorba menziesii)
cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus)

cranberry, bog (Oxycoccos oxycoccos)
deer-cabbage (Fauria crista-galli)

fern, deer (Blechnum spicant)
fir, amabilis (Abies amabilis)
gentian, swamp (Gentiana douglasiana)
goldthread, (Coptis sp.)
hemlock, mountain(Tsuga mertensiana)
hemlock, western (Tsuga heterophylla)
Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum)
lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea ssp. minus) marsh-marigold, white (Caltha leptosepala)
moss, sphagnum (Sphagnum sp.)
mountain-heather, (Cassiope sp.)
mountain-heather, (Phyllodoce sp.)
muhly (aka. tufted deer-grass) (Muhlenbergia sp.)
pine, lodgepole (Pinus contorta var. latifolia)
redcedar, western (Thuja plicata)
salal (Gaultheria shallon)
sundew, (Drosera sp.)
twistedstalk, rosy (Streptopus lanceolatus var. curvipes) yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis)

Fauna

Bear, Grizzly (Ursus arctos) Wolverine (Gulo gulo)