In: Social Sciences and Mathematics Building, Room A 102.
University of Victoria

Caribou, Wolves and Conflict in Society

Caribou are the Bison of the North and are at risk throughout the planet. Wolves are a magnificent and vicious predator, yet we have invited them into our homes. We will explore humanity’s love – hate relationship with the wolf, their status as an endangered species and their role in endangering caribou and other wildlife in BC.

Rick Page, PhD, RPBio studied caribou in the Sacred Headwaters in Northern BC while at the University of Victoria. He went on to do doctoral research on the moose and wolves of Isle Royale, the longest predator-prey study on the planet and is a Director of the Friends of Ecological Reserves.

]]> http://ecoreserves.bc.ca/2012/02/21/agm-speaker-dr-r-page-a-story-about-wolves-and-caribou/feed/ 0 http://ecoreserves.bc.ca/2012/02/20/gladys-lake-er-68-map-2/ http://ecoreserves.bc.ca/2012/02/20/gladys-lake-er-68-map-2/#comments Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:09:25 +0000 Garry Fletcher http://ecoreserves.bc.ca/?p=6408

Hold cursor over image for identification.

All images are copywrite of the author, Rosemary Taylor.

This image of redwood sorrel above was kindly provided by  Dave Lines from his Flickr site:

Physical:

The reserve runs along the river for about 2 km and is approximately 500 m wide with the river running through the center. This area includes part of the alluvial floodplain on the northwest and southeast sides of the Klanawa River and adjacent slopes to the southeast. Only the lower parts of the floodplain experience frequent flooding.

Biological:

The main feature of the reserve is the Sitka spruce – Salmonberry – sword fern- redwood sorrel community on the highbench to the northwest of the Klanawa River. While redwood sorrel is now known from several other locations in the province, none of these present similar stands. (Similar forests are found in Washington state, however.) Western hemlock, western redcedar, red alder and bigleaf maple are less frequent trees in this community and red huckleberry, oval-leaved blueberry and stink currant occur scattered. Characteristic plants of the herb layer are false bugbane, false lily-of-the-valley, foam flower, trillium, oregon fairybells, star-flowered solomon’s seal , and rosy twistedstalk.
Other forest communities, primarily on the east side of the river, are western redcedar, western hemlock ,deer fern and western redcedar,salmonberry,lady fern / skunk cabbage on the flat terrain and various combinations of western redcedar, western hemlock and amabilis fir on the slopes. The former contain many other floodplain and wet-site species, while the latter contain more ericaceous shrubs, sword fern and deer fern..
Marbled Murrelet nesting habitat is present in the old-growth, moss- covered spruce hemlock stands.

Coho, Chum and Chinook Salmon, winter-run steelhead (anadromous Rainbow Trout) and Cutthroat Trout populations occur in the Klanawa River generally.

Black-tailed Deer, American Black Bear, Cougar, Roosevelt Elk and Grey Wolf are resident in the valley.

Cultural:    The diversity of native plants in this area suggests the reserve may have been important for the gathering of medicinal plants by First Nations.

MANAGEMENT CONCERNS

THREATS:

Climate Change:
The outstanding feature of this reserve is the rare redwood sorrel community along the river. It is unknown how long the climate envelop will be appropriate to maintaining this ecosystem. Hydrologic and temperature changes could affect the soil moisture content which would, in turn, affect the ability of this community to thrive.

Non-native Species. Scotch Broom on the road sides.

Recreation: There is access via the gravel roads, but the level of use is unknown.

T r a n s p o r t a t i o n c o r r i d o r s:Gravel roads parallel both boundaries that follow the course of the river. One is high above the river, but the other is very close to the floodplain.

Continued Harvest:Very little forest cover remains in adjoining timber stands. Wind throw is causing significant edge affect (blow down) which reaches in to the ER. Efforts began in 2008 to secure some of these stands as OGMA’s and WMA’s. This reserve is less than the recommended 140 ha recommended in the Purpose Statement.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Monitor: The ease of  access via the roads  make this reserve amenable to mo oitoring.It represents riparian area that could be used to monitor changes in the absence of human disturbance.
SIGNIFICANT SPECIES…..BC List Status…………………..COSEWIC
redwood sorrel . (Oxalis oregana) ………………..Blue (2006)…………………….

Scouler’s Corydalis.(Corydalis_scouleri)…………….Yellow (2006)…………………

The image of redwood sorrel above was kindly provided by  Dave Lines form his Flickr site:

PHYSICAL:

The reserve consists of steep rocky south, east and northeast-facing slopes of a subalpine ridge and the upper parts of associated colluvial slopes. The ridge extends southeastward from Green Mountain in the Nanaimo River drainage.

BIOLOGICAL:
Major plant community types in this reserve are stunted mountain hemlock and mountain heathers along the ledges and crest of the ridge, sparse moss, lichen and herbaceous plant cover on rocky knolls and faces and meadow vegetation on talus and other colluvium. The latter is the main habitat of the Vancouver Island marmot. Several different meadow communities occur, with dominants such as pearly everlasting, bracken fern, cow-parsnip, showy sedge and Indian hellebore, depending on drainage and soil texture. Rare plants occurring here are the Olympic mountain aster, the Olympic onion and the coastal wood fern.
The Vancouver Island marmot, a species endemic to the island for which it is named, had only about 250 individuals in its world population in 1993. Though related to the hoary marmots of the mainland, this island form has evolved in isolation for thousands of years, resulting in very distinctive characteristics like its chocolate-
COMPOSITION
brown coat. Marmots occur only high in the mountains of the southern half of the island. Similar to other marmot species, Vancouver Island marmots inhabit burrows, usually dug under protective boulders, and hibernate between October and May. They live in small scattered colonies and feed on a variety of herbaceous meadow plants and a few low shrubs. The population declined so rapidly that Haley Lake had no marmots. In 2009 there were 30 individuals that were descendants of reintroduced individuals (Don Doyle, Ministry of Environment biologist). Other mountain wildlife such as Roosevelt Elk, American Black Bear, Cougar, Wolves, Marten, Golden Eagles and Gray Jays may also be seen in this area.