News/Reports

Skhist ER # 92 Physical and Biological Overview

Posted February 1, 2002 | Categories : 92,Rare Species,Reports,Species List |

ORIGINAL PURPOSE

To conserve undisturbed ponderosa pine-grassland vegetation.

The following is from the BC Parks report.

Physical: 

The reserve is in the bottom of the deeply incised the river cuts westward through the north end of the Cascade Range to join the Fraser. It consists of gently sloping benchlands which give way to steep, gullied slopes near the river edge. The general aspect is northerly. Very low elevation for an interior site, and the rain-shadow effect of the Coast Mountains, result in an arid climatic regime.

The sloping benchland is characterized by well-spaced stands of ponderosa pine with ground cover of bluebunch wheatgrass and arrow-leaved balsamroot. In a few small areas, shrubs such as saskatoon, mock-orange, and sumac are present. Additional grasses are Idaho fescue, needle-and-thread grass, and Sandberg’s bluegrass; characteristic forbs include round-leaved alumroot, yarrow, low pussytoes, lemonweed, and sagebrush buttercup. Balsamroot, thread-leaved phacelia, asters, brown-eyed Susan, Menzies’ larkspur, and yellow bell provide showy blooms in spring.

An inventory of plants is available from 5 July 2002.

On the banks near the river a few Douglas maple, black cottonwood, Douglas-fir and Rocky Mountain juniper are present, as well as kinnikinnick, red-osier dogwood, and rabbit-brush.

One plant that is rare in British Columbia, the white meconella has been reported to occur here. Normally confined to the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone, this may be its most eastern occurrence in the province.

Birds recorded in the reserve include the Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted, White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches, American Robin,

is in the bottom of the deeply incised Thompson River valley where

Townsend’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Brewer’s Blackbird, Brown- Headed Cowbird, Spotted Towhee, Red Crossbill, Dark-Eyed Junco, and White- Crowned Sparrow. Also seen are American Crow, Bald eagle, Clark’s Nutcracker, Mountain Chickadee, Black-billed Magpie, Violet-green Swallow, Eastern Kingbird and Mourning Dove.

Mammals sighted were Beaver, Chipmunk and Mule Deer, while scat indicated that Coyote, Bear and Rabbit had visited the Reserve.

A Rubber Boa was spotted on the Reserve and a young Western Rattlesnake was seen just off the Reserve where the paved road meets the railway track.

An inventory of plants is available from 5 July 2002.

On the banks near the river a few Douglas maple, black cottonwood, Douglas-fir and Rocky Mountain juniper are present, as well as kinnikinnick, red-osier dogwood, and rabbit-brush.

Meconella oregana, white fairy poppy, Photo by Ryan Batten

One plant that is rare in British Columbia, the white meconella has been reported to occur here. Normally confined to the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone, this may be its most eastern occurrence in the province.

Birds recorded in the reserve include the Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted, White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches, American Robin,

is in the bottom of the deeply incised Thompson River valley where Townsend’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Brewer’s Blackbird, Brown- Headed Cowbird, Spotted Towhee, Red Crossbill, Dark-Eyed Junco, and White- Crowned Sparrow. Also seen are American Crow, Bald eagle, Clark’s Nutcracker, Mountain Chickadee, Black-billed Magpie, Violet-green Swallow, Eastern Kingbird and Mourning Dove.

Mammals sighted were Beaver, Chipmunk and Mule Deer, while scat indicated that Coyote, Bear and Rabbit had visited the Reserve.

A Rubber Boa was spotted on the Reserve and a young Western Rattlesnake was seen just off the Reserve where the paved road meets the railway track.

See the full PDF of this file at:  Skihist_ER_92overview

SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF SPECIES MENTIONED IN THE SKIHIST ER ACCOUNT

Flora

alumroot, round-leaved (Heuchera cylindrica var. cylindrica)

balsamroot, arrowleaf (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
bluegrass, Sandberg’s (Poa secunda ssp. sandbergii)

Brown-eyed Susan (Gaillardia aristata)

buttercup, sagebrush (Ranunculus glaberrimus)
cottonwood, black (Populus trichocarpa ssp. trichocarpa)

dogwood, red-osier (Cornus stolonifera)
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
fescue, Idaho (Festuca idahoensis ssp. idahoensis)
grass, needle-and-thread (Hesperostipa comata)
juniper, Rocky Mountain (Juniperus scopulorum)
kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
larkspur, Menzies’ (Delphinium menziesii)
lemonweed (Lithospermum ruderale)
maple, Douglas (Acer glabrum var. glabrum)
meconella, white (Meconella oregana)
mock-orange (Philadelphus lewisii)
phacelia, thread-leaved (Phacelia linearis)
pine, ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa)
pussytoes, low (Antennaria dimorpha)
rabbit-brush, green (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus var. lanceolatus)

Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia)
sumac, smooth (Rhus glabra)
wheatgrass, bluebunch (Pseudoroegneria spicata)
yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
yellow bell (Fritillaria pudica)

Fauna

Beaver, American (Castor canadensis)

Blackbird, Brewer’s (Euphagus cyanocephalus)

Boa, Rubber (Charina bottae)
Chickadee, Mountain (Poecilie gambeli)

Chipmunk (Neotamias spp.)
Cowbird, Brown-headed (Molothrus ater)

Coyote (Canis latrans)
Crossbill, Red (Loxia curvirostra)
Crow, American (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Deer, Mule (Odocoileus hemionus)
Dove, Mourning (Zenaida macroura)
Eagle, Bald (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Flicker, Northern (Colaptes auratus)

Hummingbird, Rufous (Selasphorus rufus)

Junco, Dark-eyed (Junco hyemalis)
Kingbird, Eastern (Tyrannus tyrannus)
Magpie, Black-billed (Pica hudsonia)
Nutcracker, Clark’s (Nucifraga columbiana)

Nuthatch, Pygmy (Sitta pygmaea)
Nuthatch, Red-breasted (Sitta canadensis)

Nuthatch, White-breasted (Sitta carolinensis)

Rattlesnake, Western (Crotalus oreganus)
Robin, American (Turdus migratorius)
Sparrow, White-crowned (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

Swallow, Violet-green (Tachycineta thalassina)

Towhee, Spotted (Pipilo maculatus)
Warbler, Townsend’s (Dendroica townsendi)

Warbler, Yellow-rumped (Dendroica coronata)