On the afternoon of October 11,2010, Ecological Reserve warden Linda Kennedy drove Garry Fletcher, Friends of Ecological Reserves Board member, Niran Lella and Roseanne Van Ee up to the top of The Campbell Brown Ecological Reserve, where we were able to walk down the full length of the reserve. Linda has a special connection to the reserve as it was her grandfather, Colin Campbell Brown, who had a ranch here in the early 1900’s, and her father Hugh Campbell Brown who donated the land to the province to be preserved.
We walked down an old trail cleared by her father in the mid 1960’s, and now overgrown with trees in some areas. The reserve was in remarkable condition with very little evidence of human impact. Threats posed are the need for continual maintenance of fences to keep cattle from grazing on the easily eroded steep-sloped grassland, and the need to keep public traffic in the reserve to a minimum. Since it was in the last few days before the winter rains started, the area was very dry and vulnerable to fires but its vegetation took on a special contrast of color. Since it is above Kalamalka lake, the view-scape from the many grassland clearings was spectacular.
G.Fletcher, Oct.2012
- Highway and Lake just below the reerve.
- Near the lower part of the reserve, a hydro line traverses.
- Grassland of the reserve.
- View to the north from the reserve.
- Grassland of the reserve.
- Bluebunch wheat grass
- An anthill beside a tree
- Ridge on Cougar Canyon ER from the Campbell-Brown ER.
- Dried deltoid balsam root.
- View to western end of Cougar Canyon ER on Kalamalka Lake.
- Vertebrae of mammal in the reserve.
- Fence on the north side of the reserve.
- A tree fallen over the fence line can compromise the reserve.
- Sap from a mature Douglas fir.
- Linda and Roseanne examine sap from fir.
- View to north part of Kalamalka Lake.
- Part of the unique grassland forest transition.
- Invasive species.
- Flower of invasive Knapweed.
- Three ER wardens on the steep grassland hills.
- Mariposa Lily Seed capsule.
- The wide expansive undisturbed meadows on the slopes are unique to thhis reserve.
- View north on Kalamalka Lake.
- View of Kalamalka Lake
- A drift of Ponderosa Pine cones.
- Linda examines pine cones
- Mock Orange in autumn.
- Lichen on rock.
- Red Feldspar rock with lichen
- Lichen on branch
- Lichen growing on a rock.
- Lightning strike on Ponderosa Pine.
- Windfall in the reserve.
- Linda Kennedy on the trail through her reserve.
- Linda Kennedy with lichen on the lower branches of Ponderosa Pine
- Linda examines moss in a shaded moist valley.
- Saltlick beside the spring.
- Animal tracks in the spring.
- A small spring in the middle of the reserve.
- Spring
- Horse skeleton in the reserve
- White flowered invasive Knapweed.
- Ponderosa Pine deadfall in the Reserve.
- Uprooted Ponderosa Pine.
- Puffball.
- Rattlesnake hibernaculum.
- Mature seeds.
- Sticky seeds of houndstooth.
- A Saskatoon bush.
- Roseanne Van Ee looking over Kalamalka Lake
- Looking south to Oyama
- Linda Kennedy shows Garry Fletcher through the Campbell Brown Ecological Reserve.
- Linda Kennedy, Ecological reserve Warden of Campbell Brown ER.
- Cattle from neighbouring ranches pose a threat when there are poor fences.