Warden’s Report for Bowser ER #135 2024

February 4, 2024

Gerry and Pauline Hubregtse, BC WLRS, parked at the 90 km. sign at 9:30 and walked in to inspect the monitoring equipment. There has been a tree fall next to the tripod though there did not appear to be any damage. This will be reported to Jessica, with pictures that were taken.

We drove to and parked at the entrance to the plantation road and saw a late model Toyota truck leaving. We walked towards the .5 decommissioned road, noting that there has been household garbage dumped on both sides of the road approaching the gate, as well as at the gate.

We followed the .5 decommissioned road to the boundary of the BER and headed towards the berry patch. We mounted the camera at the gully. We crossed the gully and headed towards the hollow tree bear den. We inspected the den opening but found no hair caught on the wire attached there. The den itself did not appear disturbed. The camera remained in place. This will be reported to Mary Toews and Monica Mather.

We headed back towards the gully crossing and eradicated a Holly plant marking the spot on the GPS for future monitoring. We retraced our route back to the .5 decommissioned road and the plantation road to the vehicle. We picked up a small amount of garbage. The balance will be reported to the RDN for removal.

The hike was completed under clear skies, 6 degrees of temperature, and a wet understory. We left the gate at 1:00 pm.

March 6, 2024

Gerry drove by the intersection of Highway 19 and Cook Creek Road in the late afternoon and noted a flock of wild turkey beside the highway.

March 12, 2024

Gerry and Chris parked at the 90 km sign at 8:30 and Gerry checked the monitoring equipment and will report to Jessica that all is well. Jessica had reported that she would be attending the site to change out batteries and would remove debris from the tree that had fallen near the equipment which Gerry noted had been done.

We drove along the plantation road to the fork at 1.5 km and parked. We walked along the road to the boundary of the reserve and noted that the sign was still in place then followed the road and then the trail to the other boundary of the reserve. We retraced out steps to the vehicle then drove to the gravel pit road and parked. We walked along the road to the gravel pit where we noted that a tree on the top edge of the pit had recently been cut. We climbed up the bank to inspect and photograph the stump and then walked along the rim. We noted a tree stand and collected a large number of empty beverage cans at the base of that tree. We also noted a quantity of wire and hose that we marked for future removal.

We continued along the trail to the sign marking the edge of the reserve at the fork on the trail and took the right fork and followed it to the site where illegal logging had occurred years ago. We retraced our steps to the vehicle and returned to the gate. We noted that the household garbage reported after the February visit had been picked up but that the large wooden cabinet and the drywall reported earlier had not been taken. The hike was completed under clear skies and wet understory. We left the gate at 11:15.

April 21, 2024

Gerry and Chris parked at the 90 km sign at 8:30 and Gerry checked the monitoring equipment and will report to Jessica that all is well.

We drove up the plantation road to the fork noting that some wood and wire fence debris had been dumped in the swale at the .5 decommissioned road, which will be reported to the RDN.

We parked at the gravel pit road and hiked in to the fork, followed the right fork to the next fork, then followed the left fork a distance then struck off through the bush to the grow op garbage site. Gerry and Hazel had previously gathered the remaining plastic bins, pails and bags which Chris and Gerry placed in three large garbage bags. These were transported out of the dense hardhack and carried a distance to the beaver pond where they were left making it easier for future collection.

We checked for egg masses but could not detect any due to the low water levels and dense growth that has increasingly crowded the shoreline. We heard a frog croaking as we approached the pond. Photographs were taken for comparison’s sake.

We returned to the trail and retraced our path back to the vehicle collecting a small amount of garbage. We noted that the newly erected sign remained. We left the gate at 11:45. We noted a vehicle parked at the gate and another entering the site. The hike was completed under sunny skies, cool temperatures and light breeze.

June 14, 2024

Chris and Gerry parked at the main gate at 8:30 and walked to the .5 decommissioned road and hiked along it to the reserve boundary and then hiked towards the berry patch. We recovered the camera in the gully, which required recharging. We then headed towards a marked large Douglas Fir and then another and yet another, which we photographed, and then marked another large Fir that had not been marked previously. It measured 24’ 7” in circumference.  We then hiked to the Huckleberry research equipment. Gerry will send an email to Jessica reporting that all looks well. We then continued hiking back to the vehicle. We picked up a small amount of garbage at the gate. We noted what appeared to be the tubing from a fence gate.

We left the gate at 10:30 having completed the hike under intermittent sprinkles and sunshine, in 15 degree weather.

July 26, 2024

Gerry and Chris parked at the 90 km sign at 8:30 and Gerry checked the monitoring equipment and will report to Jessica that all is well.

We parked at the gate and walked to the .5 decommissioned road and followed it to the boundary of the reserve and hiked through the reserve to the berry study patch. We measured the stems, counted the berries, which will be reported separately, and mounted the camera nearby.

We retraced our steps back to the vehicle. We picked up a number of empty beverage cans at the gate and left at 10:30.

The hike was completed under sunny skies, 20 degrees temperature and light breeze.

August 25, 2024

Gerry and Chris parked at the 90 km sign at 8:30 and Gerry checked the monitoring equipment reported to Jessica that the top half of the station has disappeared. Jessica responded that they had encountered technical difficulties and removed the top half of the tripod.

We drove to the main gate, parked, and walked in to the .5 decommissioned road and followed it to the reserve boundary then hiked through the reserve to the Huckleberry study patch. We noticed large scat in three locations along the way.

We picked the requisite number of berries which we will weigh and report on separately.

The camera had been knocked off of its fitting on the tree. The memory card included sixteen images of a black bear scrutinizing it before swatting it to the ground and then, judging from additional images, swatting it about.  The cable lock kept it secure and closed throughout this treatment.

We retraced our steps to the gate, picking up a number of empty beverage containers along the way.

The hike was completed under clear skies, 14 degrees temperature and light breeze. We left the gate at 10:15.

Sptember 29, 2024

Gerry and Pauline Hubregtse, BC WLRS, parked at the 90 km. sign at 1:30 and walked in to inspect the monitoring equipment. An email will be sent to Jessica to report that all is well. We then drove to the entrance and parked and walked along the plantation road to the .5 decommissioned road and walked in to a point opposite the first squirrel transect. We noted a fresh bear scat on the trail. Along the way we checked on a site where a large holly tree had been cut down, to determine that it had not regrown. Following advice from Erica and written records, we now had both a start point and end point of each of the three squirrel transects. We walked transect 1, then transect 3, then on to transect 2 which starts at the Huckleberry study patch. There we mounted the camera before walking the length of transect 2 which ends just outside the reserve boundary, close to where the .5 decommissioned road meets the plantation road. The squirrel survey will be reported on separately. We did not see or hear any squirrels nor see any middens in the transects but did see a fair amount of fresh midden material just outside the end of transect 2. There was a large amount and variety of fungi growing along the walk, some of which we photographed. We noted a number of Marsh Wrens along the walk. We walked back to the vehicle collecting a small amount of garbage.  The walk was completed under sunny skies and 14 degrees temperature. We left the gate at 4 pm

.

December 8, 2024

Gerry and Pauline Hubregtse, BC WLRS, parked at the 90 km. sign at 1:00 pm and walked in to inspect the monitoring equipment and will report to Jessica by email that all is well.

We parked at the entrance to the BER and walked in to the .5 decommissioned road. We heard gunshots in the distance. They sounded like a shotgun coming from the opposite direction to that we were headed in so we continued along the road. When we arrived at the BER boundary we struck off through the forest towards the Huckleberry study patch. There we recovered the camera. It was no longer operating so we dismounted it to take it home to be recharged. The memory card had many images including deer. We retraced our steps to the vehicle and left the entrance at 2:30. We completed the visit under clear sunny skies and 8 degrees temperature and a wet understory from the recent rain.  We noted various fungi along the way including Lobster mushrooms, Orange Jelly mushrooms, and Crested Coral Fungus.