Developement of a new management plan for Big Creek/South Chilcotin Mountains

 

 

BC parks is preparing new management plans for a number of provincial parks in the South Chilcotin Mountains:

* South Chilcotin Mountains Park (previously named Spruce Lake Protected Area)

* Big Creek Park.

* Bridge River Delta Park.

* Yalakom Park.

* Fred Antoine Park.

* French Bar Park.

* Marble Canyon Park.

* Skihist Park.

* Gwyneth Lake Park.

The WSF has  provided input with a Big Creek/South Chilcotin Mountains management plan draft , to ensure the future management of the area is executed in a responsible and sustainable way, securing a balance between users interests and preservation of the wilderness. A summary of the public input to the management plan is now available on http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/planning/mgmtplns/lillooet/background-documents/public-input-summary.pdf

The purpose of a  management plan is to set out objectives and strategies for conservation, development, interpretation and operation of a protected area. A management plan relies on current information relating to such subjects as natural values, cultural values, and recreation opportunities within a park and resource activities occurring on surrounding lands.

The process for preparing a management plan involves a careful analysis of the overall goals of the protected area, use patterns, management objectives, and possible sources of conflict among protected area policies. Through the planning process, various options for managing the protected area are developed and assessed.

BC Parks prepares management plans with a high degree of public involvement. The general public and public interest groups have opportunities to review management planning documents and provide comments to BC Parks through a variety of means.  Similarly, BC Parks consults with First Nations, other levels of government and other provincial government agencies in the development and review of management plans.

You can find information on how to provide input into the management plans, as well as available background information for the above parks, by clicking on the following link http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/planning/mgmtplns/lillooet/lillooet_mp.html .

New information will be posted to this site as it becomes available, including new background information, meeting summaries and the draft plans as they are developed.  The planning process is expected to be finalized in 2012, and public input  is still open.

Species Focus: Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)

Statistics

Length: 2.5 – 4 inches

Weight: 2 – 6g

Wing Beats: 40-80 per second

Heart Beat: Resting – 250 beats per minute / Feeding - 1200 beats per minute

Colour: Males have an emerald green back, iridescent ruby red throat, grey flanks and forked tail. Females have an emarld green back, white breast and throat, and a round, white tipped tail.

About

The small ruby-throated hummingbird is the most common species that breeds in North America. Ruby-throats are inquisitive and will visit feeders, showing little fear of humans.

Males in particular will display aggressive territorial behaviour towards other males and can often be observed battling over feeders. Courtship is brief and after the pea-sized eggs hatch, the female raises the young alone for the nesting phase of between 18 to 23 days. After fledging the chicks will be fed by their mother for around ten days before they are no longer tolerated as the mother goes in search of the food necessary to prepare for the fall migration. The winter is spent in Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean islands with a non-stop crossing of the Gulf in around 18-20 hours.

An extraordinary feat for this little hummer!

Train the Trainer on Invasive Plants

 

 

The WSF team have been busy getting to grips with invasive plants. This month some of our staff met with representatives from Lilloooet Regional Invasive Species Society for training on invasive plant inventory methods and treatment.

Our meeting with Odin Scholz and Jacquie Rasmussen from the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society (LRISS) began at the side of a dusty highway inspecting the corridor for invasive species, and it didn’t take long to find the first specimen. The species in question was Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), an ornamental plant, native to the Mediterranean and an aggressive invader in BC, threatening  native grasses and wildflowers.

Odin and Jacquie explained about current control methods in place for the species, including a successful biocontrol agent in the form of weevils. The LRISS is currently on the ground performing inventories of the area to identify areas and species of highest concern. Once an inventory is completed the details are uploaded onto a government hosted map database, the Invasive Alien Plant Program (IAPP) and the data available to the public.

We continued our inventory on the Five Mile Ridge area where the access roads are lined with invasive plant species such as Burdock (Arctium minus), Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) and the occasional patch of Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare). As we packed up for the day we discussed the development and application of a management plan in the area to include usage assessment, treatment and monitoring. This is one of the projects for which the WSF is currently developing a project charter and we hope to be in the operational stage early next year.

What you can do!

For more information on invasive plants and their treatment check out the Invasive Species Council of BC and take a look at how you can perform and record an invasive plant inventory in your area with the IAPP database.