British Columbia Day greetings from Inside British Columbia

August 1, 2005

Wilderness Abuse - Off-road vehicles and riders destroy alpine trail

With increasing damage of delicate trails and wilderness areas by off-road vehicles, there is a growing move to require licensing and more control. Fortunately most of the main interest groups are working on this together, as there is great sensitivity, on the part of many snowmobilers and ATVers especially, at having their "freedom" curtailed. For an example of what the fuss is all about, take a look at Wilderness Abuse.

Organic food: corporate vs local

As mentioned in the previous post, it's tough to compete against subsidized food, especially when you live in smaller population centres and have to get your produce to market. Now, the small organic growers are up against a growing corporate organic sector. To get the picture, take a look at the current chart of "who owns what".

If you are looking for food grown with care, these days the organic label is no guarantee. In my opinion, and for many other reasons, local is the way to go: buy from people you know or at least people you can talk to. This is why I built a web page for South Cariboo Produce, locally grown or raised food. Here are some of the reasons why buying local, whenever possible, makes sense:

1. Produce is fresher
2. Fruit which doesn't have to travel can be picked riper
3. Fuel/transport costs will inevitably increase as our fossil fuels become scarcer
4. Supporting local food supplies now will enable them to be there in the more challenging days to come.
5. Reduce pollution by reducing transport distances
6. Keep your money local, thereby supporting and building your community.

If you live in the BC Interior and would like a similar page, I would be willing to put it together at no charge, using information you provide. Go to JN Web Design and e-mail me from there.

To the USA: Pull in Your Horns a Bit

A letter in response to a Macleans article by John Gibson
Reprinted with permission
-------------------------------------

Mr. John Gibson, Fox News:

In reading your comments about Canada in your article in MacLeans Magazine I wondered how a newsperson with all of the resources you must have for in-depth research could have written such a shallow, cliché-ridden article.

I am a rural Canadian, living six hours drive from the nearest large city (Vancouver). I live in a community that depends on forestry, agriculture and tourism for its economic well being. That means that your comments on mad cow and softwood lumber bear some thought. As well your overall tone of sarcasm deserves a response.

First you must understand that every Canadian is always aware that we rarely appear on America's radar screen unless America sees a major advantage. Softwood lumber and agriculture are a case in point. When America wanted the North American Free Trade agreement it was fiercely negotiated on all sides but in the end was determined by the American negotiators. However, your lumber interests were not prepared to see softwood lumber part of an open free trade, hence the softwood lumber agreement. Once that agreement was up for renewal your industry and government deemed Canada an unfair competitor and heavy duties were placed on shipments to the USA. The only people who have really suffered is the American consumer. But, what really burns those of us who live in rural Canada is that, at every court challenge, America has lost and has simply refused to accept the rulings, even those where American members of the tribunal were in the majority.

When your government, after much careful investigation and with the full cooperation of Canada, decided to lift the ban on Canadian cattle you found a way through the courts to stop the lifting.

What we have learned from these particular actions is that there is no way of winning when you deal with America. The rule of law for you simply highlights the need to find or write a new law.

And dare I mention agricultural subsidies? Yesterday we bought apples in our local store that are a product of the USA. They were cheaper than Canadian apples simply because of your farm subsidies.

Your little excerpt from your book 'Hating America, the New World Sport' does not include any Canadians I know. None of us hates America. Most of us have friends and often relatives south of the 49th parallel. But we are a nation one-tenth your size in population (in fact the population of California is greater than Canada's). We are wary of you. Canada has only been invaded by a foreign power twice in our history, both times by the USA. We know that the minute you deem it in your national interest to need our water or oil that you can come and take it.

You see, as the 'New Roman Empire', we have to be wary and sometimes this may come across as being angry or jealous or any of the other adjectives you used. America has demonstrated many times in recent years that its interests supersede everything, including national sovereignty.

So pull in your horns a bit. We don't hate you; we aren't jealous; we're careful. To misquote one of our politicians, sleeping next to an elephant makes one careful.

Sincerely,

Jack Witty
108 Mile Ranch, BC

Review of the state of mountain pine beetle in BC

I think this is a fairly balanced analysis of the pine beetle situation:

The Tyee: What a Black Beetle Can Teach Us

A dead sea of red. Lorraine Maclauchlan photo, B.C. Ministry of Forests

Mountain pine beetle–infested timber is helping B.C. boom. Will we learn the bug plague's lessons before the bust?

By Jared Ferrie, July 4, 2005

As mountain pine beetles continue to munch their way through B.C.'s forests, logging companies are ramping up operations in order to harvest the millions of hectares of dead trees left in their wake.

Read on

Mosquito Repellents and Deterrents

Word has it that this is the worst summer in a long time for mosquitoes. I guess I should say it's a very good year for mosquitoes and a bad year for humans and other warm-blooded mammals. It's also a good year for swallows and other flying insectivores, including dragonflies. "Dragonfly naiads consume mosquito larvae in the breeding waters, and adult dragonflies eat adult mosquitoes." (Wikipedia). Which brings me to the helpful part of this post:
[Updated version here]

Mosquito Deterrents: This is the best information I could find. I certainly haven't tested all of these recommendations so use your own judgement and feel free to let me know directly, or as a comment below, what your experience or knowledge is.

NOTE: It is generally agreed that for most reliable protection, (e.g. where West Nile Fever is a risk) the best product is DEET. Note that DEET can damage synthetic fabrics and there are questions about its effect on the human body. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that repellents used on children contain no more than 10% DEET - and not at all on children under two months. Lotions can be applied more effectively than sprays. Don't use with sunscreen because DEET should not be re-applied. Wash off after use.

A. On/in your body:

1. Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine Hydrochloride 100 mg): 1 tablet a day.
   
2. No bananas: They make your body odour more attractive to the little ladies (yes, remember it's the females that bite).
   
3. Clothing: Wear long-sleeve shirts and pants
   
4. Oil of eucalyptus: at 30% concentration prevents mosquito bites for about 2 hours (New England Journal of Medicine)
   
5. Garlic juice: Mix 1 part garlic juice with 5 parts water in a small spray bottle. Shake well before using. Spray lightly on exposed body parts. Lasts 5 - 6 hours (or as long as your friends can stand you).

B. In/around the home:

1. A fan or gentle breeze: Mosquitoes don't like moving air
   
2. Strips of cotton cloth dipped in garlic mixture (see above): and hung in areas, such as patios, as a localized deterrent.
   
3. Sage or rosemary: on the barbecue coals
4. Herbs (When the leaves are crushed): wormwood, lemon grass, lemon thyme, pelargonium and citronella.
   
5. Mosquito nets: Not a common site in Canada but, properly used, are very effective and (in the long run) cheap.
6. Bat houses and swallow nesting boxes: They have to eat a lot though as mosquitoes make up less than 3% of a swallow's diet and less than 1% for a bat. (Christian Back, medical entomologist)
7. Standing water: Remove where possible, and change pets' dirinking water and birdbaths frequently.
8. Incense and coils: only use coils outdoors (e.g. not in tents) and regular incense indoors.
9. Shepherd's Purse: In the early spring, sprinkle the seed on water where mosquitoes breed. The mucilage of the seed will kill the larvae and greatly reduce mosquitoes in the area. One pound of seeds destroys ten million larvae, though it may cause a proliferation of shepherd s purse! (Dr Terry Willard, Wild Rose College of Natural Healing)

Terminator seeds infiltrating agriculture and forestry

This is somewhat technical but if you, or someone you know, needs more authoritative evidence and references than the average journalist provides, this should help:

Science for Peace Bulletin
May 2005 - Volume 25, Issue 2
Terminators Galore!
Joe Cummins
The author is Professor Emeritus at the University of Western Ontario.

In Canada, the Seed Sector Review advisory committee issued a report calling for changes to legislation to
(A) collect royalties on farm-saved seeds,
(B) compel farmers to buy officially certified seed, and
(C) terminate the right of farmers to sell common seed.

The report was financed by the Agriculture Ministry at a cost of nearly a million dollars to the Canadian taxpayers but essentially rubber-stamped the demands of multinational agricultural corporations (1). The onerous licensing requirements of the biotechnology industry are to be extended to all seeds, imposing a form of serfdom on any remaining independent farmers. In the future it is likely that even home gardeners will face the loony corporate payments for those willing to spy on neighbors and report covert seed activity. We may be entering a time when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are required to raid grow operations such as a row of radishes in a backyard garden.

Read on

See also:

• Our Seeds
• Canada Pushes ‘Suicide Seed’ Trials

Muskwa-Kechika: The Wild Heart of Canada’s Northern Rockies

A new book on a relatively unknown part of our province:

The sounds of avalanches and of moose calling and feeding in the cool grey dawn, the soul-touching howl of a wolf pack, and the myriad tiny sounds of the wilderness have wakened me to greet the dawn from one end of the Muskwa-Kechika to the other.

........................... Photographer Wayne Sawchuk grew up in Chetwynd and worked as a logger before turning to the Northern Rockies as a guide and trapper where he fell in love with the beauty of the area. Sawchuk has been a full-time conservationist since 1993 and played an integral part in creating the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area, along with George Smith, National Conservation Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Read the author's review

The Fisher - Interior BC's animal?

Here's a good BC question: What is the provincial animal?

Answer: The swift fox

Today I learnt more about a creature that I think is a good candidate for the Interior BC animal: The Fisher.

I've just finished putting up a new page on the Cariboo-Chilcotin Conservation Society's web site - a page all about the fisher. What gave it particularly good Interior BC credentials was the following:

Fisher have to work a lot harder to hunt and travel when snow is deep and soft. Fishers, when they travel in deep snow, use 54% more energy per day than on hard snow. This may be why there are few fishers in coastal BC where deep, wet snow is more common.

After you've learned about the Fisher, take a look at the rest of the CCCS site. It's one of my big favourites.

A slow drink of Crannóg's Ales

Now here's a great interior BC story. It even involves a move from the lower mainland to the interior. It's also about lifestyle and good food - good beer in fact. And, yes, I do think that this ale can be considered food. If you've ever wondered what's at the heart of "the slow food movement", here's an example:

A crannóg is a dwelling built on stilts over a bog or a wetland: found all over Ireland and Scotland, they housed animals and humans. The crannóg is a direct link both physically and philosophically to Brian MacIssac and Rebecca Kneen’s fabulous farmhouse micro-brewery. To say that Rebecca Kneen and Brian MacIsaac are purists is putting it mildly.

The name of their farm, Left Field, speaks volumes. These folks care about both the environment and the quality of their extraordinary brews. Brian speaks and teaches Gaelic, and as an artist his intricate knot work decorates the buildings and his labels. Even the couple’s bodies sport his tattooed designs.

"What about the beer", you say? Read on.