“The voice for grasslands in British Columbia” MAGAZINE OF THE GRASSLANDS CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA WINTER 2009/2010 Special Edition CELEBRATING GRASSLANDS and 10 Years of Working Partnerships A Special Day in the Grasslands, by Peter Sulzle What a wonderful morning to be in the Lac du Bois grasslands, I thought. On Break over, I continued my search. Just as I walked over the next hill I was this cool, crisp morning in November, snow had just started to gently fall and delighted to find six large rams bedded down as snow continued to fall. a strange silence spread across the rolling grassland hills northeast of I could not have envisioned a better scene. Kamloops. I walked along an open trail with my camera and tripod draped It was on that day that I realized the importance of this open and wild space. over my shoulder. With each visit to the grasslands, a new wonder is revealed. I see beauty While I’d been told there were wild sheep up here, I figured it was an unlikely through the lens. place to find a big ram or two, as my only experience with wildlife Peter Sulzle is a wildlife photographer based in Kamloops who spends photography until then had been in the Rocky Mountains. much of his time in search of the area's wildlife. His past work has mainly I set down my day pack, pulled out a small thermos of coffee and enjoyed my been used by conservation and naturalist organizations. He now has a time away from life in the city. While looking over this unfamiliar landscape, photography column in SPIN news magazine and has begun a series of it began to grow on me, and I dreamed of future visits, animals to discover and photo opportunities. wildlife photography videos. www.petersulzle.zenfolio.com MAGAZINE OF THE GRASSLANDS CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA WINTER 2009/2010 Special Edition The Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia (GCC) C ELEBRATING G RASSLANDS was established as a society in August 1999 AND TEN YEARSOF WORKING PARTNERSHIPS and as a registered charity on December 21, 2001. Since our beginning, we have been dedicated to promoting education, conservation and stewardship of British Columbia’s grasslands in collaboration with our partners, a diverse group of organizations and individuals that includes government, range management specialists, ranchers, agrologists, ecologists, First Nations, land trusts, conservation groups, recreationists and grassland enthusiasts. The GCC’s mission is to: FEATURES • foster greater understanding and page 8 BC Grasslands: The Mouse that Roared Don Gayton appreciation for the ecological, social, economic and cultural impor tance of page 11 A Small Mouse in a Large Field: Environmental NGOs grasslands throughout BC; page 11 Out of the Forest: The Creation of the GCC • promote stewardship and sustainable management practices that will ensure the page 13 Keeping it in the Family with a Little Help from their Friends: The Frolek Ranch Lesley Neilson long-term health of BC’s grasslands; and For the Love of Grasslands: The GCC Model for Transformation Catrina Crowe • promote the conservation of representative page 22 grassland ecosystems, species at risk and their habitats. GCC IN BRIEF GCC Board of Directors page 2 Message from the Chair David Zirnhelt EXECUTIVE page 2 Message from the Executive Director Bruno Delesalle CHAIR page 38 GCC Programs and Updates David Zirnhelt, Big Lake Ranch VICE CHAIR PARTNERSHIPS IN GRASSLANDS CONSERVATION Lauchlan Fraser, Kamloops page 4 Partnering for Rangeland Education Wendy Gardner et al. SECRETARY / TREASURER King Campbell, Salmon Arm page 5 A Travel Through Time: Towards a Grassland Research and Stewardship (GRAS) Centre Lauchlan Fraser et al. PAST CHAIR Michael Pitt, Saskatchewan page 7 Grasslands: Past, Present and Future—BC Nature Rick Howie Bill Henwood, North Vancouver page 11 Land Trusts: A Powerful Way to Protect Special Places Sheila Harrington Jim White, Knutsford Partnership Profile: Ducks Unlimited Canada King Campbell BOARD page 25 Barry Booth, Prince George page 25 Partnership Profile: Ecological Restoration Allen Neal Darren Dempsey, Knutsford page 31 Partnership Profile: City of Kamloops Wendy Gardner, Kamloops Bruce Gordon, West Vancouver page 31 Partnership Profile: Bulkly Nechako Judy Guichon, Quilchena Julianne Leekie Michael Kennedy, Lillooet page 32 Weeding Out Invaders Sonja Leverkus, Fort Nelson Chloe O’Loughlin, Vancouver PERSPECTIVES Mark Quaedvlieg, Keremeos page 12 A View on Grasslands Conservation from a Ranch House Window Judy Guichon Darrell Smith, Invermere Peter Stockdale, Enderby page 17 Theory in Practice for Grassland and Forest Health: The Fipke Reserve Catrina Crowe HONORARY BOARD MEMBER page 18 Visual Perspective: Grasslands through the Seasons Kirsty Robbins Bob Peart, Sidney, BC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FLORA AND FAUNA Bruno Delesalle, Kamloops page 26 Fauna: Homecoming for BC’s Burrowing Owls Dawn Brodie and Lauren Meads page 29 Flora: Rough Fescue—A Grass with Great Potential Rick Tucker Magazine Production PUBLISHER OTHERS Bruno Delesalle Sage Resources: Grassland Visionaries of the Past MANAGING EDITOR page 6 Catrina Crowe page 20 Map of BC’s Grasslands Owen Fritch page 34 Get Outside: Connecting Children and Families to the Grasslands Bob Peart COVER PAGE: In “Lady in Grass,” popular BC photographer and long-time page 35 In Memoriam GCC supporter Chris Harris captures the page 36 Members’ Corner magic of evening light in the grasslands and the spirit of romance it can inspire. Message from the Chair David Zirnhelt he GCC’s tenth anniversary gives me a chance to landscapes will come to be recognized more and more reflect on highlights of the past decade and look partly thanks to the work of artists. I would like to thank Tforward to the next one for the GCC. Professionally Chris Harris, Rita Geisbrecht, Ordell Steen and Kristi and personally, I believe the progress already achieved in Iverson for their efforts to produce the book Spirit in the grassland conservation will flow into the future. Grass as a window into grasslands. The GCC was I see that there will be fresh opportunities for the GCC to privileged to collaborate with Chris in this endeavour, have impact through its focus on land use planning for which has opened the eyes of many to the beauty of grasslands. While land use planning of the last two decades grasslands and the animals who live within them. was driven in large part by the old-growth-forest debate, I On a personal note, one of the reasons I joined the GCC think we are now ready to engage local and regional was to learn more about grasslands. Even though I grew interests, as well as the provincial government and its up in them, I realized I needed to know more and be able agencies, in giving attention to the grassland landscapes. to guide my grandchildren into their beauty. We know that The science and planning tools developed by the GCC have children can, in turn, show us what we do not know and paved the way to incorporate grasslands into official land be able to raise stewardship to a whole new level. use plans in rural and urban interface areas. With more My work with the GCC also took me to a journey to the than 30% of listed species calling the grasslands home, it is southern US to the Malpai Borderlands group, a group of essential that we rise to this challenge. ranchers working to conserve the grasslands in the desert. Another exciting area that applies previous GCC Their take-home message was that ranchers need to have research to emerging applications is in ensuring there is their own science working in concert with other interests adequate investment in the natural capital that grasslands such as the major conservation organizations. I’m proud provide. Natural capital measures ecological goods and that the GCC has taken the lead on such endeavours, such services, such as the value grasslands offer in providing as with the Grassland Monitoring Manual for BC. forage, filtering water and storing carbon from the air. Finally, on personal note again, I dedicate this message These investments will be long term and may not be to the inspiration Bruno has provided during his term of measured in dollars per acre now, yet they will have eco- service, wish him well, and thank him. nomic value for the future. And while the ecological and financial values of The GCC welcomes Bob Moody as our new grasslands are important, the spiritual values of the grass Executive Director. Message from the Executive Director Bruno Delesalle eminiscing about 10 years of conservation and Laurie Guichon, a prominent rancher in the Nicola working partnerships fills me with both pride for Valley, attended the meeting with some apprehension. He Rwhat we have accomplished and excitement for what was worried about meeting with “all these people who lies ahead. were against everything!” Laurie, like many ranchers, was In 1996, I represented Ducks Unlimited Canada and the concerned about the Forest Practices Code and other federal Interior Wetlands Program at a momentous meeting regulations that were making ranching more difficult. I of minds at Big Bar Ranch. As I participated in the day’s remember Laurie explaining how he wanted to be part of events, set up by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society the discussion and the solution… if a “ship is going to set to discuss the status of grasslands in BC and the need for sail, I want to be on that ship.” Laurie’s quest was to make conservation, I was completely unaware of how significantly people understand ranchers and their business. this meeting would influence my life and career. Over a period of three years, Laurie and others were I recall walking into the dining room of the Big Bar Ranch, shocked at the number of participants.