THE GIANT KILLERS: FORESTRY, CONSERVATlON AND RECREATlON IN THE GREEN TIMBERS FOREST, SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA TO 1930 DAVID J. SANDQUIST B.A., SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY, 1997 A THESIS SUBMllTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department Of History O DAVID J. SANDQUIST 2000 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY AUGUST 2000 All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. National Library Bibiinthèque nationale 1+1 ,Ca,& du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wdlirigtm Ottawa ON K1A ON4 O(trrwaON KiAW Canada Canade The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibiiothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distn%uteor sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microficheAilm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur fonnat électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent Stre imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. In the 1920s a conflict erupted over the logging of "Green Timbers" in north Surrey, British Columbia, which at the time was the last stand of old-growth timber bordering the Pacific Highway. This conflict revealed that attitudes toward the forests of British Columbia were changing. The challenges that the dense forests had presented to the early settlers of this section of the frontier had helped produce antipathy toward the forests, which resulted in a particularly destructive approach to logging that persisted into the twentieth century. But the rapid social, political, and economic change that occurred prior to the First World War led the rise of several important "environmental" movements and to the controversy over this small tract of virgin timber. Natural science and technological innovations had exposed the myth of abundance and changed the cultural perceptions of many British Columbians. No longer an obstacle to progress, Nature was imbued with aesthetic and ethical values. These changes in attitude, however, were not yet firmly entrenched in a society where economic imperatives governed environmental considerations. While the movement for the preservation of Green Timbers was a compiex amalgam of different interests, it was dominated by one particular sector of society, an educated professional "elite." Although this group had the support of a number of çpecial interest and civic organizations, it coutd not produce the kind of monetary and political support needed to achieve its goal. The history of the failed attempts to preserve this tract of virgin timber, therefore, illustrates not onJy the difficulty British Columbians had in determining the value of "nature," but also the problem of trying to establish a natural park in a province dependent on its resource economy. Through a study of the correspondence, governrnent records and newspaper articles related to the Green Timbers controversy this paper will examine those changing and often conflicting attitudes toward the forests of north Surrey at the turn of the century. Firstly, I would like to thank Dr. Jack Little and Dr. Allen Seager for their work, advice and patience in preparation of this thesis, and Dr. L.J. Evenden for acting as my extemal examiner. For their help with my thesis and especially for their ongoing efforts to protect the present-day park, I thank the Green Timbers Heritage Society. Special thanks to Henan Schuetze for his preliminary research that provided me with numerous leads to sources that I rnay never have found otherwise. I would also like to thank Janet Turner and Peter Johnson of the Surrey Archives, Diane Duguay at the National Archives, and the staff at the City of Vancouver Archives and the British Columbia Archives for their time and assistance. Most of al1 I would like to thank my wife Heidi for her love and support during the entire project. LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES ...................mm....mmImgmmmmm.~..mm......mm.....mmmm.w.~w.mmm.m.m...~...~. VI1 SECTION 1: THE CULTURE OF ABUNDANCE: EARLY AïTlTUDES TOWARD GREEN TIMBERS CHAPTER 1 : THE ECOLOGY AND EARLY HISTORY OF GREEN TIM8ERSmœm=....wœa11 THEECOLOGY OF GREENTMBERS ......................................................................... 1 1 NATNEPRESENCE IN GREEN T~ERS ..................................... .............................. 16 CHAPTER 3: LUMBERJACKS AND TIMBER BARONS: LOGGING IN SURREY, BRITISH COLUMBIA ................... w.wmm.wm.m.wmmmw..........mm.m.m....m.mm.......mmmw.m..mm...~.mm..mm.mm~.mmm.....36 SECTION 2: THE BAITLE FOR THE TREES: CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION IN THE GREEN TIMBERS FOREST CHAPTER 4: 1HE BIRTH OF A CONSERVATION ETHIC IN BRITISH COLUMBIA ..S1 CHAPTER 5: EARLY EFFORTS. EARLY DEFEATS IN THE GREEN TIMBERS CONTROVERSY. 1912-1923 mwmwwmmmwwmwwwmmwwwmww-mwmmmmmmwmmmmmwmwwwwwmmmmwmwmwmwwwwwmwwmmmmwmmmwwwmmmmmwmwwmwmwmm64 THEBEGINNINGS OF A MOVEMENT........................................................................................................... 65 EXTERNALINTERVENTIONS ....................................................................................................................... 72 THEADVOCATES ....................................................................................................................................... 76 CHAPTER 6: SAVING GREEN TIMBERS: THE FîNAL CONFLICT OVER THE VlRGlN TIMBER ON THE PAClFlC HIGHWAYwwmmwwwmwmwwmmwmwmwmmmmmmwwmwmowwwmwmwwwwwwmwmmmwmmwmmmwwm-w79 THENEGOTIATIONS OPEN ........................................................................................................................ 79 IN BAD FAITH............................................................................................................................................ 84 THEDEADLINE ARRNES ........................................................................................................................... 88 TO MOURNTHE FALLENGIANTS ............................................................................................................... 94 CHAPTER 7: VALUING NATURE IN THE GREEN TIMBERS FOREST ................... ..97 THESOCIAL PROFILEOF THE GREENTIMBERS MOVEMENT........................................................ 98 TOURKMAND GREENT~ERs.... ........................................................................................................... 100 RENEWAL AND REBIRTH IN GREENTMBERS: A POSTSCRIPT ................................................................. 104 APPENDIX A: OUTLINE OF THE PRINCIPAL TIMBER BLOCKS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR AN EXCHANGE~m~~mm~~~m~~mwmmmwwmmmwwwmmwwmmwwwwmwmwmwawwmwmwwwwwwwmmwmmmwwwmwmwl 11 APPENDIX 6: THE PLANTERS OF THE GREEN TIMBERS INAUGURAL PLANTATIONwmwmwwwmwwwwwmwwwmmwwwwwwmmwmmwwwwmmawwwmwwwwmwwmmwwwwwmwwmwmw113 LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES MAP1 : MAPOF SURREYSHOWING GREENTIMBERS. THE PACIFICHIGHWAY AND NEARBY RAILROADS .......................................................................................................................................... 8 MAP2: FORESTSERVICE MAP OF PROPOSED PARK. 1926 ............................................................. 9 FIGURE1 : HAuLlNG SHINGLE 80LTS. C.1 874 ............................................................................... 34 FIGURE2: FALLERS ON SPRINGBOARDS WlTH A '%EDE FIDDLE'. CI880 ..................................... 43 FIGURE3: LOGGING WlTH A 10-HORSE TEAM. Cl900 ................................................................... 45 FIGURE4: HIGH RIGGER EUGENE"JAN' RENES. 1923 .............................................................. 47 FIGURE5: M.6. KING LUMBER COMPANYLOCOMOTIVE. Cl91 7 ................................................. 48 FIGURE6: "GIANTKILLERS" . 1923 LOGGING EXHIBITION. 1923 ...........................................*.......49 FIGURE7: FRANK J. MACKENZIEIN GREENTIMBERS. cl 920 ....................................................... 66 FIGURE8: THE PACIFICHIGHWAY (OLD YALE ROAD)THROUGH GREENTIMBERS. Cl 91 3 .............. 67 FIGURE9: THEPACIFIC HIGHWAY THROUGH GREENTlMBERS. Cl923 .......................................... 68 Driving south-east down the Fraser Highway out of the district of Whalley in north Surrey, British Columbia, one soon cornes to a stretch of road bordered by tall evergreen trees that frame the distant Mount Baker. A small sign at the corner of 96 Avenue announces that this is the Green Tirnbers Urban Forest Park. Intrigued by this ecological anomaly in the midst of the surrounding urban sprawl, the visitor decides to search for a point of entry. Pulling over to the side of the road, she gets out and begins to walk along one of the many trails winding under the canopy of Green Tirnbers. The visitor has entered into a 225-hectare semi-mature coastal rainforest consisting of an upper-story of Douglas fit, western red cedar, and hemlock, and an under-story of vine maple, red alder, salal and various berry bushes. Since 1930 the British Columbia Forest Service has professionally managed this area which is also home to