Important new publications in the online Susan Bond Memorial Library for 2024
March 7th, 2024
As you might expect the Susan Bond Memorial Library has to be periodically updated with new works. We do try to locate and curate reports maps and documents that pertain to the natural resources of the East Kootenay. After feedback from some of our users, the Rocky Mountain Trench Ecosystem Restoration Program will be updating this resource once a year and will be keeping the new reports in their own annual folder in the library directory for at least 6 months for ease of review. So, if you want to just check out the 2023 additions sign into the memorial library and check the folder “2023 Susan Bond Library addition”. This was a very busy year we have 146 new titles; some highlights are:
1. Possibly the most topical additional paper in the library is “Fuel types misrepresent forest structure and composition in interior British Columbia: a way forward” by Jennifer N. Baron, Paul F. Hessburg, Marc‑André Parisien, Gregory A. Greene, Sarah. E. Gergel and Lori D. Daniels. It is critical review of the Canadian Fire Prediction System widely used in Canada to predict how a wildfire will behave or a prescribed burn will behave. It notes that the system works best in the boreal forest, but this system was never expanded to cover the forests of the southern Interior like Douglas fir forests. The system becomes even more difficult to use if the forest stands are modified by spacing or harvesting; it points to a new solution system to better predict fire behaviour. The lead author Jenn baron did 76 research plots in the Rocky Mountain Trench and was interviewed on her paper this week on Global television. If you do not want to read the paper, Jenn has been interviewed for news releases at:
The report is in added to the library under the Fire Science folders in 2023 Susan Bond Library Addition folder and Fire Regime/ Science Landscape Level Fire Planning folder in main library.
2. The final draft of “Cranbrook Community Forest Intensive Monitoring Report Year 6” written by Becky Philips at VAST Resource Solutions issued in December 2023. The report was funded by the Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society and the Cranbrook Community Forest Society. It covers the change in vegetation in a thinning operation carried out in the Community Forest in the winter of 2018-2019. The measures show that in 2023 in the middle of a drought, treated areas had 210 to 390 kilograms/hectare of edible grass and forbs versus 42 kilograms per hectare in untreated areas, which matches the visual impression of the site. In addition, invasive plants cover only 1 to 2 % of ground cover and may be decreasing over the 3 measures made to date. The report is in added to the library under the 2023 Susan Bond Library Addition folder and ER Monitoring folder in main library.
3. Several interesting new planning or funding initiatives have started in 2023. We have set up files to cover them off. Files are found in the Fire Science folders in 2023 Susan Bond Library Addition folder and Fire Regime- Science/ Landscape Level Fire Planning folder in main library.
a. Landscape level planning for fire resilience was proposed in two reports by the Forest Practices Board in 2023 Special Report 61 Forest and Fire Management in British Columbia Towards a Resilient Landscape and Special Report 62 Practicing Landscape Fire Management Technical Bulletin.
b. CROWN LAND WILDFIRE RISK REDUCTION PLANNING GUIDE 2023-2024 Community Resiliency Investment program in the same folders is produced by the BC Wildfire Service to dovetail with this landscape fire management planning initiative,
c. Supplementing this effort again was a document by the Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. (2023). Strategic and Collaborative Approaches to Mitigating Wildfire Dialogue, What We Heard Report. This report is interesting in that the meeting between numerous stakeholders was held in Cranbrook at the St Eugene’s Mission Resort; it included many local land managers.
4. The Ministry of Water Land and Natural Resource Stewardship launched the DRAFT B.C. BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTH FRAMEWORK in November 2023. The process appears to come with significant funding and hopes incorporate all current landscape planning into one framework. The framework is in early stages, but the document is in 2023 Susan bond library Addition/ Local Planning and East Kootenay plans-ER and Others/ Provincial Level Initiatives folders for review and reference.
5. To cover off local current issues some new file folders have been set up.
a. Five papers on chronic wasting disease, four from Alberta, have been under the ungulate sub folder in 2023 Susan Bond Library Addition folder and the Deer/ Chronic wasting disease folder in main library.
b. The Koocanusa Recreation plan, developed over the last 5 years was wound down by the provincial government in 2022. So as to not loose contact with all the good progress and ideas made with this initiative, all the program plans and publications are in its own folder in the 2023 Susan Bond Library Addition folder and its own sub folder under East Kootenay Plans-ER and Others / Koocanusa Recreation Plan folder.
c. Four cumulative effects papers produced in 2018 for the Elk Valley have also been added to the library under the Cumulative effects folders in 2023 Susan Bond Library Addition folder and Cumulative effects/elk valley cumulative effects folder in main library. The reports cover off the effects of industrial and settlement activities on grizzly bears, aquatic resources, old growth, and highborn sheep in the elk valley. They are the result of five years of work between provincial government land management agencies, forest licensees, the Elk Valley coal companies in the valley, Elk Valley communities and the First Nation governments. They are here for reference as the reports set up reference points for future discussions and planning around development in the Elk Valley.
6. Three wildlife guides listing identification Identified Wildlife Management Strategy Accounts and Measures for Managing Identified Wildlife Northern Interior Forest Region Version 2004 and Southern Interior and the updated Tembec guide to species of interest. They are in the 2023 Susan bond Addition/ Species at risk folder and in the Species at Risk/ Multi species plans Guides folder in main library.
7. Some Interesting Policy Papers are added because they give a good overview of issues and have good bibliographies for the topic.
a. Fairbrother and Rhodes 2023 Climate Policy in BC: an unexpected journey. European paper but gives rich insight from outsiders into British Columbia and the politics and policy around carbon trading and climate issues. They are in the 2023 Susan bond Addition/ Local Planning folder and in the Climate Change folder in main library.
b. A Compiled List of Technical and Research Publications Involving the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (2022) by Kull of the Canadian Forest Service lists numerous recent publications used to complete carbon budget studies on forestry in Canada. They are in the 2023 Susan Bond Addition/ carbon trading folder and in the Carbon capture/ Forest Carbon folder in main library.
c. SR62 – MEASURING & ALLOCATING FORAGE ON RANGELANDS IN BC December 2023 by the Forest Practices Board gives a thorough outline and history on measuring allocation forage in British Columbia. Note that 27 Range science documents have been added to the Range and Invasive Plant folders, both have had subfolders added to more easily find tables. This particular report is at 2023 Susan Bond Addition/ grasslands folder and in the Range Policy/ Range administration in main library.
8. With all the planning being proposed it is critical to ensure that First Nation interests and concerns are considered and addressed during the new processes being proposed. To that end the library has added 25 new titles to our existing catalogue of 14 reports. As this made one folder unwieldy and reports hard to find we set up 4 subfolders under First Nations folder
a. Ethnobotany folder contains 4 papers detailing the use of plats for food and medicine for the K’tunaxa and Salish Nations. One, Shirley Ma’s Master’s thesis from 1983 relates culturally important plants to fire keeping knowledge of the K’tunaxa Nation.
b. The subfolder Papers Cultural Fire contains 19 papers on First Nation use of fire and covers reports on K’tunaxa, Salish, Secwepemc and Blackfoot Nations fire knowledge, with varying decrees of first nation knowledge keepers.
c. A third subfolder of Early Settler Papers Kootenays contains two main reports one is Tales of the Kutenai by Boaz 2010. It is a huge file but one quoted as a primary source by all later ethnographic papers.
9. The last and possibly most hard to find documents to added to the library this year in the First Nations/ Early settler Papers is a government scientist’s firsthand description of the Trench prior to settlement GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF CANADA. PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE PHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THAT PORTION OF THE ROOICY MOUNTAINS, BETWEEN LATITUDES -!9° AND 51° 30'. BY GEORGE M. DAWSON, D.S., F.G.S.,1886 Several passages in the book are of interest because they confirm scientific research into the fire regimes of the valley as well as confirming knowledge of the First Nations’ elders. Three passages are of note in managing the current landscape.
a. On page 36 to 37 Dawson addresses a settler claim that first Nations were wantonly burning the landscape. He compared the Crowsnest Pass with its blackened stumps were Whites lived to the unburnt North Kootenay Pass. He concluded First Nations where not so careless as to destroy their own hunting grounds; he pointed the ignitions to the white settlers.
b. On page 33 to 34 the area around Tobacco Plains is open with groves of Ponderosa pine with much Larch turning into denser pine and spruce near the bend of the Upper Columbia Lake (Windermere Lake)
c. Page 34 describes the grassy slopes of the east side of Columbia Lake interspersed with species and calcareous materials before giving a long description of Fairmont hot springs.
If you have any comments about the library or the Ecosystem Restoration program, Please Contact
Marc Trudeau, Coordinator
Rocky Mountain Trench
Ecosystem Restoration Program
Phone: 250-427-1138
Email: marc@trench-society.com