This week:

The harsh

slopes.

that feed the valleys

' As you move up a mountainside,
the ecology becomes more fragile
and forest management more diff-
icult. This has become obvious in
“the last few weeks as we moved
from the valley bottom to the
mid-slope level. Soils became
thinner, the weather more harsh,
and forest management more criti-
cal. This week we move on to the
upper slopes of our mountain and
we find even more dramatic diff-
erences.

The upper slopes present the -

problems of a sub-alpine climate
where there is only about half an
inch of windswept soil clinging to
. Solid rock. The growing season is
only about two months long,

annual temperatures average only .

about 50 degrees Farenheit, the
first snowfall of the year is gen-
erally in August, and it doesn’t
melt until about May or June. It’s
an area where only the hardiest of
Species dare venture and only the
healthiest survive.

So what does prow on these
slopes? Amabilis fir (balsam) and
mountain hemlock survive quite
nicely, as does a stunted version of
slide alder and brush like heather,
rocky mountain juniper and vac-
cinium species (blueberries and

- huckleberries).

Amabilis fir and mountian hem-
lock (a cousin of western hemlock)
are specialized varieties of their

To the Editor;

~ Recently MLA Dave Parker’s
leaflet arrived in local mail-
boxes. It presented his record in
office. One of his promises was
“The development at Kitimat of
a general cargo port designed to
accommodate Ferry Traffic.’’
Mr. Parker further stated that
he would be “‘seeking the full
cooperation of the District of
Kitimat and Alcan to ensure that
the long awaited project pro-
ceeds without further delay.”’
The Kitimat port has been
proposed by many past and pre-
sent Skeena Provincial politi-
cians — the present MLA
among them. He at least has had
the advantage of being a govern-
ment member, a cabinet minis-
ter, and a loyal supporter of Bill
Vander Zalm. Now after three
years in office and on the eve of
an election we get a recycled pro-
mise to seek ‘‘full cooperation’’.
The Kitimat Council, on the
other hand, has beén busy build-
ing a case for a port at least since
1983. They conducted numerous
studies including a Port Plann-
ing Study which was completed
in April 1988, They have since
studied markets and economic
viability to determine the feasi-
bility of a general cargo wharf.
The MLA for Prince Rupert,
Dan Miller, was asked about this
‘and commented that a port in
Kitimat would never happen and

lower-level relatives. They are
shorter and much smaller in dia-

meter, and their pliable branches .
unlike the

Slope downward,
upward-sweeping brittle branches
of conifer trees found at lower
levels. Without these characterist-
ics, these sub-alpine conifers
would never survive. They would

be crushed by the snow-load and
levelled by the wind.

The wind in the upper slopes. is
easily explained. Unlike the valleys
or lower slopes, there are no
mountains at those elevations: to
break up weather patterns and
offer some protection. The short
growing season and low annual
temperatures, though, might be a
little more difficult to understand.
In general, temperatures drop
about one degree Farenheit for
every 300 foot increase in eleva-
tion. This means that a typical
summer day on top of Copper or
Trapline Mountains, for example,
might only be 65 degrees even
though you’re seeking relief from
an 80 degree summer sun down-
town.

But the elements are only a part
of the problem faced by plant life
in the upper slopes. Nutrients
aren’t easily found either. In a
way, it’s almost like walking back
in time. If you recall our discus-
sion on primary succesion a few
weeks ago you will know ‘that our

Flaws seen in Kitimat port proposal

all we were witnessing was a
desperate political act by Mr.
Parker. Dan Miller is probably
right about Dave Parker, who
now has the scent of an election
in his nostrils, but I think Dan
might be wrong about the poten-
tial of a Kitimat Port.

It is interesting to note that
Mr. Parker makes no reference
to seeking the cooperation of the
Haisla, even though one would
have to agree that they are major
stakeholders in the area and af-
fected by the proposal being
considered, The Socreds don’t
seem to understand that deci-
sions on large projects should be
made locally by all interest
groups being involved. I think it
is time for some real cooperation
and consultation.

The Socreds have also shown
no leadership in providing the
kind of incentives which create
the climate for manufacturing
value added products in this
area. If we increase the need for
shipping we increase the viability
of a port in Kitimat. Under
Social Credit we will continue to
be ‘hewers of wood and drawers
of water’ — and exporters of
jobs and raw logs. We need a
government that looks after our
children’s future.

Kemano completion stands
out as what was an excellent but
missed opportunity for the
government to negotiate clean,
environmentally safe industrial

Terrace Review — Wednesday, May 23, 1990 5

by Tod Strachan

forests haven’t always existed as
they do today.

In the beginning there was only
Tock. Weather and early mosses
transformed the surface of this
rock into a thin layer of soil. As
more advanced forms of plant life
began to grow this process grad-
ually accelerated until, hundreds of
years later, there was a forest
growing in several feet of nutrient-
rich soil. Many of these nutrients,
though, are washed down the
slopes by rain water so as you
walk down the face of a mountain
you find that the soil becomes
more and more fertile.

Because of biogeoclimatic diff-
erences, the way in which rock is
broken down into basic nutrients is
different at higher elevations.
Fungi, rather than animal life and
bacteria, provide the foundation for
the process; a process which is
much more susceptible to disrup-
tion by man. This in itself makes
any kind of development in sub-

alpine slopes a very risky biSiness ©

options for this area. It could
have been a catylist for a Kitimat
Port. It makes no sense to ex-
port hydro electric power from
B.C, to the U.S. so they can at-
tract industry with the energy we
sell them. Industry which might
otherwise look at locating in our
area,

Kitimat will one day have a
public cargo port but I rather
think it will happen without
Dave Parker and the Socreds.

Helmut Giesbrecht
. . Terrace, B.C.
Misprint

Due to an editing error, a letter
printed on page A8 in our May 16
issue from Terrace resident Lynn
Buckle may have conveyed an
impression different from that
intended by the writer.

The fourth paragraph should have
read:

"For the safety of those adulls
who need protection and those who
defiantly want to do their own
thing, putting vending machines in
the malls, etc. as mentioned is an
alternative that shows there are
other costs to those actions;
pethaps those risking AIDS who
are not in school anymore and also
provide uccess to a multiplicity of
other things to spend their time
and money on."

Our apologies for any misunder-
standing that may have resulted
from the error.

— even with the most carefully
controlled methods.

This, then, would seem to elimin-
ate any thought of logging these
slopes. They are fragile, extremely
difficult to "repair" if they’re dis-
turbed, and they’re the primary
nutrient source for the lower
slopes. From these areas flows the
nutrient “feeder stream" that has
made the forests of the lower
slopes what they are today and
also provides the necessary
elements in those lower slopes for
successful reforestation programs.

To understand the importance of
the upper slopes, consider this: At
one time Tree Farm License #1
was a vast area of about seven
million forested acres. In that area,
though, there are only about one
million acres of productive forest.
The rest, about 82 percent of the
forest licence, serves no other
purpose than to feed the one mil-
lion acres we can use.

It should be obvious then, that in
all areas of the province only'a

smali portion of any particular
valley should be logged... the
lower to mid-elevation slopes. In
reality, though, this isn’t what’s
happening. In many areas the
upper-elevations are being logged
and the implications of that prac-
fice are just becoming apparent.
Management in sub-alpine areas is
extremely difficult, if not impossi-
ble. Next week, we will look at
upper-slope management practices;
what they should be and what, in
teality, they actually are. |

Forestry Insights is a regular
weekly feature of the Terrace
Review, writien by staff reporter
Tod Strachan in consultation with
Registered Professional Foresters
Rod Arnold and Doug Davies. We
encourage our readers to become
involved in forestry issues by sub-
mitting questions, comments and
contributions of their own. Write to
Forestry Insights, clo the Terrace
Review, 4535 Greig Ave., Terrace,
BC V8GIM7 °c

To the Editor;

It is with profound regret that
we must advise our community
that the Terrace Youth Centre
has closed, effective May 1,
1990. This decision was reached
by the Directors based on our
precarious financial position
and the loss of many key people.

This was a very difficult deci-
sion, but we could not continue

without a miracle — and
miracles are few and far be-
tween.

We extend our heartfelt

thanks to the service clubs and
the businesses who have helped
us so much over the past two
years. Most of all, we are
grateful for all those volunteers
who gave so much of themselves
to make the Youth Centre a
reality. As well, we want to
thank the kids who came to the
Centre — they are a special
bunch; and IJ will sure miss see-
ing them each week.

Betty Ruksys, Secretary .
Terrace Youth Society

inlet tr padanpartpedstamaaabaeld Attra NIM arabada at haha ee eT

THE SIGNOF A
GOOD BUSINESS
NEIGHBOR .. .

THE SIGN OF
A MERCHANT
WHO CARES
ABOUT PEOPLE...

This emblem identifies -
the civic-minded
businessmen who sponsor

| “letame Wig. |

in the community. |

Karen — 638-0707 |
Erlinda — 635-6526

Brenda-Lee — 635-2605

SS OR SEGA 34 st WONATET Eons Iie aT RY OTL LM ZED OS ae oer ch oc aah