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Tree characteristics were compared between successfully attacked, unsuccessfully attacked, and unattacked trees. Percent of the bole covered with constant crown, crown volume, recent radial growth, and age were significantly different between successfully attacked and unattacked trees. Successfully attacked trees produced less induced resinosis than unsuccessfully attacked trees. Fast- and slow-growing subalpine fir were pheromone baited to induce attack. Although all baited trees were attacked, slow-growing trees were more likely to be successfully attacked than fast-growing trees. Fast- and slow-growing subalpine fir were inoculated with a blue-stain fungus. Lesion length was significantly greater in fast-growing...
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Heliskiing activity has increased in many areas of mountain goat ( Oreamnos americanus ) range; how this activity affects movements and resource use, however, is poorly understood. In 2007 - 2010, I examined locations and movements of 11 GPS-collared female mountain goats relative to activity of GPS-equipped helicopters in northwest British Columbia. Mountain goats exhibited anomalous movements in the 48 h following helicopter approaches within 2 km, regardless of whether helicopters were visible to the animals. Mountain goats were not displaced by the disturbances, however, and seasonal movement rates did not increase with heliskiing exposure. Animals did not avoid areas of helicopter activity, but several animals...
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Planners in British Columbia must adapt to climate change by preparing for expected and unexpected changes in their communities. The results of survey and workshop research conducted at the Planning Institute of BC conference indicate that planners do not have a high level of knowledge of climate change adaptation. Planners feel that the impacts that will affect BC the most in 50 years will be related to forests, agriculture, river flooding, transportation and water. Different regions in the province will be affected in different ways, and adaptation strategies must be created for the specific needs and attributes of a community. Open-structured workshops are a good method to educate planners about climate change...
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Snowmachines and the alterations made to the landscape from their activity can have profound impacts on the dynamics of wolves (Canis lupus ) and their prey. Snowmachine activity can displace animals and disrupt their activity and movement patterns; conversely, the creation of trails can enable energy-efficient travel by wolves, thereby increasing the likelihood of encountering and successfully capturing prey. High hunting and trapping pressure could exacerbate these effects, particular during critical late-winter periods when animals are most stressed and anthropogenic activity is greatest. With its dense network of trails, the Nelchina Basin in south-central Alaska presented a unique opportunity to assess quantitatively...
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To conserve woodland caribou, resource managers and biologists must understand the processes governing movements and distribution of those animals. I employed a scale-explicit approach to understand some of the mechanisms influencing caribou behaviour. I trailed caribou in forested and alpine habitats and recorded attributes of feeding sites and patches. At larger scales, I used GPS collars to record the movements of caribou. At the scale of the feeding site, caribou cratered at locations with lower snow depths and greater amounts of a variety of terrestrial lichen species. Following increases in snow depth, hardness, and density, caribou in the forest fed more frequently at trees with abundant arboreal lichens....
Dendroctonus ponderosae (Hopkins) or mountain pine beetle is a native bark beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) that feeds on more than 20 species of pine in western North America. In British Columbia, its principal host is lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelmann). As a "primary" bark beetle, D. ponderosae kills its host at epidemic stages, exerting profound landscape-level mortality. As of 2012, D. ponderosae has caused the loss of 726 million cubic meters of timber, covering an area of 17.5 million hectares of mature pine forest in British Columbia and Alberta. Small diameter hosts are not suitable for D. ponderosae , however, creating a niche for the "secondary" bark beetles, including...
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The latitudinal forest-tundra ecotone is an area that is experiencing substantial changes with respect to tree growth and climate change. We examined the response of radial tree growth to climate in adjacent regions of northern Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada, across environmental and spatial gradients using dendrochronological methods. Principal components analysis was used to derive the primary modes of variation in the tree-ring records, which were subsequently attributed to environmental and climatic features. We found that slope gradient (small spatial scales) and ecoregional classification (larger spatial scales) played substantial roles in determining the response of tree growth to climate. Climate...
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First Nations use contemporary maps and mapping tools in resource management and planning. Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) reflect the values, perceptions, and priorities of a Western-based Scientific worldview (WBSW). Traditional Aboriginal values are based in a traditional Aboriginal worldview (TAW), which can be very different from a WBSW. Therefore, maps and GIS may impede the communication of a TAW to resource managers and planners. The goal of this thesis was to evaluate and enhance the capacity to incorporate a TAW in mapping and GIS. I developed the Geographic Valuation System (GVS) in collaboration with research participants from the Halfway River First Nation (HRFN) and the University of...
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Tree-ring analyses and an interpolated climate model (ClimateBC) were used to compare radial growth responses to climate variables among three coexisting, ecologically distinct conifer species, including interior spruce (Picea glauca x Picea Engelmannii ), lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta var. latifolia ) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa ) across a range of climate conditions in western Canada, and altitudinal treelines in the Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir forests in central British Columbia (BC). Ring-width chronologies were developed and correlated with site-specific climate data in the past 50 years from 1953-2002. Spruce ring-width chronologies were mainly correlated with June-July temperatures across the...
Recent variation in the reproductive output of Peregrine Falcons ( Falco peregrinus anatum ) breeding along the Yukon River has encouraged the examination of the environmental factors that influence the reproductive ecology of these birds. The objectives of this study were to examine how weather, territorial quality and prey selection by breeding Peregrine Falcons relate to productivity at nest sites. I also assessed territorial occupation frequency as a measure of habitat quality. A total of 52 territories were monitored along the Yukon River, and were surveyed 11 times from 1984-2004. The occupation frequency was highly correlated with measures of productivity at a nest and I therefore considered occupation frequency...
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Upland soils formed in three different parent materials in the Lewes Plateau of the Central Yukon were studied: till from the McConnell (MIS 2) and penultimate (MIS 4 or 6) glaciations, and weathered bedrock beyond the penultimate limit Soils at penultimate and McConnell sites have solum thicknesses of 50-75 cm and <50 cm respectively but other field and chemical observations did not identify differences in weathering patterns between age groups. The two groups have distinctive clay mineral assemblages, with smectite present in the youngest deposits. These results contrast with reconnaissance studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s on low-elevation soils in the Klondike Plateau. My study shows that field criteria...
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This study examines the wind energy planning frameworks from ten North American jurisdictions, drawing important lessons that British Columbia could use to build on its current model which has been criticized for its limited scope and restriction of local government powers. This study contributes to similar studies conducted by Kimrey (2006), Longston (2006), and Eriksen (2009). This study concludes that inclusion of wind resource zones delineated through strategic environmental assessment, programme assessment, and conducting research-oriented studies could improve the current British Columbia planning framework. The framework should also strengthen its bat impact assessment practices and incorporate habitat compensation....
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Baseline information on Stone's sheep (Ovis dalli stonei ) and their habitat is needed because of increased industrial development and recreational activity in the mountains of northern British Columbia. To provide a foundation from which to gauge and mitigate issues relating to access and disturbance, I used global positioning system (GPS) radiotelemetry data acquired from 33 female Stone's sheep in the Besa and Prophet river drainages to develop resource selection functions (RSF) and to define areas important to Stone's sheep. Attributes of topography (slope, aspect, elevation, curvature), vegetation (vegetation type, vegetation quality) and risk of predation from grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ) and wolves (Canis...
Bull trout home to tributary streams in headwater areas for spawning. Site use can be influenced by habitat quality, including physical features such as stream flow, intergravel flow, hyporheic exchange, stream and intergravel-water chemistry, temperature and cover. These variables can influence survival and growth during incubation, however, the effect on bull trout spawning and incubation success is not known. I used three studies to examine the importance of spawning habitat for bull trout spawning in northern B.C. My results show that temperature is likely a key determinant of site use at potential spawning sites as well as incubation success in northern environments. Bull trout growth and yolk utilization were...
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Shared resource management (SRM) offers an important approach for future stewardship of resources and is intended to blend Aboriginal and government approaches, gain greater Aboriginal community support, and enhance the effectiveness of numerous resource management functions. Innovative methods are needed to achieve and advance the ambitious goals of power-sharing, equity, and the integration of knowledge inherent in SRM. The goals of the present study were to develop and test a method for First Nation people and government resource managers to explore the characteristics of effective SRM and to identify its essential elements for the north Yukon. A standard Delphi method was modified to specifically accommodate...
How climate change will affect tree growth across species' ranges remains a critical knowledge gap. Tree-ring data were analyzed from 33 Douglas-fir stands spanning a wide climatic and geographic range in the interior of British Columbia to identify regional and ecological patterns between climate and growth. Populations growing in warm and dry climates had growth patterns correlated mostly to local annual precipitation, whereas populations growing in high-elevation wet and cold climates were more correlated to annual/winter snowfall/winter temperatures and quasi-periodic ocean-atmosphere climate systems. Populations growing near the climatic margins of the species' range had the strongest responses to climate variability....
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First Nations' participation in resource development projects is continuously changing. Some would argue that it is improving the situation for First Nations and their communities, while others would argue that First Nations still lack meaningful decision-making regarding the land on which we live. This thesis focuses on ways in which First Nations, more specifically the Tahltan First Nation, might improve consultation processes with government, industry, as well as internal consultation between leadership and membership. In undertaking this research, I show the Tahltan how a completed First Nation (Heiltsuk Nation) land use plan might raise and address the kinds of issues being discussed in Tahltan communities....
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This thesis presents two cost-effective techniques for landslide mapping in large, remote regions. The first technique uses ASTER satellite imagery to characterize and determine landslide distribution for part of the South Nahanni watershed. Results obtained from this study confirm that ASTER images are suitable for regional-scale landslide mapping. The second technique involved the creation of landslide susceptibility models for debris flow and rock/debris slides using logistic regression analysis. Cross validation confirmed the models' success. The debris flow model performed best whereas the rock/debris slide model was only moderately successful. Taken together, the two methods developed in this thesis provide...
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My research represents the predator (wolves, Canis lupus, and grizzly bears, Ursus arctos ) component of a collaborative endeavor to examine processes that structure the multi-predator multi-prey system of the undisturbed Besa-Prophet watershed in the northern Rocky Mountains, northeastern British Columbia, Canada. It incorporated seasonal movements and range use, resource selection models, and isotopic assessments of prey selection to better understand predator use of the landscape. Mean annual range sizes of five wolf packs and 13 female grizzly bears were 801±118 km 2 and 334±33km2 , respectively. Sizes of annual, denning and late-summer ranges of wolves were proportional to the extent of conifer habitat and...
This thesis describes a community-based research project that was conducted in partnership with Tl'azt'en Nation and the co-managed John Prince Research Forest. The purpose of the research was to identify, develop, and verify Tl'azt'en environmental measures for five traditional use activities: talo ha 'hut 'en - fishing salmon (Oncorhynchus spp. ), huda ha 'hut'en - hunting moose (Alces alces ), tsa ha tsayilh sula - trapping beaver (Castor canadensis ), duje hoonayin - picking huckleberries ( Vaccinium membranaceum ), and yoo ba ningwus hunult'o - gathering soapberries (Shepherdia canadensis ) for medicinal use. Our participatory research approach was evaluated throughout the project; these results revealed how...
map background search result map search result map Influence of Linear Features and Snowmachine Activity on Resource Selection by Wolves Responses of mountain goats to heliskiing activity: Movements and resource selection Growth responses of three coexisting conifer species to climate variables across a range of climate conditions The Tahltan Nation and our consultation process with mining industry: How a land use plan might improve the process Wind energy on the horizon in British Columbia. A review and evaluation of the British Columbia wind energy planning framework An approach for remote landslide mapping, South Nahanni Watershed, Northwest Territories, Canada Soil genesis in relation to glacial history, Central Yukon Community adaptation to climate change: An exploration of climate change adaptation planning in British Columbia Including Aboriginal values in resource management through enhanced geospatial communication Defining the predator landscape of northeastern British Columbia Habitat selection and behavioural strategies of Stone's sheep in northern British Columbia The influence of environmental factors on the reproductive output of peregrine falcons in the Yukon Constructing partnership: A Delphi study of shared resource management in the North Yukon Environment, climate and tree growth relationships at the western Canadian Arctic treeline A multi-scale behavioural approach to understanding the movements of woodland caribou An approach for remote landslide mapping, South Nahanni Watershed, Northwest Territories, Canada Soil genesis in relation to glacial history, Central Yukon The influence of environmental factors on the reproductive output of peregrine falcons in the Yukon Influence of Linear Features and Snowmachine Activity on Resource Selection by Wolves Constructing partnership: A Delphi study of shared resource management in the North Yukon A multi-scale behavioural approach to understanding the movements of woodland caribou Environment, climate and tree growth relationships at the western Canadian Arctic treeline Responses of mountain goats to heliskiing activity: Movements and resource selection Growth responses of three coexisting conifer species to climate variables across a range of climate conditions Defining the predator landscape of northeastern British Columbia Habitat selection and behavioural strategies of Stone's sheep in northern British Columbia The Tahltan Nation and our consultation process with mining industry: How a land use plan might improve the process Including Aboriginal values in resource management through enhanced geospatial communication Wind energy on the horizon in British Columbia. A review and evaluation of the British Columbia wind energy planning framework Community adaptation to climate change: An exploration of climate change adaptation planning in British Columbia