DESTINATION A TASTE OF SPRING SPOTTING GIANTS

GREENWOOD FIVE FORAGING FAVOURITES WHALE WATCHING 101

SPRING/2024

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EW

Whimsical
Outdoors

Wild
Harvest
BC
Linda Gabris has been venturing into the outdoors to

Wild

Wild Harvest BC
harvest wild edibles for over 60 years. The lessons taught

Harvest
to her by her grandparents, of responsibility, sustainabili-
ty and a connection to the land are as important today as
they were then. This book shares those lessons as well as
tips and practical advice in a personal, easy-to-read style.
Combined with a scientific field guide, Wild Harvest BC

BC
is the perfect companion book to take with you on your
outdoor adventures. Over 70 recipes ranging from Wild
Cream of Asparagus Soup to Hazel’s Hazelnut Brittle
will help you turn your foraging finds into delicious,
hearty meals. So get out there and enjoy the bounty of
Mother Nature.
A FORAGER’S GUIDE TO EDIBLE
PLANTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
CLUDES
BY LINDA GABRIS IN

71
$24.95
ISBN: 978-1-7778764-2-5

BY LINDA GABRIS
RE
CIPES
www.opmediagroup.ca
Adventures

Fishing
Family

Hotspots
Nature

Visit Our Bookstore For More Great Reading! 1-800-663-7611 thebookshack.ca

VOLUME 66 - ISSUE 01 SPRING

42

14

Contents
24

10

50 16

30

F E AT U R E S
IN

EVERY 24 50
ISSUE Gulf Island Goodies Ready for Ts’zil
Jump on the Gulf Islands ferry and Two Indigenous BC teens ski a
treat yourself with this unique dine-around mountain that defines their people
4 Editor’s Note adventure, featuring six delights that you
won’t find in the city 58
6 Mailbox BC’s Top Five Forageable
30 Foods of Spring
8 Due West
Spotting Giants A beginner’s guide to foraging
16 Destination A guide to whale watching in BC
Greenwood 66
42 Hummingbirds at Risk
74 Person and Place The Long Journey Home The flying jewels of British Columbia are
Bruce McLellan After being stolen and sent to a Scottish on the decline, but there are things you
82 Tales of BC museum in 1929, the Ni’isjoohl Memorial can do to help
A Dogfish Bonanza Pole makes its long way home to the
Nass Valley

Cover Photo Anna70/Wirestock Creators/Adobe Stock

Hatley Castle BCMAG•3

 EDITOR’S NOTE
The Concept of
Private Property
THIS PAST MONTH we’ve received let-
ters from residents in a remote valley
expressing concern over visitors to their
area not respecting private property.
Specifically, some residents experienced
visitors entering their yards, wandering
through their homes and taking pic-
tures. This is of particular concern to
the owners of properties devastated by
wildfire, who are worried that they will
see more of the same on their properties
this upcoming summer.
I think everyone can agree that
nobody has the right to enter
someone’s home or proper-
ty without permission, es-
pecially if it’s clearly lived-
in or recently used. I’m
honestly shocked to hear
that someone would have
the gall to enter a person’s
yard or home in the middle
of a community and start taking
pictures.
But what about a remote cabin that is
falling down and clearly abandoned. Or
the ruined foundations of a building and
an overgrown mine site in the middle of
a forest. What if there are no fences or
signs? Is this private property, and if you
visit these sites, is that considered tres-
passing? This is where things get a little
more complicated.
I’m not going to pretend to know all of
the laws here, and please send us a letter
to correct what I write next, but the BC
Trespass Act defines a trespasser as “A
person found inside enclosed land with-
out the consent of its owner, lessee or
occupier.” Enclosed land being defined
as surrounded by a natural boundary
or lawful fence, or having posted signs
prohibiting trespass. So, by this legal
definition, checking out an old building
along a trail or public road is not, in fact,
considered prosecutable trespassing. But
4 •BCMAG
SPRING
even so, should you do it?
One of the many charms of travel-
ling the backroads of BC is checking
out abandoned sites. Whether they are
marked on a map, or just something
you stumbled across, these sites can be
the highlight of any road trip. But like
with everything in the great outdoors,
there is an unwritten rule to take only
pictures, and leave only footprints. That
is, go ahead and look but leave it exactly
how you found it.
This rule has generally worked
for generations. Certainly, the
more accessible sites will get
vandalized and wrecked
by partiers, but the really
remote stuff is most often
treated with respect and
common sense.
Recently though, with
the huge uptick in people
exploring the more remote parts
of BC since Covid and with the advent
of social media, it’s easy to see how this
“unwritten rule” is no longer being fol-
lowed in bold and disturbing ways, and
how these once secret and remote sites
are now being overrun with tourists.
So what can we do about it? I hon-
estly don’t know. Unfortunately, along
with the masses also come the people
who lack common sense and respect
for other people’s stuff, and there’s not
much we can do about that except lead
by example and call out bad behavior
when we see it.
But I am curious to hear what our
readers have to say on the subject. This
is clearly an issue for residents in remote
communities and is only going to get
more serious. And if things don’t im-
prove, then our opportunities to explore
remote areas is only going to become
more restricted. And nobody wants that.
—Dale Miller
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Dale Miller
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 WILD HARVEST
EL EW
SE
EA
R N

A forager’s guide to edible plants of British Columbia

By Linda Gabris
Linda Gabris has been venturing into the outdoors to harvest wild edibles for over 60 years. The
lessons taught to her by her grandparents, of responsibility, sustainability and a connection to the
land are as important today as they were then. This book shares those lessons as well as tips
and practical advice in a personal, easy-to-read style. Combined with a scientific field guide,
Wild Harvest BC is the perfect companion book to take with you on your outdoor adventures.

Wild $24 95
Harvest SHOP
BC NOW
has been venturing into the outdoors to

Wild
Wild Harvest BC

dibles for over 60 years. The lessons taught

Harvest
randparents, of responsibility, sustainabili-
ction to the land are as important today as
n. This book shares those lessons as well as
cal advice in a personal, easy-to-read style.
th a scientific field guide, Wild Harvest BC

BC
ompanion book to take with you on your
ntures. Over 70 recipes ranging from Wild
aragus Soup to Hazel’s Hazelnut Brittle
urn your foraging finds into delicious,
So get out there and enjoy the bounty of
e. Get your copy from
our online bookstore: A FORAGER’S GUIDE TO EDIBLE
PLANTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
thebookshack.ca CLUDES
BY LINDA GABRIS IN

71
$24.95
Call1.800.663.7611
ISBN: 978-1-7778764-2-5
INCLUDES
OVER
70
BY LINDA GABRIS

RE
CIPES
www.opmediagroup.ca

RECIPES
 MAILBOX SPRING
Mailbox
MAP MISTAKE
I have been enjoying reading your latest is-
sue of British Columbia Magazine and the
article on Nelson was very informative.
However, I felt it my duty, in the inter-
est of accuracy, to point out that your
map on page 27 has Nelson marked in
two places.
I suspect the inhabitants of Golden
have already pointed this out to you.
Imagine being wiped off the map.
I love your magazine. Keep up the good
work.
W. J. Ross,
Nanaimo
ARSON LOCATION CORRECTION
While reading the article “Doukhorbors
In The Kootenays,” I noticed an error or
misprint on page 77. It stated that Mary
Braun was charged in 2001 with setting
fire to Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC.
In fact, she set fire to the Learning Centre
of Selkirk College which was located in a
portable that is the property of the Cres-
cent Valley Community Hall Society in
Crescent Valley, BC.
After Mary Braun set the fire, she
knocked on my dad’s door to tell him
that she had set the fire. Richard Carl
Catton lived at the time next door to the
Crescent Valley Community Hall.
Elizabeth Ellis
POWDER HIGHWAY MAP
Always enjoy my time with the magazine
and I LOVE the Kooteneys! Thanks for
highlighting this part of our beautiful
province… especially in the winter.
I believe there is an error in your Pow-
der Highway article, the map of the
loop specifically. You have only seven re-
sorts captured and Nelson’s is of course
Whitewater with Kicking Horse outside
of Golden, which actually isn’t on the
this map.
6I am sure you will have several folks
6 •BCMAG
who will spot & alert you to the omis-
sion/error.
Cheers for a wonderful “snow fun
filled holiday season.” Keep the great
outdoors just that for us all to explore
and enjoy in 2024.
Sue Kennedy
LACK OF RESPECT FROM VISITORS
We appreciate travel media writing
about our area very much, particularly
now that we are contending with recov-
ering from the Downton Lake wildfire.
That said, the piece on the “Backroads
of the Bridge River Valley” on your web-
site has many of the same challenges for
our community that many similar blogs/
articles by travel media do.
To give some sense of what we mean:
Description of the historic nature of
the town, some of the aspects of that his-
tory and then this statement accompa-
nied by a photo of Bradian.
Quote: “Of particular interest for us
was the ghost town of Bradian (which
lies close to Bralorne and is currently for
sale) and the old Pioneer Mine. We spent
a couple hours exploring these sites and
the surrounding areas.”
Because these travel writers tend to
have rose coloured glasses on and want
to write an interesting story, they do not
think twice about the fact that when
The abandoned
townsite of Bradian
is now for sale.
they are exploring the old mine site or
the Bradian property, they are actually
on private property, it is not a matter
of looking for No Trespassing signs, it
is about understanding property in our
area belongs to someone, it is not all
public land.
I do not go to Vancouver and walk all
over a property without permission of
the owner that may have buildings in
disrepair because I know they are private
property.
The challenge we have with this sort of
thing is that, for example, private prop-
erty owners of houses in Bralorne actu-
ally find people in their yards, wander-
ing around houses and taking pictures!
There just seems to be some kind of ill-
informed attitude because they appear
to be in wilderness they can do stuff they
would never think of doing in a city or
town. We have a similar issue on Gun
Lake, where people in boats putt around
at slow speed and gawk at our property
and us. This year that activity is going to
be painful for the 56 properties that lost
their structures in the Downton Lake
Wildfire, who have had their burnt trees
removed and now own a moonscape ex-
posed to dust, their neighbours, noise
and disrespectful lookie loos.
What this sort of behavior leads to is a
real “anti tourism” feeling with residents
and that also hurts our community by
creating division and impacting other
sectors so important to our area eco-
nomically such as mountain biking and
tourism.
We simply must get through to the
travel media sector they need to actu-
ally demonstrate themselves appropri-
ate respectful behavior in areas that are
very different for example than large and
small markets and also translate that into
their writing.
From our side of it, we continue to
communicate with visitors and I thought
when I read this, I think we need to res-
urrect our Respect for the BRV program
from the Covid period, and use various
ways and means to get through to visitors
how to properly visit our community.
We love this attention by writer/maga-
zines but we just need to get through
that that travel articles without the prop-
er demonstration of respectful behaviors
cause much distress and impact in terms
of the individual community members
attitudes to tourism and to be fair, the
impact on community members them-
selves of the disrespectful behavior.
Debbie Demare
Thanks for the note Debbie, we absolutely
agree on the need to respect private property
when exploring BC. The article you men-
tioned has a note saying that if you choose
to explore abandoned sites, to respect all
signs you find in the area, but you make a
good point about unmarked private prop-
erty as well.
As for the lookie loos on Gun Lake, I think
your concerns would be shared by many
who own waterfront property in BC. How-
ever, people have the right to be on a public
body of water, though there is a difference
between peacefully enjoying it and gawking
at people on the shore. Unfortunately there
are always going to be some who lack com-
mon sense. —Eds
EMAIL US
Send email to
mailbox@bcmag.ca or write to
British Columbia Magazine, 1166
Alberni Street, Suite 802,
Vancouver, BC, V6E 3Z3.
Letters must include your name and ad-
dress, and may be edited and condensed
for publication. Please indicate “not for
publication” if you do not wish to have
your letter considered for our Mailbox.

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BCMAG•7
 DUE WEST
Due West
Spring Skiing
ALTHOUGH MANY skiers
and snowboarders see winter
powder days as a ne plus ultra,
most rank spring conditions
second—some even elevating
it to top choice. That’s because
something magical happens
to the snowpack this time of
year—the phenomenon of
“corn snow.” This glorious,
ego-boosting surface of sift-
ing beads is formed by snow
8 •BCMAG
SPORTS
BY LESLIE ANTHONY
crystals that melt during warm,
sunny days then re-freeze
during cold, clear nights. When
this vernal weather loop sets in
many are hooked for life. But
just so you don’t completely
lose the powder plot, March in
Interior BC still sees plenty of
storms and late-season pow
days.
I’ve been a spring-ski afi-
cionado since my teen years
in Ontario, where the moment
local lifts shuttered we headed
for the larger closed ski areas
of Quebec and New England
to climb and ski moguls—which
were generally abundant,
large and delightfully soft. One
of my main reasons for moving
to Whistler was being able to
ski somewhere that reliably
stayed open until late May,
shut down for a couple weeks,
Tourism Thompson Okanagan

then re-opened for summer
glacier skiing (back when the
glacier was still there…).
I’ve also spent a lot of time
spring skiing abroad. While
most in North America are
done with sliding by April,
the circumpolar season is
just beginning, and interna-
tional airports bustle with folks
dragging ski bags northward
for ski touring, boat-based ski-
mountaineering and heli-skiing
in Baffin Island, Greenland,
Iceland, Sweden and Norway,
lured by something captured
in the delightful Swedish term
vårvinter (or “spring-winter,”
pronounced vōar-vinter).
Emblematic of the far north,
this long, slow dissolve from
one season to another is also
loosely seen in the alpine
areas of most BC mountain
ranges—a definitive transition
time that sees no prolonged
typical winter weather, yet
no prolonged spring weather
either, making for a happy set
of alternating conditions. Swe-
den’s national weather service
even celebrates vårvinter as a
de facto fifth season. You can
experience your own version
by getting into the high-alpine
or backcountry with friends or
even by heli-skiing at one of
BC’s two-dozen operations,
where prices often come down
for spring sessions.
But back to BC’s resorts.
Did we mention impeccable
grooming? Spring skiing is
possible—indeed made more
fun—by resorts’ teams of ex-
pert snowmakers and cutting-
edge technology. Speaking
of which, should you be so
disposed spring is also prime
time in the terrain park. With
dialed features and forgiving
landings, laps in the park are
de rigeur.
Because soft snow tends
to harden-up overnight and
require morning sun or warmer
temps to soften, you should
always consider when and
where sun hits different aspects
of the mountains and follow it
like a puppy. Depending on
the location, elevation and size
of the resort, spring skiing in BC
lasts into mid-April and even
late-May at Whistler Black-
comb (this year, in a reversal
of the usual, Whistler Mountain
will stay open until season end
as work commences on a new
chairlift on Blackcomb). Of
course, good skiing extends
into June on the summits and
backcountry glaciers around
Whistler, though climate
change has made that window
much smaller.
People often forget about
the deeply discounted ac-
commodation at ski resorts in
spring popping up through
the snow like crocuses, but
they shouldn’t, for these
are the ways and means to
enjoy a surprising range of
activities. After all, the snow
still stands at winter depths so
dog-sledding, snowshoeing
and cross-country skiing have
yet to be shoved away in a
closet with Arctic-rated down
puffies. For cross-country skiers
and snowshoers spring is the
perfect time to take advantage
of trails, track-set or otherwise.
Late-season also offers the
opportunity for snow-free
springtime valley activities like
mountain biking or golf.
When it comes to après,
the Austrian Alps might have
a stranglehold on the global
prize for oompah madness, but
BC resorts have an abundance
of patio real estate given over
to the pursuit of more civilized
gemütlichkeit. More impor-
tantly are the growing raft of
springtime events in ski country
(see sidebar: Spring Flings),
a mix of music, art, family
fun and long-running local
favourites like slush-cups and
pond-skims featuring costumes,
t-shirts and even bathing suits
to help chase away winter’s
blue-toe blues.
With the closing bell at many
resorts extending to 4:00 p.m.
in spring, you can make the
most of that warm, afternoon
alpenglow no matter how
you’ve spent the day, kicking
back with a cold one and
surveying the mountain realm
you’ve just enjoyed. The kind
of sunset activity that makes for
alpine memories.
SPRING FLINGS
Whistler — The bench-
mark World Ski &
Snowboard Festival (April
8 to 14) includes on-
snow competition like the
Saudan Couloir Race
Extreme, the steepest ski
and snowboard race in
the world, and a costumed
Slush Cup. Music, art,
nightlife and some of the
best skiing and après in
the province combine with
signature photo/film events
like Intersection, 72-hour
Filmmaker’s Showdown,
and Sea to Sky Photo
Challenge to make the
WSSF a must-do.
Sun Peaks — The new
Sip, Savour & Ski Sun
Peaks Culinary Festival
(March 28 to 31), features
a full slate of events with
dishes crafted with locally
sourced ingredients paired
with artisanal brews, cock-
tails and wines. It joins the
Hub International Nancy
Greene Festival (March
23, 24), “What the Huck”
Knuckle Huck and Rail
Jam (March 22), Easter
Eggsgtravaganza (March
31), and season-closing
Wonder Weekend (April
6, 7).
Revelstoke — Watch
great deeds of alpine
derring-do during the King
& Queen of the Mountain
competition (March 31)
then say sayonara to winter
at the Revy Beer Festival
(April 5, 6).
Kicking Horse — The
Whitetooth Grill Live Con-
cert Series runs throughout
March and April, and other
events include the Marc
Andre Memorial Banked
Slalom (March 30, 31), the
mountain’s first snowboard-
only event, and 2024
Sunsplash Funkfest Dummy
Downhill & Slush Cup
(April 13, 14).
Silver Star — Seismic
Fest (March 29 to April 7)
is a 10-day celebration of
mountain culture with live
music, art, craft, culinary
and family-friendly activi-
ties, plus skiing and board-
ing events.
Big White — AltiTunes
Music Festival (April 5, 6) is
Canada’s biggest après ski
music festival, a weekend
that features live music, ski-
ing, snowboarding and an
array of outdoor activity.
RED Mountain — Kick-
off spring at the Canadian
National Alpine Champi-
onships (March 15 to 21)
then roll right into the third
annual Wiener Takes All
dog race (April 1), Slush
Cup (April 6) and Retro
Day Deck Party (April 7),
fuelled by live bands, cold
beer and local mountain
legends.
Fernie — The annual Fer-
nival (April 13, 14), com-
memorates the resort’s final
weekend of skiing and rid-
ing with blow-out live rock
concerts, wacky contests,
and silly costumes.
Whitewater — Check
out the Blast Beerfest
(March 23, 24), Passholder
Appreciation Day (April 6)
and Beach Party Sunday
(April 7).
Panorama — Swing into
spring with Panorama’s
first-time Pride & Ski
Fesitval (March 22 to 24)
and events like the 2024
NORAM Cup (April 1
to 11). Then send off the
season with a splash at the
Red Bull Slopesoakers rail
jam and pond skim (April
13) and Superhero Pond
Skim (April 14).
Mt. Washington
— Schuss or cross-country
in the morning and golf in
the afternoon. Otherwise,
end the season with a
Dummy Downhill (April 6)
and Slush Cup (April 7).
BCMAG•9
DUE WEST

C U LT U R E

Victoria’s
Castles
BY JANE MUNDY

THINK ABOUT CASTLES

and maybe fairy tales come
to mind. Or perhaps you
dream of exploring an ancient
Scottish fortress or an opulent
Bavarian palace. But you
don’t have to travel far to visit
castles: Victoria is home to
three grand buildings,
rich with history
and architecture, Location
thanks to a19th Craigdarroch
century mania for Castle, 1050 Joan
castle-building Crescent (named after
that captured Joan Dunsmuir).
dining room carpet to press
Canada’s affluent thecastle.ca
with your foot to call servants,
elite. They are all or yell orders from one of 12
open to the public and speaking tubes throughout
are a fascinating glimpse the house—a step up from
into Canadian history, particu- Downton Abbey’s bells. Other
larly with a guided tour. labour-saving devices include
a laundry chute and dumb-
Craigdarroch Castle waiter (note to self, is that PC?)
Built as a comfy, albeit extrav- More obvious signs of wealth
agant home for the Dunsmuir are mounted elk, goat and
family, Craigdarroch towers deer heads throughout the
over Rockland, a residential castle, and PETA would not ap-
neighbourhood in Victoria. Just prove of the taxidermy squirrel
a 30-minute walk (some of perched above a bed. Creepy.
it uphill) from Victoria’s Inner And the massive English bil-
Harbour will transport you liards table on the fourth floor
back in time to the late 1800s, must have cost a pretty penny.
when coal baron Robert Dun- Here too is the dance hall:
smuir built this massive estate. perhaps because guests had to
Most of the estate was sold in walk through the house to get
1908 but some furnishings and way up here, Joan Dunsmuir
knick-knacks (many bought had an opportunity to show off
back via auction records) and all their stuff.
windows are original, as is the During the Victorian era
exterior. Before starting the it was believed that home
guided tour, we were instructed interiors could “exert moral
to scrape our shoes on the influences on the inhabitants,”
carpet next to the antique shoe and Joan was likely a believer:
cleaner and warned not to the library speaks volumes,
touch anything, including origi- and the fireplace in the entry
nal oak walls and staircase. hall has a quote carved into it:
There’s a button under the “Reading maketh a full man.”

10 • B C M A G Courtesy Craigdarroch Castle X3; Right: Tourism Vancouver Island

Well, maybe not the smok-
ing room, featuring Sir Walter
Raleigh in stained glass. Each
room is staged with Victorian
accessories and a few manne-
quins—it’s like Scottish Baronial
style meets Gothic Revival ar-
chitecture—think Harry Potter.
The castle was later con-
verted into a military hospital,
college and music conserva-
tory before being restored to
what it is today—a National
Historic Site of Canada. What
isn’t on display is how the
Dunsmuir fortune was built on Location
deadly mine conditions and Hatley Castle,
racist fearmongering. It was the 2005 Sooke Road.
miners who called Robert the hatleycastle.com
“robber baron.” tion of Norman Historic Site of “The X-Men” movie series, as
and Renaissance Canada. These days, Professor Xavier’s School for
styles, this 15th-century Hatley Park (named in Gifted Youngsters.
Edwardian manor designed the tradition of the private Hatley Castle offers guided
Hatley Castle by Victorian architect Samuel estates of Britain and Europe) tours of just a few rooms on the
James Dunsmuir tended the Maclure comprises 40 rooms is associated with Royal Roads first floor, but ghosts have a
fortune amassed by his father. with views of Esquimalt’s sea- University, so it doesn’t get as free pass everywhere: A strong
He was BC’s premier (1900- side lagoon, old growth forests many visitors as Craigdarroch, smell of cigar smoke can be
1902) and lieutenant governor and palatial gardens—565 but you may have seen it on sensed while inside, according
(1906-1909) and spared no acres in total. the silver screen. Hatley Castle to Erin Limacher, Royal Roads
expense building the lavish In 1995 the entire mansion made its film debut over 80 University spokesperson.
Hatley Castle. A combina- was designated a National years ago and was featured in According to reviews on

Finding yourself at the edge of the world is

surprisingly easy, leaving here is much harder.

Accommodations Restaurant + Café Golf Course Local Adventures

hekatesretreat.ca

BCMAG•11
DUE WEST

Location
The Empress Hotel,
721 Government
Street. fairmont.com/
Tripadvisor, the
empress-victoria
tour isn’t worth the
price of admission,
but you can view the
exterior’s ornate stone
masonry work, extensive use
of battlements and elaborate
gardens from 10:00 a.m. to Empress in 1910.
dusk. And like Craigdarroch’s
dining room, a tiny little metal
lever on the dining room floor
was used by Laura Dunsmuir
to summon kitchen help. There
is also a secret passage in the
castle, which husband James
purportedly used to escape his
guests.
Time it right and you could
stroll parts of the grounds sur-
rounding Hatley Castle without
a soul in sight, even though
these fine Edwardian gardens
have been around for almost
a century. While most visitors
come to see the castle and
maybe stroll the Italian and
Rose Gardens, venture further
to the Japanese Garden, the
woodland garden and down a
path flanked by 26 elms to the
lower lake and the bog gar-
den. The gardens remain
largely intact since
designed in 1913. “I Location
don’t care what it Government House,
costs, just build it,” 1401 Rockland
said James, referring Avenue.
to his gardens and ltgov.bc.ca
Hatley Castle.

The Empress Hotel

Designed by architect Francis
Rattenbury and built by a divi-
sion of the Canadian Pacific
Railway, the Empress Hotel
opened her doors in 1908 as
a “luxury castle on the coast.”
Now, the chateau-style Fair-
mont Empress—in recognition
of her architectural and histori-
cal importance—is a designat-
ed National Historic Site.
Named after Queen Victoria,
as the ‘Empress of India,” her
Edwardian-era exterior boasts
intricate stonework, decora-
tive moldings and beautiful

12 • B C M A G Top: Courtesy Empress Hotel; Above Courtesy Government House X2; Right: Royal BC Archives
stained-glass windows.
Inside, start at the reception
lobby. In 2017, the hotel under-
went a $60-million-dollar ren-
ovation including a chandelier
comprising 250,000 crystal
beads finely woven together to
refract light in rainbow colours.
It makes for a grand entrance.
Ask the concierge for directions
to the “Heritage Hall,” which is
Cary Castle was
destroyed by fire
in 1899.
reminiscent of a train caboose.
Its walls are lined with vintage
photographs capturing the ho-
tel’s early days and a timeline
of construction. Back upstairs,
check out the magnificent
stained-glass ceiling dome in
the Palm Court and next door,
the ladies at the little Fairmont
store will gladly share stories
about famous events held
there. Not to be missed are the
huge pop art-style portraits of
Queen Victoria in the Q Bar.
Its makeover in 2017 perfectly
balances Edwardian architec-
ture with modern design and
best viewed with a Martini
Royale made with Empress
1908 gin.
Government House
The official residence of the
Lieutenant Governor and
the ceremonial home of all
British Columbians, the third
Government House opened in
1959—the two previous build-
ings were destroyed by fire.
Cary Castle, the first official
residence, was built in 1859
but only stood for 40 years.
Architects Francis Rattenbury
and Samuel Maclure were
hired to design a new house
on the same site and it opened
in 1903. The only remaining
structure after it too succumbed
to fire is the stone porte-co-
chere at the front entrance. The
latest home has an interest-
ing architectural style, fondly
described as “Mad Men meets
Downton Abbey” with Victo-
rian décor and 1950s style
bathrooms complete with bal-
lerina wallpaper (most popular
for selfies) in the basement.
The building is huge: 55,000
square feet spread over four
stories and an attic. Sign up
for a free tour beforehand as
guides ask that you please don’t
just show up. There’s a lot to
see, including the dining room,
ballroom, drawing room and a
French drawing room, hallway
and foyer. You’ll learn a smat-
tering about history and archi-
tecture, art and artists, including
a collection of First Nations art
and other BC artists,such as Bill
Reid. The grounds and gardens
are open from dawn to dusk,
365 days a year. Be sure to
visit the rose garden and when
combined with Rudi’s tea room,
you’ll be transported back in
time to Victorian England.
BCMAG•13
DUE WEST
T R AV E L
Knocking
Haida Gwaii
off the
Bucket List
DAWN POSTNIKOFF
Haida Gwaii has always
seemed slightly out of reach as
a travel destination. In my mind
it was difficult to get to, com-
plicated to get around and a
destination reserved primarily
for fishing or high-end boating
expeditions. In fact, my daugh-
ter worked for several years
on a ship which sailed through
Gwaii Haanas National Park
Reserve, helping visitors to
explore the beauty, culture and
abundant wildlife of the region.
And yet, little did I know!
When the opportunity finally
came for my husband and I to
visit Hekate’s Retreat on Haida
Gwaii, we weren’t quite sure
what to expect.
For starters, it’s actually quite
easy to get to. Air Canada has
daily flights directly from Van-
couver into K’il Kun (Sandspit)
on Moresby Island, which is
only a few minutes from Hek-
ate’s Retreat. Pacific Coastal
14 • B C M A G
also flies to Haida Gwaii, land-
ing at the Masset airport on the
north tip of Graham Island.
We arrived in Sandspit on
a sunny Friday afternoon and
rented a car right at the airport.
My expectations so far had
been easily exceeded. After a
short drive through town and
a pit-stop to grab some snacks
and a bottle of wine for later,
we found our way to Hekate’s
Retreat. Originally a sheep
and cattle farm owned by
the Mathers family in the late
1800’s, the homestead was
converted to the Willows Golf
Course in 1972.
And what a beautiful course
it is—nine holes with 18 tee
boxes, located on the edge of
the Pacific Ocean with incred-
The links / hybrid-style Willows Golf
Course features 6,220 yards on nine
ible views and challenging
fairways. The course has been
refurbished over the past few
years, and is getting attention
from across the province as a
new destination golf experi-
ence. The newly renovated
clubhouse restaurant offers
casual bistro-style fare and
X
holes and 18 tee-boxes.
local Haida Gwaii specialties,
with fresh seafood a regular
feature on the menu. In fact,
as we found out the following
day, if you happen to bring
some fresh salmon back after
a day on the water, the chef
will happily cook your catch
for you.
We were able to tour the
original Homestead House
and would love to return with
our families to stay there. It has
been completely refurbished
and is available as a vacation
rental for small groups.
Our home-away-from-home
was a modern cabin, located
alongside the first fairway with
a stunning view of the Pacific
Ocean. The cabin was so cozy,
and perfectly equipped for the
two of us.
The thing we loved most
about Hekate’s Retreat was the
central location. Located at the
north end of Moresby Island, it
served as the perfect base-
camp for all our adventures.
We drove down to Gray Bay
one day for a picnic, joined
a fishing charter from the
Sandspit marina, and jumped
on the BC ferry to explore the
rest of Haida Gwaii. So much
to explore and so little time.
We had three full days, and it
wasn’t nearly enough.
If you’re interested in visiting
Haida Gwaii, you can learn
more about Hekate’s Retreat at
hekatesretreat.ca.
Courtesy Hekate’s Retreat
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 X

D E S T I N AT I O N

SPRING

DESTINATION
GREENWOOD
Canada’s biggest small city has
lots of history and charm
BY JANE MUNDY

G
Greenwood may be Canada’s smallest city, but
its roots are huge. Nestled in Boundary Coun-
try in south central BC, Greenwood can trace
its history back to the 1800s, when it hosted
prospectors and miners. Its population soared
again when 1,200 Japanese were interned here,
and it skyrocketed in 1999 when a film crew
arrived to shoot “Snow Falling on Cedars.”
Greenwood holds the title of Canada’s smallest
city because it was incorporated in 1897 and
its population peaked two years later with over
3,000 habitants, most of whom came here for
copper mining and smelting.
The little city decided not to morph into a
town or village, even though only 700 people
reside here year-round these days, along with a
few ghosts.
There’s nothing about Greenwood that Do-
reen MacLean doesn’t love, so it’s fitting

16 • B C M A G
 Copper Eagle Bakery &
Cappuccino—a favourite
stop on Copper Street.

Adobe Stock/edb3_16 BCMAG•17

D E S T I N AT I O N
that she works at the museum. I was
told that she has been instrumental
in development of both the museum
and the community, but she won’t
admit to it. “My grandfather bought
the Windsor Hotel during Green-
wood’s diminished mining boom and
my family ran it until the 1950s,” she
says. “Prospectors had no place to go
so they lived in the hotel and ate at
the hotel’s café—a captive audience.”
MacLean was born in Vancouver and
worked in the big city until she was 26
years old. “I’m not a big city girl, so I
moved back to Greenwood to be with
my family and worked at the sawmill
in Midway, just down the road.” Now,
she’s a small city girl.
When you visit, don’t be put off by
its suburb’s name: Anaconda. The lo-
cal newspaper Midway Advance wrote
in December 1896: “Greenwood City
and Anaconda are booming. New
buildings are being built daily. New-
comers are arriving every week, and
18 • B C M A G
several families are camping near the
town in tents...” Back in its heyday,
Anaconda boasted four hotels, two
general stores, a post office, bakery,
shoemaker, sawmill, lawyer and its
own newspaper, the Anaconda News.
Anaconda’s name has nothing to do
with snakes. Rather, it was named af-
ter the huge Anaconda copper mine
and smelter in Montana. According
to another newspaper, the Nelson Star,
Anaconda’s streets were named after
English authors and the avenues were
named after smelters, such as Butte,
Everett and Denver. The street names
didn’t survive. “Lots of Americans
came here prospecting for copper and
to a lesser extent gold and silver, and
Right: The Greenwood Courthouse served
as the Supreme Court of Yale from 1902 to
1953. Below: The Greenwood Museum
and Visitor Centre, where a warm welcome
awaits all visitors.
 Greenwood was chosen as the
location for the 1999 movie Snow
Falling on Cedars.

a smelter was here too,” says MacLean,

“all the trade came through Spokane
because the road to Vancouver didn’t
exist; the stage lines went north-south
until the Columbia and Western Rail-
way came here and trade travelled east
to west.” The railroad was crucial to
move the ore and to this day “junior”
mining companies are still exploring
the area, but it costs a lot of money—
and a large deposit—to put a mine
into production. The city boomed
with a smelter but after the First World
War, the price of copper dropped and
it shut down.

JAPANESE INTERNMENT
Chuck Tasaka is another resident. His
parents were interned here after Pearl
Harbor was bombed and they lived
in an old abandoned hotel—not the
Windsor—along with 200 Japanese
internees. There was one stove and one
toilet per floor and they had a 10x10-
foot room to accommodate his mother
and three young daughters. Greenwood
Mayor W.E. McArthur requested that
300 Japanese move to Greenwood
to help revive the local economy. He
wasn’t expecting 1,200, but they saved
Greenwood from becoming a ghost
town (more about ghosts later.)

Ciel Sander X2 BCMAG•19

D E S T I N AT I O N

“Dad was sent to forced labour camps

but because he was a barber, classified
an essential service, he returned to
Greenwood and lived in a house with
two other families,” says Tasaka. In Jan-
uary 1942, all male Japanese Canadians
between the ages of 18 and 45 were
taken to road camps in the interior.
“My brother Seiji was born in De-
cember 1942. It was one of the cold-
est winters in that area, reaching -39ºF
in February 1943. My mother told me
that a kind gentleman friend scoured
all over town to find scraps of coal and
wood to keep the place warm so that
a six-week-old baby would not freeze
to death.”
“By 1944, dad rented a house in
Midway—nine miles west of Green-
wood—shared with just one family,
and I was born the following year,”
Tasaka adds. “Dad took the bus or
train to Greenwood to cut hair and
after the war he set up a barber shop
here. Even though the feds disallowed
Japanese Canadians to own a business,
Mayor McArthur allowed it and after
the war the mayor and the Greenwood
community encouraged their Japanese
friends and neighbours to stay. The
town thrived, with over 50 percent
owned and operated by Japanese Ca-
nadians.” Today, many of them or their
descendants call Greenwood home.
Tasaka has fond memories of his
childhood. “Greenwood was one big
outdoor playground. At Sacred Heart
school, the Franciscan Sisters of the
Atonement never had a clock, so kids
had to go outside and check at the post
office clock to call lunch and recess
time,” he remembers. “Because there
were 364 students in four-rooms, chil-
dren had to attend school in shifts. We
made skis out of kindling and candle-
wax and played hockey on Govern-
ment Street in the winter, marbles in
the spring. And we loved fishing along
Boundary Creek…”

The BC Copper Company smelter stack,

standing 36 metres tall, was the highest
chimney in the province when built in
1904. Made from 250,000 bricks.

20 • B C M A G Top: Royal BC Museum E-03983141

 Left: What remains of the BC
Copper Company smelter building, a
Greenwood icon. Below: Nikkei
Legacy Park.

Fast forward to 2014. Tasaka discov-

ered Ohairi Park, which amounted to a
picnic area with a little wooden bridge
and a Japanese lantern representing the
Japanese internment history. He had to
do something. “I wanted to emphasize
integration and harmony and change
the name to Nikkei, which means ‘of
Japanese lineage’. He started the Nikkei
Legacy Park project that includes fam-
ily plaques. Tasaka now has over 100
plaques, most of which are internment
families. And when he wasn’t combing
Boundary to find each and every living
surviving senior, in his spare time Ta-
saka wrote two books on Greenwood.

GHOSTS
Maureen Grant’s grandparents came
to Greenwood in the late 1890s. Her
grandfather was superintendent of the
Sunset Copper Mine and her father
was born here. “I spent three summers
in Greenwood working at the Pacific
and Windsor Hotels, and during that
time discovered a rich history, more
relatives, and a few ghosts,” says Grant.
With so many tales and anecdotes to
tell, she began Greenwood Tours, in-
cluding “The Ghosts of Greenwood”
walking tour. “Charlie hangs out at
City Hall and a lot of people see him
coming and going. Some janitors who
work there see a little girl on the stairs.
A girl was killed when a rock from the
mine fell on her house and we thought
it could be her but the True North
Paranormal TV Show came here and
said the girl was older. The janitors left
toys for her and they move around at
night. I leave a toy on my tour.”
Grant believes in ghosts ever since
people told her about their ‘experi-
ences’ at the Windsor Hotel. “All the
doors had been removed during a res-
toration project, but a workman kept
hearing a door slamming. Ghosts are
mischievous, they can come and go
and hang out where they feel most

Ciel Sander X3 BCMAG•21

D E S T I N AT I O N

Right: In the winter season,

good skiing can be found at
nearby Phoenix Mountain.

comfy,” quips Grant. As part of her

tour, she takes you into the court-
house, built in 1903 and now the City
Hall, and downstairs to the jail cells.
“There were three separate murder
trials held in the courthouse and one
of the murderers, Joshua Bell, lived
with his paramour Annie Allen in
Spokane. He stabbed her there and did
time for it, and she moved to Grand
Forks. Bell followed her, but Allen left
him to work in a bawdy house in Phoe-
nix, a few days before he killed her in
the street. Bell tried to escape south of
the border but he was hanged and his
bones were given to the University of
the North and used for god-knows-
what…” Ghost tours this year start in
May through September.

AND THERE’S MORE to do in Green-

wood, especially if you like the great
outdoors. There’s golf, fishing, hiking
and biking, an outdoor swimming
pool and a lake nearby in the sum-
mer. In the winter, there’s ice fishing,
downhill skiing and cross country, and
there’s the Trans Canada trail to snow-
shoe. Doreen MacLean says put your
skis on at your front door. Her neigh-
bour circles around the ball field and
she is good at it.
And if you want to live here, MacLean
says Greenwood is a wonderful place to
grow up, where people are kind to each
other. “In our small community you
drive by and wave to everyone—it’s also
a great place to retire and we have some
snowbirds six months a year,” MacLean
adds. “Real estate is reasonable al-
though it went up like everywhere else.
The climate is not harsh but it helps to
like winter sports.
“We have three motels and encourage
tourists to stay for at least a few days
to explore old mine sites and of course
the museum where you’ll find me seven
days a week from May 1 to October 31,”
says MacLean. There’s a lot to keep you
active, but I’m waiting for the indoor
and outdoor pickleball courts.

22 • B C M A G Top: Courtesy Phoenix Mountain Ski Area

 IF YOU GO

STAY
Evening Star Motel Just a
15-minute drive from Jewel Lake
Provincial Park, Evening Star Motel
offers a family-friendly environment
just minutes away from Downtown
Greenwood. eveningstarmotel.net

Barrel Cabins at Jewel Creek

Organic Farm Located 1.6
kilometres outside of Greenwood,
these charming and rustic cabins
are the perfect option for the out-
doorsy visitor.

Greenview Motel & RV Park

Set conveniently in central Green-
wood, Greenview Motel & RV
Park is one of Greenwood’s three
motels. greenviewmotel.com

EAT & DRINK

Keg & Kettle Grill A short
10-minute drive outside of Green-
wood, you will come across Keg
& Kettle Grill where you can find
staple meals such as burgers and
soups that won’t disappoint.
keg-kettle-grill.business.site

Copper Eagle Cappuccino &

Bakery Enjoy a warm cup of cof-
fee and a sweet treat at this hidden
gem located in one of the town’s
heritage buildings.
yelp.ca/biz/copper-eagle-cap-
puccino-and-bakery-greenwood

PLAY
BC Copper Company Smelter
Built in 1901 and used until 1918,
the BC Copper Company Smelter
has been abandoned ever since
but still offers an impressive site
with its tall brick chimney.
greenwoodcity.com/city-info/
project-heritage-smelter-preser-
vation/

Jewel Lake Provincial Park

Enjoy a walk and a swim at Jewel
Lake Park, located east of Green-
wood. bcparks.ca/boundary-
creek-park/

Greenwood Tours Take one

of Maureen’s tours through town
to learn more about Greenwood’s
history and its ghosts!
greenwoodtours.ca

Ciel Sander X3 BCMAG•23

 Gulf Island
GOODIES
J U M P O N T H E G U L F I S L A N D S F E R RY A N D T R E AT YO U R S E L F
W I T H T H I S U N IQ U E DI N E -A RO U N D A DV E N T U R E , F E AT U R I N G
S I X D E L IG H T S T H AT YO U WO N ’ T F I N D I N T H E C I T Y

BY

Cherie Theissen

24 • B C M A G
 1
Galiano Island’s
Woodstone Inn
European luxury
No, we’re not in Europe,
although the 12-room
boutique hotel radi-
ates that certain glow.
Located on nine acres
and overlooking pastures
where horses graze, the
inn originally opened in
1992 and was recently
renovated by third owners
Stephan and Roxanne
Orlitzky, who bought it in
2017. Although it closes
for the winter season, the
opening of the inn and its
sumptuous dining room
Top:MP
Liam/Adobe
Studio Stock; Courtesy of Woodstone Inn X5
is always eagerly awaited.
The Orlitzkys, who are
world travellers, have been
generous with sharing the
antiques they have acquired
on their travels. The bar in
Galiano
Island
X carpaccio salad
the dining room was origi-
nally a French side buffet
from San Diego and the
nearby six-foot cloisonné
vase is from China, to men-
tion only a few notables.
The menu itself is not to
be upstaged by the el-
egant surroundings.
I added prawns to
my golden beet
while my partner
David opted for
a caesar salad and a
seafood-laden ciop-
pino, both of which were
further enhanced by glasses
of crisp sancerre. While
menus will change in the
upcoming season, there
is every reason to believe
the chefs will continue to
outdo themselves and the
old-world ambience and
charm will never go away.
Check their website for
opening dates and special
events. Brunches can
sometimes be on offer too.
By the way, inn staff will
pick up diners to and from
the ferry.
woodstonegaliano.com
BCMAG•25
 2
Mayne Island’s
Montrose Local
Fun and games
Good news travels fast in
the Gulf Islands, so when
Stephanie McBurney and
Jeff McPherson opened up
Montrose Local in Mayne’s
Fernhill Centre two years
ago, we were there for
lunch. Now it’s one of our
regular trips and with a
BC Ferry cruise through
the Salish Sea and the Gulf
Islands thrown in, what’s
not to love?
Can you imagine coming
into a place, choosing some
music you like, sitting
down with the chef and
discussing food issues and
then letting the culinary
team go to work to prepare
the whole experience from
start to finish? This unique
idea has now appeared
on the menu under Chef
Experience, a multi course
dinner for those who can’t
decide or love the idea of
being surprised.
Chef McPherson, who
has a long history in the
culinary arts, says he loves
creating different ethnic
26 • B C M A G
foods with his two other
chefs, Mike Smith and
Jan Gumbmann, ensuring
that the dishes are con-
stantly changing. “I have an
outstanding team. We have
a lot of fun in the kitchen
and there’s a lot of collabo-
ration. We feature freshness
and quality—everything
comes in fresh except for
the prawns and everything
is made from scratch.”
I’d swear that the fun they
have in the kitchen finds its
way into the food too.
The owners are always
coming up with fun themes
like their popular family
nights, for example. “We’d
never tackle this in the
city,” MacPherson laughs.
“But it works here. And
the culinary theme nights,
where our chefs collabo-
rate, is very popular.”
This is always going to be
a place for families, locals
and visitors with local
knowledge to hang out,
and when the warm ambi-
ence is paired up with food
that will probably never be
tasted again, we think it’s a
very good thing.
facebook.com/themon-
troselocal
Mayne
Island
X
3
Galiano Island’s
Babes in the Woods
Pizza queen
Since 2014, a determined
single mother of two has
been creating culinary
magic and the locals can’t
get enough. It’s a love
affair that’s reciprocated.
“Galiano kept me and my
family safe. I don’t know
how the story will end
but that’s OK when you
can trust and lean into the
community around you,”
Lisa Gauvreau says as she
sprinkles cilantro over
caramelized red onions,
her own barbecue sauce
and roasted chicken.
This is my pizza I’m talk-
ing about, and I won’t be
sharing with my com-
panions either. A peanut
satay pizza with curried
vegetables is waiting in
the warming oven and the
barbecue salmon will be
next up.
Because she has recently
moved locations and now
cooks up a storm in her
own building, there are
currently no indoor din-
Left: Cherie Theissen; Above: Hans Tammemagi
Galiano
Island
X
ing facilities.
However, there
are lots of comfortable
tables outdoors, or you
can always do what we did
and feast in your car at the
ferry. The surroundings
may not be classy, but this
pizza eclipses any back-
ground.
Hard to believe this piz-
za queen does it all, with a
very busy Warren Arcand
at front of house and two
occasional helpers.
And to make it all the
more amazing, it’s not
just out of this world
pizzas she creates. Island-
ers have been ordering
soups, salads, dijon glazed
salmon dinners, tacos, and
appies since we arrived.
Definitely Gauvreau’s 35
years in the food business
is a big asset, but it’s still
awesome.
She tells me she makes
10,000 pizzas a year and
trust me, it is honestly
worth the ferry trip just to
have one of them. (Babes
in the Woods is only
a block away from the
terminal too.)
facebook.com/babesin-
thewoodseatery
 4
Pender Island’s
Slow Coast Coffee
If you bake it,
they will come
It isn’t easy for small busi-
nesses to survive on the
Gulf Islands, with their
small permanent popula-
tions and seasonal summer
visitors, but given the
fact that Alison
Feargrieve and
her partner Rob
McCallun have
operated this
300 square-foot
Pender Island hub
in North Pender’s
Medicine Beach for more
than 10 years, you know
they have to be doing
something right.
They survived Covid
because they’re small, says
Feargrieve, and because
the locals refused to let
Top: Liam/Adobe Stock; Above: Cherie Theissen
Pender
Island
X them die,
ordering from
the window
and mingling and
munching at the sheltered
picnic table outside while
also enjoying the Bedwell
Harbour views. They also
survived because they are
just darn good at what they
do! McCallun serves up
lattes and cappuccinos that
look too good to drink,
while his partner bakes
delectable goodies like
my favourite pecan toffee
squares. “The relation-
ship with Slow Coast
and the community was
cemented fairly quickly,”
says the latter, “and that’s
good because we both love
community and wanted
a great creative space that
was comfortable and cozy
and welcoming for folks
to come.” They must really
love what they do because
even with the capable help
of an assistant baker and
assistant barista, they still
can’t manage to take a two-
week holiday.
Slow Coast opens early
and closes mid-afternoon,
which is just as well be-
cause the baking is pretty
much gone by then. While
Feargrieve says many locals
come for the coffee and
goodies, there is always a
faithful crowd who wait for
the ever-changing lun-
cheon special. Today, we’ve
been enjoying the popular
buddha bowl but savouries
like dosas, quesadillas and
crepes are always on hand
daily. Slow Coast cooks
have dietary restrictions in
mind so there are lots of
vegan choices too.
Come in on a Sunday af-
ternoon and you will be re-
ally into Gulf Island vibes.
That’s when local talented
musicians get together to
jam in the cozy adjoining
‘reading room.’
facebook.com/Penderis-
landSlowCoastCafe
BCMAG•27
 5
Salt Spring
Wild Cider
Celebrating the
apple in style
Production manager, Jesse
Scott, is our server today.
He has been here seven
years and remembers those
early days when he was
virtually a ‘Boy Friday’,
doing everything from
greeting guests, bottling
brew and selling ciders
in what used to be
the horse barn. Salt Spring
We look out Island
on fields, fruit
trees, firs and
tables adorned
with colourful but
droopy umbrellas,
awaiting spring’s warmer
weather. The ample choice
of award-winning ciders
ranges from rhubarb to
rosemary, Saskatoon berry
to scrumpy, elderberry to
28 • B C M A G
Cider is open year-round
and is family and pet
friendly. Seniors are treated
pretty royally too.
Gerda Lattey, co-owner
with Mike Lachelt, tells us
there are more than 450
varieties of apples grown
on Salt Spring, some over
100 years old. They won’t
be running out of product
any time soon then and
that’s a really good thing.
saltspringwildcider.com
X
pear. We order a
generous platter of
charcuterie accompanied
by a large flight of ciders
while we enjoy the fully en-
closed and warmly heated
pergola that has recently
been snugly enclosed. Wild
Courtesy of Salt Spring Wild Cider X2; Above: edb3_16Adobe Stock

6
Saturna Island’s
Feral Goat Bistro
at Sage Hayward
Vineyards
Grape meets gourmet
After sitting idle for three
years, this 70-acre property
with its 40 acres of grape
vines was purchased by
long-time Saturna islanders,
Anne and Doug Hayward,
along with Doug’s brother
Ian and Ian’s wife, Wendy
Sage-Hayward. There was
much to be done, but luck-
ily the combined family
is a large one with multi
talents; it was done and in
a big way. We think one of
Courtesy of Feral Goat Bistro X3
the best things they’ve done
is to renovate and re-open
the tasting room and bistro,
bringing it back from its
early days of dreaming big.
When the original winery,
which opened in 1995,
started having its annual
Harvest Festival, we would
come by every third week-
Saturna
Island
X Café in the Gen-
end of September because
we knew Saturna’s own
food guru, Hubertus Surm,
would be cooking magical
dishes like his signature
mussels in a tomato lime
leaf curry. Surm’s culinary
skills are a legend, and we’ve
been forever grateful to Sat-
urna for enticing him there
from Isadora’s on Vancou-
ver’s Granville Island where
he was executive chef. Surm
thought the Saturna move
was semi-retirement,
but no chance. He
was soon managing
chef at the Saturna
eral Store as well as
cooking up a storm
for winery events and
the local inn.
On the day we sail over
from Pender Island, we
sit outside absorbing the
views over Plumper Sound
while enjoying a flight
of the winery’s offerings,
finally deciding on a bottle
of pinot gris to go with our
lunches of scallop ceviche
followed by a shared mezze
platter. (House made
pakoras, potato cakes and
hummus served with tan-
doori chutney and pickled
vegetables and crackers to
scoop it all up.)
The scenery and ambi-
ence is 10 out of 10 and
when you can get such a
choice of wine and food
like this on a small Gulf
Island, why wouldn’t you
come?
The bistro closes for the
winter but will be open-
ing on Mother’s Day and
then operating Thursday
thru Monday. West Coast
dinners on Saturday and
Sunday nights are highly
recommended, but if you
can only make it to Saturna
once this year, definitely
come by on August 31
when the Harvest Festival
returns. It’s another experi-
ence you can only have on
a Gulf Island.
sagehaywardvineyards.
com
BCMAG•29
 SPOTTING
GIANTS
A G U I D E TO W H A L E WATC H I N G I N B C

BY

MARGAUX PERRIN

30 • B C M A G
 Orca breaching off
the coast of
Vancouver Island.

Destination BC/Garry Henkel BCMAG•31

 W
Whales may be the largest animals on
earth, but they disguise themselves
from the surface impeccably. However,
once in a while they rise up to inhale
a breath of fresh air, and that is when
lucky eyes can spot them and admire
them from a safe distance.
Wilma Fuchs has been a profes-
sional whale spotter, more commonly
known as a whale watching tour guide,
or naturalist, at Prince of Whales for
more than a decade. Prior to joining
Prince of Whales, she volunteered for
the Vancouver Aquarium for six years,
which is where she fell in love with ma-
rine mammals. Determined to pursue
a career that would allow her to work
with marine mammals, she turned to
whale watching companies. “12 sea-
sons and 11 years later, I am still work-
ing on a whale watching boat and abso-
lutely loving it!” says Fuchs.
Simon Pidcock, captain and owner of
Ocean Ecoventures, is another person
who was destined to have a career in
the marine industry.
“Being able to spend time on the wa-
32 • B C M A G
ter exploring the Salish Sea, seeing the
waters around Vancouver Island and
photographing the wildlife made me
realize what a unique ecosystem and
what an amazing place in the world
that we live in, and I realized that I
could actually share those experiences
and the wildlife with people all around
the world,” says Pidcock, who grew up
in a wooden shipyard and got his first
boat at four years old. “I really felt that
it was a great way to inspire people to
make personal change, to look after
our local environment, and not even
just our local environment, but as we
see people from all around the world,
really inspire them to try to make a dif-
ference in their daily actions.”
Whale watching is a popular and
educational activity in several areas of
the BC coast, where there are three
distinct whales commonly found: resi-
dent and transient killer whales from
the orca family, and humpback whales.
RESIDENT KILLER WHALES
Mysterious and breathtaking, resident
killer whales rely on their family to sur-
vive. In each family group, the female
assumes the leadership role as matri-
arch. Each family of whales is classified
into pods, or groups, and in almost
all cases, residents spend their whole
lives attached at the fins of their fam-
ily members. They are also on a strict
fish-diet, composed mainly of salmon.
Resident killer whales can be
 A pod of Orcas
swimming off the
shoreline in Victoria.

Destination BC/Jordan Dyck BCMAG•33

 A humpback whale breaching.
Although the specific reason for why
the humpbacks perform this spectacu-
lar move is not clear, there are a few
possible explanations such as a way to
communicate, to attract eligible mates
or simply to have fun!

divided into two communities in BC;

northern and southern residents. The
northern residents are the most com-
mon types of whales in Alaska and the
northern part of the BC coast. How-
ever, as a whale watching tour guide
around Vancouver, Fuchs has only
spotted a small group of northern resi-
dents twice in her career.
Since 2001, the northern residents
have been listed as threatened, while
southern residents have been listed as
endangered. “Over the last 10 years, we
witnessed a decrease in the numbers of
southern residents killer whales” says
Fuchs. “One reason we know of is the
decrease in chinook salmon runs, re-
turning to spawn in the Fraser River.
Orcas are forced to travel further to
find food.”
Pidcock says that for his first 12 years
as a whale watching operator, he saw a
lot of southern residents. He once had
a 126-day long streak where he saw
them every single day. “It shifted all of
the sudden and we started encounter-
ing more and more Bigg’s killer whales
or transient orcas,” he adds.

TRANSIENT KILLER WHALES

Although transient killer whales, also
known as Bigg’s orcas, are cousins of
the resident killer whale, these two
branches of the family do not interact.
A major difference between these two
species is that transient whales will feed
exclusively on marine mammals, such
as harbor seals and sea lions. To sustain
that diet, they have been increasingly
roaming around the Salish Sea, as it
has recently become more and more
abundant with prey. As a result, Wilma
and Simon both mentioned there has
been an increase in numbers of tran-
sient whales over the last 10 years.

34 • B C M A G
Prince of Whales/Seanie Malcolm BCMAG•35
 “It’s really neat to be able to individu-
ally identify [these transient whales]
and watch them as they grow up and go
through all the stages,” says Pidcock.
Last August, Pidcock had spent a day
out on the water where he and his team
saw about 25 transients. After finishing
up their last tour of the day at sunset,
they returned to the water to continue
watching the group of transient whales,
even after the sun had set and it was
nearly impossible to see in the darkness.
“It was mostly auditory, but we were
still able to track them,” says Pidcock.
“And then the bioluminescence came
out and we were actually able to watch
them swim and watch them travel.”
Although he has had many incred-
ible encounters throughout the years,
he says this one was special. “There’s
stars above us and it looked like they
were swimming through stars from all
the bioluminescence. It was an amaz-
ing night.”
36 • B C M A G
Capable of holding up to 95 guests
onboard, this is one out of the 15
boats that Prince of Whales operates.
Engineered in Canada, it was made
specifically for the purpose of whale
watching in British Columbia.
HUMPBACK WHALES
You can spot humpback whales all year
round in BC, although they tend to
be most common in April to Novem-
ber. These majestic creatures have a sad
history, as in the late 1800s to 1965
they were commercially hunted, and
approximately 28,000 were captured
in the North Pacific. It is not until re-
cently that they started to come back
to BC and are now no longer labeled
as “threatened.”
According to Fuchs, these whales
have become the most common ones
to spot while whale watching. Over the
Destination Vancouver/Prince of Whales Whale Watching
years, they have also become her favou-
rite type of whale to observe.
“My favourite used to be the south-
ern resident killer whale when I just
started whale watching because that
is all I had seen, but now with having
humpback whales in larger numbers,
I have switched my allegiance!” says
Fuchs.
One of her favourite facts about
humpback whales is that whale moth-
ers communicate with their calves in
a frequency out of range of transient
orcas, who happen to be their main
predators; this phenomenon is called a
“whale whisper.”
WHEN ASKED WHAT her most
unique experience was throughout her
whale watching years, Fuchs shared the
incredible story of two passengers she
had in her second year of whale watch-
ing. They were with a small group
aboard the vessel that day, so Fuchs got
the chance to talk to each passenger
a little more in depth, including two
women who were sitting at the back of
the boat. “I learned they had been di-
agnosed with terminal cancer, both of
them, and were given one year to live,”
Fuchs adds, “their lifelong dream was
to see orcas.”
Determined to see whales, they
looked extra hard, but unfortunately
there seemed to be none in sight that
day. At last, as the day was coming to
an end, they heard on the radio that
a nearby boat had spotted humpback
whales. As they arrived on the site, they
were stuck behind six other vessels and
had no choice but to wait their turn. It
was getting late and they were running
out of time, so the captain decided to
move the boat about 100 metres away
from the rest of the lot to see what
would happen. They waited there for a
few minutes until suddenly, they heard
a loud exhale at the back of the boat,
where the two women were sitting.
“The humpback lifted his head up
and looked right into their eyes, check-
Abode Stock/Jay S
ing them out and almost touching the
boat,” says Fuchs. “Then they dove right
underneath the boat, only to surface on
the other side at the back. This went on
for about 25 minutes, with some of the
passengers being moved to tears.”
Aside from orcas and humpback
whales, there are a few other types of
whales you might get lucky to see on
your outing. For both Wilma and Si-
mon, the rarest species of whale they
had encountered while watching was
the fin whale.
RULES TO FOLLOW
Although seeing whales up-close is
thrilling, whale watching tour opera-
tors must follow the Marine Mammal
Regulations under the Government of
Canada’s Fisheries Act as well as the
rules of the Pacific Whale Watch As-
Minke whales frequent the
Pacific Northwest during
spring and fall.
sociation (PWWA) that have outlined
clear guidelines on maintaining safe
distances. For most whales in the Sal-
ish Sea, including humpback whales,
gray whales and minke whales, the
viewing distance is 100 metres. The
viewing distance in BC for whales who
are resting or with calves is 200 metres,
and the distance for all killer whales in
inland waters in BC is 400 metres.
Some strict “don’ts” when whale
watching include positioning your
vessel between the food source and
whales and flying drones around
whales. More on guidelines can be
found at pacificwhalewatchassocia-
tion.com/regulations and the Fisher-
ies and Oceans Canada website.
Whale watching offers the opportu-
nity to gain insight on these magical
creatures that roam our oceans. Not
only will you get the opportunity to
see whales in person (likely), you will
also get to learn a whole lot on whales
and other marine mammals from pas-
sionate whale watching experts like
Wilma and Simon (guaranteed).
BCMAG•37
38 • B C M A G
grahof_photo BCMAG•39
 W H AT T O L O O K F O R

Humpback Whale
Adult length: 11.5-15m • Adult weight: 25-30 tonnes

Low, often stubby dorsal fin with broad base

and “hump”: can be highly variable shape.
Dark grey to blue-black
colouration on upper side.
Knobs on top of
head and lower jaw.
Tail flukes are broad and usually
serrated on the trailing edges.
Dark on top and can vary from
black to white underneath.

Rounded protrusion
at tip of lower jaw.

Long flippers - up to 1/3 of body length with knobs on

Although females are on average larger than males, the only way
leading edges. White underneath, but can be black, white
to distinguish the sexes is by the presence of a grapefruit-sized lobe at
or mottled on top varying by population or individual.
the rear of the genital slit or presence of a calf (female) or
the detection of singing (male).

Gray Whale
Adult length: 11-15 m• Adult weight: up to 45 tonnes

Blowholes located in a Visible ‘knuckles’ or fleshy knobs

shallow dip on the top Dorsal fin is only a
between the dorsal hump and the tail
of the head. low hump.
flukes (varies between individuals).

Narrow, triangular head that slopes Flukes are mottled with

and arches between the blowhole
and the snout. Patches of whale lice
and barnacles are usually present
on the head.
Dark grey skin is covered with ragged edges, and pointed
light coloured blotches and white, tips, and oftern bear scars
yellow, or orange patches of whale from killer whale attacks.
Broad paddle-shaped lice and barnacles.
flippers.

40 • B C M A G Info courtesy IWC (International Whaling Commission)

 WHALE
WAT C H I N G
Minke whale COMPANIES
Adult length: up to 8.8m (female) • Adult weight: up to 9 tonnes (female)
Prince of Whales
Curved and pointed dorsal fin Vancouver /Victoria/ Telegraph Cove
located roughly 2/3 of the way Toll Free: 1-888-383-4884
between the head and tail. Local: 1-250-383-4884
princeofwhales.com
Flattened Tail flukes are black on top
head. and pale underneath. Wild Whales
Sharply Granville Island, Vancouver,
pointed 604-699-2011
snout. whalesvancouver.com

Steveston Seabreeze
50-70 throat Adventure
White, pale grey or pale Vancouver (Richmond)
grooves. brown underside.
Small, slender, pointed 604-272-7200
flippers with distinctive seabreezeadventures.ca
white band.
Campbell River Whale
Watching and Adventure Tours
Campbell River
Toll Free: 1-877-909-2667/
Local: 1-250- 287- 2667

Ocean Ecoventures
Vancouver Island (Cowichan Bay
& Parksville)
Toll Free: 1-866-748-5333
Orca Local: 1-250-748-3800
oceanecoventures.com
Adult length: up to 9.8m (male)/8.5m (female) • Adult weight: up to 10 tonnes (male) Vancouver Island Whale Watch
Vancouver Island (Nanaimo)
Adult males have an unmistakably tall (up to 2m) trian- 1- 250-667-5177
gular dorsal fin. Females and juveniles have smaller vancouverislandwhalewatch.com
sometimes curved dorsal fins. Transient orcas often
have a more sharply pointed tip to their dorsal fin. Pale grey saddle patch, Eagle Wing Tours
variable between Vancouver Island (Victoria)
individuals and populations. Toll Free: 1-800-708-9488/
Oval shaped white
Local: 1-250-384-8008
patch behind each
eaglewingtours.com
eye (variable). Tail flukes are black on
top and very pale to white Orca Spirit Adventures
underneath. Vancouver Island (Victoria)
Toll Free: 1-888-672-6722/
Local: 1-250-383-8411

Jamie’s Whaling Station

White chest. Tofino
White patch extending Toll Free: 1-800-667-9913
from belly up the sides. Local: 250-725-3919
Large, wide paddle-shaped flippers – up jamies.com/whale-watching/
to 1/5 of body length in adult males. tofino-whale-watching/

Prince Rupert’s
Adventure Tours
Prince Rupert
Toll Free: 1-800-201-8377
Local: 1-250- 624-8199
adventuretours.ca/tours/
whale-watching-tour/

BCMAG•41
42 • B C M A G
 THE LONG
JOURNEY HOME
AFTER BEING STOLEN AND SENT TO A SCOTTISH
MUSEUM IN 1929, THE NI’ISJOOHL MEMORIAL POLE
M A K E S I T S LO N G WAY H O M E TO T H E N AS S VA L L E Y

BY

DIANE SELKIRK

Left: Diane Selkirk BCMAG•43


S
Standing at the lookout at Ksi Wil
Ksi-Baxhl Mihl or Crater Creek, it’s
hard not to feel awe as I gaze over a
landscape of lava fields framed by the
snow-capped Hazelton Mountains and
Kitimat Range. This vast expanse of
volcanic rock is the result of Canada’s
most recent volcanic activity. Around
1690 CE, the Tseax Cone erupted,
spilling hot lava into the Tseax River
and forming a dam that created Lava
Lake. Then, the lava flowed northward
toward the Nass River, covering the val-
ley floor, destroying at least two Indig-
enous villages and claiming an estimat-
ed 2,000 lives through fires and what
Nisga’a Elders called “poison smoke.”
Stretching 32 kilometres across the
valley, I’m surprised by the diversity in
the volcanic plains. In one area, there
are imposing heaps of metres-high
rubble, while in another, the basalt
flow takes on the smooth appearance
of a paved parking lot. At Dihlaa N ’ ii-
Bax-hl Aks Sbayt-G-an, the Drowned
Forest, it forms deep potholes that fill
with clear, aquamarine river water. At
44 • B C M A G
The Nisga’a delegation
went to Scotland to request
the return the Ni’isjoohl
Memorial Pole.
Wil Luu-g-alksi-mihl G-an, the Tree
Cast, I notice that much of the volca-
nic rock is covered in vibrant gold li-
chen and mosses. In some places, soil
has even formed and small trees have
sprouted—almost as though the land is
healing itself.
Continuing along Nisga’a Highway
113 toward the seaside village of Gin-
golx, the radio station fades out just as
the lava field ends and the dense green
forest begins. Searching for a new sta-
tion, I find CNFR, Canada’s First Na-
tion’s Radio. Driving along the braided
tributaries of the Nass River, I listen as
the broadcaster recounts how almost
100 years ago, the Ni’isjoohl Memo-
rial Pole was stolen from the village of
Ank’idaa and floated away down the
Nass. Reaching the bridge, I slow my
car to look down at the churning wa-
ters below.
While the Nass Valley is stunning, my
focus this visit is not just the scenery. A stolen for museums around the world.
little over a year ago, I visited the carv- But, McNeil said, a Nisga’a delegation
ing shed in the village of Lax̱g̱alts’ap was about to go to Scotland to request
and met master carver Calvin Mc- the return of one of his ancestors, the
Neil. He was working on a replica of Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole.
the Eagle-Halibut Pole of Laay, a pole
currently housed in the Museum of TO UNDERSTAND HOW the
Anthropology in Vancouver. As Mc- Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole ended up in
Neil demonstrated how he recreates Scotland, I’m told you need to start
the crests using historic and modern with Lisims, the Nass River. Flowing
photographs, he explained the origi- from its headwaters in the glaciers of
nal pole is considered an ancestor. It the Skeena Mountains, the Nass mean-
was one of several brought to life in ders southwesterly for 380 kilometres
the mid-1800s by legendary Nisga’a before draining into Portland Inlet
carver Oyay, which later went on to be and the Pacific Ocean. Surrounded by
glacier-capped mountains and flanked
by meadows thick with soapberry,
salmonberry and kinnikinnick as well
as forests of hemlock, spruce and red-
cedar—the Creator placed the Nisga’a
People in villages along the river. Guid-
ed by the belief that everything is in-
terdependent, the people followed a
sophisticated code of laws and customs
to maintain balance in the community
and ecosystem.
Toward the end of this era of balance,
Oyay emerged as a master carver re-
nowned for crafting pts’aan, totem or
crest poles, which intricately detailed
Duncan McGlynn
a family’s history and their ties to the
land and other families. Around 1860,
Joanna Moody, a 25-year-old matriarch
in the village of Ank’idaa, commis-
sioned Oyay and his assistant Gwanes
to carve a pole in memory of Ts’wawit,
a warrior in line to be chief until he fell
in battle. Utilizing a redcedar tree that
had been girdled and dried for years in
the forest, the carvers dedicated almost
a year to breathing life into the pole.
Then, with great ceremony, the pole
was raised with an elaborate feast (of-
ten referred to as a potlatch).
Standing, the pole took its place
alongside Crane and Grizzly, Bear
Mother, the Shaking Pole of Kw’ax̱suu,
and a dozen others that collectively
held the community’s accumulated
knowledge. The Ni’isjoohl pole was
intended to ensure the transmission
of knowledge and protocol to future
generations, but rapid change had al-
ready arrived in the Nass Valley. Cap-
tain George Vancouver became the
first European to record encountering
the Nisga’a while charting the Pacific
Coast from 1791-95. Then the fur
trade got underway. As new settlers
were drawn to the region, diseases
BCMAG•45
 For over 90 years the Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole
was on display at the National Museum of Scotland.
followed. No one is certain how many
Nisga’a died over the decades, but by
1889 many of the large, traditional vil-
lages had emptied, and the Northwest
Coast Indian Agency census counted
just 805 survivors.
WIDESPREAD DEATH LED to the
loss of familial lines, cultural leaders
and traditional stories. Then, begin-
ning in 1882, the nation’s school-aged
children were taken to St. Michael’s in
Alert Bay or St. George’s in Lytton.
Not long after this, the Potlatch Ban
was enacted, outlawing the practices
that wove the Nisga’a together. Mean-
while, missionaries pushed the Nisga’a
to convert to Christianity, warning
their attachment to ‘pagan’ beliefs
could only bring tragedy.
Under cultural assault, Indigenous
people faced a significant threat to
their heritage. Anthropologists of the
time believed that Indigenous cultures
would vanish. In the period just before
and after the First World War, a move-
46 • B C M A G
The totem pole packaged and
ready to be returned to its home.
ment now known as salvage archaeol-
ogy began. Ethnographic expeditions
set out across Canada with the goal
of collecting and preserving whatever
material culture remained before it was
too late.
In 1927, Marius Barbeau, an anthro-
pologist with the National Museum of
Canada, renowned for gathering and
recording narratives from Quebecoise
and Tsimshian cultures, set out for the
Nass. His field notes from that time de-
tail an encounter with a Nisga’a chief
from the village of Git’iks. Barbeau,
aiming to acquire an impressive pole
now known as the pole of Sag̱aw'een,
attempted to purchase it from Chief
Sag̱aw'een, promising to display it in
the Royal Ontario Museum. Rejecting
the monetary offer, the chief defiantly
suggested a trade. “Give me the tomb-
stone of Governor James Douglas,” he
said, “I will give you the totem of my
grand-uncles.”
Barbeau left the Nass without poles,
but the following year, artist Em-
ily Carr made a trip to Lax̱g̱alts’ap and
Ank’idaa to paint. Anticipating the im-
pending loss, Carr wrote that the poles
she’d painted would soon be “carried
away to museums” where “they would
be labelled as exhibits, dumb before the
crowds who gaped…” She feared the
poles’ value would be misunderstood,
“because the white man did not un-
derstand their language.” As predicted,
Barbeau returned in 1929. Using pho-
tos he took in 1927, he had pre-sold
Nisga’a poles to museums around the
world and, it seems, devised a new ap-
proach. Offering money to an extended
relative of Chief Sag̱aw'een, he secured
‘permission’ to take the pole. Then he
continued to Ank’idaa.
“It was during that period that people
were going to houses, taking stuff and
selling it to whoever comes around.
That is when those poles at the vil-
lages of Ank’idaa and Git’iks were
taken down,” Sim’oogit Duuk (Chief
William Moore) recounted in an
oral history. “They cut those poles in
Top Right: Olga Tjukova
Ank’idaa. They put them in a flat raft.”
Because it was late summer, Ank’idaa
was mostly empty with everyone away
hunting, fishing and food harvesting.
But a few kilometres downriver, in the
new missionary village of Laxgalt’sap,
the Nisga’a watched helplessly as the
poles were floated away. “People were
lined up along the beach,” said Moore,
“It was a solemn time for them because
in effect they were saying goodbye to
our culture.”
A few months later, Barbeau’s field
notes stated, “Nearly all the Nass River
poles by now have been removed by the
author for various institutions in Can-
ada, the United States, Great Britain
and France.”
WHEN I ARRIVE in Gingolx, it’s low
tide. Standing on the beach looking
back at the village, I marvel at how the
Nisga’a resisted being crushed by colo-
nization and never stopped fighting
for their rights. On May 11, 2000, af-
ter decades of negotiation, the Nisga’a
Nicolas Alonso
and the governments of Canada and
BC signed the province’s first modern
treaty, the Nisga’a Final Agreement,
codifying the Nisga’a’s right to self-
governance, ownership of 1992 square-
kilometres of hereditary land, access to
traditional foods and the shared man-
agement of Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed
Provincial Park.
The treaty also paved the way for the
return of over 300 stolen belongings
housed in Canadian museums—an
unprecedented act of repatriation.
But there was a catch: the belongings
had to be conserved in a Class A mu-
seum, a gorgeous structure that would
eventually cost the Nisga’a roughly
$14 million.
The next morning, I’m up early and
arrive at Wilp-Adokshl Nisga’a, the
Nisga’a Museum in Lax̱g̱alts’ap, just
as the crowd swells. In August 2022,
the Nisga’a delegation, spearheaded
by Sigidimnak’ Nox Ts’aawit (Dr. Amy
Parent), Canada Research Chair in In-
digenous Education and Governance
The totem pole was flown from Scotland to
Terrace aboard an RCAF C-130 Hercules.
at Simon Fraser University, journeyed
to the National Museum of Scotland
(NMS) to secure the return of the
Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole.
Shortly after the trip, Parent shared
how the Nisga’a delegation and NMS
staff clashed over their differing world-
view. “First it was around our ceremo-
nies to feed the pole [because] they
had a ‘no food in the museum’ rule,”
says Parent. (The two groups compro-
mised by using vacuum-packed food.)
“Then they told us about their very
complicated, one-year old repatriation
policy. It was irrelevant to us; we were
there in accordance with Nisga’a laws
and protocols, which are thousands of
years old.”
Despite the challenges, the Nisga’a
established the pole’s provenance
through oral history, photographs and
colonial records, proving Barbeau had
no authority to sell it. Most important-
ly, members of the House of Ni’isjoohl
were the ones making the request—in
a surprise twist, Parent learned she’s
BCMAG•47
Joanna Moody’s ancestral granddaugh-
ter. It took three months—but in De-
cember 2022, the Scottish Museum
agreed to the first rematriation (a term
recognizing the matrilineal nature
of the Nisga’a) of a major Indigenous
belonging from a European museum
back to Canada.
Ten months later, the pole was care-
fully packed into a crate, moved from
NMS, loaded into the belly of a Ca-
nadian military aircraft and flown to
Canada. Now, on the ground in Terrace,
a procession of cars accompanies it 150
kilometres along Nisga’a Highway 113,
across the lava fields to the Nass River
where the procession winds past the
villages of Gitlaxt’aamiks, Gitwinksi-
hlkw, and the hidden ruins of ancient
Ank’idaa before arriving at the museum.
Despite heavy overcast skies, the sky
seems to clear with each prayer from
a Nisga’a elder, or song by the cultural The Nisga’a Museum opened in 2011 and houses a stunning array of exquisitely
dancers and drummers. By the time carved masks and headdresses and will house the Ni’isjoohl Memorial Pole.
the long line of guests and dignitaries
from across Canada and Scotland file
past the pole, the mountains are visi-
ble and the sky is bright blue. I’m told eulachon and crab. looks downward and murmurs a soft
this is because the pole wanted to feel In the quiet of next day, I meet Dr. greeting. The effort to rematriate her
the sun again, for the first time in a Amy Parent at the pole. Placing her ancestor had been exhausting for the
century. At the feast, 800 people fill hand over the weathered fingers of academic, but she says it’s finally feeling
their plates from platters of salmon, one of the pole’s carved figures Parent real. In the days to come the pole will
be raised in a place of honour inside the
museum, but first it needs some care.
The procession of guests and family file past the House of Ni’isjoohl memorial pole
during its homecoming to the Nisga’a museum in Laxgalts'ap, 94 years after its removal. “Many of the crests represent particu-
lar names in our house,” Parent tells me
as she looks the pole over. “The names
are tied to what we call our ango’oskw,
our house territory. And in each gener-
ation, these names are passed down so
the teachings never die,” she explains.
Containing a family’s origins and his-
tory, she says a pole is kind of a family
album and political constitution rolled
into one, “they tell us who we are.”
With the poles gone, Parent says
some of this knowledge got lost—that’s
why getting them back is so important.
Walking along the pole’s length, she
stops to touch the tailfin of a big-eyed,
thick-lipped fish. Closing her eyes as
though in concentration, or prayer, she
recounts what she remembers. “I think
we’re the only family to have the white
bullhead,” she says, “I remember being
told its story is powerful…”

48 • B C M A G Diane Selkirk X2
 Nass Valley

V I S I T I N G T H E N AS S VA L L E Y

1 2 3 4

Nisga’a Memorial Lava Bed Park:
Jointly managed by BC Parks
and the Nisga’a Nation, the park
offers visitors a chance to learn
more about Nisga’a culture and
the region’s natural history. There’s
camping, picnic areas, boat
launches and hiking trails.
Nisga’a Lands Auto Tour: This
18-point, self-guided tour includes
highlights in Lava Bed Park and in
each of the Nation’s four villages.
Hlgu Isgwit Hotsprings: A point
on the auto-tour, visitors are
welcome to use the hot springs
that the Nisga’a have used
for ceremonial, medicinal and
spiritual purposes for untold
generations.
Culture: Four distinct villages
give insight into the rich culture
of the Nisga’a people. You’ll
find lodging, a restaurant or
two, walking trails, the museum,
carving sheds, smoke houses and
heritage churches.

1 2

3 4

1&2 - Diane Selkirk; 3&4 - Destination BC/Grant Harder BCMAG•49

 READY FOR

TS’ZIL
TWO INDIGENOUS BC TEENS SKI A
M O U N TA I N T H AT D E F I N E S T H E I R P EO P L E

BY

LESLIE ANTHONY

PHOTOS

BLAKE JORGENSON

50 • B C M A G
BCMAG•51
 It had already been what anyone
would call a long day. Behind them
was the drop-off on the saddle, the
high-five powder run down a sunny
backside bowl, and the long ski-tour
to the base of the summit ridge.
There was the sweaty bootpack up a she searched in frustration for a place to
steep wall of snow, and the discovery make a comfortable turn. The slope was
they’d missed the couloir and would a mess. “Holy hell,” she said to herself.
have to rope up a rock-and-ice step for The boys watched from above. Fi-
access. Finally, there was the short slide nally, a toe-side turn. Solid. Then heel-
to the entrance and rappel into a chute side, but with the opposite outcome:
that would have welcomed them with a the front edge caught in manky snow,
foot of powder had it not been cleaned pitching her forward to rocket down
out by a bus-sized chunk of unlucky cor- the chute.
nice fall. And now here they all stood,
in heavy shadow, on a narrow platform TELL A SALTY ski mountaineer that
hacked into the precipitous slope, a pair its peak barely brushes 2,600 metres,
of tremulous teens, their coach/men- and British Columbia’s Mt. Currie
tors, two guides and a camera- won’t raise many eyebrows—at
man or three, about to realize a least not by the Himalayan or
landmark dream. From left, Chamoniard standards of that
It was intimidatingly steep. Riki Pascal, fraternity. But mention how the
It was a long way down and Morgan Fleury, north face drops 2,380 vertical
conditions were objectively Sandy Ward metres nudging 45 degrees in
and Talon
bad. It only made sense that Pascal.
places and their eyes might suit-
the person the boys looked up ably widen.
to most, professional snow- In truth, Mt. Currie is one of
boarder Sandy Ward—the woman the continent’s most imposing ski ob-
who, months previous, helped spark jectives, appropriately chaptered in 50
the project then worked past injury so Classic Ski Descents of North America.
she could be here in this all-important Visitors to Pemberton’s organic farms,
moment—should show them the way. breweries and mountain-bike bonanza
Side-slipping her snowboard into the who find themselves scanning the serrat-
throat, black rock soaring on either side, ed ridge and intersecting chutes that

52 • B C M A G
BCMAG•53
consume the town’s southern horizon
can’t help but imagine the panoply of
myth, menace and imagination inspired
in those who dwell beneath the ram-
parts. Foremost in that conception are
people of the Lil’wat Nation who’ve oc-
cupied the valley since time immemorial
and whose name for their sacred peak,
Ts’zil—“slides on the mountain”—chan-
nels its spooky geological animation:
the rumbling, high-speed avalanches
of winter and spring’s boulder-pocked,
wet-snow monstrosities; the dust-cloud
clatter of summer’s constant rockfall
followed by a slurry of rain-fed autumn
mudslides.
“It’s alive,” declares Sandy in the Telus
Original/Arc’teryx film Slides on the
Mountain, citing one of the reasons it’s
no small feat to ski Mt. Currie. “It’s al-
ways moving. Always sliding. It’s an en-
tity. It’s power.”
Years before, reverence for the dynam-
ic peak she’d gazed at her entire life and
the unceded territory in which it rises
had drawn Sandy to become the first
Lil’wat Nation member to descend its
storied face. Though she’d done it on a
snowboard, the accomplishment stirred
a thought: With so many coming from
near and far to challenge Mt. Currie, no
Lil’wat had yet to do so on two planks;
maybe, in this time of reclamation and
reconciliation for Canada’s First Na-
tions, it was time to change that.
The idea eventually found footing in
the summer of 2022, when Sandy sat
down with Morgan Fleury—her partner
and a ski coach with the Indigenous Life
Sport Academy (ILSA)—and Squa-
mish-based filmmaker Seth Gillis to stood their capabilities and believed he nevertheless game if they were. As soon
spitball ideas on a potential film project. and Sandy could teach them the skills as he asked, the boys were all in.
Mt. Currie entered the conversation, needed to get up and down the peak
along with two Lil’wat youth—brothers safely. A Lil’wat skier descending Mt. WITH A HEAVY agenda to get up to
Talon and Riki Pascal, the strongest ski- Currie would be a point of both con- speed by mid-winter of 2022/23, the
ers in the ILSA program. nection and pride, but a couple of ILSA crew first met at a fall sit-down with
The siblings share a love of skiing but youth doing so would redline inspira- the boys’ mother, Hiroko Takay-Pascal.
are almost comically different in com- tion and aspiration for all. “The kids didn’t say a word,” recalls
portment. Riki, 15, is a live-out-loud Morgan floated the idea with Ryan, Seth. “They livened up on the first day
bundle of crash-bang enthusiasm with the boys’ father. “I just kinda laughed of filming, though, at Talon’s pit-house
a contagious laugh, while 18-year-old and said I don’t know if they’re capable project.”
Talon is a quiet, introspective craftsman of doing it,” says Ryan. “Because you In the summer of 2020, along with
who listens from the shadows. Having look at that mountain and it’s steep. a few friends, Talon began building a
coached them, Morgan figured they’d It’s huge.” traditional pit house, or istken, a four-
be into it; more importantly, he under- Easygoing and ever-supportive, he was sided log pyramid erected over a large

54 • B C M A G

excavated living space. Though seem-
ingly tangential to a training program
of learning not only big-mountain ski
skills but also how to use unfamiliar ski-
touring, climbing and avalanche gear, it
was actually the perfect kick off.
At a young age, Talon dreamed that
his place in the world was to walk the
path of his ancestors. And so he set
out, methodical beyond the ken of the
average teen, to play a role in restor-
ing the forgotten skills of his people.
Self-taught via books, tips from elders
and a modern tool paramount to vi-
sualizing ancient human arts—You-
Tube—he’d become skilled enough at
hide-tanning, bow-making, knapping
(fashioning spear points, arrowheads
and knives from stone) to give presen-
tations and workshops. “I [once] said
to Talon, ‘You were born a hundred
years too late,” chuckles Ryan. “And af-
ter thinking about it, I was [like], ‘No,
wait a minute, I think you were born at
just the right time to start saving our
culture.’ He’s bringing it back.”
With a deep interest in Indigenous
history, Talon had also volunteered on
archaeological projects jointly overseen
by Lil’wat cultural technicians and uni-
versity professors, and was about to be-
gin his first term studying archaeology
at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University.
Sudden demand to learn and get good
at a whack of new skills appealed to his
crafter/creator soul. “It’s easier for me to
learn one thing to accomplish another
when I’m interested in the final goal,
and I was really interested in skiing Mt.
Currie,” he says. “The whole process was
great. I was never bored. Everything we
learned was useful.”
Riki, as well, drank it all in. “I learned
so much over the whole season,” he re-
calls, shaking his head as if it had all yet
to sink in. “It made me a way more con-
fident skier.”
For Sandy Ward, the istken was also a
point of reciprocation; she would men-
tor the boys in alpine savvy, but hoped to
learn what she could
from them about
Sandy Ward Lil’wat culture and
rappelling
down a steep
traditions—bows and
chute on Mount arrows and pit-houses
Currie, with her being absent from her
splitboard on her not-very-outdoor-ori-
back. ented younger years.
Purchasing a snow-
board at 15 had changed Sandy’s life
with respect to both sport and indigene-
ity; within two years, she was on a First
Nations snowboard team that evolved
into ILSA. In short order she became
both a coach and instructor, continu-
ing to compete in halfpipe until knee
injuries forced her out. As for many
who dwelt in BC’s Sea to Sky region,
one sport begat others, and, for Sandy,
new ways to promote Indigenous in-
volvement. Currently director of ILSA
youth biking and climbing programs,
backcountry co-lead for Indigenous
Women Outdoors, athlete ambassador
for Protect Our Winters Canada, and
working toward mountain-guide cer-
tification on a splitboard, Sandy began
learning about Lil’wat geography only
when she got into backcountry. “Want-
ing to know the traditional names [for]
mountains and the reason we called
them that... really sparked my interest
in learning about our culture,” she told
Pique Newsmagazine.
Of course, there’d be plenty of time
for cultural exchange after the more
BCMAG•55
pressing issue of the descent, something no illusions about what they’d bought
that didn’t seem entirely certain on the into, there was real desire to learn what
group’s first mid-December ski day. Teen was necessary. The next few months
senders to the core, to this point in the were a blur of ski sessions, avalanche
boys’ skiing lives, it had been all about training, ski-touring missions, comput-
having fun. They skied with er investigation and binocular-
abandon, control being a dis- Talon Pascal and-finger-trace route-finding
tant afterthought. “Sandy and makes his way culminating in a February
I kind of turned and looked down the slope shakedown tour to ski Black-
at each other and wondered with the rest of comb’s infamous DOA couloir.
what we’d done,” recalls Seth. the crew in the Gratifyingly, the pair shredded
distance.
Morgan knew better. Seeing the 300-vertical-metre classic.
the very aggression that could After two months, both men-
be harnessed for positive purpose, he tors and mentees felt ready. Doubt,
stepped the boys into Whistler Black- when there was any, focused on con-
comb’s steepest lines. Jump turns. Low ditions—lining up stability, snow and
stance. Hand-placement. Angulation. sun. The hope had been to ski Ts’zil in
An immediate shift took place. With February when there was snow to valley
56 • B C M A G
bottom, but it wasn’t a great year in the
Coast Mountains for alpine objectives;
steeper lines hadn’t filled in enough to
lessen their angle. “There were literally
two days all winter it was in condition,”
notes Seth. “And we missed the first
one, so everyone was on standby.”
Finally, in March, the call came.
On the eve of the descent, the crew
gathered around a fire at the Pascal
residence. The boys professed excite-
ment about the skiing but showed
much more convincing disdain for
the required tour and climb to get
there. The day before, Hiroko Takay-
Pascal had made an offering for safe
passage—food, a smudge and her fa-
vorite basket.
THE EXIT TO Mt. Currie’s Central
Couloir carries skier’s left into a pseudo-
cirque. It then skirts right of a moraine
feature and follows high along a wall
before descending into an alley between
trees islands. Part way down that chute,
it hooks into a long right-hand traverse
through trees and into the bottom of
the widest, least avalanche-prone of
Currie’s three main funnel chutes. But
those complexities were yet to unfold as
the group huddled on the drop-in when
Sandy fell.
Fortunately, she didn’t tumble far,
experience allowing her to self-arrest
in better snow a couple hundred feet
down. But the calf muscle she’d torn a
few weeks prior was toast; at first, San-
dy thought she could side-slip the rest,
but this was no place to be a hero. She’d
eventually get herself to a pick-up zone
on the exit route and be safely heli-lifted
off, a 90-minute delay that prompted
anxiety in some, somnolence in others
(Talon managed to take a nap). “Men-
tally, everybody’s like, ‘Whoa, this is
what it’s like when you mess it up,’” says
Morgan of the effect on a group from
a fall, which can be both negative and
positive.
“When I saw the fall, I immediately
thought I didn’t want to be part of
this,” says Riki. Ultimately, however, it
inspired him to stay calm, “to keep my
brain from exploding, you know?”
It worked. When they got underway
again, Riki was more ready than he let
on. “Here goes nothin’,” he joked to Tal-
on. “See you at the bottom.”
Wisely side-slipping the start and us-
ing every ski skill garnered in the past
months, Riki made a turn, then two,
then five. Finding a rhythm, he was soon
eating up couloir vertical. Talon fol-
lowed even more confidently, feeding
off his brother. Accident and difficulties
behind, they skied the rest of the route
without incident, even finding some
good powder after the traverse. The
bushwhack exit still required concentra-
tion, but there was a celebratory mood.
Talon and Riki’s parents watched the
achievement from a perch across the val-
ley—as had many others. Unbeknownst
to the skiers, their descent became a de
facto community event. People left their
houses to watch. Even Chief Dean Nel-
son followed with binoculars. All saw
the boys’ courage to take on the moun-
tain as part of the Lil’wat’s broader emer-
gence into the light, asserting themselves
in new ways on the land their people
had been part of for millennia.
Ts’zil has pride of place on the BC Ab-
original Tourism Association’s map of
cultural attractions, its face described
as being “etched by the travels of a gi-
ant two-headed serpent,” with rocks
on its northwest ridgeline represent-
ing two Lil’wat hunters transformed to
stone. Now it had been etched by two
ski-loving kids who grew up in its shad-
ow, and the only thing transformed
was the future.
IN SEPTEMBER, Talon and I arrange to
meet at—apropos—the Mount Currie
Coffee Company in Pemberton. He ar-
rives dressed smartly in new jeans and a
button-up shirt, sporting a natty flat cap
over long black hair he keeps in braids
behind his ears. A T-shirted Riki ex-
plodes out of the ether behind him, hav-
ing walked into town from an overnight
campout, unable to get a ride because his
phone had died.
With fall in the air, March was ancient
history in a young life. But I’m inter-
ested to know what lingered from the
experience. It would take some work.
First: many hands and thousands of
hours later, Talon’s pit house was com-
plete and he was off to university to start
The team at the end of a successful ski descent down Mount Currie.
a new chapter of cultural exploration.
Second: Riki had his eye on hunting sea-
son. Then, somehow, thoughts on the
descent pry themselves loose, like the
rockfall on Ts’zil.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” offers
Riki. “I was freaked out by the rappel
and the steepness of the first part, but
after four or five turns I was fine.”
“The first few turns were definitely
the waking-up point for everyone; I
wouldn’t say it was fun but it was still
enjoyable,” says Talon. “And it had an
effect—to realize I was able to do some-
thing like that without fear of being seri-
ously injured. All the training paid off.
I’d do it again…”
“… without the cameras,” laughs Riki.
Then Talon drifts into searching
thought. “It’s not just a mountain you
see every day anymore,” he muses. “It’s
something else… something that’s al-
ways going to be part of me.”
It makes sense. Sharing what she’s
learned about Lil’wat culture in ILSA
and elsewhere, Sandy finds folks grate-
ful to make a deeper connection to the
land and better understand the history,
hoping it instills more respect for the
territory—and the Lil’wat, for whom
the people and the land are one.
“It’s not about reclaiming the land. We
never gave up our land,” she sums at the
end of the film. “It’s about reconnect-
ing and getting back out there. And it’s
there for us when we’re ready for it.”
BCMAG•57
 Wear protective clothing while
harvesting stinging nettles.

58 • B C M A G
 BC’S TOP 5
Forageable
FOODS OF
SPRING
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO FORAGING

BY

LINDA GABRIS

After a long winter of dining on the same old

bland and boring store-bought greenery,
which more often than not has travelled from
far and wide, there’s nothing I enjoy more than
arming up with a basket and getting out into
the warm, fertile woodlands to harvest a feast
of super fresh picks from Mother Nature’s
bountiful garden. Here are five of my favourite
foods to forage in spring.

BCMAG•59
 Fiddleheads
(Matteuccia Struthiopteris)

F
iddleheads are the first delectable plant to ap-
pear in the spring woodlands and they’re a per-
fect pick for beginner foragers to break ground
with because, in recent years, the furled heads
of the ostrich fern, which resemble the intricately carved
head of a fiddle (thus their name), have become a popular
commercial product popping up in the produce depart-
ment of supermarkets across the country while in season.
So, if you are not sure what a fiddlehead looks like, mak- Because fiddleheads take a the fronds (or croziers as the
ing positive identification (which is the number one for- stand so quickly (according morsels are known by some
ager’s rule before dining on any wild plant) is as easy as go- to grandma who claimed wild food connoisseurs) are
ing to the store and having a close-up look at them before they can grow a couple at their prime for picking
heading out on a super fun “fiddle-heading” adventure. inches tall in less than a 24- when they are still tightly
Fiddleheads are extremely fast spring risers. One day hour span), the harvesting curled.
there’s none and the next day a ton! season is relatively short since Once the stock reaches

60 • B C M A G
around eight inches in height,
the fronds quickly unfurl into
graceful feathery ferns, losing
their highly desirable “al
dente” texture making them
no longer suitable for table
fare. However, the good news
is, since the ferns can grow up
to four feet tall throughout
the summer, you can feast
your eyes upon the beautiful
sight of them swaying in the
breeze right through until
later parts of autumn when
they turn golden brown and
return back to the earth from
which they sprung.
The harvesting season in
Southern BC begins in early
to mid April and in the Cen-
tral and Northern Interior
it is usually about a week or
two later, depending of course
on the weather and region.
They grow most profusely in Fiddleheads, the fronds of down at the end of the season and replenish the soil for
sunny open woodlands that ostrich ferns, are a delcious reproducing new growth the following year.
have moist and fertile soil. spring forager’s treat. The fronds are covered with light-golden, papery shucks
My favourite spots for filling (similar to roasted peanut shucks), which must be removed
a basket are around the rims airy, natural wicker basket (no before cooking. I find grandma’s method of “winnowing”
of swamps, marshes and lakes, paint, please) for collecting all is the easiest way to remove the shucks. Spread the fiddle-
along the shores of rivers “green” gatherings in. heads on a sheet. Using your hands, loosen the shucks from
and streams, and in gullies Grandma taught me to the fiddleheads. Now, working with a partner, grab the
where the winter run-offs harvest the fronds by pinch- sheet by the four corners and toss the fiddleheads up and
have pooled to create ideal ing or breaking them off from down in the air, allowing the wind to blow away the light
growing grounds. A basket is healthy crowns which can chaff. Wash the fiddleheads in several changes of cold water
best for gathering fiddleheads sustain harvesting and she and pat dry with paper towels.
as plastic causes sweating, always reminded me to leave a There are many delicious ways to prepare them with only
making it harder to remove few fronds and the beheaded one rule to follow! Health Canada advises fiddleheads
the papery shucks upon stalks standing on each base. must not be eaten raw as they can cause a foodborne illness
cleaning. I recommend an This is to let them die back with unpleasant symptoms such as cramping, upset stom-
ach, vomiting and diarrhea or, as grandma poetically put
it, “a severe case of green apple trots…” This was something
I could easily relate to as a kid since I was always sneaking
unripe apples off the backyard trees!
Steam or boil fiddleheads until tender, discard the cook-
ing water, drizzle with butter, season with salt and pepper
and they are simply delicious. Or let your culinary creative
juices flow and dress them in a creamy cheese or spicy
tomato sauce, add them to stir fries, quiches and soups. No
matter how you serve them, you’ll discover fiddleheads are
a supernatural spring treat.

Best Time to Harvest

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

BCMAG•61
 in almost any recipe with
very little noticeable differ-
Stinging Nettles ence. Nettles leaves can be
steeped, fresh or dried, into
(Urtica Dioica) a brisk herbal tea similar to
real imported green tea from
most potent spring tonics
there is for flushing the build-
up of winter impurities from
the body is a cup of stinging
nettle tea.
If you want to cash in on the

J
China. healthy benefits of this fine
ust as the fiddlehead season is drawing near its Grandma has it noted in her herbal tea, put a small handful
end, hardy stinging nettles will be on the rise. old hand-written doctoring of washed fresh nettle leaves
They are another highly desirable pick for begin- journals, which are full of into a heated teapot, cover
ner foragers to set their sights on for a number Old World cures for every- with boiling water and steep
of reasons. Chief among them is that stinging nettles, too, day ailments and common until the desired strength is
are an easy plant to identify because they really do live up complains, that one of the reached. Strain, sweeten with
to their name. honey, garnish with a lemon
The leaves are covered with tiny hollow hairs containing Stinging nettles can be cut on the wedge and toast to your good
formic acid, histamine and other chemicals that cause a stalks, tied in bundles with string foraging fortune!
“sting” or tingling sensation lasting for several hours when and hung to dry for tea. To dry the tea for winter
rubbed against bare skin. Thus, heed grandma’s old warn- use, cut the nettle stalks
ing when going “nettling” and be sure to tuck your pant when about two to three feet
legs into your socks, wear a long sleeve shirt and take along high, tie them into bundles
a pair of gloves. with string and hang from a
Nettles are a hardy plant, seeding themselves and cup hook in the ceiling of a
spreading almost magically wherever there’s a plot of open sunroom or attic until dry.
ground to take root in. Bountiful patches can be found When crispy, strip the leaves
growing along the edges of waterways, rims of swamps, from the stalks, crush lightly
marshes, meadows and almost anywhere the soil has been and store in a tea tin. Use as
stirred-up by livestock hooves and human activities such as you would regular green tea
pasturelands, logging grounds and backyard gardens. leaves. Sipping on a cup of
Actually, grandma used to say it was silly to cultivate nettle tea on a cold winter day
domestic greens like spinach and Swiss chard in the garden brings back wonderful warm
when nettles come back on their own every year “fussless memories of spring.
and for free…” Of course, if constant weeding of our back-
yard vegetable gardens couldn’t keep up with our demand
for this delicious wild potherb, grandma and I would take Best Time to Harvest
a leisurely walk in the woodlands to fill the bill.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Steamed nettles can be used in place of cooked spinach

62 • B C M A G
 Dandelions
(Taraxacum Officinale)

W
e all know where the grass grows, the dan-
delions flourish. Unlike wild food lovers,
such as myself, who sing all kinds of prais-
es to the lowly flower, most non-foraging
folks, especially those with well-groomed lawns, consider the
plant to be nothing more than a “nuisance weed.”
However, dandelions (or dent de lion derived from
French, referring to their jagged-edged leaves resembling
the sharp teeth of a lion) are deeply rooted in world his-
tory, having been a respected food and admired flower of
the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. They were
also used as a traditional medicine for thousands of years Smooth leaf or jagged leaf, lectable, totally organically-
by the Chinese and North American Indigenous people both are wonderful for tossing. grown dandelions in almost
who, like grandma, cashed in on their curative properties. any grassy field, meadow or
An interesting tidbit that is hard to believe since dande- to believe they were brought even our own backyard from
lions are one of our countryside’s most common flowers, here on purpose to be used as spring throughout summer.
is that they are not native to North America, but, as the a food crop. But please take note, never
story goes, were introduced to the New World by way Either way, once hardy harvest dandelions (or any
of the Mayflower along with the early settlers. Some say dandelions landed on the plant for that matter) from
they, the dandelions, arrived uninvited. Other folks tend shores, they eagerly took grounds which may have
root and spread far and wide. been sprayed with herbicides
Even though landscapers and pesticides.
Best Time to Harvest might frown at their stubborn The really good news is
existence, foragers are happy that dandelions are reputed
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC to know we can harvest de- as being more nutritious
than most garden greens,
and since they are so plenti-
ful, easy-to-find and recog-
nized by everyone, they are
considered a number one
survival food by outdoor
enthusiasts such as myself.
Grandma used to tell
me if I closed my eyes and
made a wish before blowing
off all the seeds of a “Fairy
Clock” (an Old World
name for a mature dande-
lion flower that’s ripened
into a fluffball) with just
one puff my wish would be
granted.
So next time you’re in the
meadowlands filling a basket
with tender dandelion leaves
for the salad bowl and you
come across a bewitchingly
beautiful fuzzy head of a
ripe dandelion flower, don’t
forget to make a wish upon
the wind.

BCMAG•63

foragers, who often rank the
Devil’s Club pick as a number-one spring
treat? Well, it is the super
(Oplopanax Horridus) tender, delectable spring buds
which appear on the tip of the
middle parts of May, right be-
fore the large “maple-shaped”
leaves appear on the stalks,
that we so hungrily seek!
The secret to gathering dev-
il’s club buds is simple. You
must be very quick on the
draw because they appear on
the tips of the canes almost
overnight and within a week
they can unfold into leaves.
So, the harvesting season for
the delicious morsels is very
short. Of course, you can go
back in later parts of summer
to admire the cone-shaped
clusters of tiny red berries,
which beautify the wood-
lands but, take note, these
fruits are not edible.
Devil’s club tips are a
“totally wild” gourmet veg-
etable when lightly steamed
and served with a drizzle of
melted butter and a squirt of
lemon juice, or dressed in a
classic hollandaise or becha-

T
lanky canes around the early to mel sauce.
here is only one reason I can figure why these
bristly plants are often dubbed the “devil’s
Best Time to Harvest
walking stick” and that is because only the devil
himself could stand to lean his weight upon
such a thorny cane! JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

But, joking aside, when going into the early spring

woodlands in search of a patch of devil’s clubs to harvest a
delicious wilderness treat, you should make sure to dress as
you would for stinging nettles, protecting your body from
the prickles.
Devil’s club, also known as Alaska ginseng, has been used
by Indigenous peoples as a medicine (as well as for religious
purposes) throughout history. The plant was also utilized to
make fish hooks and lures and when burnt, the charcoal was
used for body paint.
Devil’s club is native to the rainforests of the Pacific
Northwest, giving one a general idea of the plant’s preferred
habitat, which is moist, fertile forest floors beneath heavy
stands of timber. Often growing along rivers and streams,
and in deep shady gullies and gulches.
So, you ask, what does this nasty-named plant with its ir-
ritating spine have to offer that is so heavily sought after by

64 • B C M A G
 dig them out from under
autumn leaves, frosty rocks
and stones, and even winter
Nodding Onions snow to use in your survival
food pot.
(Allium Cernuum) Nodding onions grow
throughout the province,
except in Haida Gwaii.

T
They are adaptable to vari-
he last plant up on my spring list, but certainly ous terrains, being able to
not the least, is the beautiful nodding onion. flourish on both moist and
I was introduced to this plant years ago after dryer soils. Over the years,
moving to BC from Ontario in 1970, by an I have harvested them from
Indigenous lady who was picking wild onions from along the rocky shorelines along
rocky shores of the lower Fraser River. rivers and lakes, on sandy
Having learned to forage in the eastern woodlands, I was hillsides and on open, A beautiful bunch of
familiar with wild leeks, a close cousin of nodding onions needle-carpeted grounds wild nodding onion flowers.
but quite different in appearance, so I was pleased to discover beneath evergreen trees.
an exciting new plant to take the place of wild leeks on my Why, you wonder, are they them very sparingly, in a
foraging menu. called “nodding onions”! thinning out fashion. My rule
Nodding onions, like wild leeks, have a mouthwatering Well, it is because when of thumb is the same as the
onion-like flavour and aroma which makes them an easy the plant blooms in early one grandma and I abided by
target for beginner foragers to identify simply by taking an to middle parts of summer, in the hardwoods back home
appetizing whiff of the pungent bulb. They resemble a green depending on weather and when harvesting wild leeks
garden onion but have flat, grass-like stems instead of hollow region, each mature bulb in (and most other green plants
ones and yield smaller, slightly elongated bulbs which have a the soil bears a single flower- as well) and that is to uproot
stronger flavour, making them a wonderful kitchen herb. ing stem which is adorned only one plant out of every
The amazing thing about nodding onions is the fact they with up to 30 beautiful, five you see, leaving the rest
are a perennial plant, which basically means you can gather very delicate light pink, to live out the season, return
them year-round. Even though they are at their prime for bell-shaped flowers with to the earth, replenish the
harvesting for everyday table fare during spring and summer protruding yellow stamens soil and reproduce again the
when they are most tender, in a survival situation you can which hang from the stem following spring.
in a nodding fashion. As So go, gather and give
though napping in the sun. thanks for all the wonder-
Best Time to Harvest When nodding onions are ful bounty Mother Nature
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC up on your foraging menu, provides in our beautiful BC
please do as I do and pick woodlands.

Wild
Harvest
BC
Linda Gabris has been venturing into the outdoors to

Wild
Wild Harvest BC

harvest wild edibles for over 60 years. The lessons taught

Harvest
to her by her grandparents, of responsibility, sustainabili-
ty and a connection to the land are as important today as
they were then. This book shares those lessons as well as
tips and practical advice in a personal, easy-to-read style.
Combined with a scientific field guide, Wild Harvest BC

BC
is the perfect companion book to take with you on your
outdoor adventures. Over 70 recipes ranging from Wild
Cream of Asparagus Soup to Hazel’s Hazelnut Brittle
will help you turn your foraging finds into delicious,
hearty meals. So get out there and enjoy the bounty of
Mother Nature.
A FORAGER’S GUIDE TO EDIBLE
PLANTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
CLUDES
BY LINDA GABRIS IN

71
$24.95
ISBN: 978-1-7778764-2-5
BY LINDA GABRIS

RE
CIPES
www.opmediagroup.ca

Interested in
foraging in BC?
Get your copy of Wild
Harvest BC by Linda Gabris
from our online bookstore:
thebookshack.ca

BCMAG•65
 Hummingbirds at Risk

STORY & PHOTOS BY

ISABELLE GROC

T H E F LY I N G J E W E L S O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A
ARE ON THE DECLINE, BUT THERE ARE
THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP

66 • B C M A G
 A male rufous
hummingbird visits
a nectar flower.

BCMAG•67
 S
Shortly before COVID, Thomas Schus-
ter and Christine Norcross attached a
nectar feeder on the window of their
ground-floor condo apartment in Van-
couver as an experiment to see if they
could attract hummingbirds to their
backyard. As they worked from home
during the pandemic, the couple started
watching the tiny birds that visited the
feeder on a daily basis.
To their great surprise, they realized
that a female Anna’s hummingbird had
started to build a nest in their garden in
the late winter, well camouflaged in the
thick yew hedge that separated their pa-
As the only species of hummingbird in
North America that resides year-round
in the Pacific Northwest region, Anna’s
hummingbirds have adapted to live
alongside people in urban areas, taking
advantage of unusual nesting spots like
plant hooks, outdoor lights, electrical
wires and patio decorations. They help
build city dwellers’ connection to nature.
“The disadvantage of living in the city
is that you never feel that you are around
nature,” Norcross said. “So to have this
hummingbird at our fingertips right out-
side in our tiny yard, this was huge for
us. You can’t ask for more when you are
a condo dweller in the city. This is what
everybody hopes for.”
Anna’s hummingbirds are one of five
species of hummingbirds that can be
seen in British Columbia: the rufous,
calliope and black-chinned species occur
primarily on the west side of the Rockies,
while the ruby-throated hummingbird
occurs to the east. Anna’s hummingbirds
are a new arrival in BC. Since the 1930s,
they have expanded north and east from
a range that was previously restricted to

“
tio from the busy street. “We were super
excited,” Norcross said. “We felt lucky
that she was so close for us to have a
chance to watch from the window.”
The couple, both geologists and nature
lovers, followed every single parenting Anna’s hummingbirds
step, from nest building to egg incuba-
tion and feeding up to the moment the have often been called
two hummingbird nestlings left the
nest. “They became part of our life and flying jewels, displaying the fact that more people are providing
our routine. We were very careful not to an impressive nectar feeders and planting exotic flow-
disturb them, but they also were curious ers that bloom in different seasons in
about us.” Schuster said. assortment of urban and suburban gardens. The warm-

ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRDS HAVE of-

ten been called flying jewels, displaying
an impressive assortment of colours. The
adult males have a bright reddish-pink
crown and throat while the females have
green backs and iridescent specks of pink
and red on their throats.
Norcross and Schuster are amongst
many people who are captivated by An-
na’s hummingbirds. In 2017, the bird was
named the City of Vancouver’s official
bird following a vote by city residents.
colours
coastal California. They now can be seen
as far north as southern Alaska. They
first arrived in BC in the 1940s and over
the past two decades, populations have
increased dramatically. Many birds now
overwinter and breed in those northern
latitudes rather than flying south.
This rapid range expansion, particu-
larly into colder regions such as the Pa-
cific Northwest, is believed to be due to
ing climate is also a factor. Anna’s hum-
mingbirds may possess physiological and
behavioural adaptations that allow them
to withstand the extreme cold weather in
Canada and may benefit from the “heat
island” effect in urban centres. “They are
tolerating cold temperatures. They are
also using the warmth of buildings and
finding spiders and other insects around
buildings to supplement them when it’s
cold in the winter,” said Christine Bishop,
emeritus research scientist with Environ-
ment and Climate Change Canada who

68 • B C M A G

studies hummingbirds.
Even though they have learned to live
in close proximity to humans, the unique
and specialized features of Anna’s hum-
mingbirds—and other hummingbird
species—remain largely unknown to
most people and have intrigued scien-
tists for decades. Hummingbirds are
amongst the smallest birds in the world,
but no other feathered creature can
match their aerial acrobatics. They can
fly forward, backwards, sideways and
even upside down.
“There are no other vertebrates that
can sustain hovering like hummingbirds
do,” says Doug Altshuler, a zoologist at
the University of British Columbia who
has been studying hummingbirds for
nearly 30 years, using high-speed cam-
eras to track their flight patterns. “They
are such an interesting animal to gain
insight into brain function, mechanical
function and muscle function because
they combine many of the best features
of both invertebrate and vertebrate ani-
mals.” With his research on humming-
birds, Altshuler is hoping to learn more
about how the brain works, with a po-
tential greater understanding of human
motor neuron diseases.
ALTHOUGH HUMMINGBIRDS pos-
sess these unique abilities, their future
is uncertain. Except for Anna’s hum-
Two rufous hummingbirds feed on
nectar. On average, hummingbirds
visit between 1,000 and 2,000
flowers every day.
mingbirds, other species are undergo-
ing significant population declines. A
study published in 2021 that examined
the population trends for eight North
American hummingbird species from
the Breeding Bird Survey revealed that
Allen’s, rufous and broad-tailed hum-
mingbirds have all declined since 1970,
and the rate of decline increased from
2009 to 2019. Ruby-throated humming-
birds—found in Eastern North Amer-
ica—have also declined by 17 percent
between 2004 and 2019, after several de-
cades of population increase. Two other
species—black-chinned and calliope
hummingbirds—also showed declines
between 1997 and 2021.
BCMAG•69
 “Things have gotten worse in the last
10 years. Where populations were stable,
they are looking less stable and where
populations were decreasing, they are
decreasing more quickly,” noted Simon
English, a graduate researcher at UBC
and lead author of the study. “While
Anna’s hummingbirds have taken advan-
tage of feeders in urban areas, other spe-
cies prefer a more natural, forested habi-
tats,” added Bishop, who co-authored
the study. “If you are a city bird, things
are going better for you than if you are a
forested habitat bird.”
Amongst the declines, the rufous hum-
mingbirds have experienced the most
dramatic changes, with a population de-
crease of 65 percent from 1970 to 2019.
Researchers are particularly concerned
by the steady decline in the survival rate
of juvenile birds.
70 • B C M A G
WITH ITS EASILY identifiable orange
throat, the arrival of the rufous hum-
mingbird in British Columbia is a sign of
spring. Weighing about three grams, they
make one of the longest migratory jour-
neys of any bird in the world measured as
distance travelled relative to body length.
Every year, they travel 5,000 kilometres
(one-way) between their wintering sites
in Mexico to breeding locations in West-
ern North America, as far north as coast-
al southeastern Alaska. Canada hosts
about 57 percent of the global breeding
population of rufous hummingbirds, al-
most entirely within the province of Brit-
ish Columbia.
As a long-distance migratory species,
rufous hummingbirds use diverse habi-
tats over large geographical areas. Bishop
and other researchers have been putting
bands on hummingbirds’ legs for years so
Rufous hummingbirds travel
nearly 5,000 kilometres from
breeding grounds in Alaska and
northwest Canada to wintering sites
in Mexico. They travel north up the
Pacific Coast in spring and return by
the Rocky Mountains in late
summer and fall.
Pre-breeding migration route
Breeding grounds
Post breeding migration route
Wintering grounds
they can monitor the population. Bishop
found that up to 25 percent of rufous
hummingbirds come back to the same
location. “They are a bird that is really
depending on the reliability of migration
stopovers,” she said.
But the landscapes through which the
hummingbirds travel have experienced
dramatic changes over the past century,
including warmer, drier conditions, in-
creased wildfires, the loss of wetlands,
ebird.org

conversion of land to agriculture, urban
development, invasive species and the
use of pesticides in agriculture and for-
estry. Young birds on their first migra-
tion may face even greater risk. “Hum-
mingbirds depend on nectar and they
depend on insects and both of those
things are running in short supply with
more impacts on habitat quantity and
quality,” Bishop said.
Researchers also note that rufous hum-
mingbird survival declined strongly in
areas with higher human population
density, the very reason that also facili-
tated the range expansion of anna’s hum-
mingbirds. “This represents instability in
the ecosystem,” English commented.
Climate change may additionally cause
a mismatch between the migration tim-
ing of rufous hummingbirds and the
bloom of nectar-producing flowers the
birds rely on for feeding in the spring.
A female Anna's
hummingbird feeds
her nestlings.
With extreme heat, nectar sources can
also dry up. In addition to consuming in-
sects and spiders which provide protein,
fat and salts, hummingbirds drink large
quantities of nectar—two to four times
their body weight a day—which contains
sugar and is a good source of energy. On
average, hummingbirds visit between
1,000 and 2,000 flowers every day.
Invasive species can add to the chal-
lenges the birds are already facing. For
BCMAG•71
example, rufous hummingbirds time
their arrival on the BC coast with the
blooming of salmonberry in the spring.
However, salmonberry is losing ground
to the invasive Himalayan blackberry,
which blooms in June, too late for the
birds on their migratory journey.
Of the range of threats faced by the
rufous hummingbirds, Bishop was par-
ticularly concerned about their potential
exposure to pesticides. Like bees, hum-
mingbirds are important pollinators, and
as such could be impacted by neonicoti-
noids (neonics) as they fly from one flow-
er bloom to another searching for nectar.
The harmful impacts of neonics—the
most widely used class of insecticides in
the global market—on bees have already
been studied but had never been mea-
sured in hummingbirds.

IN 2015, BISHOP and her team began

collecting urine and feces samples from
rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds to
determine exposure to neonics in the
agricultural region of the Fraser Valley,
where pesticides are used for the rapidly
expanding blueberry production. They
also tested for pesticides in humming-
birds that lived in suburban and rural Christine Norcross brings the orphaned hummingbird nestlings she rescued
in her backyard garden to the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC.

IF YOU FIND AN
INJURED OR ORPHANED
HUMMINGBIRD
A mother hummingbird rarely abandons
a nest, but in some cases the chicks are
left to fend for themselves if something
happens to mom. She may have been hit
by a car or caught by a cat. If you sus-
pect a nest has been abandoned, you
must watch continuously from a distance
for at least an hour, sometimes more, to
be sure mom is not returning. Don’t look
away as she is quick! Feedings can be
surprisingly infrequent in some stages of
the chicks’ development. Contact your
local wildlife rehabilitation centre for
instructions. Never try to nurse or raise a
hummingbird or any other bird on your
own. They are delicate creatures and
can be easily injured if handled.
areas and in high altitude sites further
away from agricultural activity. Neonics
spread rapidly through the environment
in runoff due to high water solubility and
their persistence in plants and soil. The
impacts on wildlife are multifaceted, as
the pesticides escape from agricultural
fields into aquatic systems and impact
non-crop nectar plants. Additionally, the
pesticides kill or contaminate the insects
that the hummingbirds rely on as a food
source. “Prior to our work, there was not
even a consideration that there would be
a risk for pesticide exposure in humming-
birds,” Bishop said.
BISHOP FOUND HIGH levels of pesti-
cide exposure in both Anna’s and rufous
hummingbirds that lived near sprayed
blueberry fields, but also detected the
harmful chemicals in birds that lived away
from agricultural areas. “There are a lot of
opportunities for birds to be exposed if
they are feeding on nectar and insects,”
Bishop said. For example, hummingbirds
can be exposed to contaminated nectar
flowers originating from nurseries and
planted in suburban gardens.
As Health Canada adopted restric-
tions on the use of neonicotinoid pes-
ticides in the spring 2021, researchers
further measured whether the regula-
tion made a difference for the hum-
mingbirds. They found that new re-
placement pesticide concentrations had
increased in hummingbird urine by a
factor of more than seven before the old
neonicotinoid pesticides they were re-
placinghad even dissipated or degraded
in the surrounding environment.
In the only experimental study that
measured impacts of pesticides on hum-
mingbirds, researchers found that a
short-term exposure significantly re-
duced the energy levels of captive ruby-
throated hummingbirds. “This is going
to interfere with the behaviours of hum-
mingbirds who require a certain amount

72 • B C M A G
of energy for survival through cold
nights, reproduction, migration or any
of the high energy tasks they must en-
dure during their life cycle,” said English,
study co-author. “Current intensive agri-
cultural practices present a slew of threats
to hummingbirds and other species, and
also to humans because we rely on these
ecosystems as well,” he concluded.
ALISON MORAN, DIRECTOR of the
Hummingbird Project at Rocky Point
Bird Observatory in Victoria, has been
monitoring and banding hummingbirds
for over 25 years. She hopes that the
emotional connection that many people
have now developed with the Anna’s
hummingbirds that live close to them
can help support more conservation ac-
tion for all hummingbird species, for
example by ensuring that the ponds and
wetland areas the birds rely on for insects
are increased and protected. “It is vital
to protect every aquatic source, the wet-
lands around the landscape but also little
ponds in backyards.” Moran said.
Since they have been observing Anna’s
hummingbirds in their own backyard in
Vancouver, Schuster and Norcross have
developed a new appreciation for birds.
“Anna’s hummingbirds have expanded
our knowledge of birds, bird life, and
bird habitat,” Schuster said.
While Anna’s hummingbirds can serve
as charismatic ambassadors for bird con-
servation, their urban lifestyle comes
with many risks: they can be caught by
house cats, crash into windows or be hit
by cars. They can also die from drinking
out of dirty nectar feeders. There might
be other threats that researchers do not
fully understand yet.
Schuster and Norcross personally expe-
rienced the vulnerability of Anna’s hum-
mingbirds in the city when a female built
another nest in their backyard. The eggs
successfully hatched, but one evening,
the hummingbird mother never came
back to feed the nestlings. After carefully
monitoring the situation, the couple had
to step in and brought the nestlings to
the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC.
In the last 10 years, the organization
saw a massive increase in the number of
hummingbirds admitted for care, from
16 birds in 2010 to a record number of
322 in 2021. “Hitting windows is the
number one reason why hummingbirds
are brought to us, followed by cat at-
tacks,” said co-executive director Linda
Bakker. Hummingbirds can also catch
a fungal disease from nectar feeders hat
have not been properly cleaned. “Most of
the injuries that we see are related to the
human presence,” Bakker said. “We also
see a lot of Anna’s hummingbirds when
it is really cold in the winter and they are
struggling.”
The association indicates that the sur-
LIVING WITH HUMMINGBIRDS
• A hummingbird that visits your garden
or balcony is a special treat. You can
take a few simple actions to create a
welcoming and safe landscape for your
tiny guests that will meet their needs for
food, water and shelter.
• Plant a variety of native, nectar-rich
flowers on your patio, back garden, or
even apartment balcony. Install a moving
water feature or a pond. Add high perch-
es for the birds to rest and shrubs that
serve as cover for nesting and protec-
tion from the weather. Native trees and
shrubs require minimal maintenance once
established and serve as food plants for
the insects hummingbirds like to eat.
• Do not use pesticides and keep cats
indoors. It is safer for cats and hum-
mingbirds. Prevent deadly glass collisions
by making windows visible to birds.
A female Anna's
hummingbird
drinks from a
feeder filled with
sugar water.
vival rate of hummingbirds in their care
is about 50 percent. About a month
after Norcross and Schuster brought in
their one-week-old orphaned nestlings,
one of them was successfully rehabili-
tated and released.
“They are amazingly resilient and yet
when you look at them, they are incred-
ibly fragile too,” Norcross said of the res-
cue. “Human beings have done a lot of
damage to the natural world and it’s nice
on the good side and coexist together.”
• Hang a feeder (high enough, safe
from cats) filled with sugar water. A
solution of four-parts water to one-part
white table sugar is easy to prepare and
similar to the natural nectar of flowers.
Boil the mix and let it cool. Avoid other
types of sugar or honey. Never add dyes
and do not use commercial feeder mixes
which contain chemicals that are harmful
to the birds. Feeders must be cleaned in
hot water and refilled every two to three
days. If hummers drink a contaminated
solution, they can become ill.
• On a larger scale, help preserve local
ecosystems and wildlife by supporting
community parks, open space preserva-
tion, and wetland restoration projects.
Support sustainable agricultural practices
that consider biodiversity.
BCMAG•73
 PERSON & PLACE SPRING

BRUCE MCLELLAN
A wildlife research ecologist who has spent more than 40 years
studying the grizzly bears of southeast British Columbia
BY MARIANNE SCOTT

74

74 • B C M A G
 I
In early November 1978, Bruce McLellan got his first
shot at collaring a grizzly bear in southeast British Co-
lumbia’s Flathead Valley, a wilderness area stretching
into northern Montana. It’s been called “the grizzliest
place in the interior of North America.”
Accompanied by a Montana colleague, Joe Perry,
the two mid-20s guys were checking one of the snares
they’d installed. Bruce carried a shotgun, Joe a hunting
rifle. Their job was to sedate ensnared grizzlies, attach a
radio collar and release them back into their habitat to
be tracked and studied.
When they approached the snare, the landscape had
changed markedly. Boulders and dirt were strewn
around and puffs of steam rose in the frosty air. A large,
male grizzly’s foot had been ensnared and he was angry.
When he spotted the two guys, he lunged at them with
explosive force from the deep pit he’d dug trying to

Destination BC/Yuri Choufour BCMAG•75

PERSON & PLACE
escape his entrapment. Only the snare
cable prevented him from reaching Joe
and Bruce, who sprinted back to the rel-
ative safety of the Dodge Power Wagon’s
steel cab. Unlike the less aggressive black
bears they’d collared before, the grizzly
inspired deadly fear. Ensconced in the
cab, they pondered how much drug it
would take to sedate him.
They loaded the dart gun with a half
dose and launched it at the grizzly. It had
no effect—the bear kept coming. It took
several more doses, with the men scurry-
ing back to the truck after each dart, un-
til the 600-pound bear was sedated. At-
taching the radio collar was a tough job
as his neck measured 36 inches, twice
the size of a hefty man’s shirt collar. They
named him “Rushes,” to commemorate
the way he’d rushed at them. Bruce fol-
lowed his travels, feeding patterns and
hibernation locations until 1981, when
someone shot him and cut off his head,
claws and hide.
THIS FIRST EXPERIENCE with a
grizzly changed Bruce’s life and career.
He’d worked in wildlife ecology before
tracking deer, elk and black bears, but
studying grizzlies became the passion
he followed for decades. Recently, he
told the tale of this first grizzly collaring
and the next decades of bear research
in Grizzly Bear Science and the Art of a
Wilderness Life—Forty Years of Research
in the Flathead Valley (Rocky Mountain
Books, 2023). In the book, he inter-
sperses chapters on his family life and
studies of Ursus arctos horribilis. Celine,
Bruce’s French-Canadian wife, and he
kept a “cabin diary” and science data
sheets on which parts of the book have
been based.
In the prologue Bruce explains that,
as part of his graduate studies and as a
researcher, he’s published 40-some aca-
demic articles about the 200-plus griz-
zlies he’s trapped, tracked and studied,
but that it’s likely only a few other sci-
entists have read the work. “Therefore,”
he writes, “I thought it was worth my
time to summarize what we have learned
[about grizzlies] in a format that more
people will read…”
Between 1978 and 2020, Bruce and
76 • B C M A G
Celine lived in a 135 square-foot game-
warden cabin on the banks of the Flat-
head River. They raised a daughter,
Michelle, and a son, Charlie, in the
same cabin (with a later addition) and
introduced the kids to wildlife ecology
from birth. The river supplied drinking
water and an outhouse complemented
the living quarters. Electrical wires never
reached their remote home; only later
did solar collectors and batteries pro-
vide current for lights, the computer and
charging the tracking receiver. A pro-
pane-powered stove, fridge and freezer
kept the family fed. Fernie was the clos-
est town and Celine ventured out in an
old Volkswagen bus (later a truck) down
the rutted trails to provision the family,
while Bruce monitored the grizzlies he
collared. Bruce hunted sometimes to
add to the family diet. Mosquitos were
abundant, but as Bruce wrote, “How
many evenings did we, as a family spend
watching grizzly bears in the moun-
tains? Yep, there were a few mosquitos,
but it was better than watching TV.”
During some winters, when bears
hibernate for at least five months, the
family lived in UBC’s family housing.
While the kids supplemented their
home schooling by attending public
school, Bruce earned master’s and Ph.D.
degrees in wildlife ecology. Celine
worked with special-needs kids. “She’s
a ‘baby whisperer’ with exceptional tal-
ents dealing with children,” said Bruce.
Celine dislikes city life and was—and
continues to be—happy spending many
months each year in what others likely
consider primitive living conditions.
BRUCE’S EARLY YEARS prepared him
for a wilderness life. His engineer dad
built suspension bridges and ski lifts at
such places as Lake Louise and Grouse
Mountain. The family lived in North
Vancouver. “Dad encouraged me to
learn practical things,” said Bruce. “And
my grandparents had a farm in D’Arcy
where I spent much time. It was a place
where self-reliance was key and you fixed
your own tractor. What I learned there
enabled us to survive in isolated condi-
tions. We adapted and could repair most
anything. We liked our off-grid lives.
And some things in the Flathead Val-
ley were simple. When you don’t have
plumbing, there’s nothing to repair.”
Finding funding for grizzly research
wasn’t easy. Early in their Flathead Val-
ley sojourn, Bruce cobbled together
grants from industry, foundations,
non-profits and government. “It was hit
and miss,” he said. “Some government
funding was short-term, could be cut
at fiscal years’ end, or switched to other
projects.” Sometimes other studies, like
documenting where deer, elk, moose,
caribou and mountain goats spent their
winter, tied them over. Graduate schol-
arships also helped. Fortunately, the tiny
cabin was rent-free. “Our bills were min-
imal,” said Bruce. “We never went into
debt, Celine is super frugal and we buy
our clothes at thrift stores.”
In 1990, the BC ministry of Forests
and Ecology employed Bruce full time
to study grizzlies and family finances be-
came more predictable. “We much pre-
ferred focusing on grizzlies,” said Bruce.
“I think there’s a different relationship
people have with large carnivores, a spe-
cial feeling they don’t have with snakes or
spiders. I remember sitting in the truck
with Celine watching deer. ‘They’re so
boring,’ she said. ‘Bears are much more
interesting.’ Naturally, I agree.”
BCMAG•77
PERSON & PLACE

Of course, wilderness living has its

adversities. Bruce recounts an 80-kilo-
metre trip from Cranbrook returning
to the Flathead cabin in early April. He
drove the snowmobile with Celine, a
toddler and a baby, while also dragging
a skimmer filled with jerry cans and a
month-supply of groceries. The slushy
snow made it tough to keep the snow-
mobile and skimmer on track. Then, a
debris-filled avalanche blockaded the
road and the nearby creek. After a dif-
ficult creek crossing via a snow bridge
and later repeating that manoeuver past
the avalanche, the skimmer tipped twice
tossing the family and gear into the
snowbank. No one was amused. Leav-
ing the skimmer behind and reaching
the cabin, they quickly found heat and
cheer in their familiar abode.

STUDYING GRIZZLIES IS complicat-

ed. Except for the couple of years when a
mother bear is raising her cubs, grizzlies
are solitary creatures, their habits differ
from group animals and they can roam
across vast areas. Many live in dense for-
ests. Moreover, grizzlies look alike and
are sometimes difficult to identify as
individuals—especially when viewing
them from a safe distance. As a result,
they’re hard to locate and track in per-
son. Although they may be seen in num-
bers at rivers where salmon are spawn-
ing, those sightings show only one
short-term aspect of their behaviour.
The introduction of radio collars made
grizzly research more comprehensive.
Instead of tracking solely on foot, Bruce
could deploy a tracking receiver with an-
tenna, listen to the pings, identify bears
(each had a name) and better estimate
the range of their travels and rest peri-
ods. Combined with on-foot (or on-ski)
tracking, later spotting from aircraft and
improved GPS collars, he established
multiple bears’ histories, knew their
personalities and hibernation locations.
They often found dens in mountain
caves near the Flathead Valley; some
bears use the same den year after year, re-
vealing their excellent memory for that
exact crack in the rock.
Documenting the range of male griz-
zlies, who cover more territory than fe-
males, presented a particular challenge.
Their heads and necks are roughly the
same size (more than 30 inches) and
their collars frequently dislodged. So
later, with Parks Canada funding, Bruce
flew in piloted helicopters and darted
grizzlies in non-forested areas. After
analyzing the data he collected, he wrote
that “the smallest range was 69 square-
miles… and the largest 500 square-miles”
with multiple bears’ ranges overlapping.
He followed specific female bears, when
they bore cubs and some over their lifes-
pan of about 32 years. He also includes
the family trees of his major bears in an
appendix.
BRUCE UNDERTOOK MANY other re-
search projects over his decades of living
close to grizzlies: their overall habitat;
how roads, mining and logging impact
bear habitat and movement; and why
grizzlies are relatively scarce.
What and how much bears eat in the
Flathead—what Bruce calls the “bot-
tom-up factor” or “grizzly grub”—and
when and where these omnivores find
food was another subject he explored.
“What we now know is that food is the
driver of most grizzly bear populations,”
he wrote. “Areas with an abundance of
high-energy foods such as salmon, ber-
ries or whitebark pine seeds not only
attain higher densities of bears, but can
withstand higher mortality rates.”
Watching bears eat provides only lim-
ited information about their feeding
habits, although Bruce reported watch-
ing bears fattening up on hefty quanti-
ties of buffalo berries and huckleberries
in good berry years. A more productive
method is following in their footsteps to
see where they’ve dug roots, grazed on
various plants or eaten parts of animals
that hunters leave behind.
ANOTHER METHOD OF uncovering
their diet was to examine bear scat fol-
lowing the old adage that “what goes in
must come out.” Bruce collected hun-
dreds of scat samples and sent them to
the Washington State University’s bear
lab for analysis. There, researcher Dave
Hewitt compared the samples with cap-
tive bear scat. When not all plants bears
ate in the wild were found near the lab’s
caged bears, Bruce supplied such plants
so the research was accurate. Another

78 • B C M A G
 N
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PERSON & PLACE
Celine, Charlie, Michelle
and Bruce McLellan in front
of the log cabin they inhab-
ited for decades
scientist, Bill Callaghan, “the master of
bear poop,” stored jars with seed samples
of any food bears might eat, and the hair
of small mammals like voles and ground
squirrels they swallowed whole, thereby
providing a list of foods ingested.
The fourth method is “based on differ-
ent ratios of stable isotope in animal tis-
sue.” The weight of isotopes varies and,
Bruce wrote, “isotopes ratios cannot tell
much about what species of leafy greens,
roots or berries a bear has eaten. How-
ever, these ratios can give us an idea of
what proportion of their diet came from
plants and what proportion from meat.”
He added that isotope analysis can be
done inexpensively in a lab using various
tissues, including animal hair.
IN HIS LATE 60S, Bruce and Celine
decided that some of the hard work of
bear tracking, darting and collaring,
along with the demands of wilderness
80 • B C M A G
“
Studying Grizzlies is
complicated. They are
solitary creatures,
and they roam
across vast areas
living, should be left to a younger gener-
ation. Today, during the winter’s coldest
months, the couple camp near Loreto,
on the east side of Mexico’s Baja Cali-
fornia. I spoke with Bruce by phone; his
truck’s battery was keeping it charged.
As is their wont, he and Celine live in
an isolated wild area down dirt roads, a
half-hour from town. “It’s warm and we
do everything outside, cook, eat and so
on,” he said. “We only sleep in our tiny
trailer.” He stopped our conversation
when the sun made it too hot for him to
stay in the truck. Although there are no
bears to study at the shore, Bruce is still
the researcher—he free dives and docu-
ments the health of reefs and fish in the
Gulf of California.
The rest of the year, the couple lives on
the farm Bruce’s grandparents owned in
D’Arcy, about 150 kilometres northeast
of Vancouver with a 2016 population of
43. “I bought out my siblings,” he told
me. “And, with family help, we built a
new log house. Our children, who both
have earned graduate degrees in wild-
life ecology, can bring grandchildren
for their turn to appreciate rural life.”
The couple manages a small vineyard
and orchard on the acreage. “We make
great, organic, no-sulfate cider,” Bruce
said, “and bad red wine.” Wild animals
are still part of their lives, however, and
he’s installed electric fences to keep out
the black and grizzly bears who like to
eat the apples and grapes.
“I still like bears,” he said. “I’m not just
talking about them. “I’m walking the
walk. I live it.”
 TA L E S O F B C

WA N T M O R E B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A M A G A Z I N E ?
SUBSCRIBE TODAY send the magnificent beauty back into
the water.
Dogfish are a popular marine deli-
cacy, the key ingredient of famed Brit-
ish fish and chips, but we are not here
to find dinner. With our proximity to
the city, the water our dinghy bobs up
and down on doesn’t exactly have the
best reputation for being a pristine wa-
terway. A hundred years of unbridled
industrialism dumped enough of God-
knows-what into this body of water to
keep anything caught here well away
from my dinner plate.
As spiny dogfish number one splashes
off to freedom, we give it our custom-
ary farewell:
“See you later, buddy.”
My son and I laugh and shout and
high-five each other. What a rush of
excitement! Our celebrations are cut
short when my son’s rod bends nearly
in half. Something has crushed his bait.
“Fish on! Fish on!” He yells.
It’s now my turn to man the net.
The C L I M AT E Issue spiny dogfish sharks get their name
because, like dogs, they hunt in packs.
SUMMER/2022

DESTINATION BEAR ATTACK BC IN BLOOM SEA TO SKY GEOLOGY BC’S BEST POWDER HIGHWAY
To our incredible good fortune, my
son and I have stumbled upon a pack.
COQUITLAM IN CASTLE PASS FLOWER FARMS & CLIMATE CHANGE A LANDSCAPE IN MOTION DINERS, DRIVE-INS & CAR HOPS SKI-FREE FUN
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REVEALED
Implications of the
on! Fish on!” is heard 18 times. We are
HEAT DOME forced to retire only after all our bait
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Bringing
is gone and our rigging smashed to
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A KOOTENAY WINTER WONDERLAND

As we nose our little boat toward

IS ECOTOURISM HELPING
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BC’S BEARS? Plus citement. This little expedition in our
NOOTKA DESTINATION CATS
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 TA L E S O F B C SPRING

Hey, Spiney,
look! Young pup
has finally caught
his first human.

A DOGFISH BONANZA
BY DENNIS WILKINSON

I
I feel the nibble, but years of failure
and disappointment make me dismiss
it. It’s probably a snag or a sea cucum-
ber. Perhaps it’s a tiny crab trying to
steal the bait. Surely, it can’t be a fish,
can it? There it is again! This time, the
tug is more substantial. The tip of the
snap it backwards, setting the hook in
the fish’s mouth. The fight is on! I can
tell right away that this is nothing like
the puny fish my son and I have grown
accustomed to catching over the years.
Adrenaline surges as the creature on
the other end of the line yanks, tugs
and pulls.
“Fish on! Fish on!”
I yell to my son. He instinctively grabs
the net and begins scanning the water
for the first glimpse of what we are up
against. Only 15 feet from the boat, it
breaks through the surface with a con-
siderable splash.
“Shark!”
our waters near Vancouver. It is tiny as
far as sharks go, weighing between two
and 20 pounds, but for my son and I,
as inexperienced and unsuccessful as
we have been, it may as well have been
a great white.
The real surprise is where we are
when we hook into this thrashing ball
of muscle and cartilage. We are only
minutes from home and in as urban an
environment as you can get.
The wrestling match between man
and nature goes on for several minutes.
At last, we have the exhausted predator
beside our boat. Our net is smaller than
it needs to be, but it will have to do. We
Mike Mockford

rod bends toward the water. Some- We both yell at the same time. clumsily scoop the big catch out of the
thing down there is taking the bait. It’s Our quarry is the Pacific Northwest’s water, trying to avoid the teeth and the
impossible to tamp down my excite- spiny dogfish shark, a beautifully spot- two venomous spines on its back. I take
ment now. I grip the rod firmly and ted and spirited creature abundant in the hook out, snap some pictures and

Continued on Page 81
82 • B C M A G

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