BEN # 72

[Adolf Ceska]

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No. 72                               March 16, 1994

Address: aceska at cue.bc.ca            Victoria, B.C.
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 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
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COMING EVENTS - VICTORIA

March  17,  1994 [Thursday] - Dr. Harriet Cuhlein will present a
      lecture on "Traditional foods of indigenous  people's  and
      endangered  heritage." Newcombe Auditorium, 8:00 p.m. FREE
March  20,  1994  [Sunday]  -  SVIMS  (South  Vancouver   Island
      Mycological Society) field trip with Bruce Norris. Meet at
      11:00 a.m. in the Mill Bay mall - Royal Bank.
March  22,  1994  [Tuesday] - Royal British Columbia Museum. Dr.
      Adolf Ceska will make a  video  presentation  "Palaverer's
      diary  or  How to make money with your video camera." Noon
      hour, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., Classroom. No charge.
March 27, 1994 [Sunday] - Royal British Columbia Museum, Weekend
      Showcase: "Native Plant Festival."  10  a.m.  to  4  p.m.,
      Friends' Gallery. Admission fee.


CORE: ANSWERS TO THE FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS
From: Times-Colonist, March 8, 1994, page A5

On  February  9,  The  Commission  on  Resources and Environment
(CORE) recommended a Vancouver  Island  Land  Use  Plan  to  the
British  Columbia  government,  following  a year of negotiation
among all key sectors of interest on  the  Island.  The  Commis-
sioner  of  CORE,  Stephen  Owen, answered some frequently-asked
questions:

Does the plan protect too much or too little of the Island?

"Some people claim that, by recommending protected status for 13
per cent of Island, the plan exceeds the 12 per cent  target  of
the  government Protected Areas Strategy (PAS). Others feel that
the 7.8 per cent of low and middle elevation forested ecosystems
protected by the plan is far too low."

"At the present time 10.3 per cent of the Island is included  in
Protected  Areas  (parks,  ecological  reserves and recreational
areas) with some types of ecosystems being well represented  and
others  poorly  represented.  Under the plan, 13 per cent of the
Island would be protected."

Does the plan meet the goals of the Protected Area Strategy?

"On Vancouver Island, representation of some types of land, such
as alpine and bog ecosystems, already exceeds the  12  per  cent
target.  However, only about 6 per cent of middle and low eleva-
tion forests are currently protected."

"The plan increases the representation of low  to  mid-elevation
ecosystems  from  6  per cent to 7.8 per cent. This figure falls
short of the 12 per cent target."

What impact will the plan have on jobs ?

"During the last 10 years,  the  forest  industry  on  Vancouver
Island  has  lost thousands of jobs, mainly as a result of tech-
nology that requires fewer workers  for  timber  harvesting  and
processing operations. ... The timber on the island is being cut
significantly  in  excess  of  sustainable  levels. By promoting
diversification ... the plan offers an opportunity ... to create
more permanent jobs and to protect against short-term job loss."

LIBERAL PARTY LEADER'S COMMENTS ON CORE
From: Times-Colonist March 15, 1994

Liberal Opposition Leader Gordon Campbell  said  the  government
shouldn't proceed at all with the CORE report.
"CORE  has  been  a process that has polarized people to the ex-
treme, people's families feel threatened ... and there has  been
no coming together of the common interests of people."

[A  huge demonstration of loggers from all over Vancouver Island
will take place in Victoria on March 21.]


SUMMER JOBS--PACIFIC NORTHWEST FOREST ECOLOGY
From: ECOLOG-L

Field crew and crew leader positions  are  available  to  assist
with ecological studies of the effects of alternative methods of
forest  harvest  in  the  Gifford  Pinchot  and  Umpqua National
Forests of Washington and  Oregon.  Tasks  will  include  estab-
lishing permanent plots, sampling understory vegetation, measur-
ing   trees,   assessing   site   characteristics,   quantifying
amounts/types of coarse woody debris,  and  additional  measure-
ments to characterize vegetation composition and structure.

Familiarity  with  the  flora  of western Oregon and Washington;
previous experience in  sampling  vegetation  or  coursework  in
botany   and   ecology;   ability   to   identify   plants   and
collect/catalog  specimens;  attention  to  detail  and  legible
handwriting;  ability  and  willingness to work long hours under
harsh field conditions.

Salary: $1400/month or more, depending experience and qualifica-
tions.
Duration: 13 June through early- to mid-September 1994
Closing date: 31 March 1994
To apply: Send handwritten  letter;  resume;  copies  of  either
college transcripts or professional work products; and names and
phone numbers of two references to:
Charlie Halpern, Division of Ecosystem Science and Conservation,
College  of  Forest  Resources, AR-10, University of Washington,
Seattle, WA 98195; phone: 206-543-2789 .
email: chalpern at u.washington.edu


TIMBERCREST DEVELOPMENT IN DUNCAN APPROVED [re: BEN # 36]
From: Cowichan Valley Naturalist's Soc. Newsletter, March 1994

February 16th, 1994 Council unanimously approved the rezoning of
the Timbercrest property. This means  two  portions  will  begin
immediate  construction  and  will have Single Family Dwellings.
Two other portions have a  maximum  build  out  density  of  113
units. This density includes Townhouses.

The  area  remaining  has a no-build covenant for 2 years and is
6.9 hectars in size. The Environmental  Assessment  states  that
9.4  hectares  is  necessary for preservation of the Garry Oaks.
The scientific evidence  and  the  results  of  the  study  have
clearly  been  ignored  by this council. Council has no plans to
manage the Parks area nor the no-build area.

[From BEN # 36 : An interesting Garry oak site in  Duncan  (Van-
couver  Island) is threatened by a near-by subdivision. Although
the stand bears signs of heavy grazing (dominant ground cover is
orchard grass - Dactylis glomerata),  it  has  some  interesting
native  plants,  such  as  a  large  population of upland yellow
violet (Viola praemorsa). On the transition between  the  forest
edge  and  wetlands  we found a large population of tall woolly-
heads (Psilocarphus elatior - the 3rd extant population in  B.C.
I  know)  and  a  smaller  population  of needle-leaf navarretia
(Navarretia intertexta -  less  than  10  populations  known  in
B.C.).]


TOTAL SYNTHESIS OF TAXOL
From: Nature Vol. 367, 17 February 1994

The total synthesis of taxol has been accomplished by the scien-
tists  from  the  Department  of Chemistry, The Scripps Research
Institute, and from the Department of Chemistry,  University  of
California in San Diego.