BEN # 127

[Adolf Ceska]

BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             ISSN 1188-603X
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BBBBB    EEEEE    NN N N             BOTANICAL
BB   B   EE       NN  NN             ELECTRONIC
BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             NEWS

No. 127                              February 17, 1996

aceska at freenet.victoria.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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VICTORIA - BOTANY NIGHT - FEBRUARY 20

Tuesday,  February  20,  1996  -  Botany Night: Andy MacKinnon +
   Marvin Eng: "Old Forests of Coastal British Columbia." - Swan
   Lake Nature House, 7:30 p.m.


NATIVE VEGETATION SYMPOSIUM - UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA - MARCH 9

Saturday, March 9, 1996 - Native Vegetation Symposium University
   of Victoria, Elliot Lecture Wing, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You  are cordially invited to the third annual Native Vegetation
Symposium being held on March 9,  1996,  at  the  University  of
Victoria,  Victoria,  British  Columbia.  The  Native Vegetation
Committee of VIPIRG (Vancouver Island Public  Interest  Research
Group), which is putting on the event, is dedicated to identify-
ing  issues relating to native vegetation. Our main aims include
education and conservation. Funds raised from the symposium will
be used for continued upkeep of the  UVic  Native  Plant  Garden
along with other committee activities.

The  aim  of the symposium is to expand people's knowledge about
native vegetation issues (see below). Other events include tours
of the Native Plant Garden, lunch time theater and art, book and
plant sales, displays  by  local  organizations,  and  a  raffle
offering great prizes.

Admission  is  $8  for  students,  seniors  and unwaged, $10 for
others. Tickets can be obtained in advance by contacting  Brenda
Costanzo  at the UVic Herbarium (604) 721-7097. As well, we have
group rates for ten or more people ($5 each). The  symposium  is
being  held in the lecture wing of the Elliott building and will
run from 9am to 5pm. Please bring your own mug for refreshments.
We hope to see you there!

Speakers will  include:  Hans  Roemer  (Rare  Plants  of  B.C.),
Neville   Winchester   (Canopy   Research),  Willie  McGillivray
(Wildlife Habitat Creation), Greg Allen  (Garry  Oak  Pollen  of
Heal  Lake),  Nancy  Turner  (Ethnobotany),  Allison  McCutcheon
(Medicinal Native Plants), Penny Kerrigan et al. (First Nations'
Perspective),  Jeff  Ward  &  Joel  Ussery  (CRD  Green   Spaces
Strategy),  Adolf Ceska (Rare Aquatic Plants), B.C. Native Plant
Council Meeting, Brenda Constanzo (Native Plants in Garden), and
Paul Allison (Holistic Approach to Native Plants).

If you need further info you can contact  Jenny  (604-744-1710),
Brenda (721-7097), or Hana (727-3539),  or you can also  use the
following e-mail address:  pcallison at thegarden.org


NEW SPECIAL FEATURE PROTECTED AREAS ON VANCOUVER ISLAND
From: Kerry Joy <KJOY at galaxy.gov.bc.ca> and
      Hans Roemer <HROEMER at galaxy.gov.bc.ca>

The establishment of 35 new small protected areas  on  Vancouver
Island brings the protected area, parks and ecological reserves,
total  to  13%  of  the  Island's total area. This objective was
established in the June 1994 "Vancouver Island  Land  Use  Plan"
which was designed to protect the Island's natural environments.
The  1994 plan established 23 large and representative protected
areas ranging in size from the 600 ha Davie River  area  of  old
growth  forest to the 10,600 ha Nahwitti-Shushartie at Vancouver
Island's northerly tip which protected a portion of the Nahwitti
Lowland.

The new areas range in size from the 2 ha Hudson  Rocks,  a  na-
tionally  significant  pelagic cormorant breeding colony, to the
3,000 ha Quadra Island Main Lakes chain noted  for  its  scenic,
recreational,  and fisheries values. These areas total 11,857 ha
and represent special feature provincial  parks  and  ecological
reserve  candidates.  Some  private lands are included in the 35
areas which will require purchase or land exchange negotiations.
The selection of these  areas  resulted  from  wide  public  and
institutional input including First Nations concerns, naturalist
groups,  individuals  and  key provincial and federal government
staff. This process resulted in some  300  suggestions  totaling
35,000  ha  and  78  highly  valued areas. The 11,770 ha ceiling
caused further study with a final selection of the 35 Crown  and
private land areas.

What  is  in  it  from the botanist's perspective? Just like the
1994 set of large, representative areas,  all  these  new  areas
contain  some  undisturbed  ecological and botanical features of
interest, most of them still to be discovered and  described  by
botanists.  So  only  some  highlights can be mentioned for some
areas where we do know them:

Comox Lake Bluffs - Botrychium simplex, Polystichum imbricans
Klanawa River - BC's only extensive stands of Oxalis oregana
Ladysmith Bog - Utricularia gibba
San Juan Estuary - Only locality of Mimulus dentatus in Canada
Woodley Range - Lotus pinnatus, Aster curtus, Isoetes nuttallii
Somass River Estuary (...if negotiations are successful)
         - Sidalcea hendersonii, host of rare mudflat plants
Somenos Garry Oaks (also under negotiations) - Viola praemorsa
Niagara Creek (under negotiations) - old growth Douglas-fir

Botanists familiar with some of these sites may wonder why  they
have received park status and why those with important botanical
features have not become ecological reserves. The answer is that
the  present action is intended to secure the land base and that
ecological reserve status is still considered as a future option
for several of the sites.

Even botanists  can't  have  everything:  Some  precious  spring
ephemerals  at  Koksilah  River, Canada's only Euonymus occiden-
talis at Tsolum River,  and  the  unique  diversity  of  wetland
plants at Moran Lake go without protection, to name only a few.


CAVE FOSSILS OF PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND, ALASKA ARCHIPELAGO
From: "Timothy H. Heaton" <theaton at sunflowr.usd.edu>
         originally on SITKA <sitka at sunflowr.usd.edu>

I just received a 1983 article by Knut Fladmark via ILL where he
states:

   North  of  the  Queen Charlotte Islands, the Alexander Ar-
   chipelago  of  Alaska  represents  a  troublesome  gap  in
   Quaternary  environmental  data. ... it is likely that the
   outer headlands and  slopes  of  Chichagof,  Baranof,  and
   Prince  of  Wales  Island  remained  unglaciated, although
   possibly separated by ice lobes reaching the Pacific ...

I'm happy to announce, Knut, that the gap you spoke  of  is  now
being  filled  and  that  your  claim of coastal refugia appears
vindicated!

My work in SE Alaska began when an old  friend  of  mine  (Kevin
Allred  of  Haines  AK),  while exploring caves in the extensive
karstlands of Prince of Wales Island, began  discovering  exten-
sive  fossil  deposits--primarily  ancient  bear dens. Two caves
have been fully excavated so far: El Capitan Cave (near a bay in
a glacial valley) and Bumper Cave (subalpine). Both  caves  con-
tain  remains  of postglacial brown bears (which were previously
thought  never  to   have   reached   the   southern   Alexander
Archipelago),  and  two  other species recovered are caribou and
red fox (which no longer inhabit the archipelago or the adjacent
mainland). Radiocarbon ages range from 12,300 to 7,000  YBP  and
show  that  the glaciers melted earlier than previously thought.
El Capitan Cave and other coastal caves also contain black bear,
otter, and fish (otter scat) remains.

The most exciting cave to date  is  On  Your  Knees  Cave  where
remains  of  a  17,500  YBP seal, a 35,000 YBP brown bear, and a
42,000 YBP black bear have been found. This cave (on the extreme
northern tip of POWI) seems to have remained ice-free throughout
the glacial peak, and it shows that  brown  bears  have  a  long
history  in the archipelago. At the same time that we discovered
these fossils, Gerald Shields and his student Sandra  Talbot  in
Fairbanks  were  doing  a  DNA study and finding that the living
brown bears  of  the  northern  archipelago  (ABC  Islands)  are
genetically  distinct  from  all  other populations and are more
closely related to polar  bears  than  to  their  mainland  con-
specifics!  Gerald  can  post the details. The combined evidence
suggests that brown bears have had a long-term coastal  refugium
in SE Alaska and are not postglacial immigrants.

On  Your Knees Cave will be a primary focus next summer. We will
also be excavating a cave where Joe Cook found  a  marmot  tooth
that  is  beyond  radiocarbon  age and and another cave where we
found a bone spear point associated with  two  8,600  YBP  black
bears. I want to acknowledge my two primary excavation partners,
Fred  Grady  and  Dave  Love, two very supportive Forest Service
scientists who live on POWI, Jim Baichtal and Terry Fifield, and
the current leader of the Tongass Caves  Project,  Steve  Lewis,
all of whom are here on the list.

The  need for interdisciplinary research has become increasingly
apparent.  Lab  researchers  in   radiocarbon   dating,   stable
isotopes,  ichthyology,  and  palynology  have  provided crucial
information. Archaeologists such as Jim Dixon  who  are  looking
for glacial-age human remains in the archipelago are very inter-
ested  in  our  findings,  and the need for cooperation there is
obvious. More troubling is  our  lack  of  knowledge  concerning
patterns  of  glaciation  and sea level changes--the very things
that would help us find potential refugia  and  ancient  coastal
caves. As I mentioned earlier, the Canadians working in B.C. are
way ahead of those of us doing research in SE Alaska, so a forum
for  discussion will be most beneficial. I'm delighted to see so
many top-notch Canadian Quaternary scientists  on  the  list  as
well  as landmark researchers of the north Pacific Coast such as
Cal  Heusser.  The  interest  among   coastal   researchers   in
Washington and Oregon is also encouraging.


SITKA DISCUSSION LIST
From: listproc at sunbird.usd.edu

SITKA  is  the  short  name  for the Northwest Coast Researchers
List. This list is devoted to  interdisciplinary  discussion  of
glacial  and postglacial events along the northern Pacific coast
of North America. Researchers doing work in this area as well as
interested persons are welcome to participate.

To subscribe to this list, send the command
  SUBSCRIBE SITKA First_name Last_name in the body of an  e-mail
message  to  <LISTPROC at SUNBIRD.USD.EDU>. To post messages to the
list, send them to <SITKA at SUNBIRD.USD.EDU>.

Topics of interest (non-inclusive):
-Extent and timing of the last glacial maximum
-Timing and pattern of deglaciation along the Pacific coast
-Sea level changes after glacial melt and isostatic rebound
-Unglaciated coastal refugia during glacial maxima
-Post-glacial colonization by marine and terrestrial species
-Possible refugium/corridors for early humans

Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Feel free to  contact
the  list owner, Timothy H. Heaton <theaton at sunbird.usd.edu>, at
any time.


ECOLOGY, ETHNOBOTANY, VARIATION OF ERYTHRONIUM GRANDIFLORUM

Dawn Loewen is a University of Victoria student who started  her
M.Sc.  work  on  Glacier Lily, Erythronium grandiflorum. Please,
send her a message, if  you  know  interesting  stands  of  this
plant, or anything else that could help her in her work.
Her address is Dawn Loewen <DCL at UVIC.CA>


ANNOUNCING ARCHAEOBOTANY LIST
From: Sarah Mason <sarah.mason at UCL.AC.UK>

The  aim of this list is to facilitate communication through the
exchange  of  information  on  meetings,  conferences,  bibliog-
raphies,  publications,  reference collections and botanical and
ethnographic data relevant to  the  analysis  of  archaeological
plant  macro-remains.This  group could also exchange ideas about
various  aspects  of   archaeobotany   such   as   problems   of
methodology,identification, presentation and interpretation.

To subscribe send the following command:
     subscribe archaeobotany First_name Last_name
to:
     listproc at eng-h.gov.uk


TRIMBLE ENSIGN GPS ON SALE
From: Adolf Ceska <aceska at freenet.victoria.bc.ca>

Cansel  Ltd.  Burnaby,  B.C. offers the Trimble Ensign GPS units
for incredibly low price: $ 595.00 (Canadian  $$$, +  GST + PST,
where applicable). The units are brand new and the offer is good
while  the supply lasts. The company has a toll number: 800-661-
8342 (ask for Randy) or it can be reached  by  FAX  at  604-299-
1998.  I  have  been  using the Trimble Ensign GPS locator since
1994 and I have been very satisfied with its performance.  Using 
this locator you will know your location within 30 to 100 m even
if you are lost! :-)

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