J.E. (TED) UNDERHILL - CHANGING OF THE GUARD

J.E. (Ted) Underhill died at the beginning of November in Victoria at age 77. Ted worked in British Columbia Parks as the first park's naturalist from 1958 to 1982. He researched and built many of the fine displays presented to park visitors in nature houses throughout the park system. Many of those displays live on in concept form and are still on display today. His seemingly unlimited enthusiasm, innovation, and energy inspired many others to provide British Columbia Parks with fresh ideas for interpretation programs, signs, and brochures. In his sparetime, Ted wrote many popular books on natural history, wildflower and mushroom identification, and wine making. These were illustrated with his own photos, drawings and paintings.

Many of the interpretation pamphlets B.C. Parks produces for public use today were originally written and illustrated by Ted.

GRADE 3 PROJECT: MOSS ON TREES - CORRECTION [BEN # 147]

I am amazed to see that I am part of your Newsletter. The principal of my school and my teacher thought it was very cool too! My Mummy said to tell you that the URL is not quite correct as you missed out our school's name. Here is the correct one:
http://www.interlog.com/~rosedale/moss.htm

BRITISH COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT WORRIED ABOUT OUR FORESTS IN 1937

(The following segment is selected from statements made by the Chief Forester to the Forestry Committee, XIXth Session of the British Columbia Legislature, November 3, 1937)

Present conditions are a definite menace to the future of:

• Our recreational interests
  
• Our forest industries

1. The TOURIST TRADE is important, and to maintain it satisfactorily, forest cover must be maintained to meet the requirements of the HUNTER, the FISHERMAN and the man who delights merely to CAMP and regain his health in God's great outdoors.

"When the land along the banks of the stream is denuded of timber, the moisture is not held in the ground and in the streams throughout the year, which condition causes many of the valuable fisheries' streams to dry up in the hot summer months." (Major Motherwell, Chief Supervisor of Fisheries)

"It is a well-known fact that where an area has been logged off and no suitable cover is provided for the game, there is very little possibility of obtaining or seeing game in such logged-off areas until the second growth appears." (Mr. R.F. Butler, Game Commission)

2. FOREST INDUSTRIES: Today the South Coast region of B.C. supplies 55% of the total lumber production in Canada; last year the lumber was worth 36 million dollars.

With only 3% of the area of British Columbia tillable; with her small population; with her greatest manufacturing industry dependent upon forest products, - will she realize before it is too late that there is only one course open to her? She has no other choice than to manage her forests.

Our Economic Council finds that out of every dollar now circulated in the Province by our primary industries, including all our manufacturing, 37 cents is derived from forest resources.

Note:

1. Our great Douglas fir lumber industry will be definitely on the down grade within fifteen years at the present rate of cutting.
2. There are 1.5 million acres of logged-over land in the Coast District, at least half of which are leaving to our children in a barren or only semi-productive condition.
3. Probably 60% of the areas being logged under present conditions will remain barren or unsatisfactorily stocked for a long time. If we permit this piling up of barren areas, the province is going to suffer serious economic and social damage.
4. We are now losing a million dollars a year in labour on logs exported, over which we have no control.

Forest policy:

In 1910 the Royal Commission of Forestry found that "there must be exercised a firm control over methods under which the present crop is removed."

To date, little control has been exercised over logging on the coast. The application of this finding to present day logging operations means that British Columbia must make up her mind where private privileges end and obligations commence.

The question at issue is simply this: where the public interest is so greatly involved, has the logger the right to remove his timber in such a manner as to destroy the chances of the new crop on the land for decades to come?

Mr. H.R. MacMillan, first Chief Forester of this Province, now one of the Province's leading lumbermen, said in public this year:

"We have not yet taken steps to ensue the permanency of our forest industries ..."
"The adoption of forest policies adequate to maintain employment is as important as the setting up of social services ..."
"We should have a forest policy and put it quickly before the public, clearly, forcibly, constantly."

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