DR. ROBERT TOWNLEY OGILVIE (1930-1998)

Bob Ogilvie died on Sunday, November 29, 1998, after a short relapse of leukemia.

Bob Ogilvie was born on June 27, 1930 in Briercrest, Saskatchewan. He received B.A. degree in 1953 and M.A. degree in 1955 from the University of British Columbia for his studies of soil properties of ponderosa pine plant communities, directed by Prof. Vladimir Krajina. In 1960 he received his Ph.D. degree from Washington University in Pullman for his work on "Ecology of spruce forests on the east slope of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta" directed by Prof. Rexford Daubenmire.

Bob worked for the Forest Research Branch (Alberta District) of the Canada Department of Forestry in Calgary from 1958-63. Bob's main interests were in site classification and ecology of the forests (particularly spruce and pine) of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta from Jasper National Park south to the International Border. During his tenure he collected hundreds of plant specimens and these are deposited in the herbarium of the Northern Forestry Centre (CAFB) in Edmonton. Bob produced the first checklist of the vascular plants in the Forest Research Herbarium (CAFB) in 1963. His work with the forest service resulted in a number of publications and file reports.

His interest in mountain forests and alpine vegetation carried on at the University of Calgary where he became Associate Professor in 1963. He supervised several graduate students and participated in a multidisciplinary study of grizzly bear habitats directed by Dr. Stephen Herrero.

Bob's parents had a summer cottage near Bowser on Vancouver Island and Bob and his family spent many summer holidays on Vancouver Island. Bob welcomed the opportunity to move to Vancouver Island, and in September 1977 he accepted a position of Botany Curator in the British Columbia Provincial Museum in Victoria. He was Head of the Botany Division until its dissolution in 1986. When the British Columbia Provincial Museum became the Royal British Columbia Museum, Bob Ogilvie remained in the Natural History Division as botany curator till his retirement in July 1995. After his retirement Bob Ogilvie became a frequent visitor of the University of Victoria herbarium, where he worked on his old collections and wrote botanical papers.

His main botanical interests were alpine flora and vegetation, seashore vegetation, and flora and phytogeography of British Columbia. In the British Columbia Provincial Museum he was an important force behind the publication of Museum Handbooks and Occasional Papers, and he was an associate editor of the Museum journal Syesis until the journal's untimely death in 1985. The Native Plant Garden around the Museum was Bob's great love. The Garden, established in 1968, was in its prime when Bob came to the Museum. He soon organized daily Native Plant Garden tours where visitors learned about British Columbia plants. The tours were led by a marvelous group of volunteers that Bob and the staff of the Botany Division gathered together. Later, when the Museum support of the Native Plant Garden dwindled to a low ebb, he participated in watering the garden over one or two summers, and organized a Native Plant Garden support group. This group has gradually evolved into the active and vibrant Native Plant Study Group of the Victoria Horticultural Society. The Native Plant Study Group gained tremendously from Bob's help and his efforts towards popularization of botany. It was at the October 1998 meeting of this Group where I last met Bob.

Bob was active in numerous conservation organizations, local (Friends of Beacon Hill Park), regional (Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society), provincial (The Land Conservancy and the now abolished British Columbia Ecological Reserves Committee) and national (The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society). He was a long-time member of the Canadian Botanical Association where he served in the Conservation Committee. Bob's opinion was always respected as highly professional, one that reflected his rich field experience and solid botanical knowledge. With Bob's passing, we have lost the voice of a strong advocate for the protection of natural areas in British Columbia and Canada.

Bob spoke French and had a good knowledge of German. He had a tremendous overview of world literature in botany, ecology and all other sciences (such as geology and climatology) that are required for understanding vegetation ecology. I know from my discussions with him that the holistic approach to landscapes and vegetation was one thing he admired most about Professor Krajina, Bob's teacher at the University of British Columbia. Bob had a deep interest in history, art, culture and politics, liked classical music, and was an avid reader. His favourite author was Thomas Mann.

Bob was unable to cope with modern trends of government and scientific institutions where professionals are being replaced by administrators who have little or no knowledge of the field they manage. He was incapacitated when he had to deal with unprofessional decisions, and was horrified when he had to fill in and sign forms. He despised intrigues and hated empty phrases. He was a proud Scot and except for broom, he liked everything Scotch (whisky - single malt and in moderation, oatcakes, haggis, porridge, Robert Burns, etc.) and he bought me my first spurtle. As a good Scot he was stubborn and refused to deviate from his principles. He built a strong shell around his private life and not too many people were aware of his personal problems. Even to his closest friends, he presented his losing fight with leukemia as a "bad flu."

Bob was a great supporter of BEN and he contributed to BEN with quite a few articles and notes. When we worked together, he was a blind editor of BEN and read most BEN issues before I posted them. He helped me with editing the content, and corrected most of what I wrote.

I am personally indebted to Bob for hiring me to the B.C. Provincial Museum in 1981, the institution where we both remained, for better or worse, till 1995. We made numerous collecting trips together, got stranded on a bare granitic mountain for several days, and were forgotten on a small island close to the Alaska border. Our collaboration resulted in a single, rather insignificant floristic paper, but on our joint trips we collected something between 15,000 and 20,000 specimens of vascular plants. These specimens are still being processed in the Herbarium of the Royal British Columbia Museum.

With Bob Ogilvie we all will miss a good friend, colleague, teacher and scientist. He will be fondly remembered by all of us whom he touched with his kindness, humour, help and knowledge.

If you live in the Victoria area, you are invited to attend a visitation at Hayward's Thomson and Irving Funeral Home (1625 Quadra at Balmoral) on Wednesday, Dec. 9 between 10 a.m. and 12 noon.

Donations in Bob's memory may be made to the Habitat Acquisition Trust (250-995-2428) or the Vancouver Island Cancer Centre (250-370-8939).

Adolf Ceska

DR. R.T. OGILVIE - BOTANICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ogilvie, R.T. 1953.

Soil acidity (pH) in Pinus ponderosa forest communities in British Columbia. B.A. & Sc. Thesis. Dept. Biol. and Bot., University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 28 p. [ms.]

Ogilvie, R.T. 1955.

Soil texture of Pinus ponderosa plant communities in British Columbia. M.A. Thesis. Dept. Biol. and Bot., University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 47 p. [ms.]

Ogilvie, R.T. 1961.

Ecology of spruce forests on the east slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Ph.D. Thesis, Washington State University, Pullman. x+189 p. [ms.]

Ogilvie, R.T. 1961.

Spruce habitat types in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta. Can. Dept. For., For. Res. Branch, Calgary, AB.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1962.

Ecology of spruce forests on the east slope of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. Dissertation Abstracts 23(2):410.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1962.

Notes on plant distribution in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Can. J. Bot. 40:1091-1094.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1963.

Check list of vascular plants in the Forest Research Branch herbarium, Calgary. 28 p.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1963.

Ecology of the forests in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Can. Dept. For., For. Res. Branch, Calgary, AB. Report 63-A-12. 57 p.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1963.

Some additions to the Flora of Alberta. Can. Dept. For., For. Res. Branch, Calgary, AB. 5p.

Bird, C.D., and Ogilvie, R.T. 1964.

New bryophytes for Alberta. Bryologist 67: 360-363.

Ogilvie, R.T. [1965?]

Ecology of vegetation in Banff National Park. Dept. of Biol., Univ. of Calgary. 21 p.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1966.

Subalpine forest ecology - Forest habitat types of Banff National Park. Canad. Inst. For., 58th Annual Meeting, Oct. 3-6, 1966. Banff, AB. 15 p.

Beder, K. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1967.

Additions to the lichen flora of Alberta. Bryologist 70: 363-364.

Ogilvie, R.T. & B. Baptie. 1967.

A permafrost profile in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Canad. J. Earth Sci. 4: 744-745.

Ogilvie, R.T. and E. von Rudloff. 1968.

Chemosystematic studies in the genus Picea (Pinaceae). IV. The introgression of white and Engelmann spruce as found along the Bow River. Can. J. Bot. 46: 901-908.

Kirby, C.L. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1969.

The forests of Marmot Creek Watershed Research Basin. 37 p.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1969.

The mountain forest and alpine zones in Alberta. Pp. 25-44 in: Nelson, J.G. & M.J. Chambers [eds.] Vegetation, soils and wildlife. Methuen, Toronto.

Kirby, C.L. and R.T. Ogilvie. 1969.

The forests of Marmot Creek watershed and research basin. Dept. of Fisheries and Forestry. Can. For. Serv. Publ. No. 1259.

Hills, L.V. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1970.

Picea banksii n.sp. Beaufort Formation (Tertiary), northwestern Banks Island, Arctic Canada. Canad. J. Bot. 48: 457-464.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1971.

Ecology and taxonomy of alpine, subalpine and foothills vegetation of Alberta. CBA/ABC + AIBS Annual Meeting 1971. Itinerary & Field trip June 18-20, 1971. 13 p.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1972.

Speciation in the North American spruces and its relation to white spruce. Pp. 1-7 in: McMinn, R.G. [ed.] White spruce - The ecology of a northern resource. Can For. Serv. Information Rep. NOX-X-40

Ogilvie, R.T. 1976.

The alpine and subalpine in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Pp. 33-48 in: Proceedings of the Workshop on Alpine and Sub-Alpine environments / convened by Luttmerding, H.A. & J.A. Sheilds [sic.] Resource Analysis Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Victoria, B.C.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1976.

Vegetation mapping methodology: Mapping of alpine and subalpine vegetation in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. Pp. 97-103 in: Proceedings of the Workshop on Alpine and Sub-Alpine environments / convened by Luttmerding, H.A. & J.A. Sheilds [sic.] Resource Analysis Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Victoria, B.C.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1979.

The native plant display gardens. Friends of the Provincial Museum Newsletter 7.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1979.

Botanical Beach trip - shore vegetation. The Victoria Naturalist 36: 32.

van Barneveld, J.W. et al. [incl. R.T. Ogilvie] 1980.

An illustrated key to common grass genera of the Festucoideae (Fescue subfamily) of British Columbia. Province of British Columbia, Terrestrial Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 18 p. [reprinted in 1987]

van Barneveld, J.W. et al. [incl. R.T. Ogilvie] 1980.

An illustrated key to gymnosperms of British Columbia. Province of British Columbia, Terrestrial Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 32 p. [reprinted in 1987]

Rafiq, M., G.F. Harcombe, R.T. Ogilvie. 1982.

An illustrated key to dicotyledon families of British Columbia. (Illustrated by G.F. Harcombe) Province of British Columbia, Terrestrial Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 127 p.

Rafiq, M., G.F. Harcombe, R.T. Ogilvie. 1982.

An illustrated key to monocotyledon families of British Columbia. (Illustrated by G.F. Harcombe) Province of British Columbia, Terrestrial Studies Branch, Victoria, B.C. 25 p.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1983.

Interior gummweed on Little Saanich Mountain. The Victoria Naturalist 39: 52. [Correction: Some specimens from this locality have been identified as Grindellia hirsutula var. hirsutula by Dr. Meredith A. Lane. - AC]

Roemer, H.L. & R.T. Ogilvie. 1983.

Additions to the flora of the Queen Charlotte Islands on limestone. Canad. J. Bot. 61: 2577-2580.

Turner, N.J., J. Thomas, B.F. Carlson, & R.T. Ogilvie. 1983.

Ethnobotany of the Nitinaht Indians of Vancouver Island. British Columbia Provincial Museum Occasional Paper No. 24. 165 p.

Ogilvie, R.T., & A. Ceska. 1984.

Alpine plants of phytogeographic interest on northwestern Vancouver Island. Can. J. Bot. 62: 2356-2362.

Ogilvie, R.T. & A. Ceska. 1984.

Alpine plant collecting in the Flathead Mountains. Discovery (Victoria, B.C.) 12(1).

Ogilvie, R.T., R.J. Hebda & H.L. Roemer. 1984.

The phytogeography of Oxalis oregana in British Columbia. Canad. J. Bot. 62: 1561-1563.

Ogilvie, R.T. & H.L. Roemer. 1984.

The rare plants of the Queen Charlotte Islands. B.C. Naturalist 22(2): 17-18.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1985.

Botanical collections in museums. Pp. 13-22 in: Miller, E.H. [ed.] Museum collections: their roles and future in biological research. B.C. Prov. Mus. Occ. Paper No. 25.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1986.

Book review: "The rare vascular plants of British Columbia," by G.B. Straley, R.L. Taylor & G.W. Douglas. Discovery (Victoria, B.C.) 15(3): 2-3.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1987.

Native Plant Gardens at the B.C. Provincial Museum. Garden Notes (Victoria Horticultural Society) October 1987: 42-43.

Ogilvie, R.T. & K. Cowen. 1987.

Wildflowers in the Museum gardens. Discovery (Victoria, B.C.) 15(3): 1-2.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1988.

The rare vascular plants of Island View Beach Park. The Victoria Naturalist 44(4): 7.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1989.

Distribution and ecology of whitebark pine in western Canada. Pp. 54-60 in: Proceedings - Symposium on whitebark pine ecosystems: Ecology and management of a high-mountain resource.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1989.

Disjunct vascular plants of northwestern Vancouver Island in relation to Queen Charlotte Islands' endemism and Pacific Coast refugia. Pp. 127-130 in: Scudder, G.G.E. & N. Gessler [eds.] The outer shores. Queen Charlotte Islands Museum Press, Skidegate, B.C.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1994.

Rare and endemic vascular plants of Gwaii Haanas (South Moresby) Park, Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Canadian Forest Service & B.C. Ministry of Forests, Victoria, B.C. vi+25 p.

Majak W., W.J. Keller, Z. Duan, D. Munro, R.A. Smith, A.M. Davis, & R.T. Ogilvie. 1994.

Alkaloid distribution in two species of Lupinus in Central British Columbia. Phytochemistry 36: 883-885.

Majak, W., & R.T. Ogilvie. 1994.

A review of known and suspected stock-poisoning plants of the Yukon Territory. Pp. 29-35 in: Smith, S. [ed.] Proc. 1st circumpolar agric. conf., Whitehorse, YT. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research, Ottawa.

Ogilvie, R.T. 1998.

Vascular Plants. In Smith, I.M. & G.G.E. Scudder [eds.] Assessment of species diversity in the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. Burlington: Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, 1998. Web site - URL: http://www.cciw.ca/test/98_montane/

List of articles & notes posted by R.T. Ogilvie on BEN:

• Vaccinium in British Columbia - BEN # 9 (Sept. 5, 1991)
• Bog cranberry - BEN # 9 (Sept. 5, 1991)
• Currants, gooseberries, and other oxymorons - BEN # 17 (Oct. 31, 1991)
• Satin flower: a name change - BEN # 19 (Dec. 21, 1991)
• Jan Looman 1919-1991 - BEN # 22 (Jan. 12, 1992)
• Harold St. John 1892-1991 - BEN # 25 (Feb. 2, 1992)
• Wheatgrass, grama-grass, and the Rocky Mountain barrier [BEN #36] - BEN # 47 (Dec. 20, 1992)
• What turns on marsh-gas? - BEN # 60 (July 26, 1993)
• Book review: Intermountain Flora Volume 5 - Asterales - BEN # 78 (Sept. 2, 1994)
• Botanist mayor of Montreal - BEN # 85 (Dec. 15, 1994)
• The sorrows of old Goethe - BEN # 98 (Apr. 7, 1995)
• A century of BEN - BEN # 100 (Apr. 29, 1995)

Acknowledgement. I would like to thank Dr. J. Derek Johnson for providing me with a list of Bob Ogilvie's publications from Alberta.