BC-Nature-Spring-2014-web-final

Ancient Snow Forests of the North Central Interior
By Mike Nash
Terry Taylor told us in the Winter 2013 issue of BCnature
that the higher-elevation subalpine forests of the coastal
regions of BC are sometimes called snow forests. Yet there
is another type of snow forest in British Columbia, the
lower-elevation Interior Cedar-Hemlock (ICH) zone of the
Rocky Mountain Trench east of Prince George, that is variously
known as the Interior Wet Belt or the Inland Rainforest.
While this most northerly part of the ICH zone enjoys a
higher rainfall than the Interior Plateau to the west, it generally
does not receive enough precipitation to qualify as a true
rainforest except for isolated pockets such as the first part
of the Berg Lake Trail at Mount Robson. Instead, its ancient
wet forests, that are best found on northeast aspect benches
and toe slopes, are watered year round by seeps from
the mountain snowpack above. This prompted UNBC’s Dr.
Darwyn Coxson to coin the term Snow Forest to better describe
this zone. To experience what it’s like to walk through
these forests through the seasons, check out the 12-minute
slide show at http://www3.telus.net/pgoutdoors/ and scroll
down to Ancient Snow Forests of Canada. Scroll down a little
farther to a related slide show Primordial Landscape of Slim
Creek Park which includes a zoning map of the area. And for
more information on UNBC’s work there, see the Interior
Wet Belt website at http://wetbelt.unbc.ca/
I began exploring the roughly 15-kilometre long Driscoll
Ridge more than 20 years ago, alternately bushwhacking, hiking,
backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. My original focus
was to explore alpine ridge-walking opportunities above,
but my interest slowly morphed to an overriding curiosity
about, and appreciation of the ancient forests below. A seminal
moment occurred in the early 2000’s when I led a Prince
George Naturalist Club snowshoe trip (some slides from that
trip are included in the Snow Forests slide show) and Darwyn
Coxson pointed out many ancient attributes of the forest
from low to mid-elevation. Driscoll Ridge hadn’t attracted
any prior attention from a recreational perspective because
it is disconnected from the surrounding higher mountains,
has only a minimal Alpine Tundra zone, and because of the
extreme ruggedness of its steep terrain, ubiquitous rock
bands, dense primordial-type vegetation and plentiful Devil’s
Club. But its isolation also gave it perhaps the best mountain
views in the area east of Prince George, overlooking the
Rocky Mountain Trench and Rocky Mountains to the north
and east and the Cariboo Mountains to the south. The ridge
top and upper benches are replete with centuries-old game
trails and are well used by large wildlife including mountain
caribou, moose, wolves, grizzly and black bear, wolverines,
cougar etc., and the summer flower meadows are magnificent.
The advent of UNBC and the resulting research interest
in the Interior Wet Belt was also a very significant and
timely factor in the area’s recent prominence. Driscoll Ridge
is now also home to two mountain trails with a high-elevation
crossover link, and a very popular ancient forest trail
and boardwalk that was built some eight years entirely as a
community volunteer effort led by the Caledonia Ramblers
Hiking Club. The Universal (wheelchair accessible) Boardwalk
was completed in October 2013 at a cost of $175,000
including 6,500 volunteer hours and is a must-see stop if you
are driving on Highway 16, roughly halfway between Prince
George and McBride. The ancient snow forests of Driscoll
Ridge are so significant biologically that they have been suggested
as a future World Heritage Site: http://www.ancientforestalliance.org/news-item.php?ID=647
Photo: M. Nash
Ancient forest of Driscoll Ridge engulfs summer visitors
Photo: M. Nash
Driscoll Ridge snow forest under winter cloak
BCnature Spring 2014 11