Douglas fir ecosystems
By Janet Alred, 20 May 2012.
Following the talk the evening before by Sari Saunders and Heather Klassen, Ministry of Forest Research Ecologists for the south coast, based out of Nanaimo along with Andy McKinnon, about 9 people large and small drove to Stillwater to examine the transition between Douglas Fir ecosystem and the Western Hemlock one.
Andy did most of the talking on the field trip, pointing out that the very thick bark on a prominent burnt Douglas fir close to the trail was not an indicator of age as he has found after numerous examination of cores. He noted that even if red-listed plants are found in the area, their presence will not stop the logging that is scheduled. Rachel Botting joined us and talked briefly about some of the lichens. Although the trail leads round in a loop, once out on the bluffs overlooking the water, it got very rough so we retraced our steps.
