Month: November 2009

Wendy Cocksedge – “Non-timber Forest Resources”

Pine mushrooms are unquestionably the single most important non-timber forest resource in BC
– Wikipedia Commons
Chanterelle
– Wikipedia Commons
Salal
– Wikipedia Commons
Wendy Cocksedge – “Non-timber Forest Resources”
by Sherri Wretham, 19 November 2009

Wendy Cocksedge is a club member and is also affiliated with the Centre for Non-timber Forest Products, located at Royal Roads University in Victoria.

Wendy spoke about non-timber forest products (NTFP), which in layman terms are items and services that can be commercially harvested from forests and other habitats for culinary, nutritional or therapeutic purposes. In BC this primarily means mushrooms!

The wild mushroom harvest contributes millions of dollars to the provincial economy.  The pine mushroom (Tricholoma magnivelare) is by far the most valuable commercially harvested mushroom.  Other valuable mushrooms include chanterelles, morels, lobsters, boletes, cauliflowers and hedgehogs.

Wendy also mentioned other commercially important species such as salal (Gaultheria shallon), which is widely used in the floral industry.

 

Salmon, Eagles and Waterfowl

Salmon, Eagles and Waterfowl
by Heather Harbord, 14 November 2009.

On Saturday, nine members carpooled from the Liquor Store parking lot and drove out to the Sliammon Hatchery, picking up a north-of-town member on the way.  The person Clyde had arranged to show us around wasn’t there. Instead, he and Susan did the honors assisted later by a gentleman who was helping to dry some fish. The latter opened a tank full of coho and we admired their colours and saw some of their eggs.

Down at the viewing area, we went nose to nose with a chum salmon. With permission from the lady drying the fish, who also let us taste some samples, we proceeded down to the end of the road where the creek comes out. Three immature eagles posed on three posts while Clyde explained that females are 1/3 larger than the males. Other immature eagles on the rocks brought the total up to about 10. After a short discussion on gulls, we left before we froze.