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This document has been produced by the Kootenay Lake Forest District, and is primarily a compilation of resource information and management strategies from the following agencies:

Input and assistance have also been received from the Ministry of Small Business, Tourism, and Culture.

Our primary information source is the forest inventory database, coupled with Timber Supply Review assumptions, several professional reports, forest licensee Development Plans, terrain analysis, and local knowledge. It is recognized that there may be errors in the data or assumptions, and that a great deal remains to be understood about landscape-level biodiversity. It is expected that our understanding will improve over time, and that these strategies will be improved upon.

However, we feel that the present lack of a landscape approach to planning is leading to increasingly serious forest fragmentation and timber supply problems. To avoid making choices due to inadequate data would allow the present situation to worsen, and reduce options for the future. It is clear that many different landscape management strategies could be developed and at the present time it is difficult to know which is best. What does seem clear, however, is the need to decide on a strategy as soon as possible, revising it as more information becomes available. Even a wrong decision is likely to preserve more options than a delayed one.

We have avoided making specific resource management strategies (ie. "Build the Howser

Fan Recreation Site in 1998 to provide occupancy for 8 campers") whenever it was clear that accurate prediction was impossible. In these situations, we provided brief discussions of the issue, and the general direction of resource management agencies.

Because of the wide spectrum between general intentions and specific strategies, we have not attempted to arbitrarily break them into "objectives" and "strategies". The relative position in this spectrum (the degree of specificity) is indicated by the wording, ie. "will be", "may be", "should be", etc.

1:50,000 maps of various resource values are available for viewing at the Kootenay Lake Forest District office.

K21 is characterized by the rugged topography of the northern Purcell Mountains - only 24,415 ha. (47%) of its total 51,788 ha. are forested (inventory basic class "0", "10", or "12"). The remainder is primarily rock, alpine, and icefields. 6,745 ha. of forest land (14% of total area) contributed to the 1994-1996 Timber Supply Review. Recent terrain mapping (1995 level "D") revealed a high proportion of hazard class IV (High), confirming the high level of Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA's) identified in the forest inventory database.

The geological setting is dominated by the Horsethief Creek Group of the Upper Proterozoic Windermere Supergroup. K21 is predominantly underlain by these strata, which consist mainly of clastic sedimentary/low grade metamorphic rocks. The headwaters of Howser Creek, in the vicinity of Forster Pass, are underlain by the Horsethief Creek batholith, a Mesozoic granitic pluton. The contact aureole is up to 1.5 kilometers wide, and includes intrusive and metasedimentary rocks which are locally altered and mineralized. A small portion of K21, near the mouth of Howser Creek, is underlain by Upper Proterozoic Hamill Group quartzites.

Due largely to their location in the interior wet belt, the northern Purcell valleys contain relatively large amounts of old growth forest. Some of the oldest and largest cedar/hemlock stands are found here. Due to the productive operable ground and valuable timber, the Duncan River valley has seen extensive past harvesting. Forest land and other wildlife habitat was also lost to the Duncan Dam reservoir in the late 1960s.

The "Singing Forest" (a local spiritual/environmental/logging issue) is located in the Tenise Creek drainage, a tributary of Howser Creek and part of K21. The Rory Creek drainage, another tributary, saw extensive wildfire activity in 1985, and subsequent salvage harvest. At present, 12.6% (849 ha.) of the 1994 Timber Supply Review landbase contains stands less than 21 years of age.

There are four major biogeoclimatic subzones within K21: ICHmw2 (NDT 2), ICHwk1 (NDT 1), ESSFwm (NDT 1), and Alpine Tundra (NDT5), as shown in Figure 2. Grizzly bears make considerable use of the area. The present biodiversity emphasis is "Low" for the ESSFwm and "Intermediate" for the ICHmw2 and ICHwk1.

The dominant natural feature is the Four Squatters icefield and rugged peaks at higher elevations.

Meadow complexes at high elevations and the opportunity to view grizzly bears (there are good populations in K21) are significant drawing cards for visitors.

Extensive ridge systems to the north connect through to the Bugaboo Recreation Area.

The Howser Creek canyon, just above the Duncan Forest Road, is an impressive natural feature which is popular for viewing.

The present recreation inventory shows ROS categories of "roaded resource" in valley bottoms, with "semi primitive non-motorized" at higher elevations. The Four Squatters area is "primitive".

The above refers to the present condition, not to a stated management direction. However, no major changes are anticipated to these categories.

There are existing recreation map notations on the fans of Clancy Creek, Beartrap Creek, and Howser Creek. The Howser Creek notation includes the canyon immediately above the Duncan Forest Road, and appears to get the most recreational use at present. There are no recreation sites presently located on these fans. The map notation indicates that recreation values are present, and requires that development proposals be reviewed by the KLFD Recreation Officer.

There is a rough trail at the top end of Rory Creek which comes off the west side and provides foot access to the Bugaboos and to the Four Squatters icefield. There is relatively little potential for conflict with development proposals in the near future.

A trappers cabin is located at the bottom of Rory Creek. This is private property and should not be disturbed or used unless in an emergency.

There is an old trail up an unnamed creek between Omo and Pat Creeks, used primarily for hunting. This is not a major concern in terms of development. The trail is mostly above the operability line, with lower portions already impacted by development.

The Howser Creek fan at Duncan Lake will likely see some degree of recreation site development. The canyon itself has good potential for a short (one kilometer) trail.

There is potential for one, possibly two, small recreation sites elsewhere in the Howser Creek drainage. Two candidates would be the meadow complex above Rory Creek, and the "Singing Forest" (the confluence of Howser and Tenise Creeks was noted as having recreation value back in 1979).

There is potential for increased recreation use on the Cockle Creek fan.

The Forest Service (KLFD Harvesting Section) will designate several industrial campsites in K21. Forest Licensees/contractors often need to establish temporary camping areas when working in an area, and their needs are different from recreational campers.

Canadian Mountain Helicopters has a commercial heli-skiing tenure in this area. Their activity is largely in the Rory Creek/Sluicebox Creek area. The Sluicebox road has been closed to avoid conflict with skiers. Radium Hot Springs Glacier Skiing Ltd. has a heli-skiing tenure in Tenise Creek and in upper Glacier Creek to the south.

There is a fuel cache for Canadian Mountain Helicopters near the bottom of Rory Creek.

The Archaeological Overview Assessment for the Kootenay Lake Forest District has been completed (March 1996). Due to the rugged topography, the Howser Planning Area is generally considered to have a low potential to contain archaeological sites. There is a moderate potential in areas near Duncan Lake and near the main channel of Howser Creek. Development proponents may be required to conduct Archaeological Overview Assessments in these areas. No known archaeological sites are located within K21.

Developments within K21 should be referred to the Ktunaxa-Kinbasket Tribal Council and the Shuswap Tribal Council.

The drainage is used regularly by hunters, who generally prefer to see roads kept open. The overall objective for Recreation/Tourism would be to retain the present level of "roaded resource" ROS, and provide two-wheel drive access up Rory and Tenise Creeks.

If Old Growth Management Areas (OGMAs) are established, then there would be value to interpretive trails. However, OGMAs will be chosen primarily for their biodiversity values, rather than recreational/interpretive values. It is recognized that human presence within OGMAs may not be desirable, therefore recreational use will not be encouraged at this time. Camping areas will not be located in OGMAs. If trails are felt to be necessary in order to avoid environmental damage, then trail construction will be considered. Any development would be at a very primitive level, and only after consultation with the KLFD Forest Ecosystem Specialist (MoE).

There are no water licenses issued on Howser Creek.

Level "D" terrain mapping has been completed for the Howser drainage. The small drainages within K21 which flow into Duncan Lake have not yet been assessed. Terrain mapping will be required prior to development in these areas. More detailed level "B" or level "A" assessments will be required for road construction or harvesting in class IV or V polygons.

Terrain mapping reveals a large amount of Class IV (High) mass wasting hazard within the operable landbase. Several slope failures have occurred due to poor road layout and maintenance.

KLFD Silviculture section is considering deactivating many of the roads in the West Fire (west of Rory Creek) due to terrain instability and the need to integrate with Canadian Mountain Helicopters heli-skiing operations.

There is a significant sports fishery in upper Howser Creek. Due to the canyon at the bottom of Howser Creek, it seems likely that these fish (cutthroat trout and bull trout) were introduced. Soil and water conservation measures will likely protect fishery values as well.

The Timber Supply Review assumed a 33% maximum ECA for K21. However, in a drainage such as Howser Creek, most of the snowmelt, and the peak flow, is generated from above the operable forested land. Changes in forest cover have little impact on peak flows, which is when the major channel changes occur. It is likely that other constraints will prevent the above figure of 33% from being reached, in any case.

Limits on forest cover removal are of greater concern to biodiversity (see "Biodiversity" section for discussion on early seral limits).

Early seral limits will act as a red flag. Additional harvesting could possibly occur in excess of this, but a hydrological or ecological assessment would be recommended once the maximum early seral level was reached.

Protection of riparian areas, along with careful planning, construction and maintenance of roads, are the most important aspects of water management in the Howser Planning Area.

It is preferable to have any concentrated harvest (ie. large openings) occur well away from major streams.

At the present time, Howser Creek and other drainages within K21 are a low priority for watershed assessments.

Known mineralization within or immediately adjacent to K21, though sparse, can be seen to fall into three associations.

1. Minerals associated with the Horsethief Creek Group are known at three locations near Duncan Lake:

2. Mineralization associated with the contact aureole of the Horsethief Creek batholith. There are two examples just outside the boundary of K21, in Forster Pass.

3. Quartzites of the Hamill Group:

The Howser watershed was part of a B.C. Ministry of Employment and Investment (Mines Division) Regional Geochemistry survey in the late 1980's. 30-35 samples were collected on Howser Creek and tributaries. Few indicators of mineralization (anomalous metal concentrations) were found. One noteworthy feature is a group of gold concentrations between Echo and Tea Creeks.

A determination of mineral potential integrates various types of geoscience information. It is the single best tool available to planners, but has its limitations as a reliable predictor of future mineral activities, because changeable factors, like markets and technology, influence exploration. Of note is the fact that staff of the Ministry of Employment and Investment rate K21 as relatively underexplored.

The MEI’s 1996 Mineral Potential determination (metallic commodities) indicates that the relative mineral potential of the portion of K21 underlain by the Horsethief Creek Group (by far the largest portion) is moderate. The portion underlain by the Horsethief Creek batholith (Forster Pass) has higher relative potential, but this forms a very small fraction of K21. The portion underlain by the Hamill Group also has moderate metallic mineral potential, but has relatively higher industrial mineral potential, as evidenced by past and present quarrying activities.

Significant placer potential is evidenced by the fact that the Howser drainage basin is a Designated Placer Area (available for placer claim and lease staking). At the present time, however, there are no current placer tenures in K21.

There is currently a minimal amount of mineral tenure in K21. A pair of 2-post claims known collectively as Silver Swan are situated along Howser Creek between Echo and Tea Creeks (in the vicinity of the anomalous gold geochemical analyses). Three Crown Grants straddle Pat Creek, related to the International mineral prospect. Three other Crown Grants are located near Dunn Creek. A block of 4-post mineral claims known as the Dary Dismuth are situated adjacent to Cockle Creek, presumably related to the Dary Dismuth and/or Tin City occurrences. A pair of new 2-post mineral claims are situated adjacent to Duncan Lake just north of the mouth of Howser Creek. Their names are Quary Rock #2 and #2; theyhave been staked for industrial mineral potential, specifically dimension (building) stone

Mineral tenure will be available in all parts of K21, under the appropriate legislation (ie. Mineral Tenure Act).

There was one significant exploration program in K21 in 1996. This involved quarrying a trial shipment of 300 tons of stone from the Quary Rock #2 claim.

Opportunities and access for exploration and development will be maintained in K21. Responsible, approved exploration and development will be acceptable activities throughout this landscape unit. This includes areas managed for old growth forest.

Exploration activities will be administered through the Mines Act and Regulations. Exploration will respect sensitive values through mitigation measures. Activities will be integrated as much as possible with other resource uses. Multi-party, pre-approval site inspections may be used to address issues related to sensitive values.

The Ministry of Employment and Investment will continue to develop new, streamlined mineral exploration permitting procedures which facilitate comprehensive interagency referrals and lead to timely permit decisions.

The Ministry of Employment and Investment will continue to collect performance bonding, monitor and inspect active and concluded exploration sites, ensure compliance with permit conditions, and explore opportunities to integrate with other resource users.

Successful exploration will result in eligibility to enter into production permitting procedures. For proposed large mine developments, the Environmental Assessment Process will apply. This process will address all existing landscape unit objectives.

Meadow Creek Cedar Ltd. is the only forest licensee operating within K21.

Operability lines (see Figure 4) should not be viewed as definitive. They can be used as a general guideline, but should be recognized as approximate only. To some degree, operability is market driven - economics will dictate whether an area is feasible to harvest given Forest Practices Code requirements for environmental protection, road construction, reforestation, etc timber.

A road system is still needed in close proximity to heli-logging sites, so additional harvest opportunities are probably not abundant. Some areas presently classed as operable are probably not feasible to construct road access to because of sensitive soils and terrain. Therefore, most heli-logging will probably be on land presently identified as operable.

Armillaria root disease is prevalent along the Duncan Lake area. This will limit options for partial cutting, and may pose problems for regeneration. Gray spruce looper is present at the bottom of Clancy, Cockle, and Omo Creeks. There is some fir beetle, and endemic populations of spruce beetle.

There will be ongoing salvage operations throughout K21 due to blowdown and wildfire. Salvage operations will consider management objectives for treatment units. However, the ongoing need for salvage will require keeping main roads open.

4.5 Harvest systems

Due to the heavy snowfall in K21, harvesting will occur in the summer and fall. Cable or aerial systems will usually be required due to the rugged topography and presence of sensitive soils/terrain.

The likelihood of ignition sources is very high. Ten years of fire/lightning statistics suggest that this area lies in a "storm track". Lightning occurs throughout the valley. Fires are caused mainly by positive strikes which occur primarily at mid- and high elevations. However, valley bottom strikes have been observed as well. Positive strikes

have a higher likelihood of ignition than the more common "negative" strikes. Lower elevation strikes have the potential to spread upslope and consume larger areas.

Due to the above situation, it is very important to ensure that slash hazard conditions are monitered and abated as required.

Fuel loading is not presently a major concern. Major wildfires were less frequent in K21 than they were in the south, so the impacts of fire suppression are less pronounced and fuel levels reflect relatively natural levels.

Wildfires in the inoperable will be allowed to burn if the risk of spread to adjacent areas is judged acceptable. Priority areas for fire suppression will be the operable landbase as well as operable and inoperable forest within candidate old growth management areas (see Biodiversity section, and Figure 6).

K21 consists largely of "Level 3 habitat" (potential habitat with little evidence of use). The rugged topography and lack of critical late winter habitat is limiting to caribou use. The Kootenay-Boundary Land Use Plan does not require mountain caribou guidelines to be applied in this area, therefore no landscape-level measures will be applied specifically for caribou at this time. It is anticipated that the general landscape-level biodiversity measures will represent an improvement for caribou compared with the status quo.

Critical ungulate winter range has been identified on the regional MoE winter range maps (1995 Biodiversity Strategy), immediately west of Duncan Lake. Mid and late winter ranges are most critical for ungulates.

For mid winter ranges, the critical requirement is forest cover for snow interception. Small harvest openings are preferred.

Late winter ranges are usually steep south aspects which provide early forage growth in the spring. Harvest units can be larger, but partial cutting is preferred.

These areas will be largely considered to provide mid winter range, as the quality of late winter range is not high. Ungulates tend to move south to the Duncan River flats in late winter.

The winter ranges are also likely to contain important movement corridors for ungulates.

There is a trapline license issued within K21, and a trappers cabin at the bottom of Rory Creek. For reasons relating to privacy, the trapper's name is not provided in this document. The Kootenay Lake Forest District policy on this issue is that forest licensees will not be required to contact trappers. Trappers are invited to view licensee Forest Development Plans (in this case, that of Meadow Creek Cedar Ltd.) if they wish to evaluate potential for conflict with or enhancement of furbearers.

Grizzlies are present, and abundant, due to slide chutes and rugged terrain.

Grizzly habitat will be maintained in K21. Habitat components will be managed for, particularly high elevation meadows, riparian areas, and avalanche tracks.

Access management will consider the needs of grizzly bear populations. It is recognized that this will require consultation with stakeholders.

100 meters of forest (age class 6 and 60% crown closure) will be maintained on one side of avalanche tracks. Small forest patches between nearby tracks should be left unharvested if possible.

Whenever possible, resource management activities and access should be concentrated, ie focus forest harvest activity within one tributary at a time. This will have the added benefit of distributing harvesting over the rotation to create a mosaic of different ages.

Mineral licks, wallows, dens, etc. will be identified at the stand level and noted in Silviculture Prescriptions. One mineral lick has been identified along the main Howser Forest Service Road.

The needs of small mammals (rodents, lagomorphs, carnivores) will be provided by landscape-level connectivity and old growth strategies, and by retaining structural diversity on cutblocks after harvest.

5.7 Stand level biodiversity

The Biodiversity Guidebook, local experience, and a certain amount of experimentation will be used at the Silviculture Prescription level to determine appropriate measures for stand-level biodiversity. Stand-level measures may include restricted harvesting in riparian management zones, maintenance of wildlife tree patches, and retention of coarse woody debris after harvest.

Most of the resource management strategies listed so far have been in place for some time. The landscape-level ecological objectives, however, are new. A detailed explanation of the analysis and assumptions used is provided in "Methodology and Assumptions for Landscape-Level Biodiversity Planning in the Howser Planning Area" and "Candidate Old Growth Management Areas: Howser and Giegrich Landscape Units" (Planning section, KLFD). Present forest ages are shown in Figure 5.

Forster Pass is an important forested link with the East Kootenay, with known wildlife movement, between upper Howser Creek and Forster Creek.

The following are the target old growth levels as per Biodiversity Guidebook, after adjusting for actual protected area in the Kootenay/Boundary region (old growth is defined as >250 years; existing hectares are updated to December 1997):

ICHmw2:       6,324                     11.3%           715 ha                     162 -553

ICHwk1:        3,561                     15.4%         548 ha                      1,831 +1,283

ESSFwm:       9,095                     18.4%         1,673 ha                   1,333 -340

Timber harvesting proposals will not be entertained, at this time, in the following areas (see Figure 6):

1. Suck Creek

2. Sluicebox Creek

3. Upper Howser

4. Clancy Creek

The above areas provide the following amounts of forest which is greater than 141 years old :

ICHmw2: 447 ha.

ICHwk1: 711 ha.

ESSFwm: 1343 ha.

It is recognized that the above is less than the target for ESSFwm. However, this is considered acceptable in light of the large area of inoperable forest within this subzone. Additionally, there are approximately 250 hectares of forest (older than 140 years) in riparian reserves and to be retained in riparian management zones. Most of this occurs in the ICHwk1.

Wildfires will be suppressed on both operable and inoperable forest land within these candidate OGMAs.

Expansion of existing cutblocks, to reduce fragmentation, will be encouraged in Rory Creek (south of the existing wildfire/harvest opening), South Howser, and the area between Pat and Omo Creeks (see Figure 5). Stand-level biodiversity measures will be incorporated into these large openings. The intent is to introduce a range of harvest patch sizes onto the landscape, as per the Biodiversity Guidebook.

The issue of forested connectivity has changed considerably since the first draft of the Howser plan document. At this time, it is felt that the issue is best dealt with by introducing a range of harvest patch sizes, and addressing additional connectivity issues at the Silvicultural Prescription stage.

There is an abundance of mature forest in K21, well in excess of the Biodiversity Guidebook targets for ICHmw2 and ICHwk1.

The maximum amount of early seral forest recommended by the Biodiversity Guidebook is 30% for ICHwk1 and 36% for ICHmw2. Under "Low" Emphasis, the Biodiversity Guidebook does not restrict the maximum amount of early seral habitat.. Within K21, however, there are a number of concerns (soil stability, watershed integrity, grizzly bears, and historical disturbance patterns). For these reasons, the amount of early seral habitat within the ESSFwm will be limited to a maximum of 40% of the forested land within the subzone. The present early seral levels are well below these figures.

Anderson, D.W., G.P.Gage and M.B. Knapik. 1997. Methodology and Assumptions for Landscape-Level Biodiversity Planning in the Howser Planning Area. Kootenay Lake Forest District.

Gage, G.P. 1996. Candidate Old Growth Management Areas: Howser and Giegrich Landscape Units.

Goward, T., H. Quesnel, and M. Besko. 1996. Assessment of Arboreal Lichens in the Howser Creek Drainage.

Herbison, B. 1994. Kootenay Lake Forest District Old Growth Reconnaissance Project.

Meadow Creek Cedar, Ltd. 1998. Forest Development Plan.

Ministry of Forests, Kootenay Lake Forest District. 1995. A Process to Establish Preliminary Landscape Unit Objectives for the Kootenay Lake Forest District.

Ministry of Forests and Ministry of Environment. 1995. Biodiversity Guidebook.

Ministry of Forests and Ministry of Environment. 1996. Biodiversity Questions and Answers.

Wells, W. 1995. Level "D" Terrain Stability Mapping for Howser Creek.

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