Research StationsThe Research Branch provides an infrastructure of support services to ensure that research can be conducted to a high and consistent standard. The Branch operates three facilities: Cowichan Lake Research Station, Kalamalka Research Station, and the Research Branch Laboratory, where the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory is located. The Research Stations support active research programs, including coastal and interior tree improvement and gene conservation, propagation and seed handling, forest fertilization, growth and yield, and nursery stock production. They also provide laboratory space for reproductive and forest soil biology. The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory offers extensive soil, water, and plant testing services on a cost recovery basis. The Cowichan Lake and Kalamalka Research Stations serve as invaluable gene archives for the coastal and interior regions of B.C. These
research facilities significantly support the scientific foundation underlying
many Ministry forest stewardship goals. The coastal and interior tree
improvement and gene conservation programs significantly increase industry
competitiveness and now occupy an important niche, given industry trends to
reduce investment in tree improvement and seed orchards. Cowichan Lake Research Station
The Cowichan Lake Research Station is a 450 hectare site located 63 km northwest of Victoria. Established in 1929, it has a long history of supporting forest stewardship on Vancouver Island. The station is the centre for coastal tree improvement and gene conservation, with active research programs being conducted for Douglas-fir, yellow-cedar, western redcedar, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce. Long-term permanent forest productivity plots at the station contribute to understanding coastal stand dynamics and stand development modelling. The nursery staff provide technical expertise and service in the growing of seedlings to be used for both research trials and rootstock for the grafting programs and in the propagation of yellow-cedar donor plants and cuttings. They also maintain gene archives and breeding arboretums for the coastal region. The Cowichan Lake Conference Centre is adjacent to the station and available to the provincial government and others for meetings, workshops and training sessions, as well as for forest education purposes and to house Ministry work crews. Click here to access the Cowichan Lake Conference Centre site. Click here for an entertaining history of the Cowichan Lake Research Station based on archived records and interviews with old-timers, providing a rare glimpse at almost 80 years of forest research and management on Vancouver Island. Directions to Cowichan Lake Research Station.
Ministry Contacts
Mark Griffin, Station Manager Kalamalka Research Station
The Kalamalka Research Station is located 3 km south of Vernon on Highway 97. The station is now the centre for the interior tree improvement and gene conservation programs, with active research programs being conducted for interior spruce, lodgepole pine, interior Douglas-fir, western larch, and white pine. Staff provide technical expertise and services in propagation, seed handling, and tree breeding, as well as maintaining the gene archive for the interior. An in-house grower now provides stock for small research trials. Ongoing research projects at the station include: silviculture, forest fertilization, growth and yield, yield estimation, nursery stock production, cone and seed pests, and soil biology and productivity. Ministry
Contact Research Branch Laboratory (North Road)
The Research Branch Laboratory is located in Victoria approximately 10 km north of the city centre. It houses laboratory facilities for forestry genetics, stress physiology, biology, forest soil ecology, as well as a state of the art Analytical Chemistry Laboratory. The facility provides a wet and dry laboratory, growth chamber, glass house, seed storage, repository, and storage facility for Research Branch staff in Victoria. The Analytical Chemistry Laboratory has built a reputation for quality, consistency, and accuracy. It offers extensive testing services, using a cost recovery system, to the entire Research Program across British Columbia as well as to other Forest Service operations. The laboratory provides consultation and will design customized tests as required, to support innovative research. Clients include researchers in soil, hydrology, and stand development modelling, as well as operational seed orchards and nurseries. The Research Branch Laboratory supports Ministry initiatives such as the Forest and Range Practices Act Forest Resource Evaluation Program (FRPA/FREP), the Future Forest Ecosystems Initiative and contributes to improving our understanding of the impacts of climate change the mountain pine beetle, second-growth management, and industry competitiveness. Ministry
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