340 



Canadian Forestry Journal, January, ipid. 



Forest Problems in the Okanagan 



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Valley of B.C. ^^^^^^-=--^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^= 



By Geo. P. Melrose, 



District Forester, Vernon, B.C., under Forest Branch of the 



Government of British Columbia. 



In a country where agriculture is 

 the leading industry and where 

 wood is plentiful and easy of access, 

 it is difficult to interest the majority 

 of the population in forest protec- 

 tion. This is even more the case 

 when the lumber and other forest 

 products used can be brought into 

 the district about as cheaply as they 

 can be procured on the ground. It 

 is hard to interest the general public 

 in anything that does not affect their 

 pocket book or their comfort. 



In the Okanagan Valley were we 

 to depend upon the influence of the 

 lumber trade to awaken interest in 

 forest protection, we should prob- 

 ably have a great many years of 

 hard sledding. Although there are 

 some 10,000 M feet of lumber cut 

 every year in the Okanagan, the 

 amount is insignificant as compared 

 with the tremendous quantities cut 

 on the coast. The amount of money 

 distributed through the lumber trade 

 is small compared with that distri- 

 buted through agriculture. The 

 Valley is essentially a fruit and ve- 

 getable raising district. 



Lying as it does in the "Dry Belt" 

 the annual precipitation is not suffi- 

 cient to water and nourish the large 

 acreage of orchards and crops. Ir- 

 rigation is resorted to to such an ex- 

 tent that already several millions of 

 dollars have been invested in irriga- 

 tion works, while only about 35'^/c' 

 of the available agricultural land has 

 been taken up. 

 The irrigation systems naturally 



depend upon the stream flow. A 

 reliable system of irrigation works 

 must have a constant and steady 

 flow of water from the supply 

 streams. Even costly dams will not 

 entirely make up for an irregular 

 and non-dependable stream flow, 

 and the regularity of the stream de- 

 pends almost entirely upon the main- 

 tenance of a proper forest cover. 



Through the irrigation systems 

 the people of the Okanagan must be 

 appealed to, in order to protect the 

 forests, conserve the water supply, 

 and the timber for the future, and 

 thus insure the continuing prosper- 

 ity of the district. 



A Distinctive District. 



This article will deal entirely with 

 the Okanagan Valley, or that great- 

 er portion of it that lies within the 

 A'ernon Forest District. No attempt 

 will be made to describe the forest 

 cover or the forest protection of the 

 remainder of the Vernon district, 

 which has to a greater or less ex- 

 tent, an entirely different climate, 

 forest cover or administrative prob- 

 lem. 



A\'hat is commonly called the 

 Okanagan A'alley in Canada, ex- 

 tends from Armstrong, about 

 twenty-five miles south of the main 

 line of the C.P.R. to the interna- 

 tional boundary. The main valley 

 runs practically north and south 

 Avith few side valleys of any great 

 importance. Okanagan Lake occu- 

 pies the floor of the valley for about 

 90 miles of its length, while a chain 



