Submitted by Vivian Birch-Jones

Naturalists from across B.C. converged in the Nicola Valley in late May for four days of outings and natural history organized by the hard-working Nicola Naturalist Society members.

Our base was the historic Nicola Ranch cookhouse — a lovely setting where Pat Westheuser and Fiona Flook managed a busy kitchen and produced stunning meals. Merritt naturalists added locally-sourced goods such as eggs, beef and baked goods to the delicious fare.

One of many creatures found in the Nicola Valley’s wetlands and grasslands is the Great Basin spadefoot. Ian Routley/Submitted

One of many creatures found in the Nicola Valley’s wetlands and grasslands is the Great Basin spadefoot. Ian Routley/Submitted

The itinerary focused on the fragile, beautiful and threatened grasslands and wetlands. Presenters included Dr. Alan Burger (ornithologist), Dr. Wendy Gardner (grassland ecologist), Dr. Purnima Govindarajulu (herpetologist), Allison Guichon (holistic rancher), Norm Hansen (forester), Dr. Liis Jeffries (biologist), Andrea Lawrence (biologist), Dr. Kristiina Ovaska (herpetologist), Murphy Shewchuk (historian and author) and Robert Sterling (archaeologist and Lower Nicola Band councillor).

Welcome and orientation took place on the Thursday evening. Local naturalists provided refreshments and gave presentations on the history, flora and fauna of the Merritt area. Early morning birding events were led and 107 species were observed over the four days.

Highlights included bobolinks, Swainson’s hawks, a peregrine falcon at a nest site, a black-chinned hummingbird, and great views of lazuli bunting, Bullock’s oriole and gray catbird.

Frogging was great fun and the visiting and local experts caught and showed us a variety of amphibians and pond invertebrates including diving spiders, amphipods, caddis fly larvae and tens of thousands of western toad tadpoles.

The only injury sustained during the events was to Andrea Lawrence, who was bitten by an annoyed water tiger (large larva of a predaceous water beetle), but she kept right on smiling and frogging with us.

A Columbia spotted frog. Ian Routley/Submitted

A Columbia spotted frog.
Ian Routley/Submitted

Much later in the evening, Kristiina Ovaska worked tirelessly in the dark to catch a Great Basin spadefoot at a high grassland breeding pond. It was wonderful to see and learn about these fragile creatures. They are so easily overlooked as they lead their reclusive lives in these disappearing ecosystems.

Lectures complemented all our activities so we ventured into the grasslands and wetlands with an enriched understanding and appreciation.

The weather was wonderful and we enjoyed walks in lovely settings with lunches at scenic spots.

Alan Burger was a tireless leader and he kept our activities on track and helped us make the most of our four-day natural history visit. We also enjoyed having the visiting experts along with us in the field. Many of the Merritt naturalists joined us to share their knowledge and appreciation of the wild places of the Nicola Valley.

We were welcomed to the Guichon Ranch where rancher Allison Guichon, the fifth generation of her family on this ranch, told us about the history and working objectives of the ranch to manage the lands in a holistic way. Maintaining biodiversity is an important part of their planning and oversight. We were permitted to walk the ranchlands and enjoy the biodiversity there indeed.

nature_sterlingOff-road vehicle tracks over grassland areas and through a wetland were a sad note. But we understand the Nicola Valley Community Round Table, naturalists, RCMP and conservation people are working to prevent such damage as far as they can into the future.

On our final day, we were joined by Robert Sterling of the Lower Nicola Band and he shared the First Nations perspective and background. He also showed us some traditional tools and described how they harvested and the plants that they use. Robert joined us in the field with forester Norm Hansen and they showed us culturally-modified trees and helped us understand the traditional use of the forests and grasslands.

The final event was refreshments at the Laurie Guichon Memorial Grasslands Interpretive Site on the Lundbom Commons, hosted by the Nicola Valley Community Round Table. This was a very nice way to bring other local players together to share their conservation work and plans with all of us.