History 3991 – November 09, 2023    Rod MacLeod – T00449542

Mount Baldy Environmental History

I live in a 50 year old ski cabin, built by my family, at Baldy Mountain Resort located near the height of land east of Osoyoos and west of Rock Creek. We are just a few kilometres from the US Border at 1700m elevation with the mountain top at 2200m.

There has been a requirement for 50 years to undertake and have approved by the Province, a Ski Area Master Plan. This plan for Baldy was updated (Harley 2005) and allows the company to lease land from the Province to build recreational facilities and buy land to build the accommodation needed to support them.

The Master Plan looks in depth at the suitability of the terrain for a successful resort and the local markets, but also many other factors that relate to the environment here, such as weather and climate, elevation and access. There are several ecological considerations that in recent times has often led to an Environmental Assessment study with resulting mitigation requirements.

The Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) claims traditional territory from the west side of the Okanagan Valley all the way to the Columbia River. They are one of the largest businesses in the region as they believe that economic independence is their best hope for the future of their people. As a result of several court rulings the First Peoples have a right to a share of the revenue from all natural resource projects, they now split the lease revenue paid by the Resort to the Province. They also own a large flat lot near the resort base area that they can develop at some future point, and I understand that they are a minority shareholder in the ownership company.

In a Natural History of BC, Cannings (1996) shows the biogeoclimatic zones of the Province and Baldy Mountain is identified as Engelmann Spruce – Subalpine Fir forest (Map 14, pg 86). The most common evergreen though is Lodgepole Pine, as a result of a large forest fire from 1934, Low and Maslowski (2010). Pines are the first trees to grow back after a fire and the ones near me are now nearing the end of their natural life.  They are dying and providing nutrients to succeeding species, as takes place in nature, but also increasing the fire hazard due to ground fuel load, which creates problems for people who now live, work or play here.

Some of the mammals that live or regularly visit this area are rabbits, black bear, coyotes, bobcat, lynx, mule deer, elk and moose, Forsyth, (1985).  Birds include Grey Jay and Stellars Jay, Clarks Nutcracker, Willow Grouse, chickadees and sparrows, juncos, several species of hawk, woodpeckers, robins and of course crows, Sibley (2003).

The Harley plan (2005) identified several permanent streams but no fish in the upper reaches due to a 15m high waterfall mid elevation (pg 51). It is interesting that no other riparian areas or species were deemed worthy of study during that time period. In modern studies the protection of the riparian, and the species that live there, is a major focus of environmental assessments.

The ski development started in 1968, as a private community owned entity, with construction of one t-bar, a small daylodge and a gravel access road. Over time it has grown to two chairlifts, a magic carpet and the original t-bar; with 22 marked ski trails. There are over 100 cabins, most of which are only used weekends as well as Christmas and Spring Break during the winter season. There are about 40 full time residents, with a few commuting to work but most retired.

There is also winter snowshoeing and x-country skiing as well as mountain biking and hiking in summer on several kilometers of volunteer built and maintained multi-use trails. The resort has begun to operate on weekends in summer with chairlift rides, hiking and biking to try and attract some of the Okanagan tourists to take a break from the lake.

The summer climate is ideal with all of the sunshine that the Okanagan is famous for but temperatures at least 10 degrees cooler than that that of the Valley. There is a healthy population of insects from snowmelt to mid-summer, which is why there is such a large and diverse bird population. The bugs disappear mid-summer when most water has dried up, and there is a short sweet spot for hiking to view magnificent alpine wildflowers, with enough water to bloom but not enough for bugs.

The region around Baldy has had some archaeological study done and there is some evidence of the Nkmip people hunting and gathering. Given the prominent views of Baldy peak from the valley it is possible that it would have been a destination for young warriors to prove themselves.

The Okanagan River system had a significant salmon run before the dams were built in the middle of the last century, and as anywhere where there is a bountiful supply of food going into the winter the indigenous people prospered. When the first explorers and then fur traders arrived there were opportunities to trade for goods, such as steel knives that improved their lives. But the arrival of Europeans also brought disease to the region. The pressure from the settlers to claim the best farmland resulted in the surviving natives being moved to the benches away from the land along the river. (ONA website)

The discovery of placer gold in BC in 1858 affected this area also, with significant finds around Osoyoos, Oliver, Rock Creek and Camp McKinney. This brought many more workers to the area, and many stayed on after the gold rush had slowed and moved into ranching, farming and logging. Cancela J., (1986, pg5)

The influx of American miners led to establishment of gold commissioners in many of the small towns of the region as the first step in taking control of the area for BC and Canada. One of the largest geographic challenges in the BC Interior has always been that the valleys run north and south, so it has been easier to trade with the USA than try and ship goods east or west. When I was a kid in the south Okanagan we travelled to Spokane for big shopping trips, and we could not travel east or west on paved roads across BC without having to transit through Washington State.

This brief snapshot of the environmental history of the area close to where I live provides a good introduction to what will follow as we delve deeper into the complexity of our environmental history.

REFERENCES:

1. Cannings R., and Cannings S., 1996. BC: A Natural History. Greystone Books, Vancouver BC

2. Cancela J., 1986. The Ditch: Lifeline of a Community. Oliver Heritage Society Museum and Archives

3. Forsyth, A., 1985. Mammals of the Canadian Wild. Camden House. Camden East, Ontario

4. Harley B,. 2005. Mount Baldy Resort Expansion Master Plan. Recovered November 4, 2023 from:

5. Low A., Maslowski B., (2019). Mount Baldy FireSmart Community Assessment Report. Fig 7,

pg 11

6. Okanagan Nation Alliance: Fisheries. Retrieved Nov 2023 from: https://www.syilx.org/fisheries/

7. Osoyoos Indian Band. Recovered Nov 2023 from:  http://oib.ca/partnerships/

8. Sibley, D., (2003) Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. Chanticleer Press. New York