Rockwalls and Waterfalls Volume #50 Spring Newsletter 2014 Acting President s Message: The Friends of Yoho remain a strong force in Yoho National Park with a membership of 89, 54 of whom are lifetime members. If you are a new member, thank-you for joining us, and if you have been with us for a while, we thank-you for your continued support. We were very happy to have three new members join the Board of Directors in the last year- a great volunteer response from a town of about 150. Their enthusiasm and new ideas and skills are much appreciated. Debbie Bancroft, our hardworking and faithful manager is about to celebrate her 25 th year with us. Congratulations Deb, we thank-you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done, and continue to do for the Friends. Our annual Pasta Dinner and Silent Auction in November remains the main social event of the Field fall season and is a great fundraiser for our cause. This year we, once again, enlisted the help of Denise Toulouse to do her famous Spaghetti and Meatballs. The communities of Golden, Field, Lake Louise, Banff and Canmore generously donated auction items, and the Board members were kept busy for several weeks chasing down donations and preparing for the event. Over 100 meals were served and we raised just short of $5000 from dinners and sale of auction items. We did eight Historical Walking Tours last summer. The one-hour walk through Field, accompanied by a Board member, is offered free to Visitors with the option of making a donation on the spot or at the Friend s store in the Visitor Centre. Visitors are delighted to take a walk with a local and get answers to all those questions about the area they ve always wanted to ask. During the summer, we had two Guest Speaker events at the Community Centre. Cathy Taerum spoke about the history of trail building in Yoho and Rob Taerum spoke about whether it was serendipity that led to Charles Walcott s discovery of the Burgess Shale fossils. Our retail outlet at the Visitor Centre remains our main activity and since Parks Canada made the decision in the Fall of 2012 to close the Visitor Centre from November through April, Debbie has kept the store open Thursday through Sunday through the winter months, benefiting the Friends through sales, Parks Canada through sale of Visitor Passes, and the Visitors who appreciate an open door and a friendly face when they stop by.
Acting President s Message, cont. from pg. 1 Our other project, the working scale model of the Spiral Tunnels at the Visitor Centre is being enjoyed by visitors as a stationary installation. We hope to be able to report that it is operating smoothly soon. We invite you to stop by and visit if you are in the area. We have some fun events in the planning for the summer, so if you are visiting Yoho, or if you are a local member, check the website or the bulletin board in town to see what s happening when. Join us for a walk or a talk or some great shopping at the store with your member discount, or just to say hello. The Friends of Yoho will be holding their AGM on Monday, June 9th, 7pm at the Yoho Information Center Please join us to hear our Guest Speaker Brianna Burley on Determinants of Risk in Bear-Train Interactions Followed by home-made refreshments - Please Come! Membership Renewals: If you haven t renewed your membership for 2014, please take a minute and do so. You can mail back the membership form with your dues. Thank you! We really appreciate having you as a member of the Friends of Yoho. MEMBERSHIP PRICES WILL BE INCREASING THIS SUMMER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 27 YEARS! RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW AT THE OLD PRICE!
Introducing Yoho s new Human-Wildlife Conflict Specialist... As the days are getting longer and the signs of spring are slowly starting to appear, I start to get excited about the emergence of denning animals and the return of bear season. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and the Human-Wildlife Conflict program to all the Friends of Yoho. My name is Brianna Burley and I am the new Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Specialist for the Lake Louise, Yoho and Kootenay Field Unit. It s a job I am honoured to occupy and am thrilled about daily when faced with unique and interesting wildlife management challenges. Nothing beats a job where you spend one day managing closely a grizzly bear who you hope you can help navigate the highways, railway and town sites and the next day be delivering bear awareness training to new staff who have never lived in the mountains before. The role of the HWC Specialist is to oversee and provide guidance to a very busy and dynamic wildlife program with a primary goal of reducing negative human-wildlife conflicts while educating residents and visitors alike on best practises for recreating, residing and working in bear (and cougar, and wolf and coyote...) country in our national parks. I am honoured to work with a very dedicated and passionate team of wildlife-conflict professionals who work tirelessly to help protect and manage our wildlife. We wouldn t be able to our jobs nearly as effectively and efficiently as we do, if it weren t for the contributions made to the program by the residents and visitors of our National Parks in the form of bear and unique wildlife reports. We rely heavily on these reports to Banff Park Dispatch. These observations allow us to better understand where wildlife are in the park as well as help us to form action plans for where to send HWC resources. I cannot state enough the value and importance of ensuring that these bear and other unique sightings get reported. Your bear reports are our eyes to what s going on and an integral part of our program, we couldn t do it without them. So please, keep calling bear reports in, we love them! Thanks to you all for your continued support to the Friends of Yoho, I look forward to meeting many of you and hope to see you out on the trails this summer (or maybe I ll even get to chat with you about one of your bear or unique wildlife reports!). Remember, bear season is already here. Time to dig out the bear spray and make sure it s still working and ready to go. Don t let the snow fool you, the large male grizzly bears are already up and moving around. Hope you all have a wonderful spring and here s hoping many of our female bears return this spring with cubs! All the best, Brianna Brianna.Burley@pc.gc.ca New Products Arriving! Our gift shop is continuously being filled with new items. Come check it out to find an assortment of clothing ranging in sizes from 6 months to 2XL. Canadian-made jewellery, gift items, and postcards all unique to Yoho National Park. Remember that members receive 10% off of everything. We encourage you to stay in touch with us by clicking Like on the Friends of Yoho National Park Facebook page. This page will provide you with photographs as well as updates on projects, events, and upcoming programs.
The Friends of Yoho with sadness announce the loss of a great friend. Bev Rutherford passed away on April 4th, 2014 with her husband Gordon by her side. Bev was one of the founding members of the Friends of Yoho in 1987, served on the board for six years, and was President of the Friends of Yoho for four years. Bev s great love of life will be warmly remembered by all whom she touched with her bright smile, unique ability to bring people together and organize events as well as her many gifts of kindness, creativity and generosity. Meet some Friends of Yoho. Helen Barry, Acting President: I discovered Yoho National Park in my Hiking Guide on my first trip to the Rockies in 1979, and immediately proceeded here to spend several days camping and hiking at Lake O Hara (no reservations required then) and then moved on to Takkakaw Falls and the Yoho Valley to do the same. They did not disappoint! I moved to Field in 1985 and have based myself here most of the time since then. I have been a life time member of the Friends of Yoho since it s inception and joined the Board of Directors in 2007. I consider it a great privilege to live in a national park, and working with the Friends allows me to show my appreciation for that privilege while contributing to the preservation and improvement of the place I call home. Deb Bancroft, Business Manager: I moved to Field from Ontario in August 1981, and am fortunate to call Yoho National Park my home. When I first moved to Field, I worked at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge and the Siding General Store. I was hired as the Friends of Yoho business manager in July 1989, and have been with them since. It is an interesting and challenging job, which I have and continue to, enjoy thoroughly. The wildlife are definitely my passion and I especially have a love for bears. I have been involved with many projects in Yoho National Park that the Friends of Yoho have been a part of. My wish is that in some way I have made a difference for future visitors to this beautiful park I call home. Mike Finn, Volunteer Extraordinaire: I moved to Field in 1990, and began working for Parks Canada shortly after. I enjoyed my many years working in Yoho National Park, but I made the decision to retire in August 2013. I have been so busy with projects that I have been working on, that I m not sure how I had the time to work before, as my days now are full. I have been volunteering for the Friends over the past few years, and help with anything from delivering boxes to the store, painting, fixing and repairing. When I have a free weekend, my wife and I love to take our two schnauzers and go camping. Margaret J. Fields, Secretary: and yes I have lived in Field since 1984 and in the area since 1980. I have worked in the hospitality industry for a number of years and now I currently works for BC Ambulance Service and for Parks Canada in the Field Visitor Centre during the summer. I enjoy hiking, skiing, canoeing and flowers. In the past I have taught numerous watercolour workshops for Friends of Yoho and Hostelling International. I am new to the Board of the Friends of Yoho. Lorill Ireland, Cookie Maker: I was fortunate enough to live in Yoho National Park from 1989 until 1995, working for Skiing Louise for four years, and then the Siding General Store. I have been back at the Siding since June of 2013 dishing out fun and food, and can also be found at the Velvet Antler Pottery Studio where I am apprenticing. I love living in Field and having the opportunity to help visitors appreciate and explore this fabulous place. I am particularly interested in the geology and botany in the park, and the endless inspiration of the natural surroundings on my art.
Contest! We ve got a challenge for all you botanists out there! Fill in the crossword puzzle on the opposite side of this page and return it to the Friends of Yoho at the Visitor Information Centre in Field BC or email the answers to Deb at info@friendsofoho.ca. At our Annual General Meeting a name will be drawn from all of the completed crossword puzzles that are submitted The prize is a copy of Wild Flowers of the Rockies, one of the fine books sold at the Friends of Yoho store, and can be picked up by the winner at the AGM on June 9 2014, or will be mailed to our out-of-town friends! Thanks for participating! Parks Canada Announces Dates for Learn to Camp Grab your sleeping bag and join Parks Canada staff for an introduction to camping and the great outdoors in Yoho National Park! This family-friendly weekend away will teach you how to pitch a tent, cook outside and make the most out of your visit to Canada s national parks. Learn to camp is offered June 21 st to 22 nd, 2014. Visit parkscanada.gc.ca/yoho-learnto for information and registration. Yoho Granola 6 cups rolled quick oats ½ cup canola oil 1 cup sunflower seeds ¾ cup honey or maple syrup 1 cup chopped almonds 1 cup raisins ½ cup pumpkin seeds ½ cup chopped dates 1 ½ cup unsweetened grated coconut or dried cranberries 1/3 cup sesame seeds In a large bowl mix everything but the raisins and cranberries, oil and honey. Heat the oil and honey together gently just so it flows better. If you use liquid honey or maple syrup, just mix with the oil without heating. Slowly add it to the oat mixture while stirring to evenly coat the ingredients. Bake the entire batch at 400 F for 10 min. (This will not fit onto a cookie sheet, so you will have to use a large roasting pan.) Spread evenly on a lightly oiled baking tray (about ¾ thick). Stir granola thoroughly. Continue baking for another 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until golden brown. Burgess Shale Hikes for 2014 High on a mountain ridge in Canada s spectacular Yoho National Park, one of Earth s most ancient marine ecosystems, is frozen in time within the rock layers. These are the famous Burgess Shale fossils discovered in 1909. These exquisitely preserved soft bodied fossils are world renowned and draw many visitors to Yoho National Park each year. Beginning this summer, Parks Canada will also lead two guided hikes per week to a Burgess Shale fossil site in Kootenay National Park.