North in the Spring #23: Strathcona Provincial Park by John Neville Strathcona Provincial Park was named for a railway pioneer, Donald Smith who gained the title of first Baron Strathcona. It is B.C.'s first provincial Park dedicated on March 1st, 1911. This is a rugged, mountainous, wilderness park stretching across central Vancouver Island. It is 2,450 km2 in size. Some of the mountain peaks are perpetually mantled in snow and dominate the park. Other features include: lakes, alpine tarns, a network of streams, creeks, rivers and waterfalls, trees, plants, birds and animals. Summer in Strathcona is usually pleasantly warm, while winters are mild at the lower elevations. Buttle Lake and Forbidden Plateau are two areas easily accessible to the public, but the remainder is largely undeveloped and for wilderness travellers only. In the centre of the park stands Mount Golden Hinde 2,195 m. tall. It is the highest point on Vancouver Island. It was named for Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind, who passed this way in 1579. The hold was filled with Spanish treasure when he completed his famous circumnavigation of the world. Another iconic feature of the park is Della Falls, with a total drop of 440 m. It descends in three cascades and is one of the top ten falls in Canada. It is reached by boat, across Great Central Lake, to the trail head and an overnight hike. There are three road less tracts within the park Big Den, Central Srathcona and Comox Glacier which have been designated as nature conservation areas. Each tract contains examples of scenery and natural history that remains uninfluenced by human activity. These three areas cover 122, 000 hectares. I congratulate the parks department for retaining part of the wilderness status for the benefit of wildlife. However, the province made some compromises to allow mining in some parts of the park. This impacted me when I heard each heavily laden truck approaching, passing and fading in volume. The roaring sound with each truck load spoiled the peace of the wilderness for about 5 minutes. When we walk in the park, our feet stand on many chapters of the earth's geological history going back 380 million years. It includes: violent volcanic eruptions on ancient seafloors, calm periods when lilies waved in gentle currents, rocks torn apart by continental movements and mountains sculpted by ice sheets which only vanished a few thousand years ago. In addition to the iconic Cougar, Black Bear and Grey Wolf this park has another special animal, the Vancouver Island Marmot. At the last count there were approximately 200 in 2022 in the subalpine zone of the island. This is a drop of about 58 since 2021 according to marmots.org. There are several small colonies within the park. The easiest place to see them is at the top of Mount Washington ski lift, early on a July morning. There is a breeding stock in captivity for re-introduction to the wild. The marmots remain in hibernation for about 7 months, until the snow melts. They like meadows in the subalpine zone where it is easy to see approaching predators. Snow and ice keep the meadows relatively clear of ingrowing trees. There has to be sufficient soil or gravel for them to dig down to create a hibernaculum. They create multiple chambers 2 -4 m. deep. Typically in the summer they sit or sleep on convenient rocks with a good view of the meadow. They are herbivores and will eat more or less anything green or brown including: lupines, saxifrages, tree bark and of course grass. In the autumn when snow falls, they go into hibernation. During the winter they may wake up, about every two weeks, go into an adjacent chamber for a quick pee, then go back into a deep torpor. Their breathing slows to about 2 breaths /minute, heart and metabolic rates slow right down and the digestive tract completely atrophies. After seven months they emerge having lost about 30% of their body fat. They are sleepy, hungry and their digestive system needs time to reactivate. The marmots are most vulnerable at this time. The females give birth when the snow leaves and the young appear outside the den in July. The female only has three months to recover her body weight. For this reason she usually has young every other year. The 4-6 pups will stay with the parents for up to three years. The marmot excavations help to provide nutrition for other subalpine species of plants. The burrows provide residence for Western Toads, Garter Snakes and other critters, all at the extreme altitude of their range. The Vancouver Island Marmots is believed to have separated from their nearest relative the Hoary Marmot about 700 thousand years ago. The decline of the VI Marmots became critical in the 1990s. By 2003 only 26 were counted. Logging roads were thought to have given easier access for cougar and wolf populations. Populating Vancouver Island with Cottontails gave year round food supply to Golden Eagles which also predate marmots. The ability of these critters to live in a harsh environment, their scarcity and their relationship to some of the first nations make it important for us to save them. If you want to help the Marmot recovery programme check out marmot.org. Spring was slow coming in June 2022, as we drove Highway 28 into the park. The trees were benefiting and wearing about 15 cm. of their new light green coats. Many of the trails are accessible straight off the highway, such as Lupine Falls Trail 0.6 km. long among ancient trees. Vicariously growing in the shadow of these old growth trees are some unusual plants. Saprophytes, like the Spotted Corralroot, grow on dead organic matter. If you are lucky you might find epiparasite plants called: Pine Sap, Pine Drops and Candlestick. This trail also features a magnificent waterfall. Recently two members of the Comox Valley Naturalists, Loys Maingon and Alison Maingon discovered a brand new fungus, new to Vancouver Island. Strathcona Provincial Park is home to a "palmetto fungi" new to science. The accepted common name by the local mycologists is "Alison' s Gloiodon". The formal Latin name has not yet been affixed to this new species. At Auger Point on Buttle Lake we walked the stony beach on a beautiful calm morning. Despite the lack of sunshine Steller's Jay and Olive-sided Flycatcher were singing. In the winter we have enjoyed Trumpeter Swans in this area. Sitting quietly on a log, a flottila of 48 molting Canada Geese slowly paddled by. Strathcona is a beautiful park containing many riches for people who enjoy the outdoors.