Terry Nelson

Western Larch - “Lure Larch” Larix occidentalis 900+ years old Diameter = 1.51 m Height = 38.9 m (broken top) Crown = 11.0 m As with most big tree seeking adventures, a bit of getting lost, driving around on roads with no idea where they go, and then finding hidden treasures seems to be a common...

In preparation for my upcoming new book, Big Trees of Vancouver Island I have had the honour and pleasure of visiting some of what are claimed to be the “Biggest Trees” of their respective species to be found anywhere in Canada, and in some cases, the world. Explorations around the great forests of...

The Southern Foothills of Alberta are welcome company as we make our way on Highway 22 north towards Calgary. The constricted BC mountain views give way to expansive horizons of seemingly unlimited visual potential. The seasonal, or even daily variations in how this vista presents itself often...

As a Big Tree Seeker, going to Haida Gwaii (Islands of the People) is sort of the Shangri-La for our crowd. British Columbia’s west coast is endowed with some of the greatest forests on the planet, with these isolated, rain-drenched islands supporting some of the most productive tree growth of...

Using your imagination will help to understand the historical evolution of the Fernie forests that arose from the ashes after the “Great Fire” 1908. Envision Fernie at the end of the 19th century and beginning of 20th - 1880 to 1920. A bustling frontier town with folks all seeking a means of...

There are over 120 species of pine trees on the planet. Their ecological range is generally confined to dry sites with weak soils. These common and widespread terrestrial plants are quite often lumped into one category - pine trees. At closer observation this is not the case, with each species...

The Western Larch tree is a welcome mountainside presence in the Fernie area. Presenting us with the fresh emerald green needles of spring, to the seasonal transitioning, glowing golden needles of fall, we are treated to one of the arboreal miracles. A coniferous tree that drops its foliage in the...

So, what are lichens? Lichens are not a single organism, like plants. Instead, they are made up of fungi in combination with a photobiont, either green algae and/or cyanobacteria. Together, these organisms form the symbiotic relationship known as a lichen. The algae or bacteria is the partner...

The age of the forests in and around Fernie are quite similar, with most of the trees having essentially sprouted at about the same time. That time being after the 1908 forest fire that razed the entire valley of its vegetation. Scorched earth is not always the most receptive to the germination of...

Many persons living in the East Kootenay region will have an acquaintance with the sprawling shrub of the yew bush, having been tangled by a seemingly impenetrable barrier when hiking off trail (see bushwhack) in mountain environments. For those not familiar with this encounter, imagine walking...