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56-574: Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia , Canada, and Vancouver Island . The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled by pioneers in 1859, at which time it was renamed Admiral Island . It was the first of the Gulf Islands to be settled and the first agricultural settlement on

112-446: A complement to the existing national park reserve. In most parts of Canada , olive trees cannot thrive; the long, harsh winter and short, humid summer and spring make it difficult for olives to grow comfortably and properly, but Pender Island , Saturna Island , and Salt Spring Island have a Mediterranean style climate that permits olive production. Banana Joe Clemente was one of the first Islanders to introduce olive trees to

168-463: A cost per acre of one dollar after proving they had done so. Before 1871 (when the merged Colony of British Columbia joined Canada), all property acquired on Salt Spring Island was purchased in this way; between 1871 and 1881, it was still by far the primary method of land acquisition, accounting for 96% of purchases. As a result, the history of early settlers on Salt Spring Island is unusually detailed. The method of land purchase helped to ensure that

224-479: A result of lack of civic services on the island or other factors, such as the livestock-killing cold of the winter of 1862. During World War II , 77 Japanese Canadian families living on Salt Spring Island were forcibly relocated away from the coast due to the Internment of Japanese Canadians . Gavin C. Mouat was appointed Custodian of the properties they left behind. Despite evidence of verbal reassurances given to

280-570: A safety principle. In British Columbia, Canada, the BC Forest Safety Council was created in September 2004 as a not-for-profit society dedicated to promoting safety in the forest sector. It works with employers, workers, contractors, and government agencies to implement fundamental changes necessary to make it safer to earn a living in forestry. The risks experienced in logging operations can be somewhat reduced, where conditions permit, by

336-452: A set of wheels over ten feet tall, initially pulled by oxen. As the logging industry expanded, the 1880s saw the introduction of mechanized equipment like railroads and steam-powered machinery, marking the beginning of the railroad logging era. Logs were moved more efficiently by railroads built into remote forest areas, often supported by additional methods like high-wheel loaders , tractors and log flumes . The largest high-wheel loader,

392-530: A vital role in protecting the unique environment and vibrant community of Salt Spring Island. The Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 25 (RCMSAR25) is volunteer organization operated by the Gulf Island Marine Rescue Society (GIMRS) that maintains a permanent 24/7 marine search and rescue capability in the vicinity of Salt Spring Island BC Canada. The organization responds to marine search and rescue emergencies as well as engaging with

448-599: Is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia . The name "Gulf Islands" comes from " Gulf of Georgia ", the original term used by George Vancouver in his mapping of the southern part of the archipelago and which before the San Juan Island dispute also was taken to include what have since been called the San Juan Islands . While geopolitically divided,

504-507: Is called underwater logging , a form of timber recovery. Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a method of harvesting that removes essentially all the standing trees in a selected area. Depending on management objectives, a clearcut may or may not have reserve trees left to attain goals other than regeneration, including wildlife habitat management, mitigation of potential erosion or water quality concerns. Silviculture objectives for clearcutting, (for example, healthy regeneration of new trees on

560-595: Is not necessarily considered a type of logging but a harvesting or silviculture method. Cutting trees with the highest value and leaving those with lower value, often diseased or malformed trees, is referred to as high grading . It is sometimes called selective logging, and confused with selection cutting , the practice of managing stands by harvesting a proportion of trees. Logging usually refers to above-ground forestry logging. Submerged forests exist on land that has been flooded by damming to create reservoirs . Harvesting trees from forests submerged by flooding or dam creation

616-504: Is often far from professional emergency treatment. Traditionally, the cry of "Timber!" developed as a warning alerting fellow workers in an area that a tree is being felled, so they should be alert to avoid being struck. The term " widowmaker " for timber, typically a limb or branch that is no longer attached to a tree, but is still in the canopy either wedged in a crotch, tangled in other limbs, or miraculously balanced on another limb demonstrates another emphasis on situational awareness as

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672-635: Is served by the Ganges and Fulford Harbour exchanges. Active Radio Amateurs maintain wireless repeaters located on Mt Bruce. 2 meter band (147.320 MHz). Coverage from Nanaimo, Vancouver and Victoria. Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue (SSIFR) is the primary emergency response agency serving Salt Spring Island,. Established in approximately 1946 to ensure the safety and well-being of the island's residents and visitors, SSIFR provides fire suppression, medical response, technical rescue, and public education services. Responding to approximately 750 calls per year, SSIFR plays

728-639: Is the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands as well as the most populous, with a 2016 census population of 10,557 inhabitants. The largest village on the island is Ganges . The island is known for its artists. In addition to Canadian dollars, island banks and some island businesses accept Salt Spring's own local currency, the Salt Spring dollar . The island is part of the Southern Gulf Islands , (Salt Spring Island, Galiano Island , Pender Island , Saturna Island , Mayne Island ), which are all part of

784-402: Is then transported to the landing, where it is bucked and loaded on a truck. This leaves the slash (and the nutrients it contains) in the cut area, where it must be further treated if wild land fires are of concern. Trees and plants are felled and transported to the roadside with top and limbs intact. There have been advancements to the process which now allows a logger or harvester to cut

840-576: The Capital Regional District , along with the municipalities of Greater Victoria . Salt Spring Island's highest point of elevation is Bruce Peak, which according to topographic data from Natural Resources Canada is just over 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level. Salt Spring Island has a temperate warm-summer mediterranean climate (Csb) and experiences warm, dry summers and cool winters. Salt Spring Island has many hiking trails. Two of these trails are rough and windy trails that lead to

896-932: The "Bunyan Buggie," was built in 1960 for service in California, featuring wheels 24 feet (7.3 m) high. After World War II, mechanized logging equipment, including chainsaws, diesel trucks, and Caterpillar tractors , transformed the logging industry, making railroad-based logging obsolete. With the advent of these tools, transporting logs became more efficient as new roads were constructed to access remote forests. However, in protected areas like United States National Forests and designated wilderness zones, road building has been restricted to minimize environmental impacts such as erosion in riparian zones . Today, heavy machinery such as yarders and skyline systems are used to gather logs from steep terrain, while helicopters are used for heli-logging to minimize environmental impact. Less common forms of logging, like horse logging and

952-557: The 1960s, the island became a political refuge for United States citizens, this time for draft evaders during the Vietnam War . The island was known as "Chuan" or "Chouan" Island in 1854, but it was also called "Salt Spring" as early as 1855, because of the island's salt springs . In 1859, it was officially named "Admiralty Island" in honour of Rear-Admiral Robert Lambert Baynes by surveyor Captain Richards, who named various points of

1008-604: The Gulf Islands". The division of the Gulf Islands into two groups, the Southern and Northern Gulf Islands, is relatively common. The dividing line is approximately that formed by the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, and the mouth of the Fraser River on the mainland. The islands of the Discovery Islands , Howe Sound , and Fraser River delta are not considered part of the Gulf Islands. The Southern Gulf Islands are near

1064-610: The Integrated Land Management Bureau of British Columbia, locals incline equally to Salt Spring and Saltspring for current use. The official chamber of commerce website for the island, which gives a date of 1906 for the renaming, adopts the two word title, stating that the Geographic Board of Canada, in choosing the one word name, "cared nothing for local opinion or Island tradition." Located between Mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island

1120-768: The San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands geologically form part of the larger Gulf Archipelago. Strictly speaking, the Strait of Georgia is only the wide, open waters of the main strait between the mainland and Vancouver Island , and does not officially refer to the adjoining waters between the islands and Vancouver Island but has become a common misnomer for the entire Gulf, which includes waters such as Active Pass (between Galiano Island and Mayne Island ), Trincomali Channel (between Galiano Island and Saltspring Island ), Sansum Narrows (between Saltspring Island and Vancouver Island), and Malaspina Strait (between Texada Island and

1176-648: The South side was settled by Native Hawaiians known as ' Kanaka '. Other settlers included those from Portugal and the British Isles, including English, Irish, and Scots. Black settlers left California in 1858 after the state passed discriminatory legislation targeting African-Americans. Before the emigration, Mifflin Wistar Gibbs travelled with two other men up to the colony to interview Governor James Douglas about what kind of treatment they could expect there. The Governor

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1232-613: The Southern Gulf Islands in 1993 growing dozens from seed. In 1994/1995, planting a grove of the seed-grown olive trees around a Botchi pit on Salt Spring Island. He also distributed them to Islanders for their private gardens. Banana Joe is also responsible for introducing Musa basjoo , a hardy species of Banana plant to Salt Spring Island. Farm owner Andrew Butt planted his first olive tree in 2001 at his farm on Pender Island, using Frantoio and Leccino cultivars that he obtained from California . He uses kelp obtained from

1288-401: The Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca , Puget Sound , and all connecting and adjoining waters. According to BC Geographical Names (BCGNIS) the name "Gulf Islands" was originally intended and commonly understood to refer to the archipelago at the southern end of the Strait of Georgia; from Gabriola Island in the north to Saturna Island in the southeast and D'Arcy Island in

1344-625: The early 1930s, but officially formed the Salt Spring Island Public Library Association in 1960. The demand for books and resources has only grown since then, requiring constant expansions over the years to accommodate the needs of the island residents. In December 2012, the new Salt Spring Island Public Library was opened. The library is staffed by two librarians, among other paid positions and 87 volunteers. Telecommunications service providers include Telus and Shaw, with most wireless carriers providing coverage. The Island

1400-530: The ecosystem endangered . Since then, GOERT has been working to motivate public and private restoration of the rare ecosystem and promote conservation activities. [1] The unique ecosystem of the islands has been a focal point of conservation efforts for decades. BC Parks operates a variety of provincial parks on the islands, the oldest being Mount Maxwell Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island . In 2003, Parks Canada established Gulf Islands National Park Reserve to protect ecologically important regions of

1456-482: The entire tree including branches and tops. This technique removes both nutrients and soil cover from the site and so can be harmful to the long-term health of the area if no further action is taken, however, depending on the species, many of the limbs are often broken off in handling so the result may not be as different from tree-length logging as it might seem. Cut-to-length logging is the process of felling, delimbing, bucking, and sorting ( pulpwood , sawlog, etc.) at

1512-478: The families in which Mouat said "when you come back, not one chopstick will be missing from your home," Mouat sold the properties below market value using his Custodial rights without the consent of the owners. Salt Spring Lands Ltd., of which Mouat was the president, ended up purchasing some of the properties. Only one of the interned families, the Murakami's, purchased property on the island again and returned. During

1568-703: The highest fatality rate of 23.2 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers and a non-fatal incident rate of 8.5 per 100 FTE workers. The most common type of injuries or illnesses at work include musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which include an extensive list of "inflammatory and degenerative conditions affecting the muscles , tendons , ligaments , joints , peripheral nerves , and supporting blood vessels ." Loggers work with heavy, moving weights, and use tools such as chainsaws and heavy equipment on uneven and sometimes steep or unstable terrain . Loggers also deal with severe environmental conditions, such as inclement weather and severe heat or cold. An injured logger

1624-596: The island in honour of the Rear-Admiral and his flagship, HMS Ganges . Even while named "Admiralty Island", it was referred to popularly as Salt Spring, as in James Richardson's report for the Geological Survey of Canada in 1872. According to records of the Geographic Board of Canada, the island was officially retitled Saltspring on March 1, 1910, though the year 1905 is given by unofficial sources. According to

1680-842: The island is provided by BC Transit . BC Ferries operates three routes to Salt Spring: between Tsawwassen (on the BC mainland) and Long Harbour (on the east side of Salt Spring), between Swartz Bay (at the north end of Vancouver Island's Saanich Peninsula) and Fulford Harbour (at the south end of Salt Spring), and between Crofton (on the east side of Vancouver Island) and Vesuvius (on the west side of Salt Spring). Salt Spring Air , Seair Seaplanes and Harbour Air Seaplanes operate floatplane services from Ganges Water Aerodrome to Vancouver Harbour Water Airport and Vancouver International Water Airport . Kenmore Air operates between Ganges and Lake Union , Seattle , United States. Library facilities have existed on Salt Spring in one form or another since

1736-486: The islands in the Colony of Vancouver Island , as well as the first island in the region to permit settlers to acquire land through pre-emption . The island was retitled to its current name in 1910. It is named for the salt springs found in the northern part of the island. Salt Spring Island is the largest, most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Southern Gulf Islands . Salt Spring Island, or ĆUÁN ( čuʔén ),

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1792-525: The land was used for agricultural purposes and that the settlers were mostly families. Ruth Wells Sandwell in Beyond the City Limit indicates that few of the island's early residents were commercial farmers , with most families maintaining subsistence plots and supplementing through other activities, including fishing , logging , and working for the colony's government. Some families later abandoned their land as

1848-604: The last remaining pockets of Garry oak ecosystems . Only about five percent of Garry oak ecosystems remain in their natural state, landing 91 of the approximately 350 species it supports on the province's list of species at risk . The unique Mediterranean characteristics of the islands' climate supports the Garry oak ecosystem. Garry oak ecosystems are home to more plant species, such as the camas , than any other terrestrial ecosystem in coastal B.C. and are one of Canada's most at-risk natural habitats . Today, Garry oak meadows exist in

1904-499: The local coastal Indigenous community. Many of the murders remained unsolved by authorities, leading to a hostile environment for Black residents whose population subsequently dwindled. Much of the youth moved away to Victoria, Vancouver, and on occasion to the United States. The island was the first of the Gulf Islands to be settled by non-First Nations people. According to 1988's A Victorian Missionary and Canadian Indian Policy , it

1960-818: The local community through a variety of Marine Safety Awareness and Education Programs. RCMSAR25 consists of 30+ volunteer members – men and women of all ages - with a search and rescue vessel based at Vesuvius Harbour. For land based Search and Rescue, Salt Spring Island Search & Rescue has been active in the community since 1989. They are a dedicated group of approximately 40 unpaid professional volunteers trained to search for, rescue and assist missing persons.  Members are highly skilled in teamwork, ground search tactics, first aid, wilderness navigation, tracking, survival, radio communications, high-angle rope rescue, and helicopter safety. 48°50′N 123°30′W  /  48.833°N 123.500°W  / 48.833; -123.500 Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands

2016-483: The logging industry employed 86,000 workers and accounted for 93 deaths. This resulted in a fatality rate of 108.1 deaths per 100,000 workers that year. This rate is over 30 times higher than the overall fatality rate. Forestry/logging-related injuries (fatal and non-fatal) are often difficult to track through formal reporting mechanisms. Thus, some programs have begun to monitor injuries through publicly available reports such as news media. The logging industry experiences

2072-461: The mainland around Powell River ). "The Gulf" refers to all such waters collectively, and to those communities and shores surrounding it. Only the term "Strait of Georgia" remains in the provincial gazette although its use as a synonym for the Gulf is unofficial, while the term Gulf of Georgia remains in current use though not in the provincial gazette. The term Salish Sea was adopted in 2010 to refer to

2128-451: The major cities of Nanaimo and Victoria on Vancouver Island as well as Vancouver on the mainland. None of the islands are linked to another island by bridge, the exception being Pender Island which was artificially divided into two by a canal dug in 1903. Various proposals have been made to link one or more of the islands to another island, or with the mainland coast of the province, without success. Challenges include high capital costs,

2184-519: The manual logging era before the 1880s, the railroad logging era from the 1880s to World War II , and the modern mechanized era that began after the war. In the early days, felled logs were transported using simple methods such as rivers to float tree trunks downstream to sawmills or paper mills. This practice, known as log driving or timber rafting , was the cheapest and most common. Some logs, due to high resin content, would sink and were known as deadheads. Logs were also moved with high-wheel loaders,

2240-402: The northern end of the Strait of Georgia , including all islands south of Savary Island , the southernmost island of the neighbouring Discovery Islands . The major Northern Gulf Islands are as follows: The islands and surrounding ocean are rich with ecologically diverse plants and sea life including Garry oaks , wild lilies, kelp beds and Orcas . The Gulf Islands are home to one of

2296-442: The presence of ecologically sensitive ecosystems, the mountainous terrain of the islands, impracticality due to the low population of the islands, and opposition from locals. Logging Logging is the beginning of a supply chain that provides raw material for many products societies worldwide use for housing , construction , energy , and consumer paper products. Logging systems are also used to manage forests , reduce

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2352-442: The risk of wildfires , and restore ecosystem functions, though their efficiency for these purposes has been challenged. Logging frequently has negative impacts. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal , including the use of corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits. It may involve

2408-616: The shallow and exposed soil of valleys , rocky foothills and southern slopes —areas that the settlers of the past 150 years have found unsuitable for agriculture or development . The Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT), a partnership of a number of governmental and non-governmental agencies that comprise 22 individuals, was established in 1999 after the delegates of the First International Garry Oak Ecosystem Symposium met in Victoria and declared

2464-416: The site) and a focus on forestry distinguish it from deforestation . Other methods include shelterwood cutting , group selective , single selective , seed-tree cutting , patch cut , and retention cutting . The above operations can be carried out by different methods, of which the following three are considered industrial methods: Trees are felled and then delimbed and topped at the stump. The log

2520-449: The so-called " timber mafia ". Excess logging can lead to irreparable harm to ecosystems, such as deforestation and biodiversity loss . Infrastructure for logging can also lead to other environmental degradation . These negative environmental impacts can lead to environmental conflict . Additionally, there is significant occupational injury risk involved in logging. Logging can take many formats. Clearcutting (or "block cutting")

2576-527: The southeastern Gulf Islands. As a National Park Reserve , the long-term goal is to protect most of the southeastern Gulf Islands. In 2012, Parks Canada published a feasibility Study for the proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area Reserve. The goal of the National Marine Conservation Area is to protect ecologically significant marine habitats and ensure sustainable use of marine resources. It would also serve as

2632-499: The southern end of the Strait of Georgia , forming an intricate network of waterways between them, collectively referred to as part of the Salish Sea . The Southern Gulf Islands include hundreds of islands and islets, and form part of a larger archipelago that also includes the nearby San Juan Islands of the state of Washington in the United States . The major Southern Gulf Islands are: The Northern Gulf Islands are located near

2688-419: The southwest. During the 1990s, however, the name began to be applied to all the islands in the Strait of Georgia, resulting in the introduction of the term "Southern Gulf Islands", which BCGNIS calls a misnomer, to distinguish the original "Gulf Islands" from the rest, which are sometimes called the "Northern Gulf Islands". BCGNIS further notes that Quadra Island is increasingly described as the "northernmost of

2744-458: The stump area, leaving limbs and tops in the forest. Mechanical harvesters fell the tree, delimb, and buck it, and place the resulting logs in bunks to be brought to the landing by a skidder or forwarder . This method is routinely available for trees up to 900 mm (35 in) in diameter. Logging methods have changed over time, driven by advancements in transporting timber from remote areas to markets. These shifts fall into three main eras:

2800-547: The summit regions of both Bruce Peak 709 m (2,326 ft) above sea level, and Mount Tuam 602 meters (1,975 feet) above sea level. These two mountain peaks are the tallest points of land on the Southern Gulf Islands. Short hikes can also be found on the island. One of these is the 2 km (1.2 mi) long trek to the summit of Mount Erskine, which is 436 m (1,430 ft) above sea level. Cycling on Saltspring Island may involve large elevation changes and poor road conditions with limited curb space. Local bus transit on

2856-408: The surrounding straits as fertilizer and uses a pruning method that enhances the sunlight exposure on the trees. Michael Pierce and colleagues established an olive tree nursery on Saturna Island in 2009 that supplied olive trees to the region. The larger populated islands are served by BC Ferries , which operates various vehicle and passenger ferries between the Gulf Islands and to terminals near

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2912-443: The tree down, top, and delimb a tree in the same process. This ability is due to the advancement in the style felling head that can be used. The trees are then delimbed, topped, and bucked at the landing. This method requires that slash be treated at the landing. In areas with access to cogeneration facilities, the slash can be chipped and used for the production of electricity or heat. Full-tree harvesting also refers to utilization of

2968-600: The use of oxen, still exist but are mostly superseded. Logging is a dangerous occupation. In the United States, it has consistently been one of the most hazardous industries and was recognized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. In 2008,

3024-505: Was a Guyanese man of multi-ethnic birth, and assured them that people of African descent in Canada would be fairly treated and that the colony had abolished slavery more than 20 years before. Throughout the 1800s, Vesuvius and Ganges were predominantly African-American communities. Racial tensions arose between August 1867 and December 1868, when three Black men were murdered in the community of Vesuvius Bay. The murderers were largely blamed on

3080-451: Was initially inhabited by Salishan peoples of various tribes. Other Saanich placenames on the island include: ȾESNO¸EṈ¸ ( t̕ᶿəsnáʔəŋ̕ ) for Beaver Point, S¸ĆUÁN ( sʔčuʔén ) for Cape Keppel, W̱ENÁ¸NEĆ ( xʷən̕en̕əč ) for Fulford Harbour, SYOW̱T ( syaxʷt ) for Ganges Harbour, and ṮÁȽEṈ ( ƛ̕éɬəŋ ) for Isabella Point. The North side of the island was originally settled mostly by African Americans from California , while

3136-606: Was the first agricultural settlement established anywhere in the Colony of Vancouver Island that was not owned by the Hudson's Bay Company or its subsidiary the Pugets Sound Agricultural Company . Salt Spring Island was the first in the Colony of Vancouver Island and British Columbia to allow settlers to acquire land through pre-emption: settlers could occupy and improve the land before purchase, being permitted to buy it at

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