. -Retracing Canada’s forgotten highway Four Canadians journey the trans-Canada waterways from west to east Johnson Tai n April 1 1967, four men from New Westminster embarked on an 4000 mile trans-Canada canoe expedition to revive the spirits of the early Canadian pioneers. The voyageurs and coureurs de bois were adventur- ous young men from 17th century France. Working as independent sup- pliers for the North West Company and later the Hudson Bay Company, they navigated the waters throughout North America. Many of the commu- nication lines became the internation- al boundaries determining the future of both Canada and the United States. pe 1967 was Canadés centennial year. Enthusiasm for history and patriotism was running high. Many cities and towns across Canada organized cen- tennial projects to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday. Don MacNaughton, now 71 years old, was one of the four members of the Eastward Ho expedition. Working for BC Tel as a lineman, MacNaughton is fluent in ways of coping with unpredictable weather. He recalls why he participated in the trip. “The idea of been able to go across Canada on its rivers was just very challenging to me. The thought of arriving in. Montreal, going down the Lachine rapids which I’ve seen many times in my frequent travels in and out of Montreal is just something I had in the back of my mind the moment the expedition was proposed. If we can make it to Montreal, that would be an incredible thrill going down those rapids, into the city where I was born not too far from,” says MacNaughton. The old canoe highway established by early pioneers used the Columbia River, now a part of the State of Oregon, as its western terminal. However, in keeping with the centen- nial theme, the Fraser River was cho- sen as the western point for this cross Canada endeavour. After months of planning and fundraising, April 1 was set as the departure date. Basking in soft spring sunshine, the four member canoe party left the cheering crowd behind on the New West waterfront. As the 20 foot open canoe picked up speed the crew encountered their first chal- lenge. Attempting to complete the normally five months long tip in three and a half, Eastward Ho carries a 20 h.p. motor for faster speed. Although it is spring on the West Coast, motor induced wind could turn a person blue in only a few moments. The voyageurs were short and stocky so they could fit into the canoes. They didn’t have the luxury of an outboard motor nor an escort land party hauling additional supplies. It could be quite a workout paddling upstream a 35 foot canots de maitre, mother of all canoes, while transport- ing three or four tonnes of freight. Out of all the departures, arrivals and numerous portages, MacNaughton remembers one partic- ular welcoming as outstanding. “When we arrived at Duck Bay, Manitoba, somehow the Native People there knew we were coming. The shores of Duck Bay are very shal- low so we had to climb out of the canoe prior to getting to the shore. There was one chap who had a potato sack over his shoulder with water seeping out of it. One of the boys in the canoe said “What's he doing with that sack? I sort of had a good guess and I was right. The sack was full of ice and cold beer!” Touring suburban Winnipeg by canoe was both leisurely and relaxing. Leading toward Winnipeg, the Assiniboine River winds and twists demanding the patience of boaters. “It’s extremely picturesque. You are going by riverside farms. Then, as you approach the outskirts of Winnipeg, you get into an area where the lawns _are groomed down to the banks of the river. People had planted trees, rose bushes, beautiful gardens and homes. You are twisting in and out of all this with the river. It’s like going through the Garden of Eden,” says MacNaughton, with dreamy eyes and almost childish excitement. While at Sault Ste Marie channel lock, Eastward Ho stamped its mark in history. According to the guest book of the lock, the canoe was the first transport vessel from the Pacific in over a hundred years. Before arriving in Montreal, Eastward Ho had to go through the Lachine rapids. “This was a super high point for me. I was finally going to shoot these rapids which I’ve driv- en by and seen many times,” says MacNaughton. “As it turned out, the keel of the canoe was like it was stepping off one stair onto another. The banging sound seemed to get louder as you go toward the bottom of this massive water stairway. We were praying that the canoe will not split apart,” he says. After 4000 miles of fighting wind, ice and whitewaters, Eastward Ho delivered the canoe mail to Montreal’s post office. Standing in a warehouse full of workers, the crew felt appre- hensive about how they would be received. The foreman announced to the workers: “These gentlemen have brought this mail from the Pacific Ocean, all the way across Canada, in the manner of our forefathers; by canoe!” There was silence. Then, someone began to clap their hands. The clapping swelled into a warm = Back in dem good old days, this was the best way to eet around homecoming. “They can relate to the significance of the expedition in an intimate way. They are the offspring of the coureurs de bois and the voyageurs. People who travelled around this continent long before there were the United States and Canada,” MacNaughton reflects on the emotional day. MacNaugton’s story, as well as the rest of the Easterward Ho paddlers, can be read in the book, Canada’s Forgotten Highways. Their canoe is currently at the Quay. Lower Mainland’s carbon sink and more Johnson Tai urns Bog stores not only car- B bon dioxide for Vancouverites but their garbage bags too! Home to the stunted forest, carniv- orous sundew, flying squirrel and the Pacific treefrog, Burns Bog is a huge track of ancient spongy moss, ten times the size of Stanley Park. In addition to the exotic species already mentioned, more familiar animals such as the black bear, red fox, garter snake blacktail deer and the beaver also inhabit the moss-covered land- scape. Located in North Delta, thou- sands of commuters pass by Burns Bog daily without paying much notice to it. “I guess one reason is that it is not as visible as a mountain or as beauti- ’ ful tall trees. Even though we do have the equivalent of old-growth forest, the trees are very small because the bog is nutrient-poor,” says Eliza Olson, volunteer President of Burns Bog Conservation Society. “We have the lilliputians of the environment in the bog. You can have a tree that’s 75-100 years old and it could be a foot and a half to two feet tall,” explains Olson. A bog forms as layers and layers of dead plants accumulate in a water- logged area. In the case of Burns Bog, the Fraser River first deposits clay-like silt in its delta. Gradually, as dead vegetation piles up, the surface rises above flood level. The combined effect of both rising land level and clay bottom finally separates the bog from the nutrient-rich river water. Sphagnum moss thrives in the newly created acidic and wet conditions. Most of Burns Bog is privately owned by Western Delta Lands Inc. and the City of Vancouver. Western Delta Lands conducted peat harvest- ing operation from 1945 to the early 1980s. Right now, the southwestern half of the bog is being used as a garbage dump by the Greater Vancouver Regional District. “The garbage dump contravenes all current guidelines for landfills. It’s in a wetland, It’s too close to an airport. It’s in contact with groundwater. It’s in an earthquake zone and located on a flood plain. It’s also subject to tidal action twice a day,” Olson comments on the absurdities of the dump site. Making the matter worse, council- lors at Vancouver city hall are plan- ning to expand the garbage disposal operation to avoid the costs of devel- oping other alternative methods. There are, however, concerns about flooding in nearby farms as a conse- quence of the expansion. The weight of more garbage would squeeze water out of the saturated peatland, over- flowing into surrounding fields. Another concern is liquefaction. Liquefaction is the disintegration of land mass during seismic actions. The shifting of land could cause leaching into aquifers, underground rivers, and streams, often draining into the Fraser River. The contaminated water may prove to be fatal to the fish popula- tion. “We've looked at earthquake studies for the City of Richmond and it talks about liquefaction. One of the ironies is that Richmond does not have land- fills. They closed their landfills because of concerns of leaching after an earthquake. And where are they dumping garbage now? In Burns Bog, which is the same kind of land and soil,” Olson states. There are many benefits in keeping the wetland as it is. When rainwater flows through peatbogs, it carries bits of minerals, iron in particular, out of the peat and into the river. The min- Bog in ‘Maple Ridge Johnson Tai he media went crazy over the burning Burns Bog in the summer of 1996. By the time the stubborn fire was finally doused, most people in the Lower Mainland knew about the Delta bog. However, Burns Bog is not the only wetland in the Greater Vancouver area. On the western edge of Silver Valley Highlands in Maple Ridge, the Blaney Bog lies quietly, away from public attention. “It’s a hanging bog. A hanging bog is located at the top of a fjord. It’s growing up the mountain instead of growing outward into the water,” says Eliza Olson, President of Burns Bog Conservation Society. Moisture is one of the most impor- tant elements in wetland ecology. With a steady and plentiful supply of water, a peatland could sustain itself and even achieve growth. The Blaney Bog in Maple Ridge is such a case. “The reason why it’s growing so rapidly is because the clearcutting that’s taking place above it. So the water's coming down a lot faster than it normally would,” explains Olson. Aside from serving as a flood con- trol, Blaney Bog also houses endan- gered greater sandhill cranes. It has been suggested that if Blaney Bog is spared from human intervention, it would eventually form a raised bog, similar to Burns Bog. eral molecules ensure the abundance of vegetation in salmon estuaries along the Fraser River. In an indirect way, Burns Bog feeds the legendary Fraser salmon runs. Secondly, since plants decompose very slowly in an acidic environment, a tremendous amount of carbon is stored in bogs. Olson estimates a peatland the size of Burns Bog stores carbon comparable to the annual emmission of over five million cars. Human disturbances; for example, draining the wetland for develop- ment; could cause peat decomposi- tion, releasing potent greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. Drastic reduction in wildlife popu- lations often preshadows possible threats to the human population. The graceful but endangered greater sand- hill crane is such an example. “We only had seven cranes came back this year and two of them spent a day and a half calling. Our observer said the only time cranes do that is when they lost their mate. Seven cranes represent a very small gene base and the chance of survival. The greater sandhill cranes are sort of the canary of the Lower Mainland and A recent Rural Official Community Plan review recommends no changes to the area’s zoning status. “The land is held in agricultural land reserve. However, it is owned privately. If there is a request for a development license, the proposal will be considered accordingly,” says David Stevenson of Maple Ridge Planning ‘Department. they are dying,” warns Olson. Europeans seem to be more con- scious of the intricacy and precious- ness of bog ecology than Canadians. “We belong to the Delta Chamber of Commerce and there is a fellow who rents out vehicles. He said the first question a German tourist asks him is “Where is Burns Bog?’ In some respects, it is better know in Europe than here,” Olson says. The Burns Bog Conservation Society is one of the few organizations officially recognized in British Columbia as one able to acquire and hold land for the public good. The society is continuously fundraising to achieve the goal of $10—12 million needed to purchase the 3500 acres of Burns Bog up for sale. However, the society’s main purpose is to conserve and preserve Burns Bog through education. “Part of the problem is that we are all enamored with the giants of our environment, and they are important. But we are ignoring the lilliputians at our own peril,” cautions Olson. The carnivorous sundew The Other Press April, 1998 7