Meet the Man Behind the Clearwater Project: Trevor Goward

TLC caught up with Trevor Goward, life-long naturalist and renowned lichenologist, at his home near Wells Gray Provincial Park. We asked him to share with us his thoughts on the Clearwater Wetlands and Wildlife Corridor campaign and why he is donating his property to the project. This Q&A is a continuation of an article TLC published on Trevor in our Winter 2010 Landmark.

TLC: What can you tell us about the natural history of the site?

Trevor: Some time after the retreat of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet – here about 11,000 years ago – a period of cool weather triggered a resurgence of mountain glaciers in the Clearwater Valley’s side drainages. During the height of this activity, one of these glaciers extended westward onto the floor of the Clearwater Valley. Advancing and retreating again and again, this glacier deposited a series of concentric recessional moraines immediately to the west of what is now my home. Nowadays these moraines block the westward flow of groundwater in this part of the valley, giving rise to a large and highly diverse wetland complex. Included here are marshes, swamps, bogs, fens, and plenty of open water for waterfowl. There are also about twenty small springs spanning a wide range of water chemistry. These wetlands are currently up for donation to TLC by John and Edwina Kurta.

Three major creeks drain westward from the mountains into this portion of the Clearwater Valley. The ridges and draws associated with these creeks provide convenient migratory routes for many large wildlife species: grizzly and black bear, moose, mule deer, cougar, lynx, bobcat, wolf, and coyote. Most of these animals migrate back and forth here between their high summer ranges to the east and their lowland winter ranges to the west. This is definitely a busy place for wildlife. Their trails and tracks are everywhere.

In July of 1926 a huge wildfire swept up the Clearwater Valley. By the time it burned itself out three months later, roughly 500 square kilometres of forested land had been laid waste. Indirectly, it was this fire that prompted the establishment of Wells Gray Provincial Park. By the late 1920s the burned areas were sprouting willow bushes by the millions. These provided prime winter forage for moose arriving in this portion of British Columbia. They flourished, and soon the Clearwater Valley was home to one of the largest moose populations in North America. This in turn brought the valley to the attention of hunters, and later to motoring tourists, who were greatly impressed by its many waterfalls and sheer physical beauty. Wells Gray Provincial Park was established in 1939 – a decision doubtless made palatable by the fact that whatever merchantable timber the valley then contained was located out of reach beyond the 1926 burn.

TLC: Why is this site important?

Trevor: Wells Gray Park encompasses a vast wilderness, as large as or larger than one in every five nations on earth. From the time of its establishment, it has stood out as an almost perfect park. Even today Wells Gray remains one of very few protected areas in North America – indeed in the world – to encompass an entire watershed. The park’s boundaries were specifically drawn to coincide with the watersheds of the Clearwater, Azure and Murtle Rivers, and for this reason they’ve always been easy to justify. Only in the south has the boundary seemed a little arbitrary. During the past 60 years the southern boundary of Wells Gray has been adjusted southward four times – on each occasion taking in more critical wildlife habitat.

One artifact of these adjustments is that the park now has two southern lobes – one to the east, the other to the west – separated by a “peninsula” of private land that juts northward roughly 20 km. The architects of Wells Gray’s modern boundaries can hardly have foreseen a day when development in the privately owned portions of the Clearwater Valley would begin to prevent the park’s large mammals from moving freely between these two lobes of parkland.

I’ve already mentioned that Edgewood is located in a major crossing area for wildlife. Extensive wetlands in this area limit the number of crossing points, making it tricky for many wildlife species to migrate back and forth between their upland summer ranges and their lowland winter ranges. In the past this has posed no real problem. But recent subdivision development, some of it in connection with tourism, has lately begun to change this. In fact several of the traditional wildlife crossings have already been – or will soon be – rendered inaccessible. In my portion of the Clearwater Valley, only a few options for traversing the wetlands still remain unobstructed, and Edgewood is one of them.

Just now some of the key properties that intersect with the remaining crossings are up for sale. I’d say the situation is critical. Either we secure the last undeveloped properties toward a permanent wildlife corridor, or we lose what will probably be our one and only opportunity to do so. The time to act is short. Creating a permanent wildlife corridor here would be of tremendous long-term benefit to the park’s large mammals, and hence to the integrity of Wells Gray as a wilderness preserve and functioning ecosystem.

TLC: Why did you turn to TLC for help?

Trevor: Two reasons. First, TLC has a reputation as a can-do organization. By donating my 10-acre home property to TLC, I hoped to win support for the wildlife corridor project I’ve just described. And it’s working! Already my wonderful neighbours John and Edwina Kurta have offered to donate 66 acres of wetlands – bogs, swamps, marshes, fens, open water – in support of the project. Now we just need to raise some money to purchase a few key properties, and we’re there! With that done, the conservation value of Wells Gray Park, one of Canada’s hallmark wilderness preserves, would be greatly strengthened.

My other reason for turning to TLC is more personal. The simple act of donating my property for wildland conservation seems a way of giving something back to the Clearwater Valley, a place I’ve come to love dearly, my home. Come down to it, I suppose this is mostly about legacy, creating something valuable, leaving something behind to inspire others.

TLC: What are your hopes for the property?

Trevor: My hope for Edgewood is that it will some day have a place in the hearts of naturalists across the province and perhaps beyond. I’d like to see Edgewood become a gathering place for people dedicated to thinking about – and experiencing – the green living world. Actually I’ve been working toward this end for some time already; just this autumn, in fact, I finished fitting Edgewood out as a kind of outdoor campus. So I guess the time has come to upgrade my efforts to higher public profile. In the years ahead, I expect I’ll be teaching, assisting, hosting, housing, and possibly cajoling all manner of like-minded people keen to learn about wild places like Wells Gray. Success for Edgewood means building a tradition of naturalist research and education that continues long after I’m gone.

TLC: Who is Trevor Goward? How would you describe yourself?

Trevor: I guess I see myself as a heedful person living in (dare I say it?) heedless times. Original sin as disposable diapers, that kind of thing. I try not to moralize – we’re all products of the times we inhabit – but I do believe we can do much better at living sustainably. When I acquired the deed to Edgewood, the first thing I did was plant a vegetable garden. The second thing I did was build a root cellar. That garden is now in its 27^th year, and has multiplied to many gardens, some for food, others for beauty. I’ve also lately been teaching myself to “travel locally”. Gary Snyder once said the best thing we can do for the environment is stay home. I tend to agree. These days I do most of my travelling in the Clearwater Valley. Usually I follow game trails – a great way to go, I recommend it.

Vocationally I’m a life-long naturalist, now approaching 60. Some TLC members may remember me from my days as a seasonal interpreter in Wells Gray Park. That was back in the 70s and 80s – the “good old days” – when the BC government used to enlist the enthusiasms of university students to promote the values of our provincial parks. Since about 1990 I’ve made a living as a lichenologist, with a special interest in lichen taxonomy, biodiversity and the relation of lichens to oldgrowth forests. My website, waysofenlichenment.net, summarizes some of my recent and ongoing activities.

In late summer 2010, Trevor, two TLC Members, and a staff person toured the Clearwater Wetlands and Wildlife Corridor and the southern section of Wells Gray Provincial Park. One TLC Member was astonished by the variety of plant species as a result of a fire in 1926, as well as the massive boulders sprinkled on the property from the last glacier retreat. The other member was fascinated by the presence of scratch marks on trees and large excavations dug by bears looking for food. At the end of the day, the tour made each of them realize this special place is truly a wildlife corridor worth saving! Donate today.