THE FOREST HISTORY ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

Click here for our most recent newsletter. Back issues are located at the bottom of this page.

We have published or co-published several books on forest history topics. See for example:
The History of Cowichan Lake Research Station
The Aleza Lake Experiment Station (1920's and 1930's)
An Early History of the Research Branch, British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range
Tom Wright: recollections of a pioneer forester and tree farmer

More recently, the FHABC has published a biography of F.D. Mulholland, authored by members Gerry Burch and John Parminter--Frederick Davison Mulholland P. Eng., B.C.R.F.: The Father of Sustained Yield Forestry in British Columbia. Mulholland worked for the B.C. Forest Service for nearly two decades, designing many of the forest survey field procedures used during the 1920s and 1930s, and he compiled the first provincial inventory of B.C.'s forest resources in 1937. This book costs $20, and you can order your own copy by downloading the order form here.

A bibliography of published works concerning B.C.'s forest history can be found here. The bibliography is current as of December 2009. Most entries are specifically about forest history, many are primarily local or regional histories with some forestry content. Please bring any errors or omissions to our attention at the email address at the bottom of this page.

Partial Newsletter Archive

No. 84 - August 2007 - PDF file 106KB

• 2007 AGM Report
• Aleza Lake Research Forest Archival Records - Tara Rogers
• FHABC Web Site and Online Newsletters
• Prince George Area Chronology - R.B. Carter
• Canadian Institute of Forestry News
• Recent Publications
• Obituary: Charles Johnson
• Alan R. Fraser - Jack Ker

No. 83 - August 2007 - PDF file 107KB

• 2007 AGM Announcement
• Whistler Forest History Project - John Hammons
• The Tee Fire at Muncho Lake - Edo Nyland
• Hungarians Celebrate 50^th Anniversary of Arrival at UBC

No. 82 - May 2007 - PDF file 327KB

• Meeting Announcements
• The Sopron Division of the Faculty of Forestry - Antal Kozak
• Fifty Years On - Joseph Bako
• News Items

No. 81 - December 2006 - PDF file 107KB

• FHABC AGM report
• Obituaries
• Index to B.C. Forest History Newsletters 61 - 80
• Inventory's Annus Horridus, 1955 – An Addendum - Gerhard Eichel
• Ex-Forest Service Vessel Squadron News

No. 80 - August 2006 - PDF file 140KB

• In memoriam – Inventory’s Annus horridus, 1955 - Gerhard Eichel
• History of Western Forest Industries Limited, Gordon River Logging Division
• The Pemberton - Sheppard - Sayward indenture

No. 79 - April 2006 - PDF file 109KB

• Forestry in the Chilliwack District - J.A. Mahood
• Obituary: Gerald Smedley Andrews
• Ex-Forest Service Vessel Squadron news

No. 78 - December 2005 - PDF file 103KB

• FHABC AGM report
• A brief history of Cathedral Grove, MacMillan Park - Kerry Joy
• Chronological history of Rayonier Canada Limited - Rayonier

No. 77 - August 2005 - PDF file 106KB

• Forest history meets ecology: understanding the present from the past - Audrey Pearson
• Starting out in the Forest Surveys and Inventory Division - Gerhard Eichel
• Celebrating my eighteenth birthday - Ralph Schmidt
• Goings on at Lake Cowichan - John Parminter
• Timber cruising - Jack Ker

No. 76 - April 2005 - PDF file 105KB

• The Burman River fly camp - Ralph Schmidt
• James R. Anderson, B.C. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and forest policy advocate - David Brownstein
• Lemon Lookout lives again: update - Stuart MacCuaig
• 75 years of reforestation celebrated on April 17, 2005 at Green Timbers

No. 75 - December 2004 - PDF file 110KB

• FHABC AGM report
• The cougar sisters: a brief review from portals of the past - Donald Ream
• Recollections of Howard Rustad - Bill McGhee
• Obituary: Tom Wright

No. 74 - August 2004 - PDF file 104KB

• The Cowichan Lake Research Station turns 75 - John Parminter and Don Carson
• Queest Mtn. Lookout revisited - Al Schutz
• From horses to helicopters - Jack Carradice
• Obituary: Ken Drushka

No. 73 - March 2004 - PDF file 105KB

• Tales from the West Coast of Vancouver Island - Jack Ker
• BCFS Ranger School Graduates 1966 - 1978 - Geoff Bate
• Obituary: Geoff Bate

No. 72 - November 2003 - PDF file 104KB

• FHABC AGM report
• Lemon Lookout lives again - Stuart MacCuaig
• BCFS Ranger School Graduates 1953 - 1965 - Geoff Bate
• Logger math

No. 71 - September 2003 - PDF file 199KB

• Queest Mtn. Lookout dismantled - Heather Persson
• Recollections of a Forest Ranger on the Coast 65 years ago - Ross Douglas

No. 70 - May 2003 - PDF file 98KB

• History of the Society of Consulting Foresters of British Columbia, part two - Rudi Kind and G. Wayne Coombs
• FHABC honours and awards presented BCFS Ranger School Graduates 1950 - 1953 - Geoff Bate

No. 69 - February 2003 - PDF file 132KB

• History of the Society of Consulting Foresters of British Columbia, part one - Rudi Kind and G. Wayne Coombs
• FHABC honours and awards night announcement BCFS Ranger School Graduates 1948 - 1950 - Geoff Bate

No. 68 - November 2002 - PDF file 136KB

• Cutting up the far north  - John Parminter
• FHABC AGM report
• “Spartree” video available for purchase
• Book review: “Wildfire Wars” by Keith Keller - Geoff Bate

No. 67 - August 2002 - PDF file 144KB

• The De Dietrich/Trew family in North America - D. Michael Trew
• Forest history and the Forest Service Ranger School - Geoff Bate

No. 66 - June 2002 - PDF file 137KB

• Growing up in the interior, part two - Dave Wallinger
• Martin Mars, “God of Rain” - Dirk Septer

No. 65 - March 2002 - PDF file 107KB

• Growing up in the interior, part one - Dave Wallinger
• Forest History Society to set up Canadian office
• Ex-Forest Service Vessel Squadron news

No. 64 - November 2001 - PDF file 102KB

• FHABC AGM report
• Forest History Society Board Meeting, October 2001
• Volunteers restore cabin (on Murtle Lake, Wells Gray Park)
• S.M. Simpson Ltd.

No. 63 - May 2001 - PDF file 106KB

• Replanting efforts by the predecessor companies of MacMillan Bloedel during the interwar period, part two - Sen Wang
• A winter’s tale - Hank Horn

No. 62 - March 2001 - PDF file 100KB

• Replanting efforts by the predecessor companies of MacMillan Bloedel during the interwar period, part one - Sen Wang
• Ex-Forest Service Vessel Squadron news
• Obituary: Bill Moore

No. 61 - December 2000 - PDF file 100KB

• The Tiehack, part two - Geoff Marples
• FHABC AGM report
• Index to numbers 41 - 60

No. 60 - August 2000 - PDF file 101KB

• The tiehack (1) - Geoff Marples
• The saga of Clancy Haldane - Hank Horn

No. 59 - June 2000 - PDF file 100KB

• The life and times of Richard Hugh Spilsbury (2) - Richard Spilsbury
• Destiny’s irresolute digit - Hank Horn

No. 58 - March 2000 - PDF file 101KB

• A private walk - Ron Jones
• The life and times of Richard Hugh Spilsbury (1) - Richard Spilsbury

No. 57 - December 1999 - PDF file 95KB

• 100 years of federal forestry in British Columbia - Steve Taylor

No. 56 - October 1999 - PDF file 109KB

• Communing with nature – reflections on a forestry career (2) -  Geoff Marples

No. 55 - June 1999 - PDF file 95KB

• Communing with nature – reflections on a forestry career (1) - Geoff Marples
• Forestry and/or logging poetry from B.C. – a list - John Parminter

No. 54 - April 1999 - PDF file 96KB

• Fairchild Husky – the “made in B.C.” waterbomber - Dirk Septer
• Fictional works set in the forests of B.C. - John Parminter
• The Tugaway - Betty Dalzell

No. 53 - December 1998 - PDF file 98KB

• Red Morrison – another view (2) - Donald Ream, Jr.

No. 52 - May 1998 - PDF file 103KB

• Red Morrison – another view (1) - Donald Ream, Jr.
• Book review: Sawlogs on steel rails - Patrick Hind

No. 51 - December 1997 - PDF file 98KB

• Riding on fate - Kevin Hunter
• The Royal Commission on forestry at Burns Lake, Oct. 1955 - Ted Knight

No. 50 - May 1997 - PDF file 100KB

• James H. Parkin – portable sawmill pioneer - Tom Parkin
• Book review: Home from the hill - Geoff Bate

No. 49 - December 1996 - PDF file 236KB

• Genoa Bay, 1920 – 1925 - Tom Barnett
• More on axes - Allan Klenman
• David Douglas and the Fort St. James connection - Bill Young

No. 48 - October 1996 - PDF file 106KB

• Milltown to Mill Lake: the Trethewey brothers - MSA Museum
• British Columbia provincial forests - F.D. Mulholland

No. 47 - June 1996 - PDF file 97KB

• The B.C. Paper Manufacturing Co. - George McKnight

No. 46 - April 1996 - PDF file 104KB

• The giant fiefdom - Tony Robinson
• Farmers to loggers: the Comox Logging Co. - Richard S. Mackie

No. 45 - January 1996 - PDF file 321KB

• A tale of a tree (the Cary fir) - John Parminter

No. 44 - October 1995 - PDF file 102KB

• The B.C. Forester: her life and times - Ralph Schmidt

No. 43 - June 1995 - PDF file 107KB

• Young ranger bands - Jack Long

No. 42  - April 1995 - PDF file 123KB

• Railway logging around Merritt - Jack Robinson
• Book review: The legacy and the challenge - Terry Honer

No. 41 - December 1994 - PDF file 102KB

• Permanent street building on the Pacific coast - R.S. Perry

No. 40 - August 1994 - PDF file 99KB

• The Moneta affair, part two - W. Young
• The “chain saw” or “undercutter” axe - Allan Klenman

No. 39 - April 1994 - PDF file 106KB

• B.C.'s best sawmill - Tom Barnett
• More on the 1948 Kitimat cruise - Dick Vivian
• The Moneta affair (1) - Bill Young

No. 38 - December 1993 - PDF file 659KB

• The Quinsam nursery - Jack Long
• The BCFS - a history of regional organization - Bill Young

No. 37 - October 1993 - PDF file 626KB

• Encounters with the Bull of the Woods (2) - Bill McGhee

No. 36 - May 1993 - PDF file 618KB

• Encounters with the Bull of the Woods (1) - Bill McGhee
• Red alert at Puntzi - Bob DeBoo

No. 35 - March 1993 - PDF file 600KB

• Cruising the Kitimat valley in 1948 - Dick Vivian

No. 34 - January 1993 - PDF file 675KB

• Personal recollections of B.C. forestry by an immigrant (2) - Phil Haddock
• Jack Fleetwood - memories of my father - Bob DeBoo

No. 33 - September 1992 - PDF file 671KB

• Personal recollections of B.C. forestry by an immigrant (1) - Phil Haddock
• The crash of the B.C. Forester - Gerry Burch

No. 32 - May 1992 - PDF file 659KB

• Regional fieldwork in the early 1950s (2) - Geoff Bate
• Trevor Green - some memories of Lake Cowichan - Bob DeBoo
• They were not stumped - Allan Klenman

No. 31 - April 1992 - PDF file 600KB

• The Forest History Association of B.C. - an outline history John Parminter

No. 30 - December 1991 - PDF file 806KB

• Regional fieldwork in the early 1950s (1) - Geoff Bate

No. 29 - September 1991 - PDF file 596KB

• The Anderson family and the Alberni valley - Jan Peterson

No. 28 [misnumbered as 27] - May 1991 - PDF file 567KB

• An introduction to cruising - 1948 - Dick Vivian
• Loggers and lumbermen: pioneer settlers of Vancouver - Bill Young

No. 27 - March 1991 - PDF file 658KB

• Forestry in the upper Columbia and Kootenay (2) - Gil Cartwright
• Bernard Churchill and the Ladysmith Railway Museum - Bob DeBoo

No. 26 - December 1990 - PDF file 687KB

• Forestry in the upper Columbia and Kootenay (1) - Gil Cartwright
• Allan Klenman - Canada's axeman - Bob DeBoo

No. 25 - November 1990 - PDF file 658KB

• Early logging in the Alberni district - Dirk Septer
• Vi Richmond - counting pinholes with Hec - Bob DeBoo

No. 24 - May 1990 - PDF file 619KB

• B.C. Forest Service Training School (1947) - Ralph Schmidt
• The tie hacking industry in northwest B.C. - Bulkley Valley Museum

No. 23 - April 1990 - PDF file 676KB

• The Young Men's Forestry Training Plan - Harry Forse
• The 1930s and the YFTP - a Burns Lake perspective - Jack Long
• B.C. Marine - Allan Klenman

No. 22 - December 1989 - PDF file 641KB

• The Aleza Lake Forest Experiment Station - the early days - Bill Young
• Early recollections - Braham Griffith
• The flume and the flywheel - Bob Breadon

No. 21 - November 1989 - PDF file 599KB

• Shipping out with surveys - Dick Vivian
• The Forest Ranger school - Geoff Bate