The Canadian Climate / Ecological Thread

[Metro-One]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

They are a mystery...

Had several tree books over the years and never found them properly described in any.

Pacific Willow was also my original guess but they seem to tall (it is usually described as a shrub) and again seem to prefer warmer valley / canyon bottoms. Also the leaves seem to differ somewhat from a a willow leaf (as mentioned)

There are some specimens I had seen that definitely have the shape of those mesquite trees mentioned by lio45. Especially near Lytton and Osoyoos.

I do wonder if they are natural or introduced. If introduced they sure have spread throughout the entire southern Interior (and Fraser Valley).

[Loco101]

I'm pretty sure that it's a willow. I do know that most types of willows can vary a lot and have big differences between young small saplings and older taller ones of the same species.


If you can get any more photos it might give us some more clues.

[240glt]

This is why we're investing in our new solar system now, I don't doubt that Alberta will follow suit in the spring should there be a change in government

Ford government moves to scrap Green Energy Act

TORONTO — Months after cancelling hundreds of renewable energy contracts, the Ontario government introduced legislation Thursday to scrap a law that aimed to bolster the province’s green energy industry.

Premier Doug Ford promised during the spring election campaign to repeal the Green Energy Act, which was introduced by the previous Liberal government in 2009 in a bid to grow the province’s solar and wind energy supply.

https://torontosun.com/news/provinci...een-energy-act

[drew]

Originally Posted by 240glt

This is why we're investing in our new solar system now, I don't doubt that Alberta will follow suit in the spring should there be a change in government

Ford government moves to scrap Green Energy Act

TORONTO — Months after cancelling hundreds of renewable energy contracts, the Ontario government introduced legislation Thursday to scrap a law that aimed to bolster the province’s green energy industry.

Premier Doug Ford promised during the spring election campaign to repeal the Green Energy Act, which was introduced by the previous Liberal government in 2009 in a bid to grow the province’s solar and wind energy supply.

https://torontosun.com/news/provinci...een-energy-act

Hopefully with wind and solar out of the way, Ontario can purchase more and more of MB's "dirty" hydro power. We need the money!

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by drew

Hopefully with wind and solar out of the way, Ontario can purchase more and more of MB's "dirty" hydro power. We need the money!

Ontario has a significant hydro surplus, does it not?

[drew]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Ontario has a significant hydro surplus, does it not?

I don't think so.

Can't speak for other areas, but IIRC Kenora and surrounding areas are mostly supplied by Manitoba Hydro. You just end up paying 2 to 3 times as much for it as compared to MB.

[Loco101]

Ontario is best to purchase from Hydro-Québec for lower cost clean hydro-electric power.

Yes, Ontario has a surplus at the moment. But a lot of new sources were added (gas plants, sun, wind) and many hydro dams were rebuilt with designs that often double the amount of electricity produced.

The previous Liberal government actually did have a good plan for capacity and for growth in population. But they badly messed up with bills rising way too fast and Hydro One was horrible to the extent of committing extortion. The Liberals had to do what previous governments did and subsidize consumer bills.

I don't know where the PCs are going with hydro. My guess is that they will stop all of the "green" projects like they've announced and not adding anything as production currently exceeds demand. But I wouldn't be surprised if our province ends up paying a lot in penalties and the Ford government tries to keep it under wraps.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Yep, Ketchup red in BC interior too. They are nice because the coat many of the cliffs / steep hillsides. Looks amazing.

Okay, need some help. I have seen these trees in the warmer areas of Southern BC ever since I was a child, but have never been able to find them on any tree lists for BC. They seem large enough to not be considered a shrub.

They are most common on sandy sites in the Southern Interior Valleys (often close to rivers, but not always, sometimes in more urban areas, but not in a "planned" planted way), but I have also found groves on the BC Coast, particularly in the Fraser Valley.

The Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon seem to be a hot spot for them.

Here are some pics I took of a grove growing on a sandy beach / hillside at Bromley Rock Provincial Park located between Hedley and Princeton.

The bark and leaves are leaning me towards some type of willow or poplar??

Bromley Rock Shade Trees by Ian, on Flickr

Bromley Rock Beach by Ian, on Flickr

Bromley Rock Provincial Park by Ian, on Flickr

Bromley Rock Foliage by Ian, on Flickr

Bromley Rock Picnic by Ian, on Flickr

Any ideas??

Seems strange to me to never be listed in any tree book given their size and prominence at BC campsites!

I was in BC for a couple of weeks during the Summer and saw those trees!! Saw them in the Fraser Canyon. Unfortunately it was when we were driving so we saw them very quickly. My wife was finally able to get a photo of a small one along Highway 8 next to the Nicola River. She used her cell phone so it wasn't the greatest photo but helped somewhat in identification.

I'm quite sure that the tree is the SITKA WILLOW.

The leaves definitely fit the description I've read and I have a number of tree books. The leaves can vary a fair amount like many willows (can be a bit pointy or more rounded) but I definitely know that those trees aren't Pacific Willows. The Sitka Willow is often a bush but can grow as a tree up to about 30 feet tall in select sites which is usually along rivers or lakes in low elevations and exposed to sunlight.

For awhile, I thought that those trees could be some sort of hybrid but I found a website that listed trees growing in the Fraser Canyon and then realized that they must be Sitka Willows as my books suggested by their appearance.

[lio45]

Looks like black locust (or honey locust) to me... (not sure why I didn't suggest it last time; it's the closest to mesquite we have around here and it's okay with most soils; I'm sure it could grow anywhere in southern BC)

[lio45]

I just looked at the previous page and realized I wasn't even the first to "find" what those trees are (though I swear I came up with it 100% on my own!)

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Looks to me like the honey locust or black locust, but these trees' native ranges are too far removed from BC (they're in eastern/central north America with honey locust's Canadian range being only narrowly native to southern Ontario).

Unless they are introduced/planted.

[Loco101]

The leaves on locust trees are usually much smaller. These are definitely willows and they have the characteristics of Sitka Willow trees after I did some research. Willows are interesting trees because most varieties will have some variations among the trees and there can be hybrids.

I actually got to see the trees and then could get an idea of how big the leaves are. It's too bad I couldn't get an extremely close-up view when I was in BC because I saw them along highways where there wasn't somewhere to pull over. But I used the photos my wife took with her phone too.

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure but I've definitely ruled out the Pacific Willow. The others I thought of were the Scouler's Willow and Hooker Willow but the characteristics of those didn't fit what I saw.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Loco101

The leaves on locust trees are usually much smaller.

The leaves in those pics are pretty small; about the size I'd expect for Black Locust.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by lio45

The leaves in those pics are pretty small; about the size I'd expect for Black Locust.

They look smaller in the pics than they do in real life. I'd say that they are 3 or 4 inches long.

[TownGuy]

They've planted a bunch of 'Shademaster' Honey Locust on my street. Also going to be a major planting this fall to finish the re-planting of Ash trees that had to be chopped down. Be interestng to see what varieties they plant. In any case the BC locusts look very nice!

[Metro-One]

Thanks for the further investigation guys!

Yeah, there are some really nice groves of them along the Fraser and Thompson canyons.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Also love sumac. They grow on many cliffs and steep hillsides in the southern interior. Their fall foliage is amazing.

Saw some recently on Highway 3 between Christina Lake and Grand Forks. Love the red contrast with the tan grass hillsides.

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

They've planted a bunch of 'Shademaster' Honey Locust on my street. Also going to be a major planting this fall to finish the re-planting of Ash trees that had to be chopped down. Be interestng to see what varieties they plant. In any case the BC locusts look very nice!

Alright so they planted the trees this week. The company that did the planting sent me a handy email. Be interested to hear what the some of the tree nerds (I say that affectionately) here think of the choices.

American Sycamore
Common Hackberry
European Beech
Gingko
Red Oak
White Oak
Serviceberry
Shademaster Honeylocust
Tulip Tree
Zelkova

No Maple trees surprised me for some reason.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by TownGuy

They've planted a bunch of 'Shademaster' Honey Locust on my street. Also going to be a major planting this fall to finish the re-planting of Ash trees that had to be chopped down. Be interestng to see what varieties they plant. In any case the BC locusts look very nice!

Which street Townguy?

[TownGuy]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Which street Townguy?

Chipping Park Blvd/Sutherland area.

[Metro-One]

No Maple Trees, your lucky. Vancouver has been planting them like there is no tomorrow and it is getting really boring.

I love Ginko trees, wonderful bright yellow fall foliage.