Monday 17 September 2012

SIERRA CLUB HIKING TRIP

The Sierra Club Lower Mainland and WOLF have organized an field trip to the Mclellan Park forests for Saturday September 29. Here is the invitation.
  
Please join Sierra Lower Mainland for a guided hike through a rare forested area in Langley Township.
Where:    Please meet at 257a Street along the roadside
When:     Saturday, September 29th from 3pm – 5 or 6pm
To Bring: Good hiking boots, moderate exercise tolerance
We will be hiking through two separate and distinct areas of forested land. They are presently owned by the
municipality, with one parcel currently for sale. They are just blocks away from each other.

 The parcel that is for sale is a mixed conifer/deciduous forest with different types of habitat. There is extensive vegetation on the forest floor, various tree types and over 100 species of birds and animals that have been observed by naturalists. Some of the trees may be as old as 240 years. The deciduous part of the forest contains a giant hollow cottonwood that we will be visiting. It is in an area that may have been marsh/bog in the nineteenth century and potentially has never been logged. Another area of this lot contains some stumps with evidence of pioneer logging. The thick vegetation makes this forest appear larger than its 25 acres.

Not so with the other parcel of land. This is a 25 acre open floor forest of mostly conifer trees.This means that you can almost look from one edge of the forest to the other. This parcel is reminiscent of the once dominant ecology of the Fraser Valley before European arrival and extensive logging by pioneers. Until July 9, 2012 most of it was also for sale by the municipality; the sale was reversed due to public pressure.

Watchers of Langley Forests is a group of Langley residents who came together in support of conserving both parcels. A member of the group will be guiding us through the forest.

Please respond to theresamartin14@gmail.com if you are interested in joining us on this hike. A car pool can be arranged if there is interest.

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