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APPENDIX B SOIL SURVEYS IN THAT PAST OF NORTH WESTERN CANADA INCLUDED IN THE NOR1H PACIEtC PUNNING PROJECT A* Leahey 1 / Hie area in Canada coming within the scope of the North Pacific Planning Project, constituting as i t does a very appreciable portion of our country, i s n a t u r a l l y of great i n t e r e s t to us* From the viewpoint of a g r i c u l t u r e , t h i s area i s of i n t e r e s t because: 1* Important faming areas have been developed in t h i s region* 2* The p o s s i b i l i t y and importance of producing fara produce to s a t i s i y l o c a l mailcet requirements where transportation costs are high* 3 , Scientific curiosity as to the crops t h a t can be successfully produced in high l a t i t u d e s • 4* The fact that within t h i s region l i e s our greatest reserve of virgin lands suitable for settlement in Canada* Agriculture i s dependent on climate and soils* Other factors t h a t I need not mention to you govejn whether a g r i c u l t u r a l development i s desirable or not and the type of agriculture that should be followed within the l i m i t s of climate*and soils but without suitable climate and s o i l agriculture i s impossible* Weather stations in our northwest, while few, give us a f a i r picture of climatic conditions, especially along the rivers* With regard to climate I would only say t h a t the region i s characterized by f a i r l y short growing seasons, by rather diy summers and by long hours of daylight during the growing period* The best criticism of climate from the a g r i c u l t u r a l viewpoint i s whether or not crops can be grown* In t h i s regard we have some useful information of a q u a l i t a t i v e nature* Apart from the well established faxming d i s t r i c t s in the southern p a r t of the region under consideration, records of experience and experiments show t h a t grain crops can be grown more or l e s s successfully as f a r north as Simpson, i*e* north l a t i t u d e 62 degrees, while garden crops have been grown for many years as f a r north as UklaviJc* On the western side of our northwest both grain and garden crops have and are being grown as f a r north as Daw^on, j u s t north of the 64th latitude* Unfortunately, we have l i t t l e information with regard to growing conditions back £rcm the rivers north of the provincial boundaries; Gardening and such faming as has been t r i e d were con4ucted along the rivers* Whether growing conditions on the uplands a t higher a l t i t u d e s , #nd away from the possible ameliorating effects of the water, would be &s good i s a matter of conjecture* 1 / Soil S p e c i a l i s t , Ejcperimental J&sms Service, Canadian Department of Agriculture* Soil conditions are limiting factors in importance equal to climatic conditions* To obtain a quantitative picture of the possibilities of the region we must first have seme idea of the amount of land suitable for agriculture, even providing climatic* conditions are suitable* 2b obtain this infozmation we must have field surveys conducted by trained observers* The purpose of this talk is to describe what has been already done in regard to field surveys, the information that such surveys have provided, and to mention the scanty information we have on areas that have not been explored ift this manner* Field Surveys r Biree types of so£L surveys have been conducted in northwestern Canada to date* Ihes^ are: 1* B3connaissance soil surveys conducted jointly by the the provincial governments in the railway belt of the Central of British Columbia. Traverses were conducted about one mile a fairly detailed map of the soils insofar as general fanning The survey of this area is almost completed* Dominion and Interior part apart so we have is concerned. 2* Preliminary land classification surveys oonducted in the Peace River area of Alberta by the government of that Province during the years of 1929 to 1931» These surveys were broader than that being conducted in British Columbia, inasmuch as their putpose was to find out the blocks of land suitable for settlement rather thaii to record soil conditions on each parcel or section of land* These surveys wore conducted almost entirely in virgin lands around then settled areas in the Peace, and along both sides of the river as far north as Fort Yemilion* 3* The exploratory soil survey the Dominion Government made this past summer along the Alaska Highly and in the Yukon* This survey, in some respects at least, was the broadest survey of the three as i t v®,s almost entirely a linear one# All these surveys have provided useful infoimation as to the nature of the soils and the possibilities of agricultural development insofar as soils are concerned to the areas they covered* Since the time that can be devoted to this topic is necessarily limited, I will not discuss the nature of the soils to-day, but rather oonfinp my romarics to the amount and location of lands deemed suitable for cultivation* In this connection, I think i t also advisable to make some mention*of the present extant of agricultural development in the respective areas f general remaric can be made with respect to the virgin areas of land suitable for settlement in northwestern Canada, and that is that nearly a l l such lands are wooded to a greater or lesser degree* The percentage of open grassland suitable for cultivation is small* Clearing of these lands represents onQ of our major problems in land settlement* The Canadian Northwest may be broadly divided into two regions: A* A broad plairi, broken by hills, lying east of the Jtocky snd Mackenzie mountains* Usis plain dips to the north and i t lies entirely in the Arctic ' •watershed* -3 - B* The mountain and interaountain areas lying to the west of the fore-men tion^cl plain. • There are some interior plateaus * ill tfat» region and many mountain valleys* Drainage i s into the Pacific, the Beefaig Sea and the Arctic* This broad picture indicates that large areas of agricultural land will only be found east of the mountains, although some areas of considerable size may be found west of the mountains• A* The Plains Eastof the Mountains 1 # Use Upper Peace - ^aiming in the Upper Peace has been carried on for many years and has achieved a position of considerable importance* By 1936 there was a total of 10,772 farmers occupying some 2,917,193 acres, of which 1,071,600 acres or 39 per cent were improved. About 90 per cent of this development was in Alberta. In 1940 this Alberta part of the area produced over 11,000,000 bushels of wheat, nearly 12,000,000 bushels of oats and 3A of a million bushels of barleyf Agricultural development In the Upper Peace i s s t i l l proceeding at a good pace* Some idea of this development during the past twenty years can be gained from the fact that in 1921 the Upper Peace River area in Alberta had 170,000 acres -under field crops and 700,000 acres by 1940* Bie Upper Peace RLver area i s serviced by the Northern Alberta Railway, running from Edmonton to Dawson Creek, with a branch line to Hines Creek on the north side of the river* Development i s hindered to a considerable extent by lack of branch railways and by lack of good roads* Most of the land adjacent to the present main settled areas in the Peace River Area in Alberta was covered by the preliminary soil surveys of the Province of Alberta* Ihese surveys, together with information I obtained this summer in travelling through the British Columbia part of the area, indicate that there i s at least about 4j000,000 acres in the Upper Peace suitable for settlement and cultivation* 2* The Lower Peace op Fort Vexmilion - Ihile the Lower Peace i s accessible only by boat or air and hence agricultural development has been largely limited to local requirements, considerable information i s available regarding the possibilities of this area* From the work of the Agricultural Experimental Sub-Station, which has been in continuous operation since 1908, we know th&t climatic conditions are suitable for garden crops and for general farm crops, In fact,'despite the rather dry climate, in no season has there been a crop failure* This Station i s located in 58 degrees 2U% north latitude, 116 degrees west longitude* The possibilities of agricultural development in this area insofar as soils are concerned were explored by the Alberta Government in 1930* Seme 4,678,000 $cros were surveyed in preliminary manner between Keg River and Fort Vermilion east of tjhe 6th meridian, 1X8 degrees longitude* The elas* dlfication of lands in this area i s as follows: Park land 1st class 2nd class 3rd class Eroded Muskegs Lakes and soils wooded soils wooded soils wooded soils Rivers 37,000 acres 01,000 it 2,106,000 n 1,404,000 1! 49,000 tt 555,000 it 76,000 tt ^8 9.4 45; 30^2 1; per cent « lf « « « « «. <> U;9 fl • 1.7 " * 100.0 per cent Considering only the parfcland and the first and second class wooded soils to be agricultural lands, we have, • in the Fort Veimilion area same 2 | million acryss of possible arable land. Preliminary soil surveys were also conducted between township 85 and township 98 - that is from the settled portion of the Peace River Countty to the large Fort Vexmilion country along both sides of the Peace River* Little or no good land was found along the east side of the Peace, but on the vrest side over 200,000 acres of agricultural land was found - chiefly in the Notikewin, Hotchkiss, Meikle rivers area. While not a large area, i t is of importance because i t means that a railroad to the Fort Veimilion area along the west side of tho Peace would not bo traversing an entirely unproductive area, 3« The Fort Nelson Area r- I t has Xong been rumored that considerable areas of possible agidcuttu!ral lands lay in the vicinity of Fort Nelson. However, i t was not until this year that an opportunity to look over the area arose. She possible agricultural lands in this area fall into tw distinct groups. a. The river flats or floodplains along the Prophet, Muskwa and Nelson rivers* b. Ihe upland plateau The soil on the flats vaiy from gravels and sands of questionably value to s i l t s of high fertility. Growing conditions on these flats are voiy good as attested by tho rank growth of trees and the excellent gardens that have been raised at Fort Nelson for many years. However, any extensive settlement on those flats is impossible for none of them is vexy*largo and, while numerous, they occur in scattered parcels along the rivers. Clearing on these flats is voxy heavy and there is grave danger of extensive flood damage at periodic intervals. ftie Upland Platoau from the bridge across the Muskwa to Mile 50 vrest of Muskwa i s , in rny opinion, mostly an area of potential fftim land. Ihe soil is generally quite heavy and, although i t is a wooded soil, i t is not leached to any damaging extent. In fact, from observations and from such analyses that I have been able to secure to date I would say that i t is a superior toil to tho amble day soils in the Prince George area of British Columbia. How much of this potential agricultural land lies on the Pbrt - 5 *• Nelson plateau no one can say, but J have placed a preliminary estimate on i t s extent as being a half million acres* The agricultural possibilities of this upland plain, apart front what can be deduced from the nature of the. soils* are absolutely unknown* However, from the meteorological observations made at the airfield over the past five years, i t would seem that the climate is*as favourable Op even more favourable ,than the climate at Fort Vemiiion* 4* Nelson ~ Hay Lake^ Area ~ Th$re are other areas in northern Alberta and British Columbia that should be a i least explored in a preliminary manner* Probably the most important of these areas as far as size is concerned is the land lying between Foift Nelson and the Hay Lakesf About the only thing we know about this arfea is that i t s altitude is such that i t is likely to have a suitable climate for the successful growth of crops* One point of interest is that, through a visit by Alberta surveyors in 1930, we know that there is at least 100,000 acre? of grassland and paikland on the north side of the Bay Lakes* This is one of the largest blocks of virgin grassland that has been found in our north* 5* Ihe Northwest Tbrritpries or Mackenzie: Basfa - Present agricultural development in the Norths-West ifexritories is limited to a few faims and a number of gardens looatftd alpng the Slave, Hay, Liard and Mackenzie rivers, extending as far north as Ifc^avik* The total acreage under cultivation probably does not exceed one to two thousand acres* TIJhile gardens have been grown more or less successfully along the Mackenzie river we have l i t t l e idea pf how much land could be utilized for this purpose. Probably the total acreage is small as the land bade from the river is mostly covered with poorly drained muskegs which are pemanently frozen to within 8 to 10 inches of the surface* Along the river itself a limited amount pf agriculture would seem to be possible if suitable land exists in any appreciable quantity* Possibly the pnly sections whore any agricultural settlement might be feasible lies in the valleys .of the Slave, Hay and Liard Rivers* Albright suggests in "Gardens of the Mackenzie** Geographical Beview, Vol* XXIII, No* 1, Jan* 1933* that the whole region of the Liard may be as favorable for cultivation as the Peace* AH I can say that gardens and small patches of grain have been raised on the river flats in isolated areas* The area would appear to bo v/orth investigating at an e?arly date* B* flae Itegion West of the Hooky and Mackenzie Mountains 1* The Railway Belt ty Central British Columbia - Fajming has been carried on to some extent in this area since the railway was built* However, development has been rather slow as a t present there are only about 50,000 acres of cultivated land in the area* However, general agriculture is quite practical in the area as shorn* by the results obtained by the better f and by recently established Dcaninion Experimental Stations located at Snithers and Prince George* -6 - Up to the end of 1942 the soil survey had mapped 1,835,000 acres in this area* About 39 per cent of this acreage, or 700,000 acres, were classified as arable land. Preliminary estimates of the remainder of the area together with that portion already mapped indicates that there are approximately 1,000,000 acres of arable land* the greater portion of which is available for settlement* Nearly a l l this land is wooded but a considerable portion of i t could be easily cleared* All this land lies reasonably adjacent to the railroad and a fair main highway traverses the area* 2* The Alaska Highway West of the Summit to Mile 256 West of Whitehorse The explore, toiy soil, survey made along the highway this summer provided an excellent opportunity to see many soils that are distinctly different from those that I have previously examined in Canada* While this fact added decidedly to the interest of the trip, i t made the problem of assessing the agricultural merits of the soils more difficult, and I may also say a more treacherous problem. With the exception of a few gardens at Lower Liard Post, and the gardens at Whitehorse and-at one or two other points, no agriculture exists along the Highway so one bad to judge the merits of the soils entirely on their appearance and on the native vegetation* With regard to the acreage figures I will give you for the different areas, I would ask you to bear in mind that they are estimates only and are merely given for comparative purposes* (a) Ihe Racing I&ver ~ Along the west bank of the Racing River which lies about 30 miles west of tfce Summit and within the mountains there is a strip of land comprising about 1,000 acres which could be tilled if i t was drained* In addition there are several thousand adjacent acres that would provide good grazing* (b) . The terraces of the Iiiard - Between the two bridges aeitoss the Liard there'are three terraces that -would appear to be suitable for agriculture* ftiesa are; 1* A aaall area of about 1000 acres on the north side of the new bridge at Mile 2X3, 2* The terrace between the Smith River and the Relay Station west of Coal River* Ihis terrace is about 30 miles long and varies in width from 1/4 milo to upwards of 2 miles* 3he estimated acreage is 15,000* 3* The terrace around Lower Liard Post comprising about 1000 acres* (c) Lake Teslin District - Ihore is about 20,000 acres around Lake Ifeslin that appears to have a fair soil* However, both the'soils and the native vegetation indicate that the area is rather droughty # For this reason I think ire should place a large question mark after this area until we obtain further information* ^ ff - Th® flats at the nortji end of Ikgish and Atlin Lakes, while not i l r s t class, are possible fajm lands* There may be danger from extensive iloQding in some years as thp flats lie only a few - 7~ feet above the lakes* The combined acreage of these two flats has been estimated at 9*000. (e) The Tkkhini - Dezadeash Valleys - In this valley or valleys west of TiVhitehorse lie the best soils in the southern Yukon. Ihis valley runs from the Lewes river to the Shakwak valley - a distance of approximately 100 miles and averages in width about three or four miles to the mountains on either side, The main type of soil in this valley is a soil with a hea^y loam to day loam surface underlain by granular clay. This soil is an upland soil, well drained and unfrozen to a depth of at least forty inches (Examined on July 1st). There are other types of soils in the valley such as immature clay soils along the lower benches near tho river, sands and gravels along the stream courses, and a stretch of sand at'Champagne which covers the valley floor to a distance of five to six miles. Ihe general topography of the valley floor is suitable for cultivation except possibly the more rolling area near Whitehorse. Much of this valley has a pariclike appearance* I t was estimated that spruce either in solid stand? or dumps occupied about half the valley, while aspen, poplar, willow and open grassy areas covered most of the remainder. Iho eastern end of the valley carries considerable pine, but this tree extends westward only a fow miles, from the temporaiy bridge across tho !fekhini RLvert The agricultural possibilities of this area of land are difficult to assess. As far as the most of the land is concerned I fool quite certain that the soils will prove to bo fairly fertile. However, the elevation of the valley 2200-2400 feet may be too high" to avoid damaging late spring and early fall frosts and then there is the evor present danger of drought* 3he entire area, at least on the heavy type of soil, is a virgin one# Gardens, however, have been raised at Champagpio on sand which may have reached some seepage. Tho area of possible good soil in this valley has been estimated at about 120,000 acres. This is by far tjie largest block of possible agricultural land that I saw west of the mountains during the Alaska Highvmy soil survey. 3. Ihei KLats along the Yukon River and Its TEribut^rj.es *- The other agricultural' lands I saw in the Yukon this summer v/ere the river flats along the Yukon, Pelly, Stewart and Kloncfyke rivers. These river flats have, generally speaking, a more fertile soil than the upland soils of tho Tfckhini-Dezadoash valleys, and they may be in a moro favoured location inso~ far as climate is concerned, as they are at a lower altitude, and the rivers may have a favorable effect on the climate in the fall. While totalling a considerable acreage, they are in scattered parcels along several hundred miles of river front, are fairly heavily woodod and probably for the most part tho soils back from the river are permanently frozen. Nearly a l l the - 8~ present agricultural development in ihe Yukon i s on thebe flats. U* Interior Valleys in Northeast British Columbia *- West of the Itocky Mountains present knowledge indica-tes that large blocks of agricultural land will not be found as the only places where arable lands will be found i s in the valleys. Only guesses can.be made regarding the extent of such lands. The largest block appears to?be in the Parsnip-Eindlay valley where there i s supposed to be about 500*000 acres of arable land, This area i s of particular interest as i t i s not remote from present areas of developed faim land, although at present i t i s almost inaccessible. No doubt there are many other valleys with agricultural possibilities which can be usod i f mining development proceeds in their vicinity* Ct Agriculture in the Yukon Agriculture in the Yukon on faims has been on the decline for many years t For example* the faim population in 1941 totalled 42 persons* while in 1931 i t totalled 72* From my observations many of these 42 persons? living on the faxms could not be seriously considered as faimers. 'On the other handj gardening in the few towns i s probably on the increase # Gardening i s fairly well established in the lukon* particularly in the towns, but general agriculture i s in i t s infancy. IWiile no doubt improvements could be made in horticultural crops by the introduction or development of new and more suitable varieties* the problems associated •with horticulture insofar as truck crops are concerned ayo not acute* However* serious problems exist'with regard to production and marketing in the field of general faming*
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