The forest has strongly influenced economic and social life in British Columbia's West Kootenay region and its influence continues today. These oral histories were collected for the West Kootenay Forest History Project to preserve the history of that influence on people and society. Initial oral histories were conducted in 1985 when the project began and continued until 1994. The following audio files are some of the interviews collected. They have been editied for time and to remove distractions such as ringing telephones and barking dogs.
Logging in the Slocan Valley, 1909. This was one tree.
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Aircraft use
Firefighting - food and supplies
Firefighting equipment and safety
Forest Service cabins
Marking Timber
Trail maintenance
Treeplanting
Aircraft use
Forest Protection in Victoria
Forest Service Jobs
Introduction
Nelson Forest District
The MV Amabilis
East River, Duncan River Valley
Introduction
Forest Fire Lookouts
Introduction
Firefighting
Ranger Training
Forest Rangers
Log Scaling
Weigh Scaling
Introduction
Camp life
Camps
Firefighting
Log Booms
Logging
Poles
Workdays
Firefighting tools
Firefighting
First Fire
Memorable Fires
Radio Use
Introduction
Aircraft Use versus Fire Lookouts
Calling in Fires
Daily routines
Delivering supplies by aircraft
Dog food delivery
Firefighting
Flumes
Forest Rangers
Green Timbers Forest Rangers Training School
Lightning strikes on lookouts
Fire Lookout descriptions
Management use of aircraft
Ranger yearly work schedule
Introduction
Clearcuts
Green Timbers
Lardeau Forest Ranger
Logging changes
Forest Ranger job
Timber Cruising
Introduction
Chutes and flumes
Clearcuts
Competition
Firefighting
Local sales
Logging operations
Poles
Quotas
Waldie Sawmill
Timber scouting
Selling the mill
Alidade
Bear Creek Lookout
Bear Creek Lookout View
Bears
Communications
Duncan River
Lookout Communications
Lookout Provisions
Patrolman
River Boats
River hazards and traffic
Seasonal Work and Christmas Trees
Storms on the Lookouts
Wildlife
Neilson "Nels" Winlaw, father
Fire at the mills
Flumes
Lumber
Smallpox
Winlaw Family
Wyndell Mill
Forest Service in the community
Ranger's job
Life for a Ranger's Wife
Timber Sales