A few weeks ago we posted about Whistler’s Wildfire History. That post included a time-lapse video that showed the impacts of wildfires on the regional landscape, by decade. The video was produced using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data that had been compiled by the Whistler Forest History Project (WFHP), and we figured that we might as well dedicate a whole post to the WFHP, explaining in more detail what this really important initiative was all about.
The WFHP was a project undertaken to develop a comprehensive understanding of landscape change in the Whistler Valley since 1914, from causes such as logging, urbanization, wildfires, and more. Using aerial photographs, historical maps, archival sources, oral interviews, and more, a GIS database tracking this landscape change was produced thanks to the extensive volunteer efforts of three Whistler residents and professional foresters: Don MacLaurin, RPF ret., Peter Ackhurst, RPF and John Hammons, RPF, ret. The project was administered by the Forest History Association of British Columbia and the Whistler Museum, and funding was generously provided by the Community Foundation of Whistler’s Environmental Legacy Fund.
Here’s a short video summarizing their work and their findings:
This information provides important information for environmental and planning professionals, as well as serving broader educational purposes for the general public about landscape change. We’ve already used it as the basis of a few blog posts and research projects, and will continue to do so in the future.
Next time you walk through the woods, try to guess the age of the trees you are walking past, and reconstruct the history of the forest!
