British Columbia joined Canada in 1871, and one of the first results of that union was the creation of Indian reserves throughout the new province. Reserve boundaries were drawn over a period of years, starting in the late 1870s, and then often redrawn as ranchers and developers lobbied the government for choicer parts of the valley. The reserves changed the lifestyle of the Native population completely: summer food harvests were gradually disrupted, and traditional habitat management tactics, such as prescribed burns, were essentially outlawed immediately.
Cattle, Cherries, and Chardonnay
One of the earliest impacts of European colonization in the Okanagan Valley was the arrival of the cow. In the 1860s large ranching operations were set up to provide beef for the miners who had flocked to British Columbia during the Cariboo Gold Rush and other, similar strikes. By 1864 there were about 14,000 cows in the valley, and that number rose to 26,000 by 1890—about 20 cows for every human. These cattle were grazed year-round on the arid grassland benches in the valley bottom and drastically altered that habitat. The grass species west of the Rocky Mountains evolved without the herds of bison that continually grazed the prairie grasses, so they were not adapted to constant grazing pressure. Much of the low-elevation grasslands changed from thigh-high bunchgrass to dusty stubble.
By 1900 most of the large cattle ranches were being broken up for development. Townsites sprang up throughout the valley, and the dominant agricultural landscape changed from ranches to orchards. Early orchards were irrigated by a system of flumes and canals that diverted water from local creeks to the upper parts of the orchards. Water was directed through the trees by a series of smaller ditches. In the early 1900s, ground crops such as tomatoes, cantaloupes, and watermelons were extensively planted between trees, but as the trees matured into full production, these crops were phased out. Many early orchardists also kept cattle and chickens for extra income, growing alfalfa between the trees for forage.
Agricultural development continued through the first half of the 1900s, so that by 1950, almost all the private land in the valley bottom was either urban or orchard. Agriculture dominated the local economy; forestry activities in the early 1900s were concentrated on providing timber for local development, including the construction of flumes and apple boxes.
A few vineyards were planted as early as the 1920s, and Calona Wines began production in the late 1930s. The wine industry blossomed in the 1960s and 1970s but generally produced inexpensive and decidedly inferior wines. In 1984 Canada and the United States signed a free trade agreement that allowed duty-free importation of American grapes for processing in the few large Okanagan wineries. Many predicted that this would spell the end of the Okanagan vineyards, and large acreages of vines were pulled up, particularly along Black Sage Road in Oliver. However, a few small estate wineries were having remarkable success with European vinifera grapes, and the number of these small operations began to grow quickly. As of 2008, more than 100 wineries in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys use grapes from more than 3,000 hectares of vineyards. Winemakers have found that the long, hot summers at the south end of the valley are ideal for Bordeaux varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, while vineyards in the cooler, northern sections of the valley are well situated for German wines such as Gewürztraminer, Riesling, and Siegerrebe.
Now the orchardists struggle most with cheap imported fruit, and grape growing provides better monetary returns than almost every tree fruit except cherries. As apple, apricot, pear, and peach prices remain in the doldrums, every winter now brings new scenes of orchards being pulled up, burned, and replaced with the more lucrative vines.
More than just the agricultural scene is changing in the Okanagan. The valley has always been a favoured destination for people, luring them with its mild climate, warm waters, and diverse wildlife. Each year new residents arrive, pushing housing developments upslope into pine forests and filling marshlands with condos. But unlike their predecessors, most of these new colonists are choosing the Okanagan for its natural beauty, and hopefully, they will promote the intelligent regional planning necessary to preserve this richness.
This book explores that natural legacy along a series of highways and byways throughout the valley. Some of the subjects of discussion can be easily seen from a moving car—the black snags of a forest fire, hillsides covered in spring flowers, an osprey landing on its pole-top nest with a big carp. To see other fascinating denizens of the valley requires occasional stops and walks through the grasslands and forests. If the weather permits, drive along with your windows open so that you can smell the soft aromas of sagebrush and pine and hear the meadowlarks sing. Some of the routes described are short drives that can be completed in less than an hour, whereas a few are more ambitious and could be all-day adventures.
( ROAD TRIPS )
{ 1 } ANARCHIST MOUNTAIN TO ROCK CREEK
48 km, all paved highway
This route will take you from Osoyoos to Rock Creek, where you can then retrace your steps, continue east along Highway 3, or travel to Kelowna on Highway 33.
START: Junction of Highways 3 and 97 in Osoyoos; travel east on Highway 3.
HIGHWAY 3, THE CROWSNEST HIGHWAY, takes a dramatic route east out of Osoyoos, climbing the steep western flank of Anarchist Mountain. Earlier trails wound back and forth across the international boundary that marks the southern edge of Osoyoos, following a much gentler path east of Oroville, Washington. But in the 1920s, highway engineers were forced to stay north of the border and to build the highway up the face of Anarchist Mountain in a series of spectacular switchbacks. This route starts at the bridge over the narrows of Osoyoos Lake.
A convenient pull-off on the east side of the bridge allows you to take in the view north and south. Looking in either direction you might find it hard to imagine the landscape before motels, condos, apricots, and grapes. Osoyoos Lake was once surrounded by sandy grasslands dotted with dark antelope brush and scattered ponderosa pines. Large marshes sat at the north and south ends of the lake and on the south sides of its peninsulas. Native people gathered here to catch the salmon that migrated north through the narrows in September; evidence of long-term encampments and important burial grounds is nearby.
To the south you can see the long peninsula of Haynes Point, which sticks out into Osoyoos Lake from the west, almost reaching the eastern shore. Only 30 metres wide and a kilometre long, the point ends in a long sand spit that turns into a shallow ford across the remaining 400 metres of the lake. It was here that Native people and early white visitors crossed the lake on foot or on horseback. The Okanagan name for this place is Sw’iws, meaning “low water allowing people to cross.” The narrows where the highway crosses, though a shorter distance, was deeper and more difficult to ford. The Native name for that site is Souyous, meaning “narrow waterway where land almost meets,” the origin of the name Osoyoos.
From October through April, Osoyoos Lake is an important migratory stop and wintering ground for waterfowl. Loons, grebes, ducks, geese, and swans all congregate on the lake, and the narrows where the bridge is located is a favourite spot for many of them. The lake often freezes—especially the shallower south end—in December and January, but the slight current in the narrows usually keeps the water open there. Osoyoos Lake is also important for fish stocks. The largest sockeye salmon run in the Columbia River system spawns in the Okanagan River