Lynn Jackson and Harry Hooke of Canyon Tree Farms near Fort St. James, B.C., are the winners of British Columbia’s environmental stewardship award.
They run a 2,000 acre purebred and commercial Angus cattle operation in north central B.C. with their two children.
The ranch has a direct marketing division that sells beef through a local farmers’ market and is part of the verified beef production plan. The ranch was among the first in the area to complete an environmental farm plan.
Its grazing management plan includes strip-rotational grazing and increased forage production.
The ranch does not use chemical fertilizers and herbicides and has fewer invasive weeds since it started 15 years ago.
It lies adjacent to the Necoslie and Stuart rivers, which prompted a water and riparian management plan that supports wetlands, meadows and a small lake.
The ranch has an abundance of wildlife that is directly associated with proper management of pasture lands, riparian areas and the forest.
