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Archival description
Only top-level descriptions British Columbia. Provincial Police Force Wildlife management--British Columbia
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Northern British Columbia Fish and Wildlife records

  • GR-1085
  • Series
  • 1909-1972

The series consists of records created between 1909 and 1972 by the Northern Division or Northern Region of the Fish and Wildlife Branch and the "D" Division of its predecessor bodies, that relate to the registration and administration of traplines and the trapping industry. For most of the years covered in these records, this division/region consisted of all of British Columbia north of a line from Quesnel to Bella Coola, including these two places as well as Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Queen Charlotte Islands, the Stikine region, Cassiar, McDames Creek, Fort Nelson, Fort St. John and the Peace River region, the upper Fraser River valley of the McBride-Tete Jaune Cache area, the Nechako valley, the Skeena region, and the Prince George area.

The series include early files transferred from the B.C. Police, files regarding First Nations traplines, and individual trapline files, 1922-1969; records on registered guides, including guide report forms and nominal files, 1948-1972; crime investigation reports and conviction record books of violation of fish and game laws, 1930-1967; game management records including subject files on wildlife organization, management activities, and data on various species.

This series contains a large number of maps and sketches from 1909 to 1972, especially relating to the trapline and guide files. Many of these were removed from their files in 1982 and catalogued as two separate sub-series by the Map Division of the BC Archives. An index map of guiding territories was also removed.

See index map of guiding territories catalogued as CM/G6
See sub-series CM/E117 for trapline maps, 1909-1968
See sub-series CM/C2054 (previously CM/S2) for trapline sketches, 1922-1972.

British Columbia. Fish and Wildlife Branch

Provincial Game Warden records

  • GR-0446
  • Series
  • 1905-1927

This collection is comprised of records relating to the development, implementation and administration of game management policies in British Columbia from 1905-1927. It includes correspondence, reports, vouchers and licences, as well as information regarding firearms regulation and prosecutions under game laws. Records were created by the Provincial Game Warden, Deputy Game Wardens and other related staff.

Researchers will find these records particularly useful for tracking the development and implementation of early provincial game management policies. General correspondence and reports from Deputy Game Wardens throughout the province contain information regarding the status of game in various areas over time. Difficulties in enforcing policies such as regulation of trophy hunters and the need for firearms licences are documented in these materials. Development of the game base as an economic resource through payment of licence fees, and international promotion of the province as a sportsperson's centre, were key components of A. Bryan Williams' approach to game management and the results of this can also be studied in these records. Conflicts between the provincial approach to the game resource and that taken by some Indigenous peoples can be studied in this collection. Additional subjects include fishing, fur farming, wildlife management and conflict between hunting with other forms and land and resource use. Many of the Deputy Game Wardens saw military service abroad during World War I and the records include some relevant correspondence.

See Table of Contents below for a general sense of the collection organization and finding aid for a detailed file/item list. The contents of some files are listed in a hardcopy index (i.e. an item list) available in the reference room. The series is arranged by record type into the following sub series and sub-sub series:

A. Indexes
B. Correspondence
B(1) Personal and semi-official correspondence of A. Bryan Williams, Provincial Game Warden
B(2) Correspondence out
B(3) Letterbooks of correspondence out
B(4) General correspondence inward and outward
B(5) Correspondence re: firearms licences
C. Deputy Game Wardens
C(1) Monthly reports Boxes
C(2) Correspondence Boxes
D. Returns re: firearms licences
E. Vouchers
F. Licences
G. Prosecutions
H. Miscellaneous

British Columbia. Provincial Game and Forest Warden