Haida Gwaii , Burns Lake, and Francois Lake

When summer camp was announced for Burns Lake, six club members booked a trip to Haida Gwaii ahead of summer camp. They had a great trip, and talked about it last night and showed samples of their finds.

With the cancellation of summer camp, they did proceed for a short stay at Takysie Lake, and Burns Lake members took them on some some field trips on active logging roads.

Below are two finds passed around at the meeting.

September Club Meeting

A good turn out last night, and a couple of new members. Minutes to follow, but here are some highlights.

Field Trips - the dry forest conditions have curtailed our activities this summer, and there are two more changes to the schedule:

• September 17th Club Field Trip is cancelled.
• October 7th Field Trip is postponed until October 14th. (7th is Thanksgiving Weekend.)

Rendezvous 2018 - an update was presented on the progress of the organizing committee, and our submission is in the Fall issue of the Rockhounder. The first info sheets will be prepared shortly for the BCLS Website.

Field Trip Policies - the draft Policy and Procedure document has been adopted by the club.

Discussion on sharing field trip location details. There have been a number of issues in our region of exploitation of sites when information has been shared on social media.

• A new site was decimated by out of town people, and holes were left in cattle range area, following a Facebook reveal. The club nearest the site took the heat.
• A rockhounder hauled a large quantity of material out of a site that could have supplied many rockhounders for a very long time.
• When our club last hosted Rendezvous, permission was granted to the club for a field trip to a rhodonite claim. After the field trip, some participants returned to the site and removed massive amounts of material.
• Our club will not be sharing location details outside the club, and BCLS members who join us on Field Trips will be asked to abide by our club policy

Field Trip Cancelled

August 26th Field Trip to Clark Lake has been cancelled due to forest conditions.

Rock Candy Mine - New Lightning Sparked Fire

Local report that the fire is under control.

Field Trip Cancellations

If you are considering any of the field trips listed by BCLS, check before you go.  Cancellations are happening due to extreme fire hazard.

"The field trip to Ingram Creek August 5 is cancelled due to extreme fire hazard"

Re-worked Saws

Black Mountain Artisans Lapidary Rock Shop

20 hrs · 

Hey everyone I have a good selection or reworked diamond saws right now for you to choose from. Starting with a 6 inch and going up to 10 inch units. A total of 8 units are up for sale in the shop with more coming soon. Just sold the last 12 inch and 16 inch. Possibly a 18 inch becoming available during the fall. Call me or text for more info. Thanks.

Sandra Smi

Summer Camp Cancelled

British Columbia Lapidary Society - BCLS

1 hr · 

due to the number of cancellations and concerned calls we have received the results of the poll of pre-registrants,BC's state of emergency,the fire conditions along the two main corridors from the southern parts of the province { hwy 97 and 5 } and the two week cut off date for cancelling with out penalty at takysie lake resort,the bcls is officially cancelling summer camp 2017 at takysie lake.
If you have registered at takysie lake resort,please cancel with them as soon as possible to save your money and to give the resort maximum amount of time to book other guests.
We would like to thank Lakes District club for their work they put in to planning this event,especially Leanne Miranda and Helen Brown,and for graciously considering to co host the event next year.

Summer Camp Update - Fire Concerns Expressed

Please pass this message to all members and concerned parties asap.

There is much concern being expressed regarding the forest fires situation and how it might affect Summer Camp.

I am in constant communication with people in the area. At present, there is no immediate threat in the area of Summer Camp. However, much can change in the next three weeks, for better or worse. Also, many of us have to travel through areas already affected by fires. Unfortunately, it is a wait and see situation.

Unless the forest service or forest fire service announces a danger in the area, Summer Camp will go forward. Summer Camp 2015 was surrounded by fires and smoke, and numbers were down because of that, but we still had a successful camp.

Most important! - every member and family needs to make individual decisions regarding their participation based on their own comfort levels regarding smoke, driving conditions, fire proximity, and the resort's cancellation policy if you have registered at the resort. 

Here is the cancellation policy as sent to me from Takysie Resort: 

• 2 weeks prior notice – no charge
• 1 week prior – 50% charge
• 3 to 5 days prior – 75% charge
• 3 days’ notice – no refund

If there is an immediate danger in the area, we will cancel camp. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you posted. Please do your part by passing these messages on to all of your members and other concerned parties asap.

Stay safe while enjoying the Summer.

Phillip Crewe - Summer Camp Director and 2nd VP, BCLS.

Greenwood Founders Day