Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia

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Coordinates: 55°06′43.6″N, 120°58′14.7″W

Tumbler Ridge
	Image:Tumbler Ridge coa.png
Location of Tumbler Ridge within the Peace River Regional District in British Columbia, Canada
Area	1,574.45 km² (607.9 sq mi)
Population	2,526
Location	55°06.7′N, 120°58.2′W
Elevation	830 m (2,722 feet)
Incorporation	9 April 1981 (district)
Province	British Columbia
Regional District	Peace River
MP	Jay Hill
MLA	Blair Lekstrom
Mayor	Mike Caisley
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
Postal code	V0C 2W0
Area Code	+1-250
Official website: District of Tumbler Ridge
British Columbia Portal

The District Municipality of Tumbler Ridge is a small town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. The 1,574 km² (908 mi²) municipality, with its population of 2,526 people, incorporates a townsite and a large area of mostly Crown land.^[1] The housing and municipal infrastructure, along with regional infrastructure connecting the new town to other municipalities, were built simultaneously in 1981 by the provincial government to service the coal industry as part of the BCRIC Northeast Coal project.

In 1981, a consortium of Japanese steel mills agreed to purchase 100 million tonnes of coal over 15 years for US$7.5 billion from two mining companies, Denison Mines Inc. and the Teck Corporation who were to operate the Quintette mine and the Bullmoose mine, respectively, from Tumbler Ridge. Declining global coal prices after 1981, and weakening Asian markets in the late-1990s, made the town's future uncertain and kept it from achieving its projected population of 10,000 people. The uncertainty dissuaded investment and kept the economy from diversifying. When price reductions were forced onto the mines, production was shifted entirely to the lower-cost Bullmoose mine, closing the Quintette mine in 2000 before exhausting its supply of coal. Since 2000 rising coal prices have led to the opening of new mines in and near the municipality, including Northern Energy & Mining Inc.'s Trend mine and Western Canadian Coal's Dillon, Wolverine, and Brule mines.

After dinosaur footprints, fossils, and bones were discovered in the municipality, along with fossils of Triassic fishes and cretaceous plants, the Peace Region Paleontology Research Centre opened in 2003. The research centre and a dinosaur museum were funded in part by the federal Western Economic Diversification Canada to decrease economic dependence on the coal industry. Economic diversification has also occurred with oil and gas exploration, forestry, and recreational tourism. Nearby recreational destinations include numerous trails, mountains, waterfalls, snowmobiling areas and provincial parks, such as the Monkman Provincial Park, Bearhole Lake Provincial Park, and the Gwillim Lake Provincial Park.

[edit] History

While the nomadic Sekani, followed by the Dunneza and then the Cree, have been known to use the area for temporary settlements, formal exploratory and surveying expeditions were performed by S. Prescott Fay, with Robert Cross and Fred Brewster in 1914, J.C. Gwillim in 1919, Edmund Spieker in 1920, and John Holzworth in 1923, all of whom passed through the future townsite. The name Tumbler Ridge referring to the mountains northwest of town was coined by Spieker who altered Gwillim's map which named them Tumbler Range.^[2] The first permanent settlers, five families by 1920, were squatter who maintained trap lines. In the 1950s and 1960s some logging and oil & gas exploration was conducted through the area and 15 significant coal deposits were discovered.^[3] After the rise in coal prices from the 1973 oil crisis 40 government studies were commissioned to assess the viability of accessing the coal given the mountainous barrier to the south and west and the distance to the nearest port.^[4]

Planning and negogiations led to a purchasing agreement signed in 1981 by two Canadian mining companies, a consortium of Japanese steel mills, and the governments of British Columbia and Canada. As part of the deal the provincial government, whose policies supported megaprojects to develop northern British Columbia, committed as part of the North East Coal Development plan to build a new town near the deposits and connect to it by extending two highways off B.C. Highway 97, a power line from the W. A. C. Bennett Dam at Hudson's Hope, and a branch rail line through the Rocky Mountains. An alternative of using work camps staffed by people bussed in from Dawson Creek and Chetwynd was also considered. Planning for the new town began in 1976 with the objective to have a fully functioning town ready before residents arrived which required massive initial investments.^[5] Coordinated through the provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs the town, regional infrastructure, and mining plants were all built simultaneously. When the municipality was incorporated in January 1981 the area was completely forested.^[6] During that year building sites and roadways were cleared^[6] and in the winter the water and sewerage system was built. In 1982 houses and other buildings were constructed. Full production at the mines was accomplished in 1983.

In 1984, as the Tumbler Ridge's secondary school and recreation centre opened, world coal prices were dropping and the Japanese consortium requested a reduction in the price of coal from the Tumbler Ridge mines. As price reduction requests continued, the concern over the viability of the mines led the BC Assessment Review Board to lower the 1987 property assessments for the Quintette mine from CAD$156 million to $89 million and the Bullmoose mine CAD$70 million to $43 million, so that they could pay less tax. The purchasing agreement was taken to the Supreme Court which issued a ruling in 1990 requiring the Quintette Operations Company to reduce coal prices and reimburse the Japanese consortium $4.6 million. The company responded by reducing production, cutting employment, and appling for court protection from creditors. This allowed Teck to acquire 50% interest and take over management of the Quintette mine but it was unable to stop further job losses.^[7] As most residents left town apartment blocks were closed and the mine companies bought back all but 11 houses in the town. After 30% of the workforce had been laid off, new contracts with the Japanese consortium were signed in 1997 guaranteeing production until 2003, albeit with lower export levels, allowing re-hirings to begin.^[8]

The population declined as many residents were not able to find other work in the town, even with the opening of a sawmill for specialty woods in 1999. After Teck closed the Quintette mine in August 2000 and shifted production to the lower cost Bullmoose mine, the town council established the Tumbler Ridge Revitalization Task Force to investigate ways to boost and diversify the economy. The Task Force negotiated the return of the housing stock from the mines to the free market, grants from the province to become debt-free,^[9] and stabilized funds from the province for healthcare and education.^[10]

Since the Bullmoose mine exhausted its supply of coal in 2003, world coal prices have increased again making exploration and mining in Tumbler Ridge economically feasible again. Western Canadian Coal opened new open-pit mining operations creating the Dillon mine using Bullmoose mining infrastructure, the Brule mine using new infrastructure (projected 11 year life span),^[11][12] the Wolverine mine.^[13] Hillsborough Resources Limited and AESWapiti Energy Corporation are constructing a combined coal mining plant and thermal coal-fired power station north of the townsite.

[edit] Demographics

Tumbler Ridge's population trend, 1984–2006, BC Stats.^[14][15][16]

The first people to live in the area were construction crews, numbering from 200 to 2,000 workers in total, who lived in work camps while building the town, and mines, before it opened to settlement in 1981. Population projections made in 1977 estimated there to be 3,568 residents in 1981, 7,940 in 1985, and 10,584 in 1987, after which the level was expected to stabilize.^[17] However, requests for lower coal prices shortly after the production began placed a peristent insecurity over the viability of the mines, and therefore the town, discouraging long term investments. By 1984, the population was estimated to be 3,833 people, nearly half the projected level.^[18] The 1986 Canadian census, the first census to include Tumbler Ridge, recorded 4,566 residents after which in-migration ended and the population level began to fluctuate. The population peaked in 1991 with 4,794 people but then declined to a low of 1,932 people in 2001. Since then, population growth has been led by increased exploration and mining activities due to higher world energy prices.

The latest census, taken in 2001, recorded 1,932 residents living in 700 households and 545 families. This was 51% less people than the previous census five years earlier and the lowest population level recorded since the town opened. Of those over 15 yers of age in 2001, 61% were married, higher than the 51% provincial average, a result of the planners of the town ecouraging the mining companies to hire workers who were married, and would therefore wish to live in Tumbler Ridge longer and help reduce employment turn-over.^[20] With 91% of Tumbler Ridge residents being Canadian-born, and over 91% speaking only English, the town has few visible minorities. Due to the nature of the jobs available in town, only 12% of residents between 20 and 64 years of age completed university, half of the provicial average, and 26% did not complete high school, much higher than the 19% provincial average.

Crime rate in Tumbler Ridge, 1993–2005.^[21]

In 2005, the five officer Tumbler Ridge Royal Canadian Mounted Police municipal detachment reported 346 Criminal Code of Canada offenses. This translated into a crime rate of 137 Criminal Code offenses per 1,000 people, higher than the provincial average of 119 offenses. During that year, the RCMP reported lower crime rates in Tumbler Ridge, compared to the provincial averages, in all categories except bicycle thefts, property damage, impaired driving, and cannabis-related offenses. Until 2005, the town had a lower crime rate than the province, except between 2001-2003 after the Quintette mine closure and a large out-migration from the town. In 2004 the Tumbler Ridge RCMP reported no robbery or shoplifting offenses, and only 4.5 theft-from-motor-vehicle offenses per 1,000 people compared to 20 provincially.^[21]

[edit] Geography and climate

The townsite is located on a series of southern-facing gravel terraces on a ridge from Mount Bergeron, overlooking the confluence of the Murray and Wolverine Rivers.^[22] The site, above the floodplain of the Murray River, has well-drained soils with easy access to aquifers with potable water.^[23] The terraces grow lodgepole pine, white spruce, trembling aspen trees with moose and elk being common.^[24][25] Escarpments to the east and north could pose a snow avalanche threat but are kept forested for stability.^[26] In 2006, the town was evacuated for several days as four forest fires approached the town.^[27]

The town experiences a continental climate with arctic air masses moving predominantly southwestly from the Mackenzie Valley towards the Rocky Mountains.^[28] These southwesterly winds move through the mountains north of town losing much of their precipitation and leaving the town in a rain shadow behind Mount Bergeron. Town planners laid out the roads so that they run along wind breaks, and buildings and parks are located in wind shadows.^[29]

After examing other resource towns in Canada, the planners followed socio-spatial guidelines and principles in physical planning.^[32] The coal mining facilities were well separated from the townsite to minimize the feeling of a company town.^[33] An attempt to mitigate potential lifestyle conflicts between families and childless households was made by separating the low-density, single-family dwellings from the low-rise apartments.^[34] The apartment blocks were planned for areas with clusters of trees and excellent viewscapes, but close to the town plaza.^[35] The low-density residences which were more likely to have children living in them were oriented around elementary schools and parks. Cul-de-sacs were avoided in favour of better linkages and pedestrian access.^[36]

[edit] Infrastructure

The municipal border (red) emcompass over 1500 km² of land. The townsite is located on the northern end of the municipality where the rivers converge.

Two highways diverge from Highway 97S and intersect in Tumbler Ridge: B.C. Highway 52 (Heritage Highway) which runs 98 km (61 miles) south at Arras, and B.C. Highway 29S which runs 90 km (56 miles) southeast from Chetwynd. At the intersection Highway 29 ends but Highway 52 continues south through Tumbler Ridge, then unpaved, it runs northeast to Highway 2 near the Alberta border. In town, the 28 km (17 miles) of paved roads^[37] are laid out in a curvilinear pattern that use two arterial roads, MacKenzie Way and Monkman Way, to connect each section of town. Service roads from the townsite to the mines and forestry areas are maintained by the industries but are unpaved.

The unmanned Tumbler Ridge Airport with its 1,219 metre (4,000-foot) asphalt runway, is used by chartered and local flights. The closest airports with regularly scheduled flights are in Dawson Creek and Grande Prairie.^[38] The rail line into town is a 132 km (82 mile) electrified branch line through the Rocky Mountains constructed by BC Rail to transport coal to the Ridley Terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert. This branch line includes two tunnels: the 9 km (5.6 miles) Table Tunnel and the 6 km (3.7 miles) Wolverine Tunnel.

The town funds its own 21-member volunteer fire department, water treatment system, and sewage disposal system. Drinking water is drawn from two springs south of the townsite where it is stored in a 7 million litre reservoir before being chlorinated and pumped into town. The storm sewers empty into the Murray River, but the sanitary sewage is processed through a lagoon system and released into the Murray River north of town.^[39] Both the town and the province, through the Northern Health Authority, operate the Tumbler Ridge Community Health Centre. The closest hospitals with over-night beds are in Chetwynd and Dawson Creek. The two public schools, Tumbler Ridge Elementary School and Tumbler Ridge Secondary School are run by the School District 59 Peace River South with post-secondary education restricted to those Northern Lights College programs, courses, and industry training offered from the secondary school and community centre.

[edit] Economy

Tumbler Ridge was built to provide a labour force for the coal mining industry, which has remained the dominant employer throughout the town's history. The mining companies had a contract to sell 100 million tons of coal to a consortium of Japanese steel mills over 15 years for US$7.5 billion (1981). The Quintette Operating Corporation was formed by partnership between Denison Mines (50%), Mitsui Mining (20%), Tokyo Boeki (20%), and other smaller firms, and began blasting at the Quintette mine in October 1982. The Bullmoose Operating Corporation was formed by the Teck Corporation (51%), Lornex (39%), Nissho Iwai (10%) and worked the smaller Bullmoose mine. The economic viability of the mining companies were in question since the world coal prices began falling in the early-1980s and the Japanese consortium requested reduced prices. After the Supreme Court ruled that the coal prices must be reduced, the QOC filed for court protection from its creditors allowing the Teck Corporation to take over management in 1992. By 1996, even with continuing lay-offs, over half of the town's labour force were employed at one of the two mines.^[40] New contracts with the Japanese consortium signed 1997 moved production to the lower cost Bullmoose mine but guaranteed production until 2003 when that mine was expected to be exhausted. The Quintette mine was closed altogether on August 31, 2000.

While there was an intent by the town's planners to move to a more diversified economy, the few initiatives in this direction were not supported by the industries or local decision-makers.^[41] Uncertainty about the town's future was a serious concern to residents since the 1984 price reduction demands, it was not until the closure of the Quintette mine did the town seriously investigate a diversification. Since then employment has been generated in tourism (attractions from dinosaur fossil discoveries, outdoor recreation, and nearby provincial parks), forestry, and oil and gas exploration.

Increasing world energy prices have brought mining back to Tumbler Ridge. In 2003 Western Canadian Coal opened the Dillon mine using the infrastructure from the Bullmoose mine and is constructing new infrastructure for the larger Brule mine, next to the Dillon mine. WCC is also opening the Wolverine mine between the former Bullmoose and Quintette plants. Hillsborough Resources Limited will be opening the Horizon mine north of town and using the coal in a thermal coal power plant, B.C.'s first coal power plant.

[edit] Culture, recreation and media

Tumbler Ridge's location near the Rocky Mountains has allowed for the development of numerous trail systems for motorized and non-motorized recreation. A popular destination in Tumbler Ridge include the Kinuseo Falls along the Murray River in the Monkman Provincial Park.^[42]

Annual events held in Tumbler Ridge include the Grizfest, Emperor's Challenge, and Windy Ridge Hillclimb. The Grizfest Music Festival (formerly the Grizzly Valley Days) is a two-day concert in August which includes a parade, dance, art show, and other community-wide events. The Emperor’s Challenge Mountain Half Marathon, held every August, is a 21 km marathon that ascends through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The Windy Ridge Hillclimb is a snowmobile race along Babcock Mountain held every March.

Tumbler Ridge has one newspaper published in the community, the locally owned and operated Tumbler Ridge News (formerly Community Connections). Another newspaper, the Tumbler Ridge Observer also covers the town but is published by the Peace River Block Daily News in Dawson Creek. Two newsletters, Tumbler Coffee Break and Around the Ridge, are also circulated in the town.^[43] No radio station broadcasts from the town and the only television station that does so is the Community Channel Advertising run by the local chamber of commerce.^[44]

[edit] Government and politics

Tumbler Ridge town hall

The District of Tumbler Ridge's council-manager form of municipal government is headed by a mayor (who also represents Tumbler Ridge on the Peace River Regional District's governing board) and a six-member council; these positions are subject to at-large elections every three years. The current mayor is Mike Caisley, elected in November 2005. One school board trustee, for representation on School District 59,^[45] is also elected by the town. The city funds a volunteer fire department.

Tumbler Ridge is part of the Peace River South provincial electoral district, represented by Blair Lekstrom in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. In the 2001 provincial election, he was elected as the district's Member of the Legislative Assembly with 72% support from the town's polls^[46] and re-elected in 2005 with 64% support.^[47] Before Lekstrom, Peace River South was represented by Jack Weisgerber as a member of the Social Credit Party of British Columbia (1986-1994) and Reform Party of British Columbia (1994-2001). In 1996, as leader of the Reform Party, Weisgerber won re-election despite the Tumbler Ridge polls placing him second to the New Democratic Party candidate.^[48]

Federally, Tumbler Ridge is located in the Prince George—Peace River riding, represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Conservative Party Member of Parliament Jay Hill. Before Hill, who was first elected in 1993, the riding was represented by Frank Oberle of the Progressive Conservative Party since 1972 and served as Canada's Minister of Science and Technology in 1985 and Minister of Forestry in 1989.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• District of Tumbler Ridge
• Tumbler Ridge News
• Discover the Peace Country - Tumbler Ridge
• Tumbler Ridge weather forecast

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