Dawson Creek District Office

Assistance available

The Dawson Creek District Office provides service to clients through technical support and program delivery. Technical advice and information are available in the areas of water supply and development, soils and land management, and rural economic development. We use our resources to promote rural development and environmental sustainability through various awareness and extension activities. If you need help with any Federal government program or service, contact our Dawson Creek office and we will do our utmost to find you a contact person and point you in the right direction. PFRA has been helping rural people since 1935, so if you are a rural resident of the BC Peace River Region, technical, professional and/or financial assistance is available to you in support of a viable agricultural industry and sound rural economy.

PFRA is working with provincial and other partners to establish and maintain a useable computerized groundwater database and to conduct groundwater exploration drilling for the BC Peace River region. PFRA's Shelterbelt Program provides technical assistance (site design & preparation, tree seedling selection, ordering and planting) and tree seedlings to all eligible applicants.

A large part of our business in the Dawson Creek district relates to water development and shelterbelts. The Rural Water Development Program (RWDP) assists rural individuals, businesses, groups (six or more individuals), and communities. We also work on projects with various partners such as the Blackfoot Park Tank Loader Facility.

Contact the PFRA office in Dawson Creek at the above address or phone (no collect calls) for more information on any of our programs or services.

District description

The PFRA's BC Peace River district extends from the Alberta border west to the Rocky Mountains and north to the Yukon border. The principal cities, towns and villages are Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, Hudson Hope, Taylor and Pouce Coupe with a total district population of about 55,000.

The region was first discovered by Alexander MacKenzie in 1792 while searching for an overland route to the Pacific. The first large wave of settlers arrived following WWI with a second wave occuring in the late 1920's and early 1930's. In 1939, 1000 German settlers settled in the Tupper Creek area aided by the Canadian Colonization Association. Accessibility to the region was improved with the construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942; the John Hart Highway to Prince George & Vancouver in 1952; and the completion of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (now renamed BC Railway) in 1958 to Dawson Creek and Fort St. John and extended to Fort Nelson in 1971. Further settlement was initiated in 1951 when oil was discovered near the village of Taylor and with the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in 1971. Development of the foothills coal reserves in the early 1980's lead to the establishment of town of Tumbler Ridge.

The southern more populated half of the district lies within the Alberta Plateau which is a flat to gently rolling till plain interspersed with glacial lake basins. The plain is dissected by deep valleys (250 m or more) the largest being the Peace River valley and contains many upland surfaces which are largely controlled by the underlying shale and sandstone sedimentary bedrock. The lowlands of the Alberta Plateau are dominated by broad nearly level former glacial lake basins.

The region lies within the Boreal Forest Region. Conifers include white spruce, black spruce, lodgepole pine and tamarack. Deciduous trees include trembling aspen, black cottonwood, birch and alder. The climate is greatly influenced by the Rocky Mountains. The climate is classed as continental, with long cold winters and short warm summers. Minimum temperatures are below 0°C from October to April and above 50 C for only June through August. Extreme minimum temperatures near -50° C and extreme maximum temperatures up to 40°C have been recorded. Annual precipitation ranges from 400 to 500 mm (250-350 mm May to September) with an average of 200 cm snowfall. The frost-free period generally ranges from 90-119 days in the valleys to 60-90 days over much of the agricultural area.

Most of the agricultural land falls into Agricultural Capability Class 2 & 3 with the dominant soils being Gray Luvisols developed under forest vegetation on loamy to clay glacial till. Within the district there is about 1,000,000 acres of improved farm land with about 650,0000 acres under annual cropping. During the growing season longer daylight hours as compared to areas further south increase the capability to grow a wide range of crops. Major crops include wheat, canola, barley, oats, peas, alfalfa, clover, grass and grass seed production. Livestock production include traditional beef and dairy cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and horses. Diversification into game farming include bison, reindeer, caribou, wild boar and ostriches and the honey bee industry yields a very high quality product.

Forestry is the largest contributor to the regions economy. Two dams, the W.A.C. Bennett Dam and the Peace Canyon Dam, generate 33 percent of the electricity in the province. The oil & gas industry and the mining of metalurgical and thermal coal near Tumbler Ridge are the other major contributors to the regions economy.