Peace Country Bison Association. — [1985-2008]. — 67 cm of textual records. — 340 photographs.
Agency History
The first meeting of the Peace Country Bison Association was held at the George Dawson Inn, in Dawson Creek, B.C. in 1985. In attendance were Leon Poudrier, Tom Meerheimb, Bill Bickford, Matt Boake, Fern Mertens, Mr. & Mrs. Hary Sewell and Don Patten who became chairman and secretary. The Society was made up of members from both Alberta and British Columbia to service all bison producers in the Peace Country with meetings being held in both provinces. In 1988 the PCBA was officially incorporated as a society in B.C. and not long after in Alberta, this was the first registered bison association in Canada. It’s purpose was to promote, encourage, develop and protect the bison industry in the Peace River area of Western Canada and to represent those persons producing and marketing bison in the Peace River area of Western Canada in all matters of interest.
The organization was involved in the local bison industry and also contributed to the industry Canada-wide. Some of the issues that the PCBA focused on were disease in the Wood Buffalo National Park, keeping the Wood Bison and Plains Bison bloodlines pure, exporting, importing and the bison industry standards. PCBA also organized bison sales, field trips and conferences locally for producers with members also attending bison events further afield. PCBA was instrumental in much of the early research of bison in Canada with many of the studies they conducted focused on their local area. The studies were conducted to help the producers effectively raise bison as well as to create a profitable bison industry. In 2004 the Bison Producers of Alberta was created with the Alberta members becoming part of Region 3 in BPA, and the BC members became part of the BC Bison Association. In November 2005, the Peace Country Bison Association was officially dissolved.
Custodial History
The records were donated by Adele Boucher a member of the organization and an accrual added by member Fran Moore.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of records relating to the operation and activities of the Peace Country Bison Association. The records include minutes, annual returns, membership lists, financial records, correspondence, events, a cookbook and bison research. There is also a VHS tape titled, “Last Great Buffalo Wagon Trek” which is a video of a covered wagon trip that took place in 2000.
The records have been arranged by the archivist by content and chronology into the various series and files.
Notes
Table of Contents
| Series 643.01 | Administrative Records |
| Series 643.02 | Financial Records |
| Series 643.03 | Correspondence |
| Series 643.04 | Bison Sales and Conferences |
| Series 643.05 | Publications |
| Series 643.06 | Bison Research |
| Series 643.01 | Administrative Records. — [1985-2008]. — 15 cm of textual records.
The series consists of records relating to the administration of the Peace Country Bison Association. The records include minutes (1985-2007), the certificate of incorporation (1988), membership lists (1988-2004), employee records (2000-2003), and society records (1987-2008). |
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| Series 643.02 | Financial Records. — [1988-2008]. — 8 cm of textual records.
The series consists of records relating to the financial operations of the PCBA. The records include financial statments (1988-2005), financial records from various research projects (1992-2008) and insurance records (2001-2003). |
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| Series 643.03 | Correspondence. — [1987-2008]. — 6 cm of textual records.
The series consists of records relating to communications sent and received by the Peace Country Bison Association. The records include correspondence regarding events, bison sales, research, and conferences (1987-2000). |
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| Series 643.04 | Bison Sales and Conferences. — [1986-2006]. — 12 cm of textual records. — 340 photographs.
The series consists of records and photographs relating to bison sales and conferences that were organized or attended by Peace Country Bison Association members (1996-2002). The photographer was Bill Bouffoux, from XY Ranch at Fort St. John , B.C. A VHS tape from “The Last Great Buffalo Wagon Trek” that took place in 2000, with music and narration by Gary Fjellgaard. The video highlights three hundred people, driving forty two covered wagons and using two hundred horses to re-live the pioneer experience. The participants were from all over the world and was a part of the bison conference held in Edmonton. The journey’s starting point was at the Simonette River then travelled west to the Northern Alberta hills and ended over-looking the Smoky River Valley. The photographs are of shows and sales that the Peace Country Bison Association attended including awards, bison and bison auctions. |
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| Series 643.05 | Publications. — [1998-2005]. — 13 cm of textual records.
The series consists of calendars (2000 – 2005), news clippings, newsletters, a cookbook that was created by PCBA as well as miscellaneous recipes. There is also an incomplete series of the magazine Smoke Signals (1998-2004) published by Canadian Bison Association. |
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| Series 643.06 | Bison Research. — [1990-2006]. — 13 cm of textual records.
The series consists of research and agreements that were supported and initiated by the Peace Country Bison Association. The PCBA was at the forefront of much of the early research about bison and the industry in general with the focus on the Peace Country. The research papers include Marketing Strategy for the Peace Country Bison Association, Feasibility of Bison Farming in Northeastern British Columbia, Factors affecting growth and productivity of Peace Country Bison, Reproductive function of bison females, Effect of time of year on average daily gain of feedlot finished bison, Feed-weigh station as a method of grain finishing bison, Economics of bison production practices in the Peace Country, Needs Assessment of Peace Country Agricultural Value-Added Entrepreneurs, Ft. Vermilion Long-Term Grazing Initiative, A Strategic Plan for Research and Development Needs of the Canadian Bison Industry, Winter Grazing of Long Yearling Bison Bulls on Perennial Pasture Project Number:2000PR19, Determination of carcass characteristics of finished bison heifers, Carcass and quality characteristics of bison heifers compared to bison bulls and Bison meat quality research: An investigation of spray chilling, very fast chilling, and the relationship of grade factors to meat quality. |
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