Our Speaker Lineup

Vic Adamowicz, PhD, vice dean, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta; Distinguished University Professor, Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta

Session: What’s a Forest Worth? Forest Resources, Ecosystem Services, and Natural Capital
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Vic Adamowicz is the vice dean in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, and a distinguished university professor in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Alberta. He obtained his BSc and MSc from the University of Alberta (1981, 1983) and his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1988.

His research has focused on the economic valuation of environmental amenities and ecosystem services and the incorporation of environmental values into economic analysis – with applications to forestry, water quality, air quality, endangered species, and agriculture. His research also involves the analysis of choice behavior with applications to food demand, recreation, and environmental quality.

Adamowicz is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Academy II – Social Sciences (awarded in 2007). He became a Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists in 2019 and a Fellow of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society in 2011. He was awarded the Canadian Institute of Forestry’s Canadian Forestry Scientific Achievement Award in October, 2004.

Keith Atkinson, forestry manager, Petroglyph Forestry

Bio to follow.

Allen Banner, RPF(Ret), RPBio, Banner Consulting

Bio to follow.

Bill Bourgeois, PhD, RPF, president, New Direction Resource Management

Session: The State of BC's Forest Inventory
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Bill Bourgeois has invested more than 40 years in improving forest land management, especially in British Columbia. During this period, Bill has been a research scientist with the federal government, terrain stability specialist, supervisor, manager and general manager with MacMillan Bloedel, associate with the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE), vice president of forest policy and sustainability with Lignum Ltd and Riverside Forest Products Ltd, and a private consultant.

Bill has been recently referred to as the “big picture guy.”  He currently consults on strategic issues relative to forest policy and programs, and forest resources sustainability through his company New Direction Resource Management Ltd. He has recently focused on encouraging BC leadership in long-term forest stewardship and integrating it with creation of regional wood manufacturing clusters to assist communities in moving towards resiliency. Bill does this through direct contracts, coordination of a non-partisan, volunteer supported provincial initiative (Healthy Forests-Healthy Communities: A conversation on BC forests) and related volunteer activities. 

Gary Bull, PhD, professor and department head, Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia

Session: Think Locally: BC Communities and Forest Management
Time: Wednesday February 5, 2020 from 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Gary Bull spent most of his early career working in a consultative capacity with forest products companies, resource based communities, various government agencies, and environmental non-governmental organizations. Internationally, he has worked with organizations such as the Climate and Land Use Alliance, the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna, the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, the Sustainable Biomass Partnership, and the US Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. He has supervised research projects with CIFOR, World Bank, Shell Canada, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd., Forest Trends and FAO.

Gary has a background in commerce as well as three degrees in forestry, specializing in economics and policy. He has an interest in global forestry policy issues and has, or is, currently studying forest and timber markets in Asia and ecosystem services markets in Afghanistan, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, and Uganda. In Canada, he has focused his efforts on working on sustainable business development with First Nations communities. He is an advocate for interdisciplinary research.

Sam Coggins, RPF, director, investigations, Forest Practices Board

Session: Lessons from the Forest Practices Board: Managing for Fish Habitat
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

Sam Coggins, PhD, RPF, has worked for the Forest Practices Board since March 2017. He has a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources Management and a PhD in Forestry from UBC. He is also a Registered Professional Forester and in 2019 was appointed as an adjunct professor in Forest Resources Management in the Faculty of Forestry at UBC in 2019.

Sam has a wide range of experience in natural resources management including forestry, fisheries, environmental science, oil and gas development, environmental assessments, land management, and geomatics. He began his career in 1993 in the UK, and worked on private estates in operational forestry for eight years before moving to British Columbia in 2002 to pursue his forestry education.

In 2011 he moved to Terrace, BC, to work in forestry and as a GIS technician for Nisga’a Lisims Government where he was responsible to complete a forest inventory of Nisga’a Lands, finalized FLNRO obligations on silviculture and roads, finished community wildfire protection plans, and completed day-to-day mapping for government. He was then employed as a natural resource specialist with Cambria Gordon Ltd., and Stantec and worked directly on several major development projects in the Northwest to ensure compliance with environmental standards. Between 2014 and 2017 he was director of lands and resources for Kitselas First Nation where he developed the department that managed the lands and resources for the Nation on the Traditional Territory.

Kelly Cooper, founder and president of the Centre for Social Intelligence

Session: Diversity in Forestry: Why Should I Care?
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Kelly Cooper is the founder and president of the Centre for Social Intelligence (CSI). Kelly helps leaders create a gender transformation within their organizations by conducting gender gap audit assessments, gender strategies, and national sector gender action plans.

Kelly has been a guest speaker at various domestic and international conferences aimed at increasing women in senior executive roles and in technical positions in the natural resource sectors. Over her 25-year career, she has worked in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe on various sustainable development projects. Kelly holds an M.A. in International Environment, Development and Policy from the University of Sussex, UK, and an Honours BSc. from the University of Toronto, and holds certifications in GBA+, EQ-i 2.0 and ProSci change management (ADKAR model).

Paul Craven, superintendent of professional governance, Ministry of the Attorney General

Session: Meet the Superintendent of Professional Governance
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM
Room: Mount Benson Ballroom C & D

Paul Craven is the superintendent of Professional Governance, a role to which he was appointed in June 2019 following the 2018 passage of the Professional Governance Act. Paul oversees an office with an annual budget of $1 million and 10 staff who will work with professional bodies to develop regulations in stages to implement the Professional Governance Act. The superintendent maintains an independent oversight role and reports to the Ministry of Attorney General.

Paul has 15 years of experience serving at senior levels in the BC Public Service most recently serving as an executive director at the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO), where he led the strategic services and compliance division to administer the Environmental Assessment Act. He was responsible for the branch that ensures proponents are in compliance with the act through administrative and field inspections, as well as through investigations and enforcement of major projects. Paul also led policy development at EAO and led the team responsible for the recent revitalization of environmental assessment process resulting in the passage of the new Environmental Assessment Act in 2018.

Prior to this time, he served as executive director of federalism and Canadian intergovernmental policy at the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat in the Office of the Premier. He is a lawyer by trade and began his career as an associate at a major Vancouver law firm, where he practised commercial and business litigation in a wide range of areas, including professional regulation, administrative, and corporate law.

Chief Councilor Robert J. Dennis, Huu-ay-aht First Nations

Session: Reconciliation and Coastal Forest Revitalization
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Room: Nanaimo River

Robert J. Dennis Sr. is the Chief Councilor for Huu-ay-aht First Nations, a modern treaty nation located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

In addition to holding this title for the current four-year term, as of 2015, he served as the Nations’ elected chief from 1995 to 2011. Robert also served six two-year terms as a councilor for Huu-ay-aht and three years as Huu-ay-aht’s band manager.

While chief, Robert spent 14 years as the chief negotiator for Huu-ay-ayt First Nation, from 1996 to 2011. Robert also served as the speaker for Tayii Ḥaw̓ił Spencer Peters. He also held the forestry portfolio for the nation and was responsible for ensuring sustainable forestry management within Huu-ay-aht territory, ensuring that meaningful consultation and accommodation was achieved, and developing business relationships with licensee holders in the territory. Robert was responsible for ensuring Huu-ayaht had Treaty Interim Measures Agreements with BC and Canada and they were fully implemented.

As the chief councilor, Robert ensured that forestry was one of the natural resources used to develop a strong Huu-ay-aht economy through the development of Huu-ay-aht economic strategy.

In addition to the years of service he offered his Nation, for eight years, Robert was the executive director, building coordinator, and program director for the Port Alberni Friendship Center.

Robert also worked as a director and shore worker for Central Native Fisherman’s Co-op for more than six years. He was, and still is, a logger and fisherman.

His current position as elected chief councilor makes it easy to celebrate the culture, but Robert truly believes in the importance of preserving this and his language. For that reason, Robert is passionate about sharing these aspects with Huu-ay-aht citizens and the outside world. The forest plays a huge role in Huu-ay-aht culture, traditions, and values.

Mike Flannigan, PhD, professor, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta; Director of the Western Partnership for Wildland Fire Science

Session: Wildfire:  Adapting and Managing for Continued Change
Time: Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

Mike Flannigan received his BSc (Physics) from the University of Manitoba, his MS (Atmospheric Science) from Colorado State University, and his PhD (Plant Sciences) from Cambridge University. Mike has also worked as a physical scientist, research scientist, and senior research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service. He completed Meteorologist course MT35 with Environment Canada after which he worked as a meteorologist.

Mike’s primary research interests include fire and weather/climate interactions including the potential impact of climatic change, lightning-ignited forest fires, landscape fire modelling and interactions between vegetation , fire, and weather. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire (2002-2008) and has taken on leadership roles with the US National Assessment on Global Change, IPCC, IGBP Fire Fast Track Initiative, and Global Change Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) efforts on the global impacts of fire.

Bill Floyd, PhD, RPF, research hydrologist, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development; adjunct professor, Vancouver Island University

Session: Too Much Water; Not Enough Water: Forest Hydrology in a Changing Climate
Time: Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Bill Floyd is a research hydrologist with the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. He is the leader of the Coastal Hydrology & Climate Change Research Lab, and an adjunct professor in geography at Vancouver Island University.

He is an innovator with a vision for long-term bio-physical research. Bill loves the snow and is an avid skier.

Gary Foster, mayor, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (Fort Nelson)

Session: Think Locally: BC Communities and Forest Management
Time: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 from 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

After completing his second year at Carleton University in the Bachelor of Science degree program in the spring of 1979, Gary left Ontario in a 1970 Datsun he bought for $15. He arrived in Fort Nelson where his brother was posted with the RCMP.

Gary worked at Tackama Forest Products before completing the UBC real estate course and eventually forming his own company and becoming self employed. While working at Tackama, he met his wife Sandra and had two children, Garrett and Lee, who both graduated from Fort Nelson Secondary and went on to complete degrees at UNBC.

Gary is an active part of the community and has sponsored the Fort Nelson Rotary Club Easter breakfast; he has sat on several boards including the BC Assessment Property Assessment Review Panel (PARP), the executive board of the local Rotary Club, and the board of the Fort Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce. Gary had the privilege of being an alternate director for Hugh Morey for several years and the honour of being elected to Fort Nelson’s town council.

He enjoys the great recreational opportunities offered in the Northern Rockies including golfing and fishing.

Sonia Furstenau, MLA – Cowichan Valley, Green Party of BC

Session: What is Old Growth and How Much is Enough?
Time: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Sonia Furstenau was elected as the member for Cowichan Valley in 2017. She is House Leader for the BC Green Party, and currently sits on the Select Standing Committee on Children and Youth, and the Legislative Assembly Management Committee.

Sonia’s constituency work is focused on continued efforts to protect Cowichan Valley watersheds, facilitating conversation between government and community groups about child wellness, advocating for updated infrastructure in health and education, and supporting First Nations’ leadership.

Prior to her election to the Legislature, Sonia served as Area B Director for the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) for nearly three years.

Sonia has long been involved in grassroots advocacy. She was National Administrator for Results Canada, a non-profit that works to end extreme poverty, and she served on the Board of Directors for Oikocredit, an international microcredit organization. Sonia was a volunteer with Citizens Climate Lobby, which is committed to finding solutions to the challenge of climate change.

Sonia has worked as a teacher in the Victoria School District and in Shawnigan, where she taught History, English, and Theory of Knowledge. She has a BA and an MA in History from the University of Victoria.

When not in Victoria, Sonia spends time with her family enjoying the local arts, food, culture, and the many hiking trails of the Cowichan Valley.

Session: Meet the Superintendent of Professional Governance
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM
Room: Mount Benson Ballroom C & D

Christine Gelowitz, RPF, is responsible for all aspects of the association’s business operations. As the primary support to Council, Christine works closely with the President and elected Council to set the strategic direction of the organization and ensure strong governance practices. In February 2016, she assumed the CEO role with the ABCFP after previously serving on the association’s council for five years, including a term as president in 2013.
A graduate of the University of Northern British Columbia, Christine has a degree in Natural Resources Management - Forestry. Christine has been a Registered Professional Forester since 2003.

Prior to joining the ABCFP, Christine spent nearly 20 years with the British Columbia Provincial Government, in a number of natural resource sector ministries and Crown Corporations. In her last role with government, Christine headed the Corporate Initiatives Division of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operation where she led the development of the ministry’s strategic agenda and was responsible for the ministry’s legislative plan and program.

Al Gorley, RPF, president, Triangle Resources Inc.

Session: What is Old Growth and How Much is Enough?
Time: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Al Gorley, RPF, is a professional forester with 45 years of experience in both government and consulting work. He has served as president of the Professional Foresters Association and as board chair for Northwest Community College.

In 1994 he was appointed regional manager for the Prince George Forest Region, and worked concurrently as executive director of Forest Practices Code Implementation. In 1998 he moved to Victoria to take on the role of vice president for land and resources at Forest Renewal BC and was later promoted to Chief Operating Officer. In 2002 Al started his own consulting firm and has since worked with a wide variety of industries, communities, and governments across the province, nationally and internationally on natural resource and management matters. From 2004 to 2007 he served as president of the McGregor Model Forest and was a founding director of the Canadian Model Forest Network.

He is a board member of the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and is a past member of the Forest Appeals Commission and Environmental Appeals Board. He was chair of BC’s Forest Practices Board from 2010 to 2013.

Carol Anne Hilton, MBA, founder & CEO, Indigenomics Institute

Session: UNDRIP and the Growing Indigenous Economy
Time: Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Carol Anne Hilton, MBA is the CEO and Founder of the Indigenomics Institute. Carol Anne is a recognized First Nation’s business leader and adviser with an international Masters Degree in Business Management (MBA) from the University of Hertfordshire, England, a partnership through Vancouver Island University. Carol Anne is of Nuu chah nulth descent from the Hesquiaht Nation on Vancouver Island.

Carol Anne currently serves on the BC Emerging Economy Task Force as an adviser to the Minister of Jobs, Trades and Technology as well as on the BC Indigenous Investment Council for the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. Carol Anne was appointed as a senior advisor to the federal Finance Minister on the Canadian Federal Economic Growth Council.

Carol Anne has led the establishment of a line of thought called #indigenomics- the building and strengthening of Indigenous economies. Carol Anne is currently authoring ‘Indigenomics- a Global Power Shift.’

Carol Anne’s work has been recognized with an ‘Outstanding Business Achievement Award’ from the BC Achievement Foundation, a ‘Creating Wealth Award’ from the National Indigenous Council of Elders and ‘Business of the Year Award’ from the Nuu chah nulth Economic Development Corporation and most recently the ‘Excellence in Aboriginal Relations Award’ from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Carol Anne currently serves as Director on the McGill University Institute of the Study of Canada, the National Canadian Community Economic Development Network as well as a juror on the national Smart Cities Challenge. Carol Anne is an instructor at Simon Fraser University’s Community Economic Development Program and a faculty lead at the Banff Center’s Indigenous Business Program where she was also a Fleck Fellow.

Neil Hughes, RPF, forest establishment leader, Resource Practices Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

Bio to follow.

Domenico Iannidinardo, RPF, RPBio, P.Eng, vice president, forest & sustainability and chief forester, Mosaic Forest Management

Bio to follow.

Trevor Joyce, RPF, manager, economic partnerships and sustainability, Interfor

Bio to follow.

Makenzie Leine, RPF, vice president, business development and Indigenous partnerships, A&A Trading

Session: The Art of Public Engagement: Sharing the Story of Sustainable Forest Management
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Makenzie Leine, RPF, was raised in the forest industry growing up in logging camps and forest communities on BC’s Coast. This inspired her career — beginning as a labourer for a logging contractor she continued on to various positions across Western Canada and abroad working in forest stewardship and certification, environmental management, forest ecology, operational planning, communication, relations, and policy. She has worked in both the private and public sectors and has also run her own successful consulting business.

She has a passion for the forest industry and the people and communities dependent on it. As Vice President of Business Development and Indigenous Partnerships at A&A Trading, she is focussed on building and maintaining innovative, long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships with First Nations, communities, and others who share a passion for forestry. She also works with governments on policy with the objective of a healthy environment, forest sector, and communities.

Makenzie has her Bachelor of Science in Forest Business Management from the University of Alberta and is a Registered Professional Forester. She has focussed her professional development on conflict resolution and mediation.

Deeply committed to the well-being of her community and her profession, Makenzie has volunteered with organizations such as the United Way, Canadian Women in Timber, and the Association of BC Forest Professionals. She is currently a member of the Practices Committee for the ABCFP and is Chair of the Board of Governors for Vancouver Island University.

Jonathan Lok, RFT – managing director, Strategic Natural Resource Consultants Inc.

Bio to follow.

Emanuel Machado, chief administrative officer, Town of Gibsons

Session: What’s a Forest Worth? Forest Resources, Ecosystem Services, and Natural Capital
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Emanuel Machado is the chief administrative officer for the Town of Gibsons and the chair of the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative (MNAI). Emanuel lead the development of the Town of Gibsons’ Eco-Assets Strategy, a first in North America to formally recognize the role of nature as a fundamental component of the municipal infrastructure system, leading to a greater understanding of the value of ecosystems services and improved financial and operational management plans of the community’s natural assets.

Session: Reconciliation and Coastal Forest Revitalization
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Room: Nanaimo River

Seanna McConnell is the director, Indigenous relationships, with Western Forest Products Inc. For more than twenty years, she has worked with the federal government seeking to establish new relationships with Indigenous groups through treaty negotiations, with BC Hydro engaging on a major hydro project, and now with Western, supporting development of creative and innovative partnerships in the forest sector like the TFL 44 LP.

Mike McCulley, research and innovation senior officer, BC Wildfire Service Headquarters

Session: Wildfire: Adapting and Managing for Continued Change
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

As the research and innovation lead for the BC Wildfire Service, Mike is responsible for promoting and facilitating research that supports the modernization of wildland fire management within British Columbia and in collaboration with other provincial and national jurisdictions. He also works to explore new and innovative products, ideas, and technologies that may add value and efficiency to the BC Wildfire Service as it strives to meet its mandates of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery during increasingly challenging wildfire scenarios.

Since 2003, Mike has worked in front-line command team positions on several large interface wildfires and enjoys helping communities that are impacted by wildfires. He also responds as “first on scene” to wildfires around his home community of Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island. Previously, he worked as an Engineering Specialist (RFT) with BC Timber Sales, and has been with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, in various roles, for 24 years.

Wildland firefighters, the public, and industry are facing increasing magnitudes of exposure to the economic, social, physical, and mental challenges that are associated with wildland fires. Through effective research and innovation, the BC Wildfire Service is committed to exploring improvements that may help these groups adapt into the future.

Eleanor McWilliams, RPF, analysts, project manager,  J&E McWilliams and Associates Ltd.

Bio to follow.

Sharie Minions, mayor, Port Alberni

Bio to follow.

Brendan Mohan, RPF, operations manager, CFPC - Alcan

Bio to follow.

Michelle Molnar, technical director, Municipal Natural Assets Initiative

Session: What’s a Forest Worth? Forest Resources, Ecosystem Services, and Natural Capital
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

Michelle Molnar is an environmental economist and policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation. She is the author of natural capital valuations and also sits on the BC government’s Climate Solutions and Clean Growth Advisory Council.

Michelle is an experienced project manager and practitioner of natural asset measurement and management.

Rick Monchak, RPF, board member, Forest Practices Board

Session: The Art of Public Engagement: Sharing the Story of Sustainable Forest Management
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Rick has a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from UBC and has been involved with operational forestry on the coast for 40 years. He still remembers the carefree days of no paperwork and government paid programs. Rick has recently retired from his position at TimberWest as their public lands operations forester where he spent much of his time working with government, First Nations, ENGOs, and stakeholders. The job description included higher-level plans, management plans, forest stewardship plans and (still his favourite) silviculture. Since April 2018, Rick has been a board member of the Forest Practices Board.

Ian Moss, PhD, adjunct professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia

Session: The State of BC's Forest Inventory
Time: Friday, February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Ian graduated from UBC’s Faculty of Forestry in 1979. In 1988, he received an MSc degree with emphasis in tree physiology from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia. In 2012, he completed his PhD at UBC on Stand Structure Classification, Succession, and Mapping using LiDAR with the support of Dr. Valerie LeMay.

Ian has had a career focused in Silviculture, Forest Inventory, Growth and Yield, and Forest Estate Modelling in British Columbia, as a consultant (Industrial Forestry Service, D.R. Systems Inc., Tesera Systems Inc., and his own company Forestree Dynamics Ltd.), industrial forester (McMillan Bloedel, Northwood Pulp & Timber, Pacific Forest Products), and with a two year stint as an “Interpretations Forester” in Government (Research Section, Ministry of Forests, Smithers, BC).

Ian participated in the recent BC Forest Inventory Review, completed in December, 2018. His efforts continue to focus on developing more detailed, precise, accurate, and consistent inventory information, particularly with reference to complex stand conditions, and using this information to improve forest estate planning, management, and practices.

Stewart Muir, executive director, Resource Works

Session: The Art of Public Engagement: Sharing the Story of Sustainable Forest Management
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Stewart Muir is the executive director of Resource Works as well as a historian and award-winning journalist with a passion for the natural legacies of British Columbia. A graduate of Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia, he was a director of The Nature Trust of British Columbia from 2006 until 2014. During a fellowship at the renowned Centre for the Study of European Expansion at Leiden University in The Netherlands, he studied economic botany and the long-term consequences of deforestation and climate change.

Muir was a contributing author to The Sea Among Us: Life and History of The Strait of Georgia, an award-winning book edited by Richard Beamish and Sandy McFarlane. Published in November 2014, The Sea Among Us covers the natural and human history of a body of water that is of fundamental importance in every sense to all British Columbians. In April 2015, the title was awarded the BC Book Prize as "the most outstanding work that contributes to an understanding of British Columbia."

As lead writer of a civic-provincial review of Vancouver's 2011 Stanley Cup riot, Muir helped to frame recommendations to prevent such incidents in future.

In his work as a public historian, Stewart has shed light on incidents of racism and censorship from British Columbia's past.

Jeff Mycock, RPF, chief forester, West Fraser Timber

Session: Wildfire:  Adapting and Managing for Continued Change
Time: Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

Jeff Mycock, RPF, is the chief forester of West Fraser’s BC Operations. Jeff graduated in 1994 with a forestry technical diploma from Selkirk College in Castlegar, and later completed the ABCFP forest pupil program and became an RPF in 2006.

Jeff started his forestry career in the central Cariboo in the early 1990s and then moved to Cranbrook for six career-forming years with a progressive forest consulting firm in natural resource management. Jeff returned to the Cariboo in 2000, and started his career with West Fraser in 2001, and in 2015 moved to a corporate forestry role at West Fraser’s Quesnel office. Jeff became the chief forester in 2016.

Jeff has spent most of his career as a field forester working across a variety of disciplines including silviculture, operations, and forest planning. Jeff is passionate and optimistic about the forest industry and is a strong advocate of sustainable economic development balanced with sustainable forest resource management. Spending many years in operational programs with boots on the ground, working with First Nations, and a cross section of resource stakeholders and other qualified professionals has given Jeff a broad perspective with unique and articulate linkages between policy and practice.

Session: Too Much Water; Not Enough Water: Forest Hydrology in a Changing Climate
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 9:15 AM to 10:30 AM
Room: Shaw Auditorium

John Rex, PhD, P.Ag, is the Team Lead for Research & Stewardship. He has been working with other researchers on aquatic ecology and hydrology projects in the BC Central Interior for more than 20 years on topics that include riparian management, bark beetle infestation influence on hydrology, climate change influence on fish habitat, road associated sediment in streams, and salmon derived nutrient cycling within Interior watersheds.

Len Ritter, PhD, professor emeritus, toxicology in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph

Session: Are Herbicides Getting a Bad Rap?
Time: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

Dr. Len Ritter is professor emeritus of toxicology in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Dr. Ritter advises government departments and agencies, and various industries, in Canada and abroad, on issues related to pesticides, risks from exposure to toxic chemicals, and human health risk assessment. His research interests have focused on adverse health outcomes associated with exposure to pesticides and environmental contaminants and residues in food.

Dr. Ritter has served on various expert panels and boards including the International Centre on Pesticide Safety, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society, the US National Cancer Institute, and the World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives. He is also a fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.

Dr. Ritter has served on the U.S. EPA Human Studies Review Board, the only non-American ever appointed to the Board. In 2006, he was awarded a medal by the World Health Organization in recognition of his contributions to food safety. In 2017 he received the Public Service Award of Excellence and the award for Excellence in Science.

Tim Salkeld, RPF, manager, forest inventory, Office of the Chief Forester Division, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development

Session: The State of BC's Forest Inventory
Time: Friday February 7, 2020 from 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM
Room: Departure Bay Room

Tim Salkeld RFP, is the manager of forest inventory, for the Forest Analysis and Inventory Branch in the Office of the Chief Forester.

Tim obtained his BSF from UBC in 1986 and began his forestry career in Williams Lake. He has lived and worked in 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Prince George, and Victoria in a career spanning from tree planting and silviculture surveys to timber cruising and inventory photo interpretation, inventory data management, geomatics to now managing the provincial Forest Inventory Program.

Along the way he has participated in the development of the vegetation resources inventory and has had roles in the province's geomatics leadership team, national forest inventory, resource inventory standards committee,  provincial lidar working group and natural resource sector data management committee.

Jordin Tootoo

Session: Keynote Luncheon - Aiming for Wellness Together: Mental Health and Resilient Communities
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Room: Mt Benson Ballroom C & D

The first Inuk player in history to be drafted by the NHL, Jordin Tootoo announced his retirement after 13 years in the league to give back to the communities he knows and loves. Bringing a message of inspired inclusivity, Tootoo speaks to the need for real teamwork—at work and in our social communities. A trailblazer on and off the ice, Tootoo’s talks offer a moving and timely discussion of grit and resilience, goal-setting, overcoming adversity in the pursuit of excellence, and how life can be improved through meaningful stewardship.

Jordin Tootoo played for the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1999 to 2003 before being chosen by the Nashville Predators in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play with the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Chicago Blackhawks, banking 161 points, including 65 goals in 723 career games. Of Inuit and Ukrainian descent, Tootoo is not just the first Inuk player, but also the first one raised in Nunavut to play in the NHL. As an Indigenous athletic leader, Tootoo has long understood his responsibility as a role model, speaking openly about the need for mental health resources, and fighting the taboos around discussing mental illness. He is committed to reaching Canada’s Indigenous communities through his work with the Team Tootoo Foundation, founded in honor of his late brother Terence. He was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal for his work in Nunavut promoting healthy living and encouraging conversations about difficult topics like addiction and suicide.

“It’s part of Canada that a lot of people struggle with mental health and addiction, suicide, these issues are a national epidemic. I feel that, at this point in my life, it’s my calling to give back to a lot of these remote communities,” says Tootoo.

Bestselling author of the memoir, All The Way: My Life on Ice, Tootoo brings an uplifting message to his audiences, creating a culture of inspired inclusivity with authentic hockey and community stories.

Derek Tripp, RPBio, Tripp & Associates Consulting Ltd.

Session: Lessons from the Forest Practices Board: Managing for Fish Habitat
Time: Thursday February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

Derek Tripp, RPBio, started out in silviculture and fire research as a summer student from 1968 to 1972, but he gave that all up for fish biology in 1973 when he was promised unlimited fishing opportunities with unlimited helicopter time up and down the Mackenzie River in the NWT. Years later, after looking too much at the impacts of tar sand mines, hydro dams, pipelines, and recreation areas on fish in the NWT and Alberta, Derek moved to Vancouver Island in 1980 and then eventually to Haida Gwaii in 1983.

It was on Haida Gwaii where Derek started to focus more and more on the effects of forest operations on fish habitats, and how to audit or otherwise assess those impacts. Forty five years later, Derek has now seen more streams and logging than he ever thought possible when he was first promised that fishing trip in the NWT. Derek presently lives in Courtenay where he still works sometimes, and swims, runs, bikes, hikes, skis, golfs, and curls the rest of the time with his most lovely and understanding if somewhat impatient wife Kerri Brownie, RPF, a stewardship forester with BCTS.

Doug Wahl, RPBio, manager, audits & investigations, Forest Practices Board

Session: Lessons from the Forest Practices Board: Managing for Fish Habitat
Time: Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room: Nanaimo River Room

Doug Wahl has a Master’s of Applied Science from the University of Canberra, Australia. He is a Registered Professional Biologist and a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC).

Before joining the Forest Practices Board in 2008, Doug was a consulting habitat biologist based in Summerland, BC. The majority of his consulting work focused on the forest and mining sectors, undertaking assessments, and providing advice on mitigation, policy and regulatory matters. At the Board, Doug’s work in audits and investigations has involved examining fish habitat, wildlife, range, old growth, FREP, and watersheds used for drinking water.

Doug’s primary interest in natural resource management is achieving the optimum balance between the sustained use of natural resources and the appropriate protection of environmental values.