Recent Projects

This project gathered information through questionnaires, meetings, e-mail and phone survey with staff in British Columbia government natural resource agencies and summarized the scope and purpose of their monitoring activities and access to their data.
Fifty-four monitoring programs are described and classified. Forty are classified as “active” and five as “new” (start-up year), two are “pending,” and seven are classified as “inactive” (i.e., they have provided data in the past but are no longer actively managed and contributing new monitoring data).

Recruited and chaired the independent science team to provide the best available advice to the BC government on management of the dwindling BC population of spotted owl populations.
Co-chaired the provincial Biodiversity Working group which developed the Biodiversity Guidebook and implementation of conservation provision through Landscape Unit Planning Guide and since has remained active on stand level implementation, training and monitoring Wildlife Trees and landscape level implementation seral stage management (Old Growth Management Areas).

Identified priority research questions, research framework and a four phase implementation plan to improve understanding of relative risk to ecosystems in the Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) context.
Used GIS to identify undeveloped and developed watersheds in BC’s interior impacted by mountain pine beetle. Watersheds identified as potential sites to monitor natural recovery, monitor cumulative effects to inform practices and plans for sustainable development and forestry.

A member of a multi-agency team that designed and analysed net-based questionnaire information obtained from statutory decisions makers to determine whether and how cumulative effects influenced their ability to manage.
Lead a team that identified and integrated environmental values into Silviculture Strategies (Type 1) for the following Timber Supply Areas; Morice, Lakes, Mackenzie, Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile, Kamloops, Merrit, Okanagan, Kootenay Lake, Cranbrook, Lillooet, and Williams Lake Anahim supply and in Tree Farm Licence 49.
Lead a team that assessed impacts to land use objectives for Kamloops and Okanagan Shuswap Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMPs) in light of mountain pine beetle and wildfires. Used GIS analysis, structured stakeholder interviews, to assess and report impacts to land use objectives and relative risk to plan values.

Lead a team that developed an approach to integrate environmental values and assess relative risks/impacts from mountain pine beetle and wildfire for use in silviculture strategies. Risks and trends used to guide silviculture investments for restoration and landscape level retention planning to mitigate impacts from cumulative environmental impacts.
Lead a team that identified and integrated environmental values Silviculture Strategies (Type 1) for the following Timber Supply Areas; Morice, Lakes, Mackenzie, Prince George, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile, Kamloops, Merrit, Okanagan, Kootenay Lake, Cranbrook, Lillooet, Anahim supply block of the Williams Lake and Tree Farm Licence 49.
A member of teams that used environmental indicators and modeling to quantify environmental values in Silviculture Strategies (Type 2/3) for Quesnel, Merrit and Kamloops TSA.
Instrumental in development of a method for assessment of Environmental Risk used by government.

Team member that provided annual field audits of forest practices for Terminal Forest Products under their commitment to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Team member that field audited the draft BC Standards developed by the Forest Stewardship Council and tested in the Tembec license areas in the East Kootenays.

Developed and lead the technical committee and guiding council that implemented the Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration Program under Forest Renewable BC.
Team member completing regional workshops and three regional ecosystem restoration plans. These plans prioritised areas for restoration in light of mountain pine beetle and catastrophic wildlife fires.
Assessed forest policy and natural wildfire disturbances in Mongolian forests and advised how to transform silviculture practices to both reduce wildfire risk and provide forest products.

Brought to completion the Lone Pine published guide Wildlife and Trees in BC. This is a practical approach to retention of stand structure and was developed by a team of foresters and biologists.
Initiated and co-lead a provincially sponsored international symposium entitled Sustaining Peoples and Ecosystems. Conference focused on integrated solutions and show-cased from different countries the best examples of forest management demonstrating how to sustain multiple values. Developed a method using ecosystem information linked to GIS and seral stage information than establishes likely historic plant baselines and allows assessment of current condition and forecast future habitat condition of based on current practices and plans linked to timber supply forecasts.