Founding Board, 2002-04
Back Row: Sybille Haeussler; Frank Doyle; Tom Buri; Brian Edmison; Anne Harfenist; Paul Sanborn; Kevin Kriese
Front Row: Irving Fox (Director Emeritus); Rosemary Fox; Jim Pojar; Carl vanderMark
Kirsteen Laing
Administrative Manager
Kirsteen graduated from UBC with a BSF in 1979. She worked for MacMillan Bloedel on Vancouver Island and obtained her RPF before heading overseas to work for two years in Moçambique with CUSO. After a year of travelling she returned to BC and worked in Prince Rupert with TM Thompson. The following year, 1986, she and her partner established Laing & McCulloch Forest Management Services and based their operations out of Smithers. She was involved in a wide range of projects including operational surveys, training and research. Upon the birth of their first child Kirsteen’s focus in the company switched to a more administrative role. Her experience, in particular in bookkeeping, led to contracts that required these skills. She has worked independently for various clients, including the Centre, since 2004.
Kirsteen enjoys running, biking, cross-country skiing, hiking and travelling (47 countries so far). She is very involved with the Bulkley Valley Cross Country Ski Club. With two teenage daughters she is kept busy with their activities of cross-country skiing, triathlon, soccer, running, etc. etc. She is so happy to have made Smithers her home as she feels it is a wonderful place to raise a family and a hidden treasure worth preserving.
Kirsteen started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in June 2004.
Craig Nitschke
Adjunct Researcher
Craig’s main research area is forest ecosystem response and vulnerability to climate change. Craig was born in Canada and he obtained his BSF (Hons) in forest resources management and Ph.D. in forest vulnerability and sustainable forest management under climate change and at the University of British Columbia. Craig is currently involved in several research projects that relate to assessing the vulnerability of local species and ecosystems to climate change.
Over the past 3 years, Craig has worked with various aspects of species and ecosystem responses to climate change, including working with the TACA and SORIE-ND model, to investigate the role of disturbance and stand dynamics in mixed-species temperate, boreal and sub-boreal ecosystems of B.C. and the Yukon with the University of British Columbia. He currently is working as a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne focussing on ecological model development and assessment of Victorian species and ecosystem vulnerability to climate variation and change. The results of his work are published in several international journals and have been presented at several conferences including the IUFRO 2005 IUFRO World Forestry Congress and 2008 Sir Mark Oliphant Conference: Old Forests New Management.
Rick Budhwa
Research Program Manager
Rick Budhwa is the principal of Crossroads Cultural Resource Management located in Smithers, BC. He is currently working with several government agencies, First Nations and industry to help bridge differences in perspectives and establish cultural resource management (CRM) and indigenous land management initiatives. Over the past 7 years, Rick has been successful in creating and implementing alternative CRM methodologies for multiple stakeholders in British Columbia. These initiatives have resulted in greater collaboration and holistic interpretations within CRM.
Rick’s academic, professional and personal research includes; traditional land use, human interactions with their environment, catastrophic paleoenvironmental events, geomorphology, the similarities and differences between scientific and indigenous interpretations, indigenous archaeology, First Nations cultural and natural resource management, indigenous perceptions and interpretations of past and present, oral traditions and oral histories, and British Columbia legal proceedings and government legislation regarding traditional knowledge and oral traditions.
Rick has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario in Anthropology, a Post Baccalaureate Diploma from Simon Fraser University in Archaeology, and a Masters Degree from Simon Fraser University in Archaeology, with an emphasis on Anthropology and First Nations Studies. Rick is a permit holding archaeologist in BC, and a member of the Canadian Archaeological Association, the Society for American Archaeology and the First Nations Environmental Assessment Technical Working Group. Rick also teaches anthropology, history and sociology at Northwest Community College.
Started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in January 2006.
Rasmus Astrup
Adjunct Researcher
Rasmus Astrup was the Senior Scientist with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre. His main research area was stand dynamics and growth predictions for complex mixed-species stands. Rasmus was born in Denmark and he obtained his BSF at the Royal Agricultural and Veterinarian University in Copenhagen. He obtained his Ph.D. in quantitative silviculture and growth modeling at the University of British Columbia.
Rasmus is currently involved in several research projects that relate to topics such as quantifying individual tree competition across resource gradients, utilizing remote sensing techniques to parameterize process oriented growth models, quantifying and predicting regeneration and secondary structure after Mountain Pine Beetle attacks, developing and evaluating SORTIE-ND as a growth model for complex stands, and incorporating uncertainty into decision making for complex stands.
Over the past 5 years, Rasmus has worked with various aspects of stand dynamics in mixed-species boreal and sub-boreal ecosystems. He has mainly focused on topics related to understory tree growth, understory light availability, tree mortality, and growth modeling. The results of his work are published in several journals and have been presented at several conferences including the IUFRO 2005 World Forestry Congress. Rasmus is part of the development team behind the simulation model SORTIE-ND. As such, he has made several additions to SORTIE-ND that better allow the model to simulate boreal mixed wood stands. These additions include growth functions for juvenile understory trees, mortality functions, and volume prediction.
Rasmus worked for the Centre from October 2006 to March 2008.
Board of Directors, 2004-2006
Back Row: Brian Edmison; Jim Pojar (Past President); Dave Wilford; Paul Sanborn; Steve Gordon; Kevin Kriese; Frank Doyle; Carl vanderMark
Middle Row: Tom Buri; Sybille Haeussler; Don Morgan
Front Row: Rosemary Fox; Irving Fox (Director Emeritus)
Missing 2004-06 Board: Anne Harfenist
Ingrid Granlin
Community Outreach Coordinator
The Centre has gained some additional part-time help, in partnership with the Wetzin’kwa Community Forest. The Centre has hired Ingrid Granlin to work one day per week as Community Outreach Coordinator. Ingrid will be responsible for promoting community awareness and participation in the Community Forest. You want to know what forest or wildlife research is going on within the Community Forest? Or what the flying squirrels are up to? Stay tuned! Ingrid will also be coordinating the Bulkley Valley Research Centre Seminar Series. Born and raised in the Bulkley Valley, Ingrid is trained as a graphic design artist. Among other things she has worked for the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition.
Ingrid started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in November 2009.
Amanda Follett
Communications Coordinator
Amanda was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario and graduated from Carleton University’s Bachelor of Journalism program in 1997. After graduation, she moved out west to Canmore, Alberta, where she worked as a reporter and then assistant editor at weekly newspaper The Canmore Leader while exploring the Canadian Rockies. Always in search of adventure and new experiences, Amanda visited Smithers in spring 2006 and decided to stay. She began working at the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in December 2006 and has since helped organize several events and workshops, along with undertaking the Centre’s communications, writing and editing needs. She recently completed a Master of Communication Specializing in International and Intercultural Communication through Royal Roads University while continuing to pursue a freelance writing career. When not at a computer, she enjoys exploring northern B.C. with her faithful four-legged companions Belle and Fen.
Amanda started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in December 2006.
Beth Henderson
Research Assistant
Beth Henderson started working as a Research Assistant at the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in May 2007. She was a graduate of Sir Sandford Fleming College in Ontario where she completed the Fish and Wildlife Technology program. She assists with many of the research projects doing both field and office work.
Beth enjoys snowshoeing in the Babines. One aspect of her work that she has most appreciated has been the opportunity to explore more of the forested areas around Smithers – more great areas for snowshoeing and hiking.
Beth started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in May 2007.
Sheldon Haftner
Research Assistant
Sheldon Haftner was born in Smithers, BC and raised in Houston, BC. He has enjoyed working as a contractor and landscaper, before starting work with Bulkley Valley Research Centre. He obtained a UNBC Scholar’s Award for obtaining top marks in high school and attended UNBC for 4 years. He received his Bachelor in Science degree Majoring in Biochemistry and Minoring in Chemistry. Sheldon hopes to be able to receive a research job relating to the degree he received with preference to medical research.
Sheldon started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in August 2009.
Board of Directors, 2006-2007
Back Row: Carl vanderMark; Tom Buri; Brian Edmison; Dave Wilford; Kevin Kriese; Paul Sanborn; Anne Harfenist; Rick Budhwa (Staff)
Front Row: Kirsteen Laing (Staff); Irving Fox Director Emeritus; Rosemary Fox; Sybille Haeussler
Missing 2006-07 Board: Dave Bustard; Don Morgan
Alana Clason
Adjunct Researcher
Alana graduated from the forest science program at UBC in 2007, during which time she worked in Smithers as a field assistant. Determined to return to the Bulkley Valley, she connected with the BVRC to pursue a masters here in Smithers through the University of Alberta, supervised by Ellen Macdonald and Sybille Haeussler. She completed her MSc in 2010 on overstory-understory dynamics and forest change in northern populations of whitebark pine in the Coastal Mountains. Alana felt inspired to continue studying the ecology and informing conservation action for this endangered tree species, so in winter 2011, she began her PhD at UNBC under the supervision of Phil Burton and Eliot McIntire.
Alana’s research now focuses on how climate change will influence the resilience and dynamics of the northern-most populations of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) in the Coastal and Rocky Mountains. Incorporating local, global and stochastic processes of forest change to determine the relative resilience and future distribution of these threatened ecosystems, she hopes to delineate restoration priority areas across the northern extent under current and future climate conditions.
Alana now happily calls Smithers home, where she lives with her husband, a happy brood of chickens and an expanding garden. She loves hiking, canoeing, skiing and playing various sports in the Bulkley Valley, as well as sewing and knitting during the long winter nights.
Al Gamble
Seasonal Staff 2007 - 2009
After 30 years working for IBM, Al Gamble happily traded the corporate rat race for peace and solitude in Smithers. When he’s not sampling trees or amusing BVRC staff with quirky anecdotes and interesting observations, Al likes to run rapids in his kayak or shred the slopes on his skis.
Al started working for the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in the fall of 2007 and continues to do odd jobs around the office and periodic field work.
Michelle Larstone
Fundraiser
Michelle grew up in Vancouver and Victoria before moving to the Bulkley Valley in 2005. After completing a degree at SFU, she went on to work with at-risk youth until an epiphany led her to the Sierra Club of BC and a new career. She has since been helping not-for-profit organizations raise money and communicate more effectively. She works a little with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre and spends the rest of her time in sunny Telkwa with her two little girls and her partner Taylor.
Michelle started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in May 2008.
Hilary Thorpe
Adjunct Researcher
Hilary recently graduated from the University of Toronto with a PhD in forest ecology. She was hired by the BVRC to complete a project on crown shyness and is currently employed as a postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Geography and Forest Sciences at the University of British Columbia.
Hilary’s research interests include disturbance ecology, stand dynamics, dendroecology, individual-based modeling, and ecosystem-based forest management. In her dissertation, she used dendroecological techniques and neighbourhood models to quantify stand dynamics after structural retention harvests in Ontario’s black spruce boreal forest. Her current research projects include: modelling tree crown structure across competitional gradients in the sub-boreal spruce forest (BVRC), quantifying changes in background tree mortality rates in Alberta’s boreal forests over the past 50 years (UBC), and neighbourhood analyses of tree growth in old-growth coastal forests in southwestern BC (UBC).
Hilary currently lives in Haida Gwaii with her partner, Tyler, and their dog, Blue.
Marius Boldor
Research Associate
Marius started to work for Bulkley Valley Research Centre in December 2008 and is currently involved in testing and calibrating SORTIE-ND, working toward improving the model results and establishing the model as a reliable timber supply analysis tool.
Marius was born in Romania where he worked as a forest professional and was involved in several ecology projects in the mountainous regions in the western part of the country. He obtained a bachelor degree in silviculture and a MF in forest transportations at the University of Transilvania in Brasov. Coming to Vancouver, he obtained an MSc in forest ecology and modelling at the University of British Columbia.
Over the past 7 years, since arriving in Canada, he was part of the Forest Ecology Simulation Group at UBC, where he was focused on complex forest ecosystems issues like nutrient cycling, biodiversity, biomass assessment, stand dynamics, complex cutblock designs, wildlife habitat suitability, windthrow and fire risks assessment and climate change. He is also a GIS and spatial analysis passionate.
Marius is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys exploring BC’s natural beauties with his wife and daughters.
Marius started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in December 2008.
Tamara MacLeod
Research Program Assistant
Tamara MacLeod is a Cree/T’su T’ina metis from central Alberta whom decided to live in B.C. after a memorable road trip up to the Queen Charlotte Islands in 2000. After graduating from the University of Alberta in 1992, Tamara created various social programs throughout Alberta and British Columbia working closely with at-risk and/or marginalized communities. Tamara’s interest in the outdoors began shortly before working with Rediscovery International at various camps such as Ghost River, AB, Lac La Ronge, SK, and Heshquait, NW Vancouver Island. Tamara became so inspired by the impact natural healing had on the camp participants that she sought a masters degree in Eco-Psychology/Integrated Ecology, encouraging further interest in the sustainability of eco-systems. These life experiences all lead her to the Bulkley Valley Research Centre where she is now able to apply her administrative and communication skills on a part-time basis as well as continue her studies.
Tamara is a wife and mother of 2 beautiful daughters who continues to honour traditional First Nations ceremonies, support local businesses such as organic farming, and create time for cross country skiing, rock-climbing and laughter with family and friends.
Tamara worked for the Centre from February 2008 to April 2009.
Marie-Lou Lefrançois
Researcher
Marie-Lou was a Researcher with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre. Marie-Lou obtained her B.Sc. in Physical Geography at the University of Montreal, where she became passionate about forest ecology after being introduced to biogeography and palynology. She pursued her studies at the Centre for Forest Research (UQAM) where she graduated with an M.Sc. in Biology (Forest Ecology), studying light interception and crown architecture of temperate forest trees (with the model SORTIE), as well as working as a research assistant. Other research projects conducted during her academic years included: forest modeling (UdeM), watershed hydrology (Hydro-Quebec), tree hydraulics (McGill) and native-species reforestation in tropical plantations (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute of Panama).
Currently working with Phil Burton as a Research Associate at UNBC, Marie-Lou is involved in a Sustainable Forest Management Network synthesis project on insect disturbances, where she is studying the selectivity of the mountain pine beetle at different stages of outbreak. Along with her new colleagues at the Bulkley Valley Research Centre, she is involved in another project looking at the effect of the spatial distribution of trees in the initial conditions of the SORTIE model.
Marie-Lou first visited the Bulkley Valley in 2002 while planting trees and happily settled in Smithers in June of 2007 with her husband Nick and daughter Vivian. In her native Montreal, Marie-Lou left behind a perplexed artistic family and her treasured shish-taouks.
Marie-Lou worked for the Centre from October 2007 to March 2009.
Aaron Trowbridge
Junior Researcher
Aaron was the Junior Researcher with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre. Aaron grew up in the Bulkley Valley and started working in the field of forest ecology as a high-school summer student. He went on to work with a multitude of BC consultants in the ecology and terrain sciences, most recently providing ecosystem and soils mapping services on Environmental Impact Assessments within the mining industry. Biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification and mapping, and soil classification and mapping, are his fields of specialty and passion. He is currently completing a BSc through Royal Roads University with future graduate study goals.
Aaron is particularly keen on integrative aspects of science, culture, and the environment within the Pacific Northwest region. He looks forward to assisting with research to improve scientifically based management options available to government and industry, with the ultimate goal of influencing societal priorities towards progressive decision making.
Recreational interests range from gardening and woodworking, to exploration of the Skeena watersheds by paddle, foot, and ski.
Aaron worked for the Centre from October 2006 to September 2008.
Laurence Turney
Board President
Laurence is an RPBio who graduated from the University of Victoria in 1983 with a B.Sc. in zoology and has worked for consulting firms and government in a wide variety of disciplines and geographic areas. Early in his career he spent time in the Queen Charlotte Islands and Beaufort Sea working on seabirds and marine mammals. From 1986 to 1991, he worked for the Department of Renewable Resources in Yellowknife, NWT in the areas of policy and planning, land use planning and geographic information systems. While working for the Ministry of Environment, from 1991 to 1995, he spent time in the Queen Charlotte Islands as a Habitat Biologist and then in Terrace as a Forest Ecosystem Specialist. In 1996, he worked as a consulting biologist in Terrace and from 1998 to 2006 was owner of Ardea Biological Consulting, completing wildlife habitat assessments and Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping projects as well as teaching wildlife courses for Northwest Community College. After a brief excursion into corporate consulting with Gartner Lee Limited and AECOM Canada Ltd., Laurence restarted Ardea in 2009 and has been working on a variety of environmental assessment and baseline studies heading a team of local consultants in northern BC and the Yukon.
Although he has only lived in Smithers since 2000, he has worked and played in the Bulkley Valley since 1986 and is very interested in ensuring that the people and places that make this place special are managed sustainably.
Don Morgan
Board Vice President
Don Morgan is a natural resource management and systems researcher with the BC Ministry of Forests Research Branch, where he is the Team Leader of Wildlife Habitat Research. His main research area focuses on methods for describing and analyzing socio-ecological systems with an emphasis on wildlife habitat supply. He applies innovative methods to explore uncertainty, particularly the impact of climate change on ecological processes and its interaction with resource management decisions.
He is a Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia, and has a B.Sc. in wildlife biology and computational mathematics from Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario (1984), a B.Sc.(honours) from Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario in Quantitative Ecology and Computer Science (1991), and is a biology graduate student at the University of Northern B.C.
Irene Ronalds
Board Secretary
Irene is a Consulting Biologist who focuses on Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC), and Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM). She also writes extension, planning and management reports which synthesize ecological research and inventory information. She moved to the Bulkley Valley in 1993 to work on the Protected Areas Strategy conservation analysis. She is the mother of two young boys who spend a lot of time in the outdoors. She weaves a variety of ecology projects into her busy life with them. She and her husband Kevin, enjoy indulging the boys in the wonderful privilege of spending time in the wilds of Northern BC.
Brian Edmison
Board Treasurer
Brian Edmison, born in Ottawa, obtained a BA degree from Queen’s University in 1967 and a Chartered Accounts degree with Pricewaterhouse, Toronto in 1970. In 1972, he joined a CA firm in Smithers BC, becoming a partner in 1977, and remains with that firm, now called Edmison Mehr, CAs. His public practice includes financial statement preparation for corporations, not-for-profit organizations and individuals, auditing government entities, Canadian and international taxation and property management.
In addition to public practice, Brian was a director and shareholder of RSF Energy, a Smithers-based company which for 19 years produced wood and gas fireplaces and stoves for international markets. He recently participated in the conception, fund raising and development of the multi purpose courts and climbing wall addition to the Smithers recreation centre.
Brian’s natural resource experience is both work- and general interest-related. In 1975 he joined a forestry advisory board and thereafter various environmental and resource management committees. He has traveled three times to hike in the Nepalese Himalayas and visited other countries with a focus on trekking in mountains. He sees the natural biodiversity of northwestern BC, the range of diverse intact ecosystems and the experience and expertise of the technicians and professionals of the Bulkley valley as an excellent opportunity to develop science based resource management. This underlies his excitement and support for the Bulkley Valley Centre for Natural Resources Research and Management.
Alison Beal
Board Member
Alison M. Beal is the former executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada (1991-2000), in that capacity developing strong working relationships with the trapping community, including First Nations, across Canada; she has a strong background on local, national and international issues related to trapping, trapline management, humane trap research and development, and the establishment of international humane trap standards.
Alison has served on the board of directors of the BC Wildlife Federation, the BC Trappers Association, and was a founding director of the Canadian Outdoors Heritage Alliance. In addition, she has worked cooperatively with the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, and the governments of Yukon, BC, and NWT.
Alison is a communicator with long experience in helping scientists, consumptive users of natural resources, and politicians develop and share information and strategies on maintaining balance and integrity when dealing with controversy. She has long experience researching, writing and creating layout for popular articles, newsletters, brochures, annual reports and promotional material having to do with, trapping, trapping technologies and various contentious issues related to consumptive use. Her quarterly commentary on related issues appears in several publications.
Ms. Beal is the designer and a co-author (with Dr. David F. Hatler), of the 2003 edition of BC’s Furbearer Management Guidelines directed to trappers, resource managers, foresters and other stakeholders.
In addition, she is co-author (again with Dr. Hatler) and designer of the British Columbia Trapper Education Manual and the Alberta Trapper Education Manual. She is also most recently a co-author of of Carnivores of British Columbia (RBCM, UBC Press, Hatler, Nagorsen, Beal).
Through her work, Alison has established a respected profile with the Ministry of Environment , numerous NGOs, and political figures at both the provincial and federal level.
Alison resides in Telkwa, British Columbia, with her husband Dave Hatler.
Denise Bustard
Seasonal Staff 2007
Denise recently completed her BSc from the University of Calgary in Cellular Molecular & Microbial Biology while on exchange in Australia. Following her graduation, she worked and travelled around Australia for a year before returning to her hometown Smithers in September. During her time off, Denise enjoys cross-country skiing, cooking and board games. She plans on returning to the University of Calgary in January 2008 for graduate studies.
Tlell Glover
Summer Staff 2007 and 2005
The Centre hired Tlell Glover as its first summer employee under the UNBC coop education program. Tlell grew up in the Suskwa Valley, graduated from Smithers Secondary School in 1997 and currently lives on a rural property outside Telkwa. She is studying Physical Geography and Plant Biology at UNBC with an eye towards teaching and or research and is a member of the UNBC Varsity Nordic Ski Team. Tlell brings to the Centre a strong enthusiasm for ecology and the outdoors, great writing skills and several years of prior work experience as a silvicultural surveyor and ecology technician as well as a background in lifeguarding and water safety.
Tlell’s first activities were to take on the preparation of a series of posters to highlight the Centre’s research results and to help organize the Research Funding Workshop. She also served as a field assistant on several of the Centre’s research projects including ecosystem restoration studies on the lower Skeena River and Bulkley Valley grasslands, and tree regeneration and stand structure assessments in mountain pine beetle damaged stands.
Matthew Bryan
Summer Staff 2007
Matthew Bryan, 21, worked as a research assistant at the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in summer 2007, before heading into the third year of his biology undergrad at the University of Victoria in the fall. Matthew is originally from Victoria and says his first co-op placement reaffirmed where his career is heading: “It just solidified my own interest in research,” he says.
Phil Burton
Board Member
Phil Burton is Manager of Northern Projects for the Pacific Forestry Centre of the Canadian Forest Service, based in Prince George, B.C., where he is also an adjunct professor in the Ecosystem Science & Management Program at the University of Northern British Columbia. Phil has written several dozen papers and book chapters on vegetation dynamics and forest regeneration, and he currently researches various aspects of forest disturbance ecology. A common theme of his work has been the integration of conservation biology into sustainable forest management.
Phil is a Registered Professional Biologist with a B.Sc. (Hon.) from the University of Saskatchewan (1978), M.Sc. from University of Hawaii (1980), and a Ph.D. from University of Illinois (1989). He and his wife Carla had an independent research and consulting firm in Smithers from 1995 through 2003, and they retain strong ties to the Bulkley Valley. He has been a member of the Bulkley Valley Community Resources Board and was a founding Director of the Wilp Sa Maa’y Harvesting Co-operative. Phil currently sits on the Boards of the Northwest Institute for Bioregional Research and the FORREX Research and Extension Partnership.
Debbie Cichowski
Board Member
Deborah Cichowski is a wildlife ecologist with a keen interest in the ecology and landscapes of northwestern BC. She has been involved with research and management of woodland caribou in west-central BC since 1985 and is currently conducting research on the effects of the mountain pine beetle epidemic on caribou habitat use and lichen dynamics. She has also worked on other research projects including a predator/prey study in Spatsizi Park with the Spatsizi Association for Biological Research.
From 1991 to 1999, Deborah was a Resource Officer with BC Parks in the Northern BC Region and then in the Skeena District, where she worked on natural and cultural resource issues in protected areas all over northwestern BC. Since 1999, she has been operating Caribou Ecological Consulting and specializes in wildlife management, research and planning, caribou recovery planning, protected areas planning, and synthesis of ecological information.
Deborah is a Registered Professional Biologist (College of Applied Biology) and a Registered Professional Forester (Association of BC Forest Professionals) with a B.Sc. (Hon.) in Zoology from UBC (1985) and M.Sc. in Wildlife Biology (Forestry) from UBC (1990).
Deborah was born and raised in BC and grew up in Ocean Falls and Campbell River. She lived in the Chilcotin while conducting her research for her M.Sc. and first moved to Smithers in 1990. After 3 years with BC Parks in Prince George, she has lived in Smithers since 1994, where she enjoys hiking, skiing, basketball, gardening and her horses.
Sybille Haeussler
Board Member & Past President
Sybille Haeussler is a forester and research scientist whose work focuses on the effects of human activities on the diversity, resilience and complexity of terrestrial ecosystems and plant communities, and on improving ecosystem-based forest and rangeland management. She is an adjunct professor with the University of Northern BC and currently works with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre, UNBC and other partners on several projects including whitebark pine ecosystem restoration, climate change adaptation and non-timber forest resources. Sybille has a B.S.F. from the University of British Columbia, an M.Sc. (Forest Ecology) from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. (Environmental Sciences) from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She is a member of the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals.
Sybille grew up in Kitimat, BC and arrived in the Bulkley Valley in 1978. She operated Skeena Forestry Consultants in Smithers from 1982 until recently, and has been active as a community volunteer in consensus-based land use planning, grassland conservation and restoration and environmental education. She is a founding Board Member and served as President and Chair of the Bulkley Valley Research Centre from 2004 to 2010.
Greg Knox
Board Member
Greg Knox was hired as the Executive Director of Skeena Conservation Trust in October of 2007, and is responsible for the overall management of the Trusts activities. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Geography from the University of Northern BC in 2000, after which he became a certified Fisheries Technician and Field Supervisor with the Nisga’a Fisheries program. In 2003, Greg also partnered in an ecotourism business based out of Terrace where he specialized in guided grizzly bear and jet boat tours while continuing with his fisheries work. Greg is currently enrolled in the MSc. Program in Environmental Science at Royal Roads University where he is continuing his education while maintaining his position as Executive Director.
Andrea Kosalko
Board Member
Andrea Kosalko is the School of Exploration and Mining manager at Northwest Community College. The school is built on partnerships between industry, the college and First Nations, backed mainly by funding from the provincial and federal governments. Andrea has coordinated the school since its inception in 2005 and it has won several awards for its partnerships, program design and contributions towards building sustainable communities. Andrea would like to see communities maximize benefits from exploration and mining and sees this realized through research identifying further opportunities for the North. Andrea’s educational background is business administration and she holds a BA honours degree from Bournemouth University in the UK.
Tony Pesklevits
Board Member
Tony and his wife Lisa moved to the Bulkley Valley in 2008. His work with the First Nations Initiatives Division of the Integrated Land Management Bureau involves building collaborative agreements between government agencies and northwest First Nations on land use and resource management, shared decision-making, resource revenue-sharing, and governance.
Prior to joining the provincial government in 2007, Tony spent nine years in Nova Scotia, where he led an environmental field research program at Acadia University and worked with government, academic, and industry partners to develop of a strategic research plan for the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve. Tony completed a graduate degree and post-graduate research at Dalhousie University focused on complex-systems approaches for conserving and restoring eastern old-growth forests. His research interests are cross-cutting and currently focus on collaborative governance, community resilience, conflict resolution, and locating the prime fishing holes in the greater Skeena watershed.
In his free time, Tony is a chainsaw ecologist with a passion for ecoforestry, counting tree rings, and making sawdust.
Paul Wojdak
Board Member
Paul Wojdak obtained B.Sc (Honours) in chemistry and geology from McMaster University and M.Sc. in economic geology from the University of British Columbia. He joined Cominco Limited in 1974 as a mineral exploration geologist and worked throughout western Canada and USA with Cominco and subsequently with Westmin Resources. In 1992, he joined the B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines as Regional Geologist. Key components of the position are to track and document mining and exploration activity, to promote mineral potential, and to be a source of geology and minerals knowledge. Paul is active in the Smithers Exploration Group, currently as President, and in Minerals North Association.
Megan Adams
Summer Staff 2007
Megan Adams, 20, is a double major in biology and environmental studies at the University of Victoria. During her three months in Smithers as a BVRC research assistant, Megan became a known face around town through her volunteer work and community involvement. She returned to Victoria in the fall for the third year of her undergrad. Originally from southern Alberta, Megan inherited her love of nature from her parents: “I’ve always been interested in outdoor pursuits, so I think I have a vested interest in it,” she says about her chosen career path.
Board of Directors, 2007-2009
Back Row: Anne Harfenist; Brian Edmison; Laurence Turney; Brian Fuhr; Don Morgan
Front Row: Jim Pojar; Sybille Haeussler; Rosemary Fox; Jim McCormack
Missing 2007-08 Board: Phil Burton; Debbie Cichowski
Missing 2008-09 Board: Phil Burton; Debbie Cichowski; Bob Mitchell
Olivia Pojar
Summer Staff 2006
Olivia Pojar assisted on various research projects throughout the summer of 2006.
Raised in the Bulkley Valley, Olivia graduated from McGill University in 2003 with a degree in English Literature. In September 2006, Olivia returned to do a second degree in Biology.
Olivia spends her summers in Smithers, hiking, horseback riding, and going to garage sales.
Irving Fox
Founding Director
Born and raised in Michigan, Irving received a BA from the University of Michigan in Political Science, and MA in Public Administration. After several years in the US Department of the Interior working on water basin management, he joined Resources for the Future in Washington, D.C., where he was a researcher and Vice-President from 1955-66. He was professor of Urban and Regional Planning and associate director of Water Resources Research at the University of Wisconsin from 1966-71; and Director of the Westwater Research Centre and Professor of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia from 1971 until his retirement in 1982. In 1983 he and his wife Rosemary moved to the Bulkley Valley and built their house outside Smithers.
After retirement, Irving retained an active interest in natural resources management. Under contract with the University of BC, he undertook an assessment of forest economic and policy studies. For several years he was president of the Spatsizi Association for Biological Research, sponsoring wildlife research in northern British Columbia. He also helped establish the Bulkley Valley Community Resources Board, and participated in the Fort St. James Land and Resources Management Plan. His recreational interests included his dogs, carpentry, canoeing and hiking.
Jeff Anderson
Climate Change & Geosciences Researcher
Jeff’s main research area is ecosystem response to climate variability. He uses instrument records and paleo-climatology to describe the atmospheric component of observed ecosystem behavior. Jeff received a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria, focusing on both geosciences and terrestrial ecology. He then received a M.Sc. in geosciences from the University of Victoria, where he was part of a team exploring the vulnerability, of coastlines in Haida Gwaii, to current climate change models.
Over the past eight years Jeff has identified several ecosystem responses to climate variability, including geomorphic, hydrologic and ecological systems. As part of this work Jeff has used tree rings from Mountain Hemlock trees to develop climate chronologies for parts of the Skeena Watershed. These chronologies characterize observed climate variability in the Skeena Watershed over the past 400 years. And further validate described ecosystem responses to climate variability in this region.
When not conducting research, Jeff applies himself as an environmental consultant. He works with Government, First Nation, forestry and mining clients on a wide variety of environmental issues. When away from work, Jeff enjoys exploring the Skeena and Nass watersheds. Whether kayaking, hiking, skiing, fishing or hunting you can find Jeff on the back roads.
Board of Directors, 2009-2010
Back Row: Brian Edmison; Brian Fuhr; Don Morgan; Anne Harfenist; Laurence Turney; Bob Mitchell; Jim McCormack
Front Row: Rosemary Fox; Sybille Haeussler; Irene Ronalds
Missing: Phil Burton; Debbie Cichowski
Board of Directors, 2010-2011
Back Row: Brian Edmison; Anne Harfenist; Don Morgan; Tony Pesklivits; Phil Burton; Bob Mitchell; Sybille Haeussler
Front Row: Debbie Cichowski; Irene Ronalds; Rosemary Fox
Missing: Laurence Turney; Andrea Kosalko
Erica Lilles
Soil & Vegetation Scientist
Erica first worked in the field of forest science during her undergraduate years at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, where she was an intern in the forest dynamics lab. She gained more experience in temperate and boreal forest ecology during field jobs in Washington, Alaska, and interior British Columbia. It was her interest in soil-plant interactions and native plant restoration that led her back to school for an M.Sc. degree in Land Reclamation at the University of Alberta. In graduate school she studied the effect of soil salinity on boreal forest productivity, a topic of concern for well site, pipeline, and oilsand mining reclamation in Alberta. Erica’s other research interests include: non-timber forest products development and management, invasive species management, forest understory plant ecology, mycorrhizal ecology, and forest biogeochemistry.
At the Bulkley Valley Research Centre, Erica has been involved with research examining the effects of above and below ground competition and soil moisture and nutrients on tree growth, allometry, and nutrition. As a young scientist, she benefits from two elements brought together by the BVRC: collaboration with natural resource professionals and accessible ecosystems.
Originally from the Seattle area, Erica now happily makes her home in Smithers. An outdoor and nature enthusiast, she enjoys exploring the Bulkley Valley and living in the midst of a full food chain.
Erica is currently on maternity leave with her new daughter Wynter.
Erica started with the Bulkley Valley Research Centre in July 2007.
Board of Directors, 2011-2012
Present: Debbie Cichowski; Irene Ronalds; Brian Edmison; Sybille Haeussler; Laurence Turney; Alison Beal; Andrea Kosalko; Greg Knox
Missing: Phil Burton; Don Morgan; Tony Pesklivits; Paul Wojdak