Webinar recording:
Today’s model of forestry sacrifices values British Columbians care deeply about, from old growth to wildlife to watershed protections. Join Wildsight for a presentation that highlights alternative models of forestry and how British Columbia can shift the paradigm in BC forestry to more ecologically and socially responsible logging.
Hear from Conservation Director John Bergenske, Conservation Specialist Eddie Petryshen, and Regional Director and retired forester Jim Smith on the problems today, and the potential for a better approach to forestry for B.C in this free 1.5 hour webinar on Tuesday, March 16th.
About the presenters
Jim Smith is a retired forester. Over his 30 year career, he worked various industry and government positions from Prince George and Burns Lake, to Creston and Vernon and back to Creston again. Throughout most of this experience Jim was fortunate to work with people who “saw the forest through the trees.” In the late 1990’s he was drawn to the new vision of community forestry and finished his forestry career working with wonderful people in Creston, Harrop Proctor and the Slocan Valley.
John Bergenske was a leader in the 20-year process to create and complete the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy. He has been instrumental in designation of protected areas and parks in the East Kootenay, coordinated environmental appeals against industrial polluters, worked to establish the Southern Rocky Mountain Conservation Area, the Columbia Wetlands and East Columbia Lake Wildlife Management Areas. He has participated in extensive field research on both mountain caribou and grizzly bears in the region. He is active in Forest Stewardship Council certification, Mountain Caribou recovery and protection of the Flathead River Valley. John works provincially and internationally on forest, wildlife and land use issues to protect biodiversity values across Canada’s Columbia and southern Rocky Mountains. John is Wildsight’s Conservation Director.
Eddie Petryshen is Wildsight’s Conservation Specialist. Eddie is an East Kootenay local yokel, a conservationist and a human and coffee powered adventurer. Eddie works to improve logging practices on the ground and at the provincial level, he works on old growth protection, caribou recovery, recreation and land-use planning. He’s driven by a strong desire to help protect and recover the ecosystems and critters that make BC the wild place it is. Eddie has a passion for wild places, adventure, and telling stories about the people, critters, and landscapes of “home”, the Kootenay and Columbia region.