We combine research and education aimed at enhancing aquatic biodiversity, including large-scale field studies of salmon and their ecosystems.  Our projects range from impacts of nutrients from salmon on birds and plants to links between life history traits of fish and vulnerability to extinction.

I hold the Tom Buell BC Leadership Chair in Salmon Conservation and Management at Simon Fraser University.  This research chair is funded through a partnership between the British Columbia Leading Edge Endowment, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, and numerous private and corporate donors. Click here to support our conservation efforts.  The Chair was named after Tom Buell, former CEO of Weldwood of Canada. He was an ardent outdoorsman with a deep concern for environmental protection and the sustainability of Pacific salmon stocks.

I am also the Chair of COSEWIC – the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.  We are an independent panel of experts appointed by the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change to assess the status wild species of plants and animals across Canada.  The Minister then considers our status assessments in potentially listing species for protection under the Species at Risk Act.

In 2020 I was honoured to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

This is Simon Fraser University, atop Burnaby Mountain in Vancouver, with Mount Baker in the background.  You can almost see my office.  This stunning shot was taken by Matt Lum.  See more of his photos of Vancouver and vicinity here.