Responsible for leading Mast's forest operations team as it scales up reforestation operations, using drones, seedlings, nurseries and carbon offsets to rejuvenate forests destroyed by wildfire.

As senior forester at Cariboo Carbon Solutions I help a group of professionals manage silviculture projects all across the southern half of British Columbia. I spend a lot of my time in project origination and developing silviculture strategies to reforest dry forest ecosystems. CCS and Zanzibar work with Indigenous communities wherever possible to ensure our projects are relevant culturally and provide employment and other economic benefits. We have had increasing focus on collection of seed from wild sources. While our two main species are Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine, we also collect aspen, cottonwood, paper birch, and Douglas maple, as well as a host of useful shrub species. To date we have collected enough tree seed to grow roughly 40 million seedlings. We also work with several nurseries to grow plug stock versions of aspen and other deciduous/shrub species.As the name implies, Cariboo Carbon Solutions is meant to originate projects whose focus is carbon sequestration via silviculture practices. Since BC's Forest Carbon Offset Protocol (FCOP) still does not create opportunities for non-government funders to hold carbon credits on Crown land, we are working instead with private land holders.

FORESTRY - Zanzibar Holdings► Reforestation of wildfires►Climate informed silviculture strategies ►Wildfire task force, guard construction, line locating►Cone and wild seed collection► Silviculture Project Management► Silviculture Surveys, Logging Layout, ► Forest health surveys► Thirty five or so years experience in the forest industry, mostly in south central British Columbia.

► Silviculture Project Management► Training and Economic Development► Joint Venture ArrangementsThe Chilcotin Silviculture Group is a joint venture between member bands of the Tsilhqot'in National Government and Zanzibar Holdings, a reforestation business. April 2014 should see the CSG re-starting the Douglas-fir survey and spacing program under Forests for Tomorrow in Williams Lake, BC.In fall, 2013, the CSG completed a survey program for the Ministry of Forests in Alexis Creek, BC. The surveys were actually throughout the Williams Lake TSA and looked at stocking and regeneration on stands harvested by Jackpine Forest Products in the mid-2000's. From 2011 to 2013, the CSG managed a Forests for Tomorrow juvenile spacing program for West Fraser Mills in Williams Lake. The shared goal of the joint venture was to share profits and employment and to build capacity in member communities.Other recent projects include transmission line clearing projects (Goldbridge/Lillooet) and forest surveys.The Chilcotin Silviculture Group builds capacity by removing barriers to entry for Bands, First Nation businesses and individuals. Zanzibar Holdings provides economies of scale, training, equipment and professional capacity as needed to make projects successful. The CSG also provides business coaching to Aboriginal silviculture businesses and a micro loan program for contractors needing a cash flow injection to start and complete contracts successfully.

► Capacity Building► First Nations Joint Ventures► Project ManagementI managed the First Nations capacity building program for BA Blackwell and Associates (via CIMCO) in a multi-year Forests for Tomorrow reforestation program. I worked with 16 bands in 5 tribal groups and established mentoring relationships with silviculture contractors to enable Bands and Band businesses to participate in FFT's silviculture contracts. Many of the relationships I helped develop are still working well today, five years later.The Cariboo FFT program had the highest levels of First Nations participation in the province.

► Logging Supervision► Economic Development► Business Planning and FinancingI managed the forestry department and Band logging company. This involved seeking opportunities for individuals and businesses to find employment and contracts in forestry. I negotiated logging rates as well log sale contracts and managed the local woodlot. I co-founded the Canim Lake Economic Development Council along with Lorelei Boyce and sat on the First Nation Economic Development sub-committee of the Cariboo Chilcotin Beetle Action Committee. Also sat on the Social Development sub-committee for CCBAC. I led a buy-out of a logging subcontractor in order to put control of the logging company back into the hands of the Canim Lake community.

► Planning► Cutting Permit Applications► Beetle Salvage► Layout SupervisionPlanning forester in Tembec's Elko Division near Cranbrook, BC. I was employed by Interior Reforestation but was a "temp" forester for two years in the Elko office of Tembec Industries. Duties included planning cutting permits, managing cruising and layout operations and tracking progress of beetle epidemic in the Elk Valley. I implemented handheld gps-based inventories in log yard, and introduced handheld gps to forestry operations, especially in layout of small scale salvage permits. Also focused on review of cruising operations and tightening of QA standards as a means of ethically reducing stumpage rates.Working at Tembec's Elko office showed me how well forestry can be practiced in this province and how much people in industry can take to heart the excellent management of the forests, wildlife, water and scenic values. It was a real joy working with the people in the Elk Valley.

President and half owner of a small custom-cut sawmill business. Started the company, wrote the business plan, arranged markets and financing and managed staff. Partner built and ran the sawmill. Our original business plan was built around a program of spindle blanks shipped to the southern U.S. at a time when "value added" product escaped softwood lumber duties. This worked well until the Americans cancelled the Lumber Agreement and all softwood products were taxed 30% at the border, effectively killing our plan. Struggled along for a year or so cutting birch, fir and other specialty items, but eventually had to call it quits and the company declared bankruptcy. This was a stressful time of life for me and I've avoided putting this in my profile. The fact is, I learned a tremendous amount about lumber, sawmills and business risks, as well as the need for prudence and starting small!I also learned creating boards from logs is incredibly exciting and even addicting... too bad it isn't more profitable! i guess if it was easy we'd all be doing it. Hats off to my friend Roland Jarrett for keeping his sawmill operation, Sevett Industries, in the black all these years! You can see more about Roland's mill at http://cedarlumberbc.ca.

I started as a proprietorship in 1988 under the name Toodoggone Forestry Associates, and incorporated as Westroad Resource Consultants Ltd. around 1991. I took on a partner somewhere around 1993, Jim Kurta. We did lots of silviculture work in the early days, surveys, SP's and so on. In 1993 I started working with Bill Watt, and learned to love forest soils. Eventually, under Bill's tutelage, I began teaching soils to other foresters. In 1994 I began pursuing Ecosystem Mapping projects and was awarded a large project in Chetwynd in the Rocky Mountains. We did that for a few years along with our other business. I love ecosystem mapping: the photo typing, the evaluation of ecosystems and surficial geology, and the creation of a big, beautiful GIS dataset.