 Bryan Gates
is a native British Columbian who brings with him an exciting
and diverse professional career. Extensive experience in the management
of birds and mammals, coastal
resources, forestry, and energy developments have given him an appreciation
of the competing demands placed on wilderness and the environment. He earned
a Master of Science degree in wildlife management at the University of British
Columbia and has worked in that province for more than 30 years. He is past
president
of the Association of Professional Biologists of British Columbia.
Although Bryan has devoted extensive time to the study of marine and terrestrial
mammals, his special interest is in birds. In his free time he teaches introductory
ornithology and bird identification at the college level in Victoria and is
very active in natural history organizations. He has travelled throughout much
of
British Columbia in search of its 450 species of birds.
In 1990, he began serving as a ship’s naturalist, lecturing on board
and leading exploratory walks from the ships into remote wilderness areas,
interpreting
ecosystems and explaining the role of species encountered along the way. He
has travelled on board with birders and natural history tour groups in the
Chihuahua
and Baja California provinces of Mexico, Southeast Alaska and throughout Central
America, including Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Belize.
In 1989, Bryan served as an election supervisor with the United Nations in
Southwest Africa, an election that created the new nation of Namibia. That
experience reinforced
his desire to share ideas with people about the remaining natural areas of
the world and the growing need to protect them. In 1994, Bryan returned to
southern
Africa, this time leading a group on a successful and exciting venture into
Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia in search of the vast numbers of birds and large
mammals
that inhabit those colorful countries.
“Bryan
is an excellent leader!" – Okanagan
weekend
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