This vast and varied region encompasses Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, BC’s central coast, and Haida Gwaii. It runs from the edge of the sea, with deep fjords, long inlets, and ecologically rich estuaries, to the peaks, glaciers, and alpine meadows of the Coast Mountains.
The West Coast is home to animals found nowhere else, such as the Kermode (spirit) bear and Vancouver Island marmot. Haida Gwaii, sometimes known as Canada’s Galapagos, is renowned for its distinct animal species that have evolved over thousands of years in isolation.
In the rivers, lakes, and off the shores of this region, the waters host an abundance of life – salmon, herring, whales, and dolphins all rely on this land to support their aquatic habitats. Along the coast runs part of the Pacific Flyway, which millions of migratory birds travel each year from as far away as South America on their way to northern BC, Alaska, and the Arctic. Seabirds breed on the region’s rugged islands and cliffs.
At the southern end of the region, the dry rain-shadow areas of southeastern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands host Garry-oak ecosystems, among the most endangered habitats in Canada. These ecosystems offer more than an array of spring wildflowers — they are home to crucial food and medicine plants used by Indigenous people. These essential plants survive in fragmented patches, where they are threatened by invasive species. Half of all the land they once occupied has been converted to human use.
Our focus in this region has been protecting and restoring coastal lowlands such as estuaries, wetlands, and riparian areas and the highly endangered oak and coastal bluff ecosystems in the southern gulf islands. We’ve protected over 130 conservation areas here, a total of nearly 10,000 acres.
Since we began protecting the Kw’a’luxw (Englishman) River in 1981, we have conserved 836 acres of land along the river and in its estuary. Bald eagles, turkey vultures, northern goshawks, Townsend’s big-eared bats, red-legged frogs, coastal cutthroat trout, steelhead, and coho and chinook salmon are just a few of the species that call this watershed home. Millions of Pacific herring spawn along the shore each spring, and salmon spawn in the river and its tributaries.
As the largest-ever estuary restoration project in coastal BC, the Quw’utsun/Xwulqw’selu Estuary Restoration and Food System Revitalization Project will restore 173 acres of tidal marsh by reconnecting the river to the salt water of the Salish Sea. In partnership with Cowichan Tribes and the UBC Indigenous Ecology Lab, we’re also working to revitalize Indigenous food systems. This project has been endorsed by UNESCO as an official contribution to the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030.
Tom has been the Program Manager for the West Coast Conservation Land Management Program since 2006. This program is an innovative partnership among nonprofits, government agencies, and First Nations focused on conservation, stewardship, and management of sensitive ecosystems along the BC coast. Tom has led this program for nearly two decades, managing more than 110 conservation areas and overseeing several large restoration projects. He has led the implementation of the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund’s Enhancing Estuary Resilience project focused on monitoring and restoring more than 20 BC estuaries in partnership with First Nations.
Tom holds a diploma in Fish, Wildlife, and Recreation from the BC Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Geography from Simon Fraser University.
We gratefully acknowledge that our Vancouver office is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, who have been stewarding this land since time immemorial. Our work and conservation areas encompass many lands throughout the province, and we humbly acknowledge the First Nations communities who live on and steward these lands.
Stay connected to the landscapes you help protect. Receive updates from the field, stories of conservation in action, and opportunities to support and experience BC’s natural places.
Stay connected to the landscapes you help protect. Receive updates from the field, stories of conservation in action, and opportunities to support and experience BC’s natural places.