Karen McAllister
Executive Director
Laurie McConnell
Dir. of Community & Systems
Natasha Wehn
Project Director
Sydney Dixon
Marine Specialist
Rob Hackney
Finance Director
Roan Bohonos
Content Designer
Mollie Cameron
Wolf Campaigner
Lars Isaac
Videographer & Video Editor
Email: info@pacificwild.org
Phone: 250-380-0547
Main Office
1529 Amelia Street, Victoria, BC
Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory
V8W 2K1
Field Office
P.O. Box 26
Denny Island, BC
Haíɫzaqv Territory
V0T 1B0
Reminder: Application deadline is March 31st!
🐻 Pacific Wild is currently seeking a committed, enthusiastic full-time, permanent Wildlife and Forest Campaigner who is experienced in developing and delivering campaigns advocating for the protection of species and habitat.
Are you passionate about visual storytelling, and communications that educate, inspire, and affect lasting change?
Do you have great writing and analytical skills, and experience developing creative, compelling campaigns that are strategic, science-based, and focused on positive conservation outcomes?
If this sounds like you or a friend, please see the full job description at the link in bio.
*Applications will be accepted until midnight.
#PacificWild #WildlifeProtection #ForestConservation #BCjobs #EcoCareer #DreamJob
📸 @iantmcallister
🐟 Top 10 Animals That Rely On Pacific Herring
#9— Sea Lions
For sea lions, herring isn’t just a meal—it’s survival. This highly oily, nutrient-rich fish is a staple food source, helping these marine mammals maintain the blubber they need for warmth, energy, and reproduction.
Why Herring Matters
🐟 Herring is a high-quality, energy-dense fish that provides essential fats and nutrients.
🐟 Blubber is life. Without enough herring, sea lions struggle to maintain their fat reserves, impacting their health, survival, and reproductive success.
🐟 When Steller sea lions lose access to herring and have to switch to a lower-fat fish, like pollock, they have to eat a lot more! Sea lions would need to consume approximately 60% more pollock to achieve an equivalent energy intake as a herring-based diet.
Sea lions are a crucial part of the marine food web, but their survival depends on the availability of healthy herring populations. Without herring, the impacts ripple across the entire ecosystem.
Protecting herring means protecting sea lions and the balance of our oceans.
👉 Stay tuned as we reveal the final species in our Top 10 list that relies on Pacific herring!
📸 @iantmcallister
#PacificWild #ProtectPacificHerring #BIGlittlefish #Herring #PacificHerring #Top10 #SeaLions
For Tolkien Reading Day this year, we re-wrote one of his most famous poems to honour Pacific herring: the one fish to rule them all, the foundation of the food web.
Three herring for the migrating seabirds under the sky,
Seven for the cod and flatfish in their halls of benthic stone,
Nine for Pacific Salmon doomed to spawn and die,
One for the killer whales on their apex throne
In the Land of British Columbia where the spring seas rage.
One Fish to rule them all,
One Fish to find them,
One Fish to bring them all, and in the ocean bind them
While hobbits destroyed the One Ring on March 25 by casting it into a fiery mountain, we hope to PROTECT the one fish against heating oceans, overfishing and habitat destruction.
Support our work and follow Pacific Wild for more!
Poem adaptation by @sydneycdixon
#tolkienday #lordoftherings #Lordoftheringsmemes #herring #foragefish #marineconservation #environmentalcomedy #foodweb #killerwhales #orcas #beautifulbritishcolumbia
🐟 Top 10 Animals That Rely On Pacific Herring
#8 – Halibut
Pacific herring aren’t just vital for birds and mammals—they’re also a key food source for large predatory fish like halibut.
During herring spawning season, halibut take full advantage of the dense schools of herring that gather near the coast. In fact, herring make up about 53% of a halibut’s diet during this time. Their abundance and accessibility make them an energy-rich, easy-to-catch prey.
When halibut move in to feed, they also attract marine mammals and sharks, making herring a crucial link in the broader marine food web.
Protecting herring means supporting healthy fish populations and the predators that rely on them.
👉 Stay tuned as we continue highlighting species that rely on herring for survival!
#PacificWild #ProtectPacificHerring #BIGlittlefish #Herring #PacificHerring #Top10 #Halibut
Exciting News! Not only is it World Bear Day today, but…
‘Return of the Great Bear’ is going global! Our documentary has been invited to tour with the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) from March 2025 to March 2026, with screenings around the world—from Canada to Brazil to Belgium.
And for those closer to home…
🐻 The Fight to Protect Grizzlies Continues – In Campbell River!
Join us for a special screening on March 27 at the Campbell River Community Centre Lounge, featuring special guest Natasha Wehn, director of ‘Return of the Great Bear’, who will share insights on its making and the ongoing conservation efforts behind it.
Now more than ever, we must stand together to protect what is wild.
March 27, 2025
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Admission by donation
Contact Annie Smith to reserve your seat at 📧 anismith@telus.net.
#ReturnOfTheGreatBear #VIMFF #CampbellRiver #GrizzlyBears #Conservation #PacificWild #CampbellRiver #WildlifeProtection #worldbearday #worldbearday2025
Glacier preservation isn’t just about ice—it’s about survival!
Glaciers are vanishing before our eyes, and with them, the steady flow of life-giving water that sustains British Columbia’s wild coast. As the ice melts, rivers run dry, ecosystems unravel, and species fight to survive.
💧 B.C.’s glaciers are vital to salmon-bearing rivers. As they shrink due to climate change, freshwater flow becomes unpredictable, threatening salmon populations—a critical food source for bears, sea wolves, and orcas.
💧 The Great Bear Rainforest and coastal estuaries depend on cold, glacial-fed rivers. Changes in water temperature and flow impact everything from eelgrass beds to the wildlife that relies on them.
💧 Freshwater flow shifts alter salinity levels in coastal waters, disrupting marine food chains—including herring, the foundation of B.C.’s marine ecosystems.
From mountain peaks to ocean depths, the loss of glaciers is a crisis we cannot ignore. The time to act is now: reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect freshwater ecosystems, and fight for the future of our coast.
Protect what you love. Protect what is wild.
📸 @iantmcallister
#WorldWaterDay #ProtectBCGlaciers #ProtectBCWater #Glaciers #ClimateActionNow
Karen McAllister
Executive Director
Karen has been involved in wildlife protection in British Columbia for over two decades. Initially, she worked on frontline campaigns to protect Vancouver Island’s endangered rainforest, moving north in the 1990s to begin efforts to protect the central and north coast of B.C. She coauthored The Great Bear Rainforest with her husband Ian, and is a conservation director of Pacific Wild. Karen and Ian live with their two children on Denny Island.
Laurie McConnell
Director of Community & Systems,
Donor Relations
Laurie spent her twenties exploring the BC coastline every summer aboard a 26′ wooden sloop sailboat and discovered a love for the wild marine environment and all the creatures within it.
She relocated to the Sunshine Coast and has spent 39 years involved in the community across a variety of organizations and initiatives. She has a journalism degree and a background in communications, and studied art and creative writing as tools to transform the way we communicate around charged topics. Donor relations, stewardship, Friends of Pacific Wild and Artists for the Great Bear Rainforest are paired with digital systems management for a never-a-dull-moment role.
She is delighted to be working in her great love of BC’s unique coastal geography and culture. This is her dream job, helping protect such a critical piece of British Columbia and engaging in outreach and development to further Pacific Wild’s goals in the Great Bear Rainforest and Sea.
If you need any assistance regarding a gift, contact Laurie directly at: 1-778-401-5222.
Natasha Wehn
Project Director
Natasha is a filmmaker and organizer who has worked in the film industry in Vancouver for 8 years. Growing up in Howe Sound, she was profoundly impacted by the power and beauty of the wilderness around her and has always sought to bring together her love of nature and storytelling.
Natasha has a BA in film from Simon Fraser University and studied Project Management at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. She has worked in a wide variety of departments in the film industry, from camera to casting, the production office to production design, and sound to Assistant Directing. This broad experience provided a solid foundation for transitioning into Producing. One of the most rewarding projects was Luk’Luk’I; a 2017 docudrama that collaborated with residents in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to tell their stories. Working on that project permanently changed Natasha’s perspective of life in the DTES. Natasha’s films have been screened in festivals internationally and won numerous awards.
Natasha believes that visual storytelling has an incredible capacity to build bridges and open people up to new perspectives. She is very excited to work at Pacific Wild and advocate for our precious planet, especially our incredibly unique coastal ecosystems.
In her spare time, Natasha enjoys breathing in the salty sea breeze, feeling the sun on her face, and learning about anything anyone is willing to teach her!
Sydney Dixon
Marine Specialist
Sydney grew up on the coast of British Columbia, where her fascination with tide pools sparked a lifelong passion for the ocean. This enthusiasm deepened throughout her adolescence and guided her into adulthood. She earned an undergraduate degree in marine science and geography, launching her career in the marine field through roles in environmental monitoring and as a vessel captain leading wildlife tours.
After relocating to the west coast of Vancouver Island, she transitioned into the nonprofit sector, focusing on marine research and education. Sydney’s early research positions focused on studying the movement patterns and behaviour of killer whales, as well as monitoring sea star wasting disease and population dynamics in the intertidal zone.
In 2022, Sydney joined the team at Pacific Wild. Thrilled to collaborate with a talented group of colleagues, she now shares her extensive knowledge and passion for the marine environment with diverse audiences. Sydney is also completing a Master of Science degree at Royal Roads University and is excited to share her findings with Pacific Wild’s audience.
Rob Hackney, CPA, CGA
Director of Finance
Rob has admired the natural world from a young age. Enamoured by tales of the fabled Pacific Northwest, he drove westbound across Canada in his early twenties. Captivated by the sheer beauty of the rainforests, coastal climate, mountainous regions, and plethora of wildlife, he made Victoria, BC, his home in 2007.
Rob pursued studies on Vancouver Island, completing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with majors in accounting and finance. He further pursued a professional accounting designation, and received his letters (CPA, Chartered Professional Accountant) in 2015. He has worked in financial and tax accounting for private sector accounting firms, in legislation administration for the federal government, and in management information systems technology for an international organization.
Rob enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities including snowboarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and learning about mycology and mycorrhizal fungi and plants.
With Pacific Wild, Rob has an outlet for his financial prowess and passion for protecting the environment. He is grateful to be working with a team of talented professionals in the fight to protect biodiversity and species at risk in our coastal ecosystems.
Roan Bohonos
Digital Content Designer
Roan was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and has always had a curiosity and appreciation of the natural world. His love for the coastal environment of B.C. and passion for wildlife protection ignited even further through having spent many summers on Vancouver Island whilst growing up.
Roan graduated in 2020 from the Alberta University of the Arts with a Bachelor’s of Design. After graduating, he spent a few years in the stock video/photography as well as freelancing space, honing his creative skills in the areas of graphic design, motion graphics, and video editing.
After moving to Victoria B.C. in 2021, Roan joined the Pacific Wild crew near the beginning of 2023. His personal interests and hobbies include basketball, snowboarding, hiking, photography, watching movies, photo-collaging, chess, and travel.
Mollie Cameron
Wolf Campaigner
Mollie grew up in Windsor, Ontario and relocated to the west coast in 2016 where she found herself completely captivated by the terrestrial wildlife on Vancouver Island.
Mollie has spent several years volunteering her time providing wildlife education in local communities, with a heavy focus on how to peacefully coexist with carnivores. She has years of field experience monitoring carnivores and studying their behaviour using remote camera traps, investigating wildlife signs and documenting predation events.
She is immensely grateful to be working with Pacific Wild, advocating for wolves. Mollie believes that our province’s carnivore population is often misjudged and hopes to inspire admiration and understanding for all of British Columbia’s wildlife.
Lars Isaac
Videographer & Video Editor
