Denny Island, B.C.: September 12, 2019—Pacific Wild announces today that former B.C. Senior Compliance and Enforcement Specialist and Provincial Constable, Bryce Casavant has joined the organization as their new Conservation Policy Analyst to further the organization’s mission to protect British Columbia’s critically endangered wildlife and their habitat.
“Joining Pacific Wild is a major win for B.C.’s beleaguered wildlife and environment. Bryce’s level of knowledge and experience in environmental enforcement, compliance, and government policy is unprecedented in the non-profit sector,” said Ian McAllister, Pacific Wild’s Executive Director.
Casavant brings with him 15 years of experience in conducting complex environmental investigations, including six years working within the B.C. government in environmental law enforcement with wildlife and forestry crime. He is well-known in the province for legal investigations that have revealed mismanagement within the government itself.
“In my years of experience the government is one of the major contributors to environmental non-compliance,” said Casavant. “In the absence of public servants exercising their institutional knowledge and positions of power for the greater good, not only is our environment put at further risk but the public trust placed in government to protect our environment is further eroded. My move to the non-profit sector is about holding our governments accountable.”
“The B.C. government has continually framed Bryce as controversial for his work to stand up for enforcing existing laws and regulations,” said McAllister. “But we don’t believe standing up for the rule of law and ensuring it is enforced should ever be considered controversial.”
British Columbia currently has 1,800 species at risk—the highest number of any province—and has been criticized widely for favouring the interests of corporations and industry while compromising its environment. At the forefront of provincial current conservation discussions are the future of Southern Mountain Caribou, the province’s wolf cull program, old growth logging, endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales and Chinook salmon, open-net cage salmon farms and new developments for liquid natural gas (LNG) and oil shipments through BC’s coastal waters.
“The provincial and federal governments lack information transparency, hindering environmental progress in B.C. They also continue to put environmentally destructive projects ahead of the needs of the environment,” said Tommy Knowles of Wildlife Defence League “Bryce’s extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of British Columbia’s environmental law and policy will prove a critical asset as we work to modernize our environmental laws in keeping with societal values that want more protection, not less. His appointment to Pacific Wild is a game changer in the B.C. environmental landscape.”
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About Pacific Wild: Founded in 2008 by conservationist and environmental filmmaker, Ian McAllister, Pacific Wild protects wildlife and their habitat in the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia through impactful communications, wildlife monitoring, and community-led initiatives that shed light on the natural world.
For more information or interviews contact:
Sara-Jane Brocklehurst
Email: sara-jane@pacificwild.org
Phone: 250-222-0495
Website: pacificwild.org
