ELECTION 2015 - 2016 CAPF Governing Council

--- Candidate Bios and expressions of interest ---

BLOSS, Alex Over the past 21 years I have practiced forestry in Alberta and British Columbia. My journey into forestry started with a Forest Technology Diploma from BCIT, followed by a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management – Forestry from UNBC. I spent 13 years in Alberta and British Columbia working in the traditional forestry sector holding positions in timber valuation, natural resource planning, timber operations, silviculture and research. My previous employers include both consulting firms and forest companies - Timberline Inventory Consultants, KWB Contracting, Tolko Industries, Interfor, Weldwood and Canfor. For the past eight years, I have been working in the non-traditional forestry sector with ATCO Electric Transmission Division. I have held several operational planning and management positions with my current employer that have led me to my current role of Superintendent, Forestry Maintenance in the Forestry and Construction Access group.

Throughout the past 21 years, I have volunteered with different groups that focussed on program delivery to youth through Forest Education Societies in Alberta and BC, Natural Resource Education Society in Prince George, BC and through coaching of several different minor sports. I have judged academic projects and science fairs for various ages and provided input to public advisory boards on natural resource development activities. Over the past year, I have participated as CAPF Councillor as the Registration Chair. I have also been involved in the development of the Continuing Competency Program for the new Forest Management Professional organization. Our organization is one that will undergo significant changes over the next few years from what we currently know it to be. My vision for our organization is one that remains committed to the betterment of the profession through a strong commitment to the development and maintenance of high professional standards, as well as being an advocate for the promotion of the profession as an integral component for the management of natural resources in Alberta.

ANDERSON, Ed Growing up in Northern British Columbia, I loved spending time in the outdoors camping and recreating. In 1996, when I graduated from High School in Dawson Creek BC, I knew I wanted a career in the forest sector and I knew, if I could, I wanted to stay in the north for my education. I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Resource Management – Forestry from the University of Northern British Columbia in 2002. In the 13 years since, I have practiced forestry in Alberta and British Columbia. In 2005, I became a Registered Professional Forester with the CAPF. I spent seven years in Alberta and British Columbia working in the traditional forestry sector holding positions in natural resource planning, timber operations, and silviculture. For the last six years, I have been working in the non-traditional forestry sector with the ATCO Electric Forest Operation group. While at ATCO I have had many roles with the company, from 2009 to 2012 while living in Vegreville, I looked after vegetation management operations for the

southeast region of the province. In 2013, I moved to Grande Prairie for a year while becoming the Supervisor of Technology and Operations Support. In 2014, I then moved to Edmonton, with the same title, but also began looking after the planning functions for the group.

Although the landbase of Alberta’s public lands is staying consistent in size, the demands placed on it continue to grow through increased recreational demand and industrial development. This growth requires resource professionals to manage the landbase for multiple uses with sometimes conflicting objectives. To manage and plan for these overlapping uses of public lands, Alberta requires more diverse resource management professionals. It is my belief that the registered forest professionals of Alberta have been and can continue to fill this void. The high standards for professionalism, the large landbases managed, and the need for short and long-term operational and strategic planning required in the forest industry has created a profession whose members are versatile in many aspects of natural resource management. However, I firmly believe that the forester of yesterday is not the forester of tomorrow and the resource manager of the past is not the same resource manager we will need in the future. Colleges and universities are slowly addressing this new reality through the development of a curriculum that has a more diverse set of disciplines taught in their forestry and natural resource management programs.

As professional foresters, we have to now create and be part of a professional organization that also addresses this new reality. We still need focused industry professionals like RPF’s, RPFT’s, professional biologists, professional chemists,

professional agrologists, etc. I think now is the perfect time for the creation of a larger natural resource management professional association in Alberta that houses as many of the previously mentioned industry professionals as possible. We don’t want to dilute what it means to be an RPF or an RPFT, but we want to diversify our knowledge of other disciplines while being a part of a professional organization that has other sector professionals who we can draw on to make complicated resource decisions. We want the public and industry to think RPF or RPFT when they want a diverse resource manager to make decisions on their behalf, but we also want them to know that we belong to a new professional resource management organization where we can draw on other members when a subject may fall outside our area of expertise. The same would apply to other members in this new professional organization when the subject turned to the forestry related issues.

BIELECH, JP I have been involved in forestry since hearing about the profession while attending the University of Alberta in 1977. I changed faculties and have loved forestry since then. I graduated from U of A in 1980 and spent the next few years trying different jobs in Whitecourt, Hinton and Grande Prairie. I started with the Alberta Forest Service in 1983 and worked in Grande Prairie, Whitecourt and High Level for the next 10 year. I then took a Ralph Klein package and went to work for Manning Diversified Forest Products as Woodlands Manager for the next 13 years. A four year stint with Canfor in Grande Prairie was followed by a move to becoming a partner in Incremental Forest Technologies Ltd. as a partner.

My professional history includes all aspects of the profession working in government, forest industry both small and large and now as a consultant. That broad background provides me with a great perspective on the profession to help me work on council on our move forward.

GRIFFIN, Dawn I graduated from Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with a Forest Technician Diploma in May 1982. I upgraded through UBC continuing education and the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals (ABCFP), obtaining my RPF designation in 1996. I worked in the West Kootenays and Caribou for consultants for 7 years, doing silviculture surveys, permanent sample plots, juvenile spacing and timber cruising. I began working for the Ministry of Forests in Williams Lake in small business logging. After two years I moved to Prince Rupert as the Technical Inventory Officer updating coastal forest inventory. During my term in Prince Rupert I also assisted planning, recreation and silviculture departments. In 1998, I moved to Prince George and began working for Canfor in layout and cutting permit acquisition. I moved to Fort St John in 2005 to work in permitting and harvesting and then was promoted to a Coordinator role in permitting and harvesting. I

moved into the Silviculture Coordinator role in 2009 and shortly after Canfor restructured into the current Forest Management Goup (FMG) and my role expanded to include silviculture responsibilities for Chetwynd BC, Fort Nelson and Grande Prairie, AB. At this time, I became registered as a RPF in Alberta in June 2010. I enjoy working in Alberta as there are similar ecosystems and deciduous and mixed wood management in Fort St John. I serve on the Huallen Tree Seed Orchard and Tree Improvement Alberta Board of Directors. I enjoy walking my dog, hunting and camping.

I have the perspective of working in adjacent provinces with different forest professional legislation. While the associations are different there are many similarities. I support the joining of the professional and technical colleges. This strengthens the association and we can work together to attract more people to a career in forestry. Utilizing current technology and reaching out using social media that future forestry grads and members follow could be key to recruitment. I believe forestry has a bright future and this should be reflected in our association’s activities. I have an interest in working on recruitment. I also have an interest in working on the Policy, Act, Regulations and Bylaws (PARB) Committee. My experience organizing workshops for the Northern Silviculture Committee in BC and Tree Improvement Alberta would be invaluable to the Program Committee. I look forward to working with Council and serving on the Council committees where I am most needed.

HANUSZ, Colin

Colin Hanusz is the Manager of the Bonnyville Office for Opus Stewart Weir. Colin attended Grande Prairie Regional College where he obtained his Bachelor of Applied Forest Management Degree in 2002. In addition to being an RPF, Colin has obtained the Project Management Professional designation from the Project Management Institute. Colin started his career in 2003 with Tolko in High Level Alberta, then transferred to Tolko’s Meadow Lake OSB division in Saskatchewan in 2006. During this time Colin held positions of Planning Supervisor, Operations Supervisor, Area Supervisor, Divisional Forester and Wood room Area Lead. He was very involved in the development of the DFMP for the High Level Joint FMA, as well as the

development of other plans. Colin has championed the Environmental Management Systems, and CSA Sustainable Forest Management Systems for Meadow Lake OSB. In 2011 Colin accepted a positon with ATCO Electric as a Senior Right of Way Coordinator based out of the Bonnyville district, where he worked to maintain vegetation on existing Right of Ways, and with the Engineering department to clearing new right of ways. In 2013 he accepted a positon as a project manager with Opus Stewart Weir in Bonnyville. This position has Colin interfacing with the companies Environmental, Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering and Land Surveying departments for projects in the Bonnyville Region. One of the notable projects that he is currently involved in is winter planting to reclaim old seismic lines in the Algar Lake area near Ft. McMurray to restore Caribou habitat.

I am interested in running for one of the upcoming council positions as I believe that I can contribute to the College in this time of transformation between the CAPF and the CAPFT. I was a council member with the Association of Saskatchewan Forestry Professionals (ASFP) from 2009 to 2010. During this term, I was involved with the committee that developed the registration exam for new members. Prior to 2010 all members were grand-fathered into the association without requiring a jurisprudence exam. I was nominated to be one of the leads to write the jurisprudence exam, as I was the only council member to have written a registration exam from another province. Since returning to Alberta, I have been attending the CAPF AGM’s and monitoring the meeting minutes to stay up to date with the council activities. My experience with the ASFP, which represents both Foresters and Technologists, gives me unique insight into the transformation process. My Vision for the future of the college is not set in stone, as I believe the transformation could be successful in a number of different ways. I want to be involved in the council at this time to ensure that the transformation process meets the needs of all the parties involved and provide my insight from my term with the ASFP.

McCammon, Jim I have extensive experience in the Alberta forestry scene both in the public and private sector. I am currently Director of Business Development at Alberta Newsprint Company following many years as Manager of Forest Resources with the same company. Professionally, I have been active on a variety of regional and provincial task forces in recent years (Mountain Pine Beetle, Caribou Conservation, Integrated Land Management) as well as volunteer organizations (Forests without Borders, Wolfe County Fish and Game Club, Whitecourt Forestry Capital of Canada).

The integrity and wisdom of professional forestry practitioners has been key to the successful management and conservation of Alberta’s forests. I would want to see that voice remain strong and clear for both Alberta’s forests and for our members. As the merger initiative is moved forward, there is value in assessing the expansion of activities that are covered by the practice of forestry. I believe in a collaborative and a principal-based governance approach and have a bias to being a person of action. I look forward to working with the new Council if elected.

HEE, Ryan

Ryan Hee currently works for Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. (DMI) as a Woodlands Operations Supervisor in Peace River, AB. Ryan has been directly employed in the forest industry for more than 15 years starting with employment as a member of the Whitecourt Millar Western sawmill clean-up crew during high school. He has lived in northern Alberta for the majority of his life with exception of attending post-secondary graduating from both NAIT (Forest Technology) and University of Alberta (Forest Management with Internship). During his time at the U of A he served as Men’s Sports Representative and President of the Forest Society.

Ryan has worked in different aspects of forestry within government and in both consulting and industry sectors. Relative to the everyday multi-stakeholder integration of our natural resources

on the landscape, Ryan would look forward to bringing a fresh northern perspective serving as Councillor to aid in the integration of our colleges and other natural resource professionals in Alberta. This is an inspiring time to move forward and be creative in the development of our future structure and the accountability of natural resource professionals – a challenge where our profession can be at the fore-front of this exciting change.

VALAIRE, Chris

Chris Valaire (RPF # 648) is a Principal with Stantec based in Edmonton. I have the privilege of leading over 100 multidisciplinary natural resource professionals managing large projects in the oil/gas, mining, and utility sectors across western Canada.

Prior to that, I was Vice President of Major Projects / Environmental Manager at a medium sized engineering/surveying firm called Opus Stewart Weir for over 5 years. Based on projects I managed, I was the recipient of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) Award of Excellence in 2014 and a CEA Award of Merit in 2013/2014 for forest operations / transmission line

construction based projects. Prior to consulting, I co-created and managed a provincial forest operations monitoring program when I was in a Senior Operations Forester position with AESRD for over 7 years. Before coming back to Alberta, I worked in the forestry sector on Vancouver Island (Canfor) and in the Prince George region for a few years in forest operations/silviculture.

Before formally being trained as a Professional Forester, I worked in a family logging business in Prince George primarily in forest operations (operating equipment) and silviculture. This led to creating a tree planting business that I owned and operated for 8 years in northern BC. (Yes, I have personally planted over a million trees myself). I am an RPF in Alberta and Saskatchewan; in addition, I am a nationally regulated Environmental Professional (EP) in Canada with ECO Canada. Through my years of experience, I received formal training as a Lead Auditor for ISO 14001 (Environment) and ISO 9001 (Quality) management systems.

I have always tried to be an active member of the CAPF; our profession is at a critical point in its evolution. I am an example of a Professional Forester not working in classic forestry, but rather in environmental consulting. I think the CAPF Council should reflect all of its member’s diverse background. My previous involvement on CAPF was PARB chair in 2008, Vice President in 2009, CAPF President in 2010 and part of the transformation and communications sub-committee. At that time, I was also ALES faculty council representative at the U of A.

I was the past President for Resource Industry Suppliers Association of Alberta (RISA) and on the Board of Directors for over 3 years.

I am interested in increasing the profile of Professional Foresters with a variety of stakeholders. Part of this is educating the public about our profession and getting people excited about the industry again. Wildfires, mountain pine beetle, regional planning, changes in technology/policy all have an impact on our industry. I would like to see the CAPF and our members at the forefront of all these issues.