Bert Brink, one of the founding directors, 1912-2007
In April of 1980, the B.C. government announced its intention to create a new fund to invest in the enhancement of fish and wildlife populations and their habitats. If I recall correctly, Stephen Rogers was the Minister at the time and the announcement made at the BCWF Convention in Duncan was that a Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF) would be created as one of the changes as a result of modernizing the Wildlife Act and be operational in the 1981-82 year.
The Fund would have 2 sources of revenue;
- nominal surcharges on angling, hunting, guiding and trapping licences (“the users”) - this revenue would be used for enhancement projects
- an allocation from the interest generated from the province’s Crown Land Account (- this revenue to be used to acquire habitats of ecological significance. (The Crown Land Account was a revolving fund that developed and sold Crown Lands)
The emerging HCF legislation provided for persons to advise the minister on its expenditures and to that end, Minister Rogers requested a list of potential candidates who could be considered for appointments as volunteer advisors. Among the various provincial conservation groups who were asked to submit suitable candidates was the Federation of BC Naturalists, The Naturalists were considered as potential advisors because of the general tax dollars from the Crown Land Account. The FBCN President at the time was Bert Brink, and he was most enthusiastic about the creation of a new Fund and followed up the initial contact by MOE staff by providing 2 nominees: Nancy Anderson of New Denver and retired Judge Leo Gansner of Cranbrook.
Because of Bert’s enthusiasm about the new fund and the perceived need to ensure that its projects could withstand scientific scrutiny, Ministry staff contacted him a third time and asked for his permission to have his name listed as a nominee of the Ministry of Environment. He was, of course, delighted!
In the end, Minister Rogers created an inaugural Public Advisory Board for HCF that included both nominees of the FBCN and, of course, scientist/naturalist extraordinaire, Bert Brink.
Bert served as Vice Chair of HCF, and along with founding chair Ian McTaggart-Cowan, provided outstanding leadership and instant credibility for the new Fund. Bert’s encyclopedic knowledge about the province, its peoples and its resources were invaluable. As a life time learner and one who was involved in a number of conservation groups, Bert really valued the opportunity to know the details of conservation projects across the province.
The peer reviewed project proposal process that today helps the HCTF Board make investment decisions had its roots in the initial advice from Bert and Ian about the need for HCF projects to strive for the highest standards of technical accountability. It’s a review process that very few conservation project funding sources can match.
One of the perks of being a member of the Public Advisory Board was field trips to see the progress of various HCF projects. Bert found this most enjoyable because he was always flitting around the province to see and study various ecosystems. The opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest with a variety of project leaders kept him up to date and provided them with an opportunity to get advice and comments about their projects from a respected scientist and naturalist.
Bert served 16 years as a member of the HCF/HCTF Public Advisory Board and set an extremely high standard for those of us that have followed.
