From a Vancouver gala to the rugged shores of Quadra Island, Partnerships Manager and Certified Wildlife Biologist Jim Williams recently traveled to coastal British Columbia to share his passion for wildlife and habitat connectivity and celebrate the people, partnerships, and wildlife connecting Heart of the Rockies Initiative’s conservation work across the Transboundary Rockies.
His trip began in Vancouver, where The Nature Trust of British Columbia (NTBC) invited Jim to speak at a fundraising gala held at the beautiful VanDusen Botanical Garden. The sold-out event brought together philanthropists for an evening of wildlife stories told through photographs and film. Following Jim’s presentation, he joined connectivity experts Eric Greenwell of Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) and Bryn White and Chris Bosman of NTBC for a lively panel discussion on the importance of keeping habitats connected. The evening celebrated NTBC’s work to acquire and protect critical wildlife habitat throughout the province and highlighted a current Heart of the Rockies Keep It Connected (KIC) project in the Kootenay River floodplain near Lower Wolf Creek.
Above: Jim Williams, Partnerships Manager at Heart of the Rockies Initiative, with Jasper Lament, Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Trust of British Columbia.
From Vancouver, Jim continued west by ferry across the Salish Sea to Vancouver Island before heading north to Quadra Island. There, he met with Dr. Michael Proctor, one of British Columbia’s leading grizzly bear researchers, who has spent three decades capturing, tracking, and studying grizzlies. Michael was joined by his wife, Cori Lausen, a leading Canadian bat researcher and conservationist.
Despite being hundreds of miles from home, Jim found familiar connections to the Transboundary Rockies along Quadra Island’s shores. Rafts of harlequin ducks and loons—species also found in Montana—shared the waters with humpback whales, orcas, and salmon. The surrounding forested mountains and productive coastal ecosystems offered a vivid reminder that wildlife and the habitats it depends on do not stop at political boundaries.
At Michael’s invitation, Jim spoke about large carnivore ecology, focusing on cougars, as part of a series of three speaker events on the island. More than 150 people attended for an engaging discussion about cougar biology and safety. The visit also sparked conversations about protecting habitat connectivity for grizzly bears and other wide-ranging species, an issue Michael has spent two decades researching and championing.
Over 150 attended the inaugural Quadra Island Science Speaker Series hosted by grizzly bear expert, Dr. Michael Proctor, where Jim was also invited to speak.
The trip strengthened relationships with conservation leaders and built greater awareness of the work happening across Heart of the Rockies’ service region. From British Columbia to the American Rockies, our land trust partners are protecting the private lands that sustain working families, provide vital wildlife habitat, and connect larger landscapes. Through Keep It Connected, Heart of the Rockies helps accelerate these efforts by bringing funders and conservation-ready projects together.
