I was recently in Cranbrook to attend my last meeting as a director of The Nature Trust of British Columbia (after two four-year terms, TNT bylaws decreed that it was time for me to move on). We held our annual general meeting at a little-known tourism gem of East Kootenay, the former St. Eugene Mission school that has been transformed into a resort.
At a TNT reception that many local conservationists attended, I met an interesting man who subsequently agreed to tell a bit of his story in the accompanying video. His name was Ivar Larson and he is a former BC Wildlife Federation president as well as the current generation of the Larson family operating a local logging operation.
Ivar’s story was familiar in a lot of ways, because I often run into people like him who have a highly nuanced view of sustainability. Can you cut down trees while respecting the land? Absolutely, and Ivar explains his outlook here with his candid and personal family history. The Larson family has now harvested trees from the same property nine successive times – a remarkable insight into what sustainability is all about.