Fred Beech
Manager, Environmental Emergency Section
Environment Canada
Fred has worked in the environmental protection field for over 30 years. During that time he has participated in virtuallly all major oil spill events affecting the west coast of Canada and adjacent states, in a multitude of capacities ranging from spill manager to boom deployment labourer. Before the Valdez, he organized wildlife rescue operations, undertook early development of the SCAT process, prepared environmental sensitivity mapping programs, tested trajectory modelling systems, evaluated dispersants and other countermeasures, and generally held the fort in western Canada while interest in the issue waned. After the Valdez, he participated in the overhaul of spill response regimes, interacted with international and Canadian oil spill task forces, contributed to policy-making efforts and helped bring spill response capabilities into their current 21st century state of well-being. He is associated with many attendees here in Portland this week, and many who have gone on to well deserved retirements. He is currently manager of the Environment Canada Emergency Program for British Columbia and Yukon, and leads a team of highly motivated and enthusiastic spill responders who keep asking when his own retirement might occur. Perhaps soon but who wants to be on the sidelines when the next big event takes place! Speaker: 09 CP SUPER Session 2: Recent Government Initiatives |