Interview with Bob Ahrens (Part 2 of 3)
PublicPart of a collection of video oral history interviews with park pioneers, as well as some events, created by EKOS Communications in partnership with the Elders Council for Parks of British Columbia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of BC Parks in 2011. The Elders Council is an independent society, whose members are retired parks system employees and conservation advocates who have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to parks and protected areas in BC. These interviews served as source material for the documentary BC Parks: Celebrating 100 Years of Recreation and Protection. Standard questions were used in most of the interviews and included dates of employment/association with BC Parks, parks worked in, greatest challenges, accomplishments and regrets, lessons learned, hopes for provincial park system today and mentors.Part of Elders’ Council for Parks in British Columbia oral history interview series, collected for the documentary "BC Parks: Celebrating 100 Years of Recreation and Protection". Continuation of the Part 1 Ahrens interview with Rick Searle and Derek Thompson. Ahrens discusses land acquisition for parks, including compromising on park boundaries, land exchanges and acquisitions with resource entitlements; examples include Sooke Mountain Park and Strathcona Park. He speaks about the challenges of different resource interests in Parks and Forests from the 1940s. Ahrens talks about the evolution of the Park Act and policies on facilities management and public ownership. He discusses developing a model for BC Parks that was different from that of Parks Canada, especially in terms of commercial activities. Ahrens expounds on economic considerations in parks, including development of park facilities, compromises with resource interests and minimizing losses. He speaks different designations within parks like wilderness, nature conservancy, recreation areas, etc. to reflect different resource uses. Ahrens speaks about the British Columbia Natural Resources conference which began in 1947; D.B. Turner as Director of Conservation; interagency discussions on resource uses; and creation of separate BC Parks system. He touches on contact with Roderick Haig-Brown, then moves on to discuss the creation of the nature conservancy designation to manage resource interests. Ahrens mentions involving boards in land use issues, then speaks about interpretation and youth crew programs, including their benefits and their demise. Camera shots show Bob Ahrens with trees and yard in background. Sometimes see interviewers.
- In Collection:
- Ahrens, Bob
- Conservation of natural resources
- Conservation of natural resources--Societies, etc.
- Wildlife conservation
- Nature conservation
- Nature conservation--Societies, etc.
- Wilderness areas
- Biodiversity conservation
- Natural areas
- Parks--Conservation and restoration
- Parks
- National parks and reserves
- National parks and reserves--Management
- Parks--Employees
- Parks--Employees--Attitudes
- Parks--Management
- BC Parks
- Oral histories
- 01:00:02
- Bob Ahrens interview [part 2, 2008]
- 48.43293, -123.65261
- 49.66631, -125.66961
- Some background noise from 26:30 to 32:00. This interview is the continuation of the Interview with Bob Ahrens (Part 1 of 3). It is continued in Interview with Bob Ahrens (Part 3 of 3).
- Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia
- Donated to the University of Victoria Archives on October 20, 2008 by Rick Searle (EKOS Communications).
- Accession Number: 2011-006
- 2011
- Migration metadata from UVicSpace to Vault by KD, Summer 2024.
- Rights
- This item is under copyright and made available on this site for research and private study only. Commercial use is prohibited. For all other uses please contact UVic Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives.
- DOI
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