Interview with Denis O'Gorman

Part 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". Rick Searle interview with Denis O'Gorman. O'Gorman talks about his involvement with BC Parks as Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for BC Parks (1995-2001), his work with the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE) (1992-1995), the Environment Land Use Secretariat (1976-1980) and Parks Canada (1971-1973). O'Gorman describes changes he saw in the field over the years, with the a good impetus in the 1970s, retrenchment in the 1980s and coalescence of the environmental movement in the 1990s. O'Gorman discusses his most memorable experiences and major accomplishments, including Purcell Wilderness Conservancy, Spatzsi, Tatshenshini-Alsek, Kitlope, the ceremony in Kitimat village, experiences with Chief Leonard George on Indian Arm and the cooperative management agreement. O'Gorman would like to be remembered as someone who was committed to the organization, its people and its objectives. He feels he could have done a better job on communicating the importance, urgency and necessity of BC Parks to government investors. He feels today's challenges center on organizational integrity, a predictable budget, attracting and retaining staff and infrastructure. In terms of doing things differently, O'Gorman would have liked more time for outreach, communication with non-government partners and stakeholders, more flex time, more thinking time and more time to spend with staff in the organization. He learned the importance of having a big vision and would like to see BC Parks expand opportunities its opportunities while addressing ecological integrity and capacity challenges. O'Gorman's single biggest wish for BC Parks in the future is that it be given the resources it needs to do the job. O'Gorman considers the following men amongst his mentors: Gordan Nelson (teacher), Vic Parker (Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board), Alistar Crerarr (Secretariat), Bob Williams, Harry Lash (GVRD), Jack Nichol (Parks Canada), Charlie Johnson (Forest Service, Pacific Regeneration Technologies), Phil Halcutt (Deputy Minister), Colin Campbell, Ray Travers (Secretariat). Camera shots show Denis O'Gorman in a room with a plant in the background. Interviewer seen at very end.

In Collection:

• Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia

Creator

• Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia
• EKOS Communications, Inc.

Contributor

• Searle, D. Richard (Donald Richard), 1951-

Subject

• O’Gorman, Denis
• 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

Language

• eng

Date created

• 2006

Resource type

• Moving Image

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 00:37:35

Alternative title

• Denis O'Gorman interview

Geographic coverage

• British Columbia--Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park
• British Columbia--Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park
• British Columbia--Tatshenshini-Alsek National Park
• British Columbia--Kitimat

Coordinates

• 57.41638, -128.50368
• 50.0832, -116.50215
• 59.8675, -138.0136
• 54.05244, -128.65342

Physical repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia

Provenance

• Donated to the University of Victoria Archives on October 20, 2008 by Rick Searle (EKOS Communications).

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• video recordings (physical artifacts)
• oral histories (literary genre)
• reminiscences

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2011-006

Fonds title

• Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia / EKOS Communications video history collection

Fonds identifier

• AR447

Is referenced by

• Archival Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/elders-council-for-parks-in-british-columbia-ekos-communications-video-history-collection

Date digitized

• 2011

Technical note

• 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

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/j798-gw75