Black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 14

Biographical Summary of Report Writers

Louise Blight has an MSc in Biology from Simon Fraser University and is the sole proprietor of Procellaria Research and Consulting. As a wildlife biologist she is particularly interested in the breeding and foraging ecology of marine birds. Louise’s Master’s thesis was on the breeding ecology of Rhinoceros Auklets at Triangle Island, British Columbia, and she has worked on seabird research and inventory projects on breeding colonies and at sea in Canada, the US, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Louise is currently employed as a species at risk specialist for Parks Canada; prior to that she worked and consulted for other government and non-governmental organizations on the conservation and management of a diverse range of threatened and endangered species and ecosystems. Her recent projects include developing an oil spill response plan for sea otters in British Columbia and collaborating on recovery strategies for several species; she is also presently working with John Cooper (see below) on recovery planning efforts for rare birds in Garry oak ecosystems.

Joanna Smith has an MSc in Biology from the University of Victoria and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA. She owns Birdsmith Ecological Research, a private consulting company that specializes in the research and conservation of marine birds and island ecosystems. Since 1999, she has worked with the Canadian Wildlife Service to assess seabird bycatch in Canada’s west coast longline and gillnet fisheries. Joanna was one of the founding members of the Pacific Seabird Bycatch Working Group, a government initiative to establish bycatch rates, assess species at risk, advise fisheries observer programs and reduce incidental catch.  Joanna contributed to the Canadian Status Report to lead towards a National Plan of Action and co-wrote the initial regulations for mandatory use of seabird avoidance measures in BC. She is a member of the North Pacific Albatross Working Group, an international group of scientists and non-scientists that meet annually to discuss advances and gaps in our understanding of these species. Joanna studies temperate seabirds and island ecosystems in both the north and south Pacific Ocean, and is currently studying the foraging ecology of Juan Fernández Petrels in Chile.

John Cooper is a leading ornithologist in British Columbia and has authored over 150 books, academic papers, technical reports, and popular articles on birds and other wildlife. John is a founding partner of Manning, Cooper and Associates Ltd, a consulting company with three offices in British Columbia. MCA specializes in biodiversity studies, forest biodiversity management and policy development, and environmental impact assessments. John is regularly consulted on the status and conservation of birds in British Columbia by the provincial and federal governments, industry, and NGOs. He is co-author of the reference books The Birds of British Columbia and has contributed to COSEWIC and conservation of species at risk as co-author of COSEWIC status reports for Northern (Queen Charlotte) Goshawk, Streaked Horned Lark, Spotted Owl and Band-tailed Pigeon. He has developed SARA Management Plans for Peale’s Peregrine Falcon, Lewis’s Woodpecker and Flammulated Owl. John has also been the lead or sole author of 12 BC provincial status reports on birds at risk. John is an active volunteer on the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team, which is leading recovery efforts for several extirpated or rare birds in southwestern British Columbia.

Page details

Date modified: