B.C. environmentalist Gwen Barlee dead at 54

Environmentalist Gwen Barlee has died at age 54. 

Barlee died Thursday (June 22), a year after being diagnosed with cancer. The environmental advocate had worked with the Wilderness Committee—Canada's largest membership-based wilderness-protection organization—since 2001, first as a forest campaigner and then as national policy director.

In a news release today (June 23), the Wilderness Committee praised Barlee's dedication: "Gwen was a strong leader, and a tireless activist for social change. Over the past 16 years, Gwen distinguished herself as an extraordinarily talented and determined defender of Canadian wild nature—especially in her home province of B.C. She showed a passion beyond compare for the defence of the land and the species that call it home."

“Gwen was a hero and a mentor," Wilderness Committee national campaign director Joe Foy said in the release. "She was one of the most compassionate people you’ll ever meet—when it came to wildlife, animals, creatures of all kind."

Barlee was the daughter of NDP MLA Bill Barlee, was born in Pentiction, and grew up in Summerland. She told the Georgia Straight in an article last December that her father's cabinet colleagues and former B.C. NDP premier Dave Barrett would often drop by the family home for dinner.

“Even as kids, you know, we’d have these endless political discussions around the dinner table, and dinner would last two or three hours, and people nearly had to take turns to ask questions, and everyone was so animated."

“I’ve come from a family that was very, very involved in politics and social justice, and so that was always a topic of discussion,” she noted in the article. “And so I was always concerned, whether it was labour justice or social justice—and, really, environmentalism is about environmental justice.”

She told the Straight that her early experiences with wilderness and wildlife in the South Okanagan-Similkameen area helped shape her passion for wilderness preservation.

“There’s over, like, 250 species of birds that nest in the South Okanagan. So when I'd go on trips with my dad, who at that time was involved in mining...I remember seeing the incredible diversity of birds...And then when we go by Keremeos, then you’d see the mountain goats, and then when you’d be going by Vaseux Lake, you’d see the mountain sheep.”

“That sort of seeped into me, became part of my DNA, and it’s part of what made me proud to be a British Columbian."

The Wilderness Committee also noted Barlee's work for endangered species and parks.

"She was a fierce defender of species at risk. Gwen laboured for years to push the case for standalone endangered species legislation for British Columbia. She was instrumental in convincing the B.C. government to set aside tens of thousands of hectares of land for the protection of the northern spotted owl—one of Canada’s most endangered species.

"She continued to call for an even greater amount of protected forest habitat, not just for the spotted owl but for other species at risk including BC’s southern mountain caribou, marbled murrelet and goshawk....Gwen fought for the establishment and protection of provincial and national parks. She helped stop government plans to put large private resorts in provincial parks."

Foy told the Straight by phone Friday that Barlee's life experience set her up well for the kind of work she did for the Wilderness Committee. He noted that she worked as a house cleaner, in the movie business in Vancouver, and in a saloon in the Yukon.

"She had a whole series of these experiences, and she really is a creation of this place [B.C.]. I think we can all be proud of that. She was born in a rural place, and she grew up with parents who were really politically motivated. By the time she came to us, she had all the experience."

Foy noted that Barlee's dedication to her new job as forestry campaigner quickly became apparent. He said her first mission was to obtain aerial photographs of logging sites in northern B.C.

"It was only later that I found out she was terrified of flying, and here she was hanging out of this small plane." Foy recalled with a chuckle. "Right from the get-go, she dived right in."

He also mentioned Barlee's "superb research skills" and energetic approach to her campaigns. 

"She really had her facts nailed. And Gwen got quite a reputation as this real dynamo."

On a lighter note, Foy said with a laugh, Barlee enjoyed card games, particularly poker, which he said might have been a product of her Yukon days. "Gwen loved cards. And it didn't matter how good a friend you were—she had to crush you!"

Foy said the Wilderness Committee will announce details for a celebration of Barlee's life and accomplishments by next week. He said it will probably be held at the organization's Vancouver headquarters sometime in July and will be an opportunity for people to "get together and tell stories".