Dave Coates

Dave Coates has lived in Smithers since 1979 and retired from his career in forestry in 2016. From 1989 until retirement, Dave held the position of Research Silviculturist with the B.C. Forest Service, a job that encompassed all of northwest BC. Early on he studied tree regeneration and growth after clearcutting but moved on to partial cutting in structurally diverse mixed-species forests. Dave was a lead developer of the forest dynamics simulation model SORTIE-ND and much of his research involved linking field studies to computer models that project the long-term outcomes of different logging and silvicultural practices or forest disturbances such as wildfire and beetle outbreaks.

For his work on mountain pine beetle issues and contributions to silviculture in British Columbia and across Canada, Dave was named BC Professional Forester of the Year in 2006. He has published over 50 scientific journal papers, numerous reports, and co-authored two books: “A critique of silviculture: managing for complexity” in 2009 and “Managing Forests as Complex Adaptive Systems: Building Resilience to the Challenge of Global Change” in 2013. Dave also very much enjoyed mentoring students in his roles as adjunct professor at UBC and associate researcher with the BVRC. He is looking forward to new challenges on the board of the BVRC as the Research Centre continues to grow and expand.