Julie Gardner, Principal

After completing her Ph.D. in geography in New Zealand on a Commonwealth Scholarship, Julie* undertook six years of university teaching and research at McGill University and the University of British Columbia (UBC). She then worked as an independent consultant before launching Dovetail Consulting Inc. as one of the founding Principals in 1991.

*  Though her legal name for contracting purposes is Julia, she goes by her lifelong nickname – Julie. Apologies for any confusion!

Julie's areas of specialization include marine ecosystems (especially protected areas and salmon); conservation policy, planning and governance; First Nations (co-)management of their land and ocean resources; environmental stewardship (particularly watersheds); species at risk; and program evaluation. She is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at UBC and a member of two World Conservation Union Commissions.

Julie has worked on a wide variety of projects for all levels of government including First Nations, as well as many non-government organizations and the private sector. She has developed a reputation for her consistently high standard of work as a researcher, evaluator, writer and facilitator.

In all her work Julie aims to bring calm, compassion and clarity to challenging environmental issues.

Projects representative of Julie's work include the following:

• Research, facilitation of workshops, and policy development for federal government agencies on marine protected area (MPA) policy and planning - e.g. Draft Operational Plan for Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents MPA, international review of MPA governance arrangements to support the feasibility study for the proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, draft coral and sponge conservation strategy, workshop for Parks Canada on challenging concepts in National Marine Conservation Area policy.
• Facilitation and report writing for non-government organizations on MPAs, including assistance to a group of independent Canadian scientists in generating guidelines for MPAs and MPA networks, and facilitation of workshops for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), in La Paz, Mexico on an international network of MPAs.
• Research, facilitation of workshops, and policy development for salmon conservation – for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), UBC and environmental, non-government organizations, including services for the international State of the Salmon conferences, multiple projects in aid of DFO's Wild Salmon Policy, facilitation of scientific meetings on salmon conservation, and public reports on the impacts of salmon farming and salmonid enhancement on wild salmon. (Multiple reports authored or co-authored by Julie Gardner were drawn on by the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into Fraser Sockeye in 2011.)
• Research and preparation of a draft guide for park management bodies to do a self-assessment of their conservation area governance systems, and delivery of a two-day course on this topic at the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa. Also related to conservation governance, facilitation of a work session for marine managers in the San Juan Islands for the Northwest Straits Commission, and advice to the South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation partnership on strategic organizational transition.
• Research, policy advice and organizational development for collaborative resource management, including: assistance to the Ktunaxa Nation Council and provincial agencies towards collaboration in the management of natural resources; development of terms of reference for the establishment of an Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Ocean Management body for the Bay of Chaleur area in New Brunswick; advice to DFO and the First Nations Fisheries Council on co-management of fisheries; and building of "Best Practices for First Nations Co-operative Management of Protected Areas", with delivery of an invited paper on this experience at a conference in Tucson, Arizona sponsored by the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy.
• Design, supervision and write-up of community consultation components of strategic land and marine use planning and visioning processes for First Nations, including the Sliammon, Lyackson, Lax Kw'alaams, Blueberry and Squamish Nations.
• Research and report preparation for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society on First Nations connections to marine conservation, and a publication on this topic with Robert Morales, in Policy Matters, 17, 2010 pp. 215-223 IUCN. Also in this area, facilitation of a workshop in Alert Bay hosted by the Namgis First Nation on First Nations and marine protected areas.
• Facilitation and organizational development for environmental stewardship including policy development for DFO Habitat Branch engagement in watershed stewardship initiatives; report for the Canadian Wildlife Service on The Needs, Values and Potential of the Stewardship and Conservation Sector in Canada; and facilitation of stewardship initiatives in the Lower Mainland (e.g. establishment of a Roundtable for the Coquitlam River Watershed).
• Facilitation of Species at Risk Recovery Team meetings and community consultations related to recovery strategies for Gary Oak Ecosystems, Pacific leatherback turtles, sea otters and right whales, and assistance in strategy drafting. On related topics, facilitation and reporting on an international expert meeting on sea ice-associated species, and facilitation of an Oweekeno (Wuikinuxv) Kitasoo Nuxalk Tribal Council process to support a Eulachon recovery strategy.
• Program evaluation, including BC Hydro's Water Use Planning collaborative process, interim evaluation of the Georgia Basin Ecosystem Initiative for Environment Canada, and evaluation of the Interior Wetlands Program for Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Julie lives in Vancouver and on Galiano Island with her partner, Dan Moore (hydrologist at UBC). She enjoys skiing, hiking, sea kayaking and yoga. She serves on the North Galiano Volunteer Fire Department Board of Directors.