Salmon Steward

10 FALL/WINTER 2017 PSF.CA IN MEMORIAM Leaving a Legacy Honouring four departed stewards whose impact will live on through their generous donations and work for Pacific salmon ALEXANDER "SANDY" MILLER passed away in July at just 29 years old. He packed a wealth of experience into his far-too-short time on this earth. It was his passion for the environment and his concern for others that inspired this young man's family to dedicate donations in his honour to the Pacific Salmon Foundation. According to his mother Susan, "Sandy" loved nature and Canada's wilderness. "He was passionate about wildlife conservation issues, protection of the environment, First Nations environmental issues and social justice, which fuelled his academic pursuits and his interests." He graduated from Queen's University with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Environmental Sciences, completed his Masters of Science in Planning at UBC's School of Community and Regional Planning, and dedicated his research to underwater noise regulation and protection of beluga whale habitat in Cook Inlet, Alaska. One of Sandy's last academic endeavours was undertaking post-degree studies in fisheries and aquaculture at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo. "He loved VIU and was truly inspired by the faculty and dynamic program," Susan explains. "That's where he first became involved with supporting the Pacific Salmon Foundation, by attending their annual gala in Nanaimo as a student representative of his department." FAYE SMITH, 80, was a well-loved and respected streamkeeper on Vancouver Island. She formed the Friends of French Creek and worked extensively on the Englishman River Watershed; she was also a driving force for conservation in Qualicum Beach and a member of the Pacific Salmon Foundation's Oceanside Dinner committee. Fisheries biologist David Clough remembers Faye as a force of nature. "When I first met her in 1995, she was a retired musician and piano teacher who had become very concerned about the health of regional creeks. Although she had not received any conservation training prior to meeting me and was not the outdoors type, she outfitted herself with gear and threw herself wholeheartedly into her role as a streamkeeper," he says. Clough adds: "From the moment I met her until her death, she was unstoppable – always the last person to leave a restoration job at the end of the day, always with sandwiches for the crew, always good natured. We would talk with local dignitaries about environmental awareness, and she would book me into diŠerent schools to discuss conservation with students. I quickly came to love taking her lead, and I am so less busy today without her. It's heartbreaking." Alexander (Sandy) Miller Sandy wrangles a Coho on the Adams River. BRAD FITZMAURICE PHOTOGRAPHY Faye Smith Faye restores salmon habitat on the Englishman River.

• Cover