Harold Ridgway was honoured last month at the 8th Annual BC Interior Stewardship Workshop, hosted by the Fraser Basin Council in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Cache Creek on Feb. 28-29.
Past-president of the Bonaparte Watershed Stewardship Society (BWSS) and resident of Loon Lake, Ridgway was presented with the BC Interior Stewardship Award for Ecosystem Excellence for his pivotal role in founding the Society and embarking on community-led projects for the benefit of the Bonaparte River ecosystem.
Ridgway was nominated for the award by Fisheries Biologist Sean Bennett, who stated: “Harold has been a great leader for the BWSS. He became involved over a decade ago, when landowners and enforcement officers were at odds over the state of the river. Harold’s dedication to the community and his calming, collaborative spirit has really helped overcome the mistrust and suspicion.”
Ridgway served as president for the Society from 2000–2011. He says the most significant achievement of the BWSS over those years was the establishment of positive working relationships between river-front landowners and government enforcement officers.
The new President for the Society is Cache Creek resident Al Midgley, who will strive to build on these relationships and involve new people in community watershed stewardship.
The Fraser Basin Council is a not-for-profit organization that was established in 1997 to advance sustainability in BC with a particular focus on the Fraser watershed.
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