The University of Northern British Columbia’s Quesnel River Research Centre is being re-named in honour of the man who helped secure the station near Likely, BC.

Dr. Max Blouw was UNBC’s first Vice President of Research and a champion of connecting the needs of communities, industry and government to research and development. Dr. Blouw will be in attendance at the unveiling of the Dr. Max Blouw Quesnel River Research Centre on Tuesday, August 18.

“It’s a great honour for me,” says Dr. Blouw, currently the president of Wilfrid Laurier University. “To be honest, my initial reaction was delight, but also shock. The community of Likely was really the main driver in retaining the facility as a research site and I will certainly say this as well as a heartfelt thank you to the community when I am at the event on Tuesday.”

Dr. Blouw worked with the community of Likely and others in the region to have the former federal fisheries research station transferred to UNBC. The facility now supports research on fish ecology, the sustainability of river systems, and climate change.

“We want to recognize the many efforts of Max Blouw,” says site Manager Rick Holmes, a resident of Likely for the past 35 years. “From his work in fish ecology and sustainability, to helping the community to secure this centre, it is a well deserved honour we gladly bestow.”

The Quesnel River Research Centre occupies 21.5 hectares on the Quesnel River downstream of Quesnel Lake. The site offers field study opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, summer field schools, as well as extension services and seminar/workshop facilities for non-university user groups. It is a setting for collaboration involving researchers from UNBC and other provincial, national and international universities, government agencies, other research centers, and industry. 

 

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Dr. Max Blouw