A born naturalist, Ian McTaggart-Cowan grew up exploring the woods around his North Vancouver home and went on to embrace his passion and energize others with his enthusiasm and knowledge. He greatly influenced conservation and scientific documentation of nature within the province and beyond.

Ian McTaggart-Cowan contributed significantly to the Royal BC Museum's natural history collection, and as a gifted and caring Professor of Zoology at UBC he motivated his students to dedicate themselves to expanding our biological database. In 1971 he was awarded the Order of Canada for his efforts, and in 1991 he was acknowledged with the Order of British Columbia. McTaggart-Cowan died in 2010, shortly before his one hundredth birthday--his legacy an endowment to the world that so enthralled him.

With over three-hundred photographs, testimonials from those he mentored and descriptions of those who galvanized him in his pursuits, along with explanations both of his major works and the theses of his students, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in Ian McTaggart- Cowan's life and teachings. Originally intended as a centenary birthday gift, Ian McTaggart-Cowan: The Legacy of a Pioneering Biologist, Educator and Conservationist is a tribute to and celebration of a man who has left an enriching legacy for a province, this nation and our world.

Wayne Campbell is a renowned bird biologist and co-author of Birds of British Columbia: Volumes 1-4. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, he graduated from the University of Victoria in 1976 and received his M.Sc. from the University of Washington in 1983. After graduation he joined the staff of the University of British Columbia as Curator of the Cowan Vertebrate Museum in the Department of Zoology. For almost 20 years, Wayne Campbell has been the Curator of Ornithology at the Royal British Columbia Museum where he conducted wildlife inventories of remote areas of the province including the first complete census of breeding seabird colonies. Since the early seventies, Wayne Campbell has spoken to naturalist groups in almost every B.C. community to impress upon them the importance of their contributions to the knowledge of the birds of our province. He has written more than 300 scientific and popular articles, reports and books on higher vertebrates, including Birds of British Columbia, for which he was one of the six co-authors.

Wayne Campbell's profile page

Ronald D. Jakimchuck co-founded Renewable Resources Consulting Services Ltd. (RRCS) in 1966 and worked as a consulting biologist in the company and as president from 1967 to 2008. He is a member of the Association of Professional Biologists of British Columbia.

Ronald D. Jakimchuck's profile page

Dennis A . Demarchi was awarded the Association of Professional Biologists of British Columbia's Award of Excellence (now called the Ian McTaggart-Cowan Award of Excellence in Biology) for spearheading the development of the British Columbia wildlife habitat classification and ecoregion classification systems.

Dennis A. Demarchi's profile page