Welcome

I am an ecologist focused on salmon socio-ecological systems in coastal British Columbia, pursuing research that is applied and community driven. I am currently the Salmon Projects Coordinator for the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance (CCIRA), where I support four First Nations in the development and implementation of an integrated approach to salmon monitoring, conservation, and habitat restoration on their lands and waters. I work remotely from home, on unceded Pentlatch, K’ómoks, and Coast Salish territories. I am of English, Welsh, and Scottish descent and was born and raised in Treaty 7 territories. I use she/her pronouns.

I have collaborated in ecological research and decision-support projects with Indigenous Stewardship Departments since 2012. Prior to my work with CCIRA, we conducted a cumulative effects assessment for Central Coast First Nation governments, centered around Indigenous values that prioritized inclusivity of diverse knowledge holders in the region. I did this as a postdoctoral fellow in the Conservation Decisions Lab at the University of British Columbia with Dr. Tara Martin and team. Prior to this work, I researched spatial and temporal patterns of predator-prey bear-salmon systems and their implications for shared resources with human communities. I did this work in close collaboration with the Wuikinuxv Nation, where we focused on how people and bears could share a common resource – salmon. I was supported in doing this work as a doctoral student with Dr. Chris Darimont and team at the Applied Conservation Science Lab as a Hakai-Raincoast scholar at the University of Victoria and with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

I am grateful for the funding, mentorship, and support of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation,  Hakai Institute, Wuikinuxv Nation, Wilburforce Foundation and their Fellowship in Conservation Science,  Grizzly Bear Foundation, NSERC IPS program and Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship program, Environment and Climate Change Canada, as well as the leaders, collaborators, and friends from coastal communities I work with.

Megan Adams, PhD

megan.s.adams (at) gmail.com