The following tribute to Al Martin was written by POLIS Research Associate Kirk Stinchcombe.
Last October 15th we were saddened to learn that our friend, colleague, and conservation champion Al Martin passed away after a battle with cancer. Al spent most of his professional life with the B.C. provincial government, mainly at Ministry of Environment, where he served in a number of leadership roles. Following his retirement from public service, Al started a new career as the Director of Strategic Initiatives with BC Wildlife Federation. There, he had only begun to spearhead a number of new initiatives to protect B.C.’s natural environment, many focused on water resources, where we at POLIS had the chance to work and learn from him.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I was utterly privileged to have Al as a mentor while he was my boss during my tenure at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. I could not have asked for a wiser, more committed, or harder working person to guide me through the early days of my career. Not only was he almost always the smartest person in the room, but he was a person of deep integrity, cutting humor, a dedicated family man, and immensely passionate about wildlife and the environment. When Al spoke, everyone listened. He is missed by the whole POLIS team and everyone in the B.C. conservation community.
See the remembrance page at BC Wildlife Federation.
See Andrew Weaver’s tribute to Al in the BC Legislature.
