Colleen McCrory (1949/1950 – July 1, 2007) was a Canadian environmental activist. She was born in

New Denver, British Columbia New Denver is a village in the Central Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada at the mouth of Carpenter Creek, on the east shore of Slocan Lake, in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The village is west of Kaslo ...

, by the light of a Coleman lantern to Patrick and Mabel McCrory. She was raised in New Denver with eight brother's and sisters. She had three children, Sean, Rory, and Shea. McCrory founded the Valhalla Wilderness Society, a

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

environmental group, in 1975. McCrory funded her campaign at first through a small clothing store in New Denver. However, a three-year boycott by loggers forced her out of business in 1985 and forced her deep into debt. She was awarded the Governor-General's Conservation Award in 1983 and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

's Fred M. Packard Award in 1988. In 1992, she was named to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Global 500 Roll of Honour The Global 500 Roll of Honour was an award given from 1987 to 2003 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The award recognized the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world. A successor system of UNE ...

and awarded a

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists. History Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...

. An old-growth forest

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

, ''Pertusaria mccroryae'', was named in her honor in 2010. She ran as a candidate for the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

in the 2001 British Columbia provincial elections. McCrory's efforts helped lead to the creation of: *

Valhalla Provincial Park Valhalla Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It was established on March 3, 1983, in the mountains above the Western shores of Slocan Lake, in the west Kootenays. The park consists of most of the Valhalla Ranges of t ...

in the Kootenay region of British Columbia *

Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area, and Haida Heritage Site, usually referred to simply as Gwaii Haanas (), is located in southernmost Haida Gwaii (formerly known as Queen Charlotte Islands), off the mainland o ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

* Goat Range Provincial Park in the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mic ...

Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary Khutzeeymateen Provincial Park, also known as Khutzeymateen/K'tzim-A-Deen Grizzly Sanctuary, is a Class A provincial park located in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. The park, within the purview of BC Parks, was established on ...

and the Spirit Bear Conservancy in the

Great Bear Rainforest The Great Bear Rainforest is a temperate rain forest on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, comprising 6.4 million hectares. It is part of the larger Pacific temperate rainforest ecoregion, which is the largest coastal temperate rainforest i ...

on the central coast of British Columbia
Incomappleux
Conservancy in the Kootenay region of British Columbia (Part of th
Selkirk Mountain Caribou Park proposal
McCrory died of a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

at home in

Silverton, British Columbia Silverton is a village about south of New Denver in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing is at the mouth of Silverton Creek on the eastern shore of Slocan Lake. The locality, on BC Highway 6 at ...

, in 2007, aged 57.

References

External links

"Prominent B.C. eco warrior dies at 57"
CBC British Columbia

''Time''.
Entry from ''Canadian Who's Who''
Canadian environmentalists Canadian women environmentalists People from the Regional District of Central Kootenay Deaths from brain cancer in Canada 1950s births 2007 deaths Year of birth uncertain Date of birth missing Goldman Environmental Prize awardees {{Canada-activist-stub