Jim Cooperman

Author of the local best seller, Everything Shuswap, Jim Cooperman moved to the Shuswap in 1969 as a war resister and a back-to-the-lander, after receiving his BA from the University of California at Berkeley. Over the succeeding years, Jim taught school, worked in construction and log building, operated a sawmill, and edited a provincial environmental journal, the BC Environmental Report. His local environmental work led to the protection of over 25,000 hectares of new parks in the Shuswap, which is documented in the book, Big Trees Saved, by Deanna Kawatski. He has researched and written about local history and helped initiate and edit the local history journal, Shuswap Chronicles I and II. In 1993, he wrote the Chapter on Canada in Clearcut – The Tragedy of Industrial Forestry. And in 1998, he wrote Keeping the Special in Special Management Zones, A Citizens’ Guide, published by BC Spaces for Nature. Jim lives with his wife, Kathleen, in a log home they built on 40 acres above Shuswap Lake, where they raised five children. His column, “Shuswap Passion,” appears every two weeks in either the Shuswap Market News or the Salmon Arm Observer. Additionally, his YouTube channel has over 100 videos, including many that showcase live music, skiing and Shuswap geography.

Sep 22 2023September 23, 2023

The Backburn that backfired and devastated the North Shuswap

Environment, Shuswap

[This article appears in the Sept. 23, 2023 Victoria Times-Colonist] Most North Shuswap residents struggle to comprehend how the BC Wildfire Service can claim their …

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Sep 21 2023September 23, 2023

2023 brings a cruel irony to a back-to-the-lander Shuswap environmentalist

Environment, Shuswap

[A version of this article appears in the Sept. 23, 2023 Globe and Mail ] We attended our first environmental conference in 1989, at which …

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Aug 22 2023September 13, 2023

North Shuswap firestorm 2023

Environment, Shuswap

During the firestorm, a brave neighbour drove up the road to check on our place and took an amazing photo above of the hillside behind …

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Aug 2 2023August 9, 2023

58 years of plywood excellence at Canoe

Economy, Shuswap

Although the Egyptians were the earliest people to glue thin layers of wood together, plywood as we know it today was first manufactured in France …

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Jul 28 2023July 28, 2023

The charming lakeside community of Eagle Bay

Communities, Shuswap

The rule of thumb that remote communities are more close-knit certainly applies to Eagle Bay, as its very successful community association has raised many thousands …

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