Inspired by a book, he quit the army to work as a conservation officer. Now he's being honoured for his work

Six years after joining the Canadian Armed Forces to follow in his family's long tradition of serving in the military, Drew Milne picked up a book that inspired him to quit. 

"While I was overseas, I was reading a book ... called Men for the Mountains, and it was about a park warden's work," Milne told Chris Walker on CBC's Daybreak South. 

"I really fell in love with what the author described as a park warden."

That inspired him to pursue a new career as a conservation service officer.

Now, after almost two decades, Milne has been honoured as Conservation Officer of the Year 2021.

"Drew models the qualities and skills that dedicated conservation officers aspire to, and he is deeply deserving of this recognition," Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement.

While Milne enjoys his work, he says it's not quite how author Sid Marty pictured it in Men for the Mountains.

"There's a lot more bureaucracy in the position than what was in the book," he said. "There's a lot more paperwork than the book describes."

He also says conservation officers strive to do their work better, with the COS having been criticized in the past for euthanizing wildlife.

"All of the conservation officers in the province embrace that continuous improvement mindset," he said.

"Members of the public can trust each one of those [conservation officers] that they're making the decisions based on the best science and the best methodologies for wildlife interaction, compliance and enforcement."

Milne was born in Cranbrook and grew up in Vancouver Island — the first in his family to be born in Canada after his parents immigrated from the U.K. His grandparents served in the British military. 

He was honourably discharged from the Canadian military in 2003, then pursued a degree in natural resource management at Vancouver Island University.

In 2008, Milne joined the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS), first being posted in Whistler-Squamish, followed by Williams Lake and Atlin.

He briefly left to work with the B.C. Government Environmental Assessment Office, then returned to the COS, overseeing officers in Invermere, Golden and Revelstoke before transitioning to the role of a training sergeant.

In his current position as inspector, Milne oversees the South Coast region, including the Lower Mainland and Sea-to-Sky corridor.

Since 1992, the Ministry of Environment has annually awarded conservation officers who "go above and beyond the call of duty and exemplify the values of integrity, public service and protection of the environment," they described in a release.