Forests, Power and Policy: The Legacy of Ray Williston

As education minister, Ray Williston introduced the idea of university education for teachers, among other then-radical innovations. As minister of lands and forests, he had his greatest impact. From the mega-power projects to improved forestry practices, all major industrial developments in interior and northern BC during the 1950s and 1960s had Williston's stamp on them.

He oversaw the building of the Bennett Dam on the Peace River and subsequent flooding of the valley behind it -now called …