Author, environmentalist and back-to-the-lander, Jim Cooperman has lived above Shuswap Lake since 1969. The second printing of his geographic handbook, Everything Shuswap, sold out two years ago and a third printing is planned. Jim moved to the Shuswap in 1969 as a war resister 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. 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 the Shuswap Market News, with longer versions posted to his blog site, shuswappassion.ca. Additionally, his YouTube channel has over 90 videos, including many that showcase local live music, skiing, environmental issues and Shuswap geography.