Chair - Winifred B. Kessler - Prince George
Winifred Kessler is the recently retired Director of Wildlife, Fisheries, Ecology & Watershed for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska. Her former positions include Professor and Chair of Forestry at the University of Northern British Columbia, National Wildlife Ecologist for the U.S. Forest Service, and professorships at Utah State University and the University of Idaho. A member of the Wildlife Society since 1973 and recently elected as VP (2010), Dr. Kessler currently serves as the Northwest Section Representative and Associate Editor for the Wildlife Society Bulletin. In 1999 she received the Wildlife Society Special Recognition Service Award. She holds a Bachelor of Zoology and a Master of Range Management from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Range Science from Texas A&M University. She is a professional member of the Boone & Crockett Club, the Ecological Society of America, Society for Conservation Biology, Society for Range Management and Society of American Foresters.
Vice-Chair - Harvey Andrusak - Nelson
Harvey Andrusak is the President of Redfish Consulting Limited in Nelson. He specializes as a biological consultant in freshwater fisheries biology, with expertise in kokanee and rainbow trout biology. Harvey has also served as Director, Fisheries Branch and Manager, Fish Culture in the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and as the Regional Fisheries Biologist in the Ministry of Environment. Harvey is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science.
Vice-Chair - Kevin Church - Kamloops
Kevin Church is an associate counsel with the law firm of Morelli Chertkow in Kamloops. He is a member of the Law Society of B.C. and is active in the B.C. Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. Kevin sits on the Citizens' Advisory Board for the Kamloops Regional Correctional Center, is co-chair of the Kamloops Ducks Unlimited Volunteer Committee, is on the Steering Committee of the Thompson Basin Fisheries Council and is a former member of the Fraser River Steelhead Working Group. He is a former instructor of Employment Law with the Faculty of Business, University College of the Cariboo.
Anna J. Fontana - Cranbrook
Anna is a wildlife specialist and administrator for Elk Valley Bighorn Outfitters. Previously, Anna was employed for 17 years as a Wildlife Biologist for BC Environment and Lands in the Kootenay Region. She has dealt with many aspects of wildlife management including developing conservation programs for threatened and endangered species as well as managing projects, which have been funded by various wildlife conservation organizations. Anna is a graduate of the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Science.
David Hatler - Enderby
Since 1980, David has been the proprietor of Wildeor Wildlife Research and Consulting, a firm that specializes in wildlife research and inventory. He has extensive experience as a Biologist in wildlife management both in and out of government, has taught Natural History and Resource Management courses at Northwest Community College in Terrace, and is a certified instructor in BC's Trapper Education Program. He holds a Master of Science in Wildlife Management from the University of Alaska and a PhD in Zoology from the University of British Columbia. David is a published author of many scientific articles and research papers in the area of wildlife and zoology.
Bob Morris - Nanaimo
Bob is a repair technician and installer for BC Telus, a position he has held since 1969. He has been involved with the BC Wildlife Federation for over twenty years, including serving as President and Director. He is presently the Director for the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Team and President of the Trophy Wildlife Records Club. He has enjoyed a life long interest in the outdoors and has a commitment to the conservation of natural resources.
Les Husband - Prince George
Les is the former President of the BC Wildlife Federation, a position he held for 2 years. He is currently Chair of the Federation's Wildlife Committee. The B.C. Wildlife Federation is the largest and longest standing province wide voluntary conservation organization in British Columbia. Les worked as a small scale Salvage Officer under the direction of the Operations Manager, Small Business. He was responsible for the delivery of the forest management activities. He has worked in Forestry for almost 20 years as a supervisor, forest technician, private contractor and manager.
Al Martin - Victoria
Mr. Alan Martin has extensive knowledge and experience of British Columbia’s resource management issues from 30 years of experience in the BC Public Service serving in a number of Ministries. He was a government representative on the Board of Directors of the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. He retired as Executive Director, Fish Wildlife and Ecosystems from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment in January, 2010, and continues to serve as a member at large on the HCTF Board of Directors. Mr. Martin is a consultant who resides in Victoria and is a keen angler, hunter and outdoorsman.
Kaaren Lewis - Victoria
Kaaren is the Director of the Ecosystems Branch for the Ministry of Environment. She has worked for the province in various roles since 1990; starting in Parks as a planning officer, then coordinating the protected areas strategy, to various roles at the Land Use Coordination Office, back to Parks (then Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection) in a management role, a year working for Deputy Minister’s Office and then a 3 year leave working in the private sector as a consultant for WWF-Canada amongst other clients. Kaaren’s primary interest is in bridging the worlds of science and policy to achieve better environmental stewardship outcomes.
Ross Peck - Hudson's Hope
Ross is a Registered Professional Biologist with a lot of history in wildlife management in BC, and his experience as the Chair of the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area Advisory Board will also be very beneficial for HCTF.” Mr. Peck is widely knowledgeable about local history in northeastern B.C. and recently completed a project, “Life on the Trail”, as part of the Living Landscapes Program of the Royal B.C. Museum. Mr. Peck was involved in a family guide-outfitter business operating in the Tuchodi River area and while Ross is now retired from the guide- outfitting business, he remains actively interested and involved in ensuring a viable future for the area. He is also an active trapper and currently raises a few horses on a small ranch on the Peace River near Hudson's Hope, B.C.
Tom Ethier -Victoria
Tom is currently the Director of Fish and Wildlife & Habitat Management, in the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. Since 1992, Tom has held positions with the Ministry of Environment including Wildlife Inventory Specialist, Provincial Wildlife Inventory, Senior Wildlife Biologist and Section Head of the Fish & Wildlife section in the Okanagan Region, and Deputy Director of Fish &Wildlife Branch in Victoria. Tom is a member of the Wildlife Society. He holds a Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science from the University of Victoria.
