President, BC Wildlife Federation Region 8 and avid outdoorsman

What do you love about the Okanagan? 

The Okanagan is pretty special. There isn’t a place here that I don’t like. I was born here and have been here all of my life. Everything I do depends on a healthy environment. I love to hunt, I love to golf, fishing, riding. I absolutely love it here.

What do you worry about when you think about the Okanagan and the environment in the future? Why is a healthy environment important to you?

I worry about development and urbanization moving into the back country. Everything I do relies on a healthy environment – hunting, and fishing, riding our horses, cycling on the trails. We like to get outdoors. I’m passionate about it. If the environment isn’t good, it’s not something I like.

What do you think about a household levy of $10/average/year? What could the benefits of a South Okanagan Conservation Fund be?

I think the Conservation Fund is a fabulous idea. We need some money to start protecting and rebuilding the habitat that’s been lost. The benefits are huge to the environment, for habitat and for water. Water is a huge issue here and I think the fund can help with that. The amount of $10 is the easiest thing to do and somebody should have come up with it a long time ago.