Passion for biodiversity and commitment to conservation define the sheer scope of Rachel Darvill’s work experience as a wildlife field researcher, environmental consultant and biologist over the past two decades.

Wetlands are continuing to disappear at an alarming rate, and Eva Cameron is determined to turn back the tide on this trend, at least in the Lower Columbia region, one wetland at a time.

The conservation coordinator for the Elk Valley branch of Wildsight, Randal Macnair is excited the provincial government has shifted gears to address one of the region’s most problematic conservation issues: wildlife mortality on Highway 3.

Much of what we know about landscapes in the Kootenay region can be traced back to Greg Utzig. In some way or another, for the past 40 years Greg has been at the centre of landscape analysis for land use planning, climate modelling, watershed and habitat analysis, terrain stability mapping, forest management and biodiversity protection — and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s been two years since Marc Trudeau took the helm of the Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society, replacing long-term coordinator Dan Murphy. A registered forest technician with a background in forestry and wildfire, Marc brings passion and knowledge to the role.

Sally Hammond spent her early childhood in an isolated area on the Taku River in northern BC. She joined the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society (SLSS) a few years after moving to the Slocan Valley full-time and has focused her passion, time and energy to its purpose ever since.

For Baiba Morrow, the mountains are both her muse and her sanctuary. Whether it’s the soaring Himalaya, the volcanoes of Kamchatka or the Ellsworths in Antarctica, they’ve shaped her outlook on life.

The Kootenays will never be the most productive agricultural zone in Canada, but Rachael Roussin sees potential for the region to be a leader in carbon sequestration and climate resilient farming.

Leading bat biologist Cori Lausen is on a mission to protect B.C. bats from white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that kills bats in winter hibernation.

Parks Canada was one of the first agencies to join KCP when it was first formed in 2002 as the East Kootenay Conservation Program, and Derek Petersen was one of several Parks staff on rotating participation.