Rick Hoar is an avid angler, hunter and outdoors enthusiast based in the East Kootenay in Invermere.
His career as a Conservation Officer with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service saw Rick spend his time working on the South Coast, in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) and in the Kootenays.
After retiring from the CO Service, Rick moved onto the Lake Windermere District Rod & Gun Club, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019. The Rod & Gun Club operates a 40-acre rifle, shotgun and archery range and activity centre, which includes a campground. The club holds many events at the property including sporting clays, kids’ camps, environment-oriented events, 3D archery and private functions.
Rick is currently the club’s President and oversees its Habitat Stewardship Committee, and he represents the club on other committees and Boards outside of the club. These include his role as Vice Chair of the Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners; his active participation in the East Kootenay Wildlife Association (EKWA), the regional arm of the BCWF; and on behalf of the EKWA Rick sits as a Board member for the Rocky Mountain Trench Society and the Kootenay Conservation Program.
As a conservation minded club, the Lake Windermere District Rod & Gun Club has carried out many projects over the last 99 years. Currently, it is involved with a fishery enhancement project on Abel Creek in Invermere (one of the projects that received Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund support in 2017) that is opening up three kilometres of habitat by removing barriers and culverting problems.
The club is also working on replacing 100 waterfowl nesting boxes in the Columbia Wetlands, placing Lewis Woodpecker boxes on Crown and private lands where natural cavities have been lost, and works as a volunteer group for Nature Conservancy of Canada on their properties, carrying out habitat enhancement shrub clearing, nesting box placement and vegetation planting.
The club also manages and maintains 10 recreational sites in the Kootenay and White River areas for Recreation Sites & Trails BC.
The Lake Windermere District Rod & Gun Club vision has remained the same since becoming a club 99 years ago: “Do not destroy that what we cannot replace”.
To learn more visit http://lwdrodgun.com/.
