CROWSNEST CONSERVATION BOARD MEMBERS
Judy Cooke has lived in the Crowsnest Pass since 1999, following 20 years of enjoying the area as a recreational user. She works as an occupational therapist providing Home Care services in the community. Spending her leisure time in the outdoors with family and friends is a priority. This has led to active involvement in the Crowsnest Conservation Society to ensure the fostering of a conservation ethic in our beautiful community.
Rick Cooke is an engineer whose work career has spanned the oil and gas development projects, the waste management business and international environmental consulting. For the past 15 years he has been involved in implementation of a number of global environmental conventions related to ozone depleting substances, persistent organic pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions as well as development of environmental infrastructure in Eastern Europe, Central and Southeast Asia and Latin America. He has been a recreational user of the Crowsnest pass since 1980 and full time resident since 1999. His local conservation interests focus on promoting responsible wilderness recreational use and rational community development, consistent with the importance the area has in maintaining and linking key habitant and water resources.
John Kinnear has been a drill and blast technician at the Elk Valley Line Creek Mine for 28 years. He was born and raised in Coleman and returned there in 2005 to return to his roots and to work within the Pass communities to make it a better and healthier place. His loves photography and birding and likes to use his graphic skills in support of volunteer organizations. He recognizes that development without environmental consideration is a dangerous thing and wants to see a healthy balance maintained in the Pass.
Merilyn Liddell, a native of Crowsnest Pass, left the area after high school and returned in 2002 after retiring from a teaching career in Manitoba. She enjoys hiking, photography, bird watching, flower walks – activities that take her out into the natural environment. Education remains a focus through her work on the birding committee and her interest in involving young people in conservation projects.
Bill Paton is originally from London Ontario, and is an economist by training (California State University, Fullerton CA). His career path in banking and real estate management provided him with an opportunity to move to Alberta in 1981 and eventually culminated in his appointment as Property Manager of Petro-Canada Centre for Brookfield Properties in Calgary. In 1998, Bill retired and moved to Crowsnest Pass to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, back country and cross country skiing, mountain biking, and fly fishing. In the off seasons, he travels in Africa and Central and South America in search of wildlife, beautiful natural places and adventure. Through his extensive contact with the land, he has developed a strong conservation and stewardship ethic that he expresses through his numerous volunteer activities.
Jim Rennie and his family lived in the Calgary area for 37 years, spending as much time as possible in the Crowsnest and Beavermines area . They purchased a small cabin in Beavermines in 1990, which they still have. Jim and his wife Terri moved to Bellevue in 2009 as full time residents. Jim's local interests are hiking, flyfishing, skiing and just plain enjoying nature. Jim is a geologist by training and has been involved in environmental projects in Alberta for a long time, especially water issues.
Karen Rendall was born and raised in Calgary, lived for 10 years on the west and east coasts of the U.S. (California and Pennsylvania, respectively), and returned home to Alberta, eventually settling down in the Pass area in 2005. She was trained and subsequently worked for 20 years in Hospitality Management, and then spent several years as an IT Consultant in Alberta's Oil & Gas sector. Throughout, she enjoyed a parallel life studying nonhuman primates in Central America and southern Africa, which fostered a deep appreciation for wild places and their inhabitants. And, now, having outgrown (or simply outlived!) the natural solipsism of youth, Karen thinks increasingly about how to give back to and sustain the natural landscapes that have given so much to her.
Gwen Tietz’s profession – a self-employed computer consultant in the accounting field – allows her to travel throughout southern Alberta meeting people from all walks of life. She connected with the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society over 20 years ago; that fired an interest in banding birds for research. Now she qualifies and holds a federal master permit for banding birds in Alberta and a USGS master permit for banding in Montana. Affiliation with the Calgary Bird Banding Society has provided a chance to band on additional sites in Alberta as well as Costa Rica. Additionally, she bands on a MAPS site outside of Waterton Lakes National Park with Parks Canada. Gwen holds annual banding workshops for the general public to offer the opportunity to others that may enjoy this hobby. Currently a "weekender", future plans are retirement in Crowsnest Pass.