Posted:
January 22, 2021
Faces & Places: Chad Hughes
Kootenay Conservation Program
A transplant from Australia, Chad Hughes is the new executive director for the Elk River Alliance and is keen to apply his diverse background as an ecologist and mining consultant to working collaboratively across sectors in the Elk Valley to preserve the watershed.
“The Elk River Alliance is not against industry,” he said. “Without resource extraction the Elk Valley and the economy would be very different, but at the same time we need to be aware that we do live in an environment that needs to be taken care of.”
Originally from Perth, Australia, Chad earned his Bachelor in Environmental Sciences from the University in Western Australia, majoring in land and water management and botany, then proceeded to work for a number of years as an environmental scientist and botanist throughout the Australian outback.