Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Jan 29/99) - Area teens who made it to the youth dance at Ingamo Hall Jan. 22 saw Doug Villeneuve play guitar in the band Delta Flood.

But by day, he has a far more comfortable and structured job as a renewable resources officer in training.

"I spend a lot of time in the office and it's always good to get out (on the land) after awhile to get away from things, so patrolling is probably one of the best things," says Villeneuve, whose passion for the environment drew him to this line of work.

By patrolling, he means heading out on the land, checking to make sure hunters have valid hunting licences.

And working to preserve renewable resources means he will be part of the solution, as the adage goes, and not part of the problem.

All three current renewable resources officers in Inuvik work on a rotation of 10 days on, four days off, so when he works weekends he gets away from his desk in the grey building, up the steps and past the utilidor behind Aurora College.

"When I get out there I get to do some travelling and go visit a lot of trappers," Villeneuve says of what he calls his favourite part of the job.

"When you're out there, most people are usually pretty friendly. A lot are glad to see us out there."

But much of his job is back at the office filling out permit applications and licences such as export permits, hunting licences and fur checks.

This forms more of his least favourite part of the job.

"You're always going to have people who don't like bureaucracy or red tape and they get a little upset sometimes when they come in the office so we just have to do the best we can."

Born and raised in Inuvik, Villeneuve went to Fort Smith to complete a renewable resources technology program.

In 1996 he was hired by the Gwich'in renewable resources board and after almost two years, made the shift to his current position.

He says he is "soon to be married" to Loretta Kay. The couple have an eight-year-old daughter, Lesley, and a five-year-old son, Jaymeson.

Otherwise, outside of work, he says he enjoys hunting as well as joining friends Peter Smith on drums and Laurie McNabb on bass in the band Delta Flood.