"I used to trap with my dad," said the Lutsel K'e wildlife officer. Now he spreads his knowledge of the land and traditional way of living with others in the East Arm community.

"I was working in the office here in Lutsel K'e as the band manager. I was stuck," he said. So he returned to school in Fort Smith in 1986 when the government decided to open its first Lutsel K'e wildlife station.

There is no road in to Lutsel K'e and that's the way Lockhart likes it. In the winter he patrols alone by snowmobile, in the summer by boat.

"It's peaceful and quiet," he said.

There are about 30 weekend trappers in the region. Most don't trap full-time any more. There's better cash to be made out at the diamond mines or working for the band.

"Mostly they just want to hang on to a traditional way of life," said Lockhart. He makes sure traps are humane and buys furs from trappers. The solitary travel is the dangerous part. And he's responsible to make sure people with guns honour the rules.

"But we do a lot of education. We tell people what is against the law. Most of the time people are not aware of it. It turns out, the next time, they are aware of it and they don't do it again," said Lockhart, explaining that he watches over caribou hunters and fishers as well.

One of his duties is teaching kids about outdoor skills. He takes them out on the land to learn how to make fire, set traps, prepare animals or fix nets.

When he's not working, life's much the same. Lockhart likes to caribou hunt or go out on the trapline with his two sons.

"Now it's winter so it's snowmobiling. Summertime it's boating or flying in an aircraft -- doing fire patrols."