WDFW Employee Awards Ceremony
Olympia, Washington
May 6, 2005
remarks by WDFW Director Jeff Koenings

2005 WDFW Awards Ceremony Program (PDF format)

Opening remarks from Jeff Koenings, WDFW Director

Thank you for coming to this year's employee awards ceremony.

I want to congratulate all of the WDFW employees who are being honored today for their hard work and dedication to the natural resources of Washington state.

Today's ceremony is an opportunity to recognize employees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done. There are so many more employees who are doing great work for this agency, and I want you to know how much I appreciate all of your efforts.

Thanks again for participating.

This year's Certificate of Merit winners are:

Jim Olson, the manager of the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area and associated lands. Jim started his career with WDFW in 1990 and has been in the Wildlife Area Manager's position since 1992. The department lands in Region 2 have become a showcase for habitat protection and restoration - and it's all been done in the politically charged atmosphere of Okanogan County.

Dan Penttila, a 25-year WDFW veteran fisheries biologist, whose research into sand lance, surf smelt and rock sole spawning on intertidal beaches of Puget Sound have lead to significant advances in nearshore management. Dan has also developed the standard forage fish sampling protocol that is used throughout the nation. Finally, Dan has taught hundreds of agency staff and a veritable army of volunteers his forage fish mapping techniques.

John Whalen, Fish Program Manager for Region 1, is responsible for a large and diverse group of fish management and hatchery staff throughout the 10 counties within the region. John has successfully taken on such challenging projects as the Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan - a monumental effort that could not have been completed without his steady leadership.

Ron Warren, Fish Program Manager for Region 6, whose energy, enthusiasm and expertise have served this agency well for a number of years. Ron has contributed to the Department in a number of ways, including participation in the North of Falcon Process, assisting Intergovernmental Resource Management staff in developing fisheries options with our tribal co-managers and providing leadership in developing the Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor management plans.

Kirt Hughes, District Fish Biologist in Region 6, who has accepted every work assignment with a positive attitude and consistently produced excellent results. Kirt stepped into his current position when the existing biologist was called into active duty. Kirt's work in developing steelhead and salmon runsize forecasts for Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay are among the many excellent work products he's produced recently.

Doug Robison, Major Projects Biologist for the Habitat Program in Region 1, earned a certificate of merit by working as WDFW's lead staff person for the FERC relicensing of Box Canyon Dam on the Pend Oreille River and with dam relicensing efforts on the Spokane River as well. Both projects are extremely complex, and Doug has effectively coordinated all of WDFW's technical information and policy issues and represented the agency's interests in these forums.

Joe Bumgarner, a biologist in the Fish Program-Science Division, who has written numerous scientific reports that have enabled southeastern Washington fisheries managers and hatchery personnel make sound science-based decisions. Joe has been known to put in extra weekend and after-work hours on the job, which is just one of the many indications of his dedication to the job.

Tim Rymer, a habitat biologist in the Region 6 Habitat Program, has established an impressive record of dedication, work excellence and team building during his nearly three decades of service to this agency. Some of his successful projects include the Hoh River engineered log jams along Highway 101 and the Skokomish River dike setback project. His positive attitude and other strong skills make him a valued member of our team.

Finally, we'd like to honor Officer Larry Bauman of the Region 4 Enforcement Program, who had no idea what he was in for when he reported for work on July 30. Officer Bauman took a call of a black bear that was passed out on the lawn of a campground at Baker Lake. That's right - passed out. In case you didn't hear the story, the bear had broken into a couple coolers in the campground and managed to chug down the better part of 36 beers. And the bear was a little picky - he drank all of the Rainier he could get his paws on, but passed on the campers' supply of Busch. When Officer Bauman arrived, the bear had managed to climb a nearby tree where it decided to sleep for a spell. Because of the animal's high blood alcohol content, WDFW enforcement officers decided against darting the bear with a sedative - the mixture could have easily killed the animal. Instead, officers kept the ever-growing crowd of people away from the bear, which eventually came down and ran off into the woods.

The bear returned to the campground the next day - no doubt to slake its thirst from someone's beer stash. Officers were anticipating the bear would return, so they placed a humane culvert trap in the area. This is where the innovation comes in. Typically a culvert trap that's loaded for bear will be baited with doughnuts, apples or something else that's sweet. But Officer Bauman knew that this bear had a soft spot for Rainier, so, naturally, he baited the trap with a few cans of suds. The ploy worked perfectly and the bear was captured and safely transported away from the crowds - and away from a beer supply.

This story received coverage across the world, and while it was certainly humorous, it could have taken a very serious turn. Officer Bauman demonstrated exactly how to fulfill one of WDFW Enforcement's main goals of promoting public safety and resolving human-wildlife conflicts.

There's one more group of employees that deserve recognition this year - our Snake River fish team has received an Evaluation Program of the Year award this spring from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The federal distinction honors 11 WDFW employees who monitor and evaluate efforts to make up for losses of fish from four hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River of southeast Washington. The award is for work in 2003, but since the various state and federal agencies involved in the Lower Snake River Conservation Plan operate on different fiscal years, the presentation was delayed to determine the honoree based on an equivalent year of effort. The team is composed of Project Leader Mark Schuck, Steelhead Biologist Joe Bumgarner, Spring Chinook Biologist Michael Gallinat, Fall Chinook Biologist Debbie Milks, Scientific Technicians Micki Varney, Lance Ross, Jerry Dedloff, Jeremy Jording, Johnny Johnston, and Mike Herr, and Office Assistant Jule Ponti.

The 2004 Director's Awards winners are:

• The Skagit Drainage and Fish Initiative Team earned a Director's Award for its success in beginning a new collaborative problem-solving initiative in the Skagit River watershed. This group faced a tremendous uphill battle in bringing various groups together, including agricultural interests and treaty Indian tribes, to tackle a number of land use and salmon recovery issues in the watershed. The team knows that there's plenty of work still ahead of them, but they are well on their way to building a sustainable relationship that will benefit the needs of fish and people alike. Team members from WDFW are Brian Williams, Bob Warinner, Mike Birely and Bill Hebner. Mike Shelby and Curtis Johnson are the team members from the Western Washington Agriculture Association, while Larry Wasserman and Steve Hinton are the team members from the Skagit River System Cooperative.

• Rich Beausoleil, WDFW's bear and cougar specialist in Eastern Washington. Rich has implemented a major project to estimate cougar numbers using DNA collected by houndsmen. He maintains the database and has been called on numerous times to give public presentations on the contentious issue of cougar management. He's proven to be an excellent representative of our agency in the community.

• Richard Johnson, the Region 5 regional hatcheries operations manager. Richard has been responsible for many agency accomplishments over the years, including development of the Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center in Vancouver, and the successful negotiations of the hatcheries component of hydroelectric settlement agreements in his region. On May 13, Richard will begin his 38th year of service with WDFW.

• Sergeant Dan Rahn, who supervises Detachment 22 in the Spokane area. Sergeant Rahn has consistently demonstrated a high level of professionalism, leadership, teamwork and public service. Dan and his staff deal with cougar, bear and moose as these critters wander through suburban Spokane neighborhood. His diplomatic approach to his job has saved the day on more than one occasion.

• Mark Quinn, WDFW Lands Division Manager, has shown a remarkable ability to address a number of important issues, including land acquisition, site management for weeds, restoration and fire protection, recreational demands and commercial use of our lands, all while creating the "Lands 20/20: A Vision for the Future" document. Mark has also played an important role in such issues as oil and gas exploration, wind power, the DNR land exchange, and other matters.

• Mark Wachtel was recently promoted to the position of regional habitat program manager in Region One. In 2004 and 2005 Mark coordinated the department's technical and policy input into the development of the Snake River Salmon Recovery Plan. This was an extraordinary effort that melded good science with policy in a manner that was both effective and acceptable to local leaders and the Recovery Board.

• Doug Flohr, a Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Officer, who this year celebrates his 30th anniversary with the agency. Officer Flohr has recently excelled in developing a strong working relationship with landowners and community leaders in dealing with problem wildlife issues surrounding Hanford elk herd situations. His work has enhanced our credibility as a responsive and responsible public agency, and we thank him for that.

• A few more individuals involved in the Hanford elk herd management issue deserve special recognition this year - Rich Nall and John Robert representing the Roberts Ranch, and Bud Hamilton, for their efforts to coordinate with area landowners and WDFW in developing 2005 hunting seasons. These men demonstrated a willingness to take on a difficult task of coordinating the varying needs of landowners and making those needs fit within the constraints of state regulations and policies. We greatly appreciate the efforts of these citizens.

• Scott Loerts, Kristi Lynett and Nicole Ricketts are honored with a Director's Award for their enthusiastic leadership in rolling out WDFW's Sustainability Initiative. Each of these employees has many other tasks to accomplish, but they have effectively dedicated a good deal of time to our sustainability efforts.

• Mark Cookson, Patrick Verhey, Casey Baldwin, Heather Bartlett, Carmen Andonaegui and Bob Foster - the Region Two Salmon Recovery Team. This team has developed the upper Columbia ESU Salmon Recovery Plan in what can best be described as an emotional, politically charged atmosphere. Working on ESA issues in eastern Washington is always difficult, and this effort was no exception. This team's shear tenacity kept moving the process forward.

• Chuck Smith, an Okanogan County businessman, earned a Director's Award this year for his hard work on cougar management issues in northcentral Washington state. Mr. Smith has been THE go-to guy when trying to reach consensus on difficult issues associated with the pilot cougar hound-hunting project in that region. He has been the voice of reason, and his behind-the-scenes efforts to assist the agency are greatly appreciated.

• Phil Anderson, special assistant to the Director, for his leadership and successful implementation of the 2005 North of Falcon salmon season-setting process. This year's preseason planning effort was a particularly difficult one, given the need to protect weak stocks in the lower Columbia River and in Puget Sound. Phil and other members of the WDFW team put in a lot of extra hours to get an agreement that provides both the necessary protections for weak stocks and also gives sport and commercial fishers plenty of time on the water.

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