|
John Pierce,
Chief Wildlife Scientist and Division Manager - John leads the Wildlife
Science Division which consists of 29 full time permanent positions. The
division is organized into four main sections: Wildlife Datasystems, Wildlife
Spatial Data, Eastside Research Team, and Westside Research Team. The Division's
main responsibilities are to determine ecological relationships and limiting
factors of priority wildlife species, surveillance and monitoring of wildlife
disease and health, conduct population and harvest data analysis, manage
abundance and distribution data of wildlife species, conduct spatial data
analysis, and manage data associated with WDFW owned lands. John is currently
working on developing black-tailed deer population estimators using DNA
technology and using Citizen Science to help monitor Biodiversity. John
has a B.S. from the University of Washington and a M.S. from the University
of Idaho. John has been with the agency since 1984. |
| Westside
Research Team |
|
Scott Pearson,
Westside Research Team Leader and Senior Scientist - Scott Pearson supervises
the westside wildlife research team and his research focuses on seabird
and shorebird reproductive success, habitat use, habitat selection, diet
quality and composition, and population monitoring. Scott has also been
examining habitat selection, population growth rates, and population monitoring
for rare species associated with Puget prairies. His research involves collaboration
with Universities, other federal and state agencies and non-profit organizations.
Scott has a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from
the University of Washington. Scott has been with the agency since 2005. |
Gary Koehler,
Westside Team Research Scientist - Gary's current
work focuses on Mountain Lion population demography and behavior in response
to residential development and on Canada Lynx status and movement patterns
in response to habitat loss from wildfires and timber harvest in the Okanagan.
The innovative Project C.A.T. involves the participation of K-12 school
kids and the local community in research as a way to better understand how
humans and large carnivores can live together. Gary has a B.A. from Western
Washington University, and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Idaho.
Gary has been with the agency since 1994. |
|
Steve Jeffries,
Westside Team Research Scientist - Steve leads
the Marine Mammal Research team and is WDFW's liaison with NOAA Fisheries/NMFS
for documentation and mitigation of marine mammal fishery interactions in
Washington and coordination of marine mammal stranding efforts. Steve has
worked with nearly all northwest marine mammals with his research focused
on seals, sea lions and sea otters investigating their general biology,
foraging ecology, population status and trends for over 30 years. Steve
has a B.S. from the University of Washington. Steve has been with the agency
since 1980. |
Monique Lance,
Marine Mammal Research Biologist - Monique has
conducted research throughout Puget Sound and the outer coast of Washington
for the past 13 years with focus on diet and foraging ecology of seabirds
and marine mammals. Her interests include predator prey relationships, food
chain dynamics, marine policy, and ecosystem health. Monique's current research
is centered in the San Juan Island and Gulf Island archipelago. She addresses
transboundary issues and regularly collaborates with multiple universities,
federal and state agencies. Monique has a B.S. from the University of Oregon
and a M.S. from the Evergreen State College. Monique has been with the Agency
since 1993. |
|
Dyanna Lambourn,
Marine Mammal Research Biologist - Dyanna is also
a licensed Veterinary Technician and began for the agency in 1993. She is
currently working on a variety of marine mammal and seabird issues including:
marine mammal stranding and response; life history parameters of harbor
seals; pinniped/fishery interactions; marine mammal health, disease, and
contaminants; and seabird telemetry, implantation and anesthesia. Dyanna
has a B.S. from Oregon State University and a degree in Veterinary Technology
at Pierce College. Dyanna has been with the Agency since 1993. |
Cliff Rice,
Westside Team Research Scientist, - For the past
5 years, Cliff has been investigating mountain goats in the Cascade Range.
His studies focus on habitat use, survey methods, movements, population
dynamics, and mineral licks. For his studies Cliff captured 56 mountain
goats and fitted them with GPS tracking collars. The study is in partnership
with the Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe,
Western Washington University, and others. Cliff has a Ph.D. from Texas
A&M University, a B.S. from the University of Colorado and a M.S. from Macalester
College. Cliff has been with the agency since 1996. |
|
Gail Olson,
Westside Team Research Scientist, - Gail's research
is currently directed at understanding the ecological relationships between
puget prairie wildlife and their habitat. She is also working on developing
long-term monitoring protocols for butterflies and pocket gophers in western
Washington. Gail has a B.S. from the University of Rhode Island, a M.S.
from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. from Colorado State University.
Gail has been with the agency since 2006. |
|
| Eastside
Research Team |
|
Matt Vander
Haegen, Eastside Research Team Leader and Senior
Scientist - Matt's research activities focus on issues related to wildlife
populations and habitats in sagebrush-steppe and oak woodland communities.
Matt's current work includes studies of western gray squirrel population
ecology and the potential of Conservation Reserve Program lands to aid in
the conservation of shrubsteppe and grassland wildlife. As an affiliate
member of the graduate faculty at the University of Washington, Matt works
with graduate students to help address questions of management concern.
Matt has B.S. and M.S. degrees from University of Massachusetts and a Ph.D.
from the University of Maine. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and has
been with the agency since 1994. |
Gene
Orth , Wildlife Research Biologist - Gene
is the field Coordinator for the Western Gray Squirrel Project on Fort Lewis.
Gene coordinates a field crew collecting data on movements, habitat use,
and survival of squirrels as well as augmentaiton of this threatened population.
Gene had a B.S. degree from Washington State University and has been with
the agency since 2003. |
|
Woody Myers,
Eastside Team Wildlife Scientist - Woody has conducted
population dynamics and habitat use studies of various ungulate species
including mule deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep since 1975. Woody's most
current research project has focused upon relationships between habitat
quality, reproductive success, and the nutritional plane of mule deer across
a variety of landscapes in eastern Washington. Woody has a B.S. from the
University of Idaho. Woody has been with the agency since 1977.
|
Jim Watson,
Eastside Team Research Scientist - Jim Watson is the lead raptor ecologist
in the agency. Jim designs and leads statewide projects on raptor research
and other fauna (e.g., ground squirrels). His current research focuses on
shrubsteppe raptor ecology and wind power/raptor interactions. Jim has a
B.S. from the University of Colorado and and M.S. from Montana State University.
Jim has been with the agency since 1987. |
|
Kristin
Mansfield, Eastside Team Wildlife Veterinarian
- Kristin is responsible for monitoring wildlife health statewide, responding
to wildlife disease outbreaks, providing veterinary support and technical
assistance when animals are captured for research or management purposes,
and training Agency biologists and officers in the proper techniques for
capturing and handling wildlife. Kristin is currently investigating surveilance
monitoring for Chronic Wasting Disease and Avian Influenza. Kristin has
a B.S. from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, a D.V.M. from U.C. Davis, and an M.P.V.M.
from U.C. Davis. She is a certified Associate Wildlife Biologist and has
been with the Agency since 2002. |
Ella
Rowan, Eastside Team Wildlife Biologist and
Veterinarian Assistant - Ella assists the wildlife veterinarian with
monitoring wildlife health throughout the state. She coordinates sample
collection and manages data for the Agency's Chronic Wasting Disease and
Avian Influenza surveillance programs. She also serves as a wildlife health
resource for Agency biologists and officers, other government agencies,
and members of the public. Ella received her B.S. from the University of
Illinois at Chicago and her M.S. from the University of Georgia, Athens.
She has been with the Agency since 2008. |
|
Mike Schroeder,
Eastside Team Research Scientist - Mike has conducted population dynamics
and behavioral ecology research on various grouse species since 1981, with
recent research focused on sharp-tailed grouse and greater sage-grouse.
Mikes current research focuses on the relevance of the Conservation Reserve
Program to prairie grouse and other wildlife and developing methodologies
for monitoring wildlife and their habitats on state-managed lands. Mike
has a B.S. from Texas A&M University, M.S. from University of Alberta, and
Ph.D. from Colorado State University. Mike is a Certified Wildlife Biologist
and has been with the Agency since 1993. |
|
| Wildlife
Data Systems Team |
|
Raj Deol,
Wildlife Datasystem Section Leader and Senior Information Systems Analyst
- Raj leads the Wildlife Data Systems team, and activities related to the
design, development, implementation, and maintenance of data management
systems for game and non-game data. He recently led a major project to complete
data and systems migration from legacy databases to a central enterprise
Geodatabase technology, and is now gearing up to plan and implement field
data collection systems using latest mobile/GPS technologies. Raj holds
a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of British Columbia,
and an Advanced Diploma in GIS from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
Raj has been with the agency since 2003. |
Tom Owens ,
Eastside Regional Wildlife Information Specialist and Support - Tom
provides programming and design support to the Wildlife Datasystems in Olympia
and data analysis, management, and GIS support to Wildlife Program staff
deployed in eastern Washington. Tom is stationed in WDFW's Region Headquarters
in Spokane. Tom has over 28 years experience in data analysis and data base
development for the Wildlife Program. Prior to working with WDFW, Tom worked
for the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Division of Wildlife. Tom has a
B.S. from Colorado State University and a M.S. from the University of Idaho.
Tom has been with the agency since 1980. |
| Vacant Position,
Westside Regional Wildlife Information Specialist and Support - This
position will provide programming and design support to the Wildlife Datasystems
in Olympia and data analysis, management, and GIS support to Wildlife Program
staff deployed in western Washington. This position is in process of recruitment. |
Wan-Ying Chang,
Wildlife Program Biometrician - Wan-Ying provides statistical consultation
to the Wildlife Program. She collaborates with research scientists and biologists
in a wide range of applications including sample survey, mixed models, mark-recapture
models, sightability models, power analysis, case-control studies, and missing
data problems. She also manages Game database and is the lead analyst for
game harvest statistics. Wan-Ying has a Ph.D. in statistics from the University
of Virginia, and has been with the Agency since 2005. |
|
Lori Salzer,
Wildlife Datasystem Biologist - Lori manages the northern spotted owl,
reptile, amphibian and bat databases and conducts field work for species
of concern in Washington. She has over 20 years experience in wildlife biology
in the Pacific Northwest and prior to employment at WDFW she worked for
The Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cascadia Research
and the National Council of the Paper. Lori has a B.S. from the The Evergreen
State College and has been with the agency since 1990. |
Jane Jenkerson,
Wildlife Datasystem Biologist - Jane began employment with WDFW helping
on field studies of elk, harbor seals, and sea otters. Jane currently manages
marbled murrelet and butterfly survey data, provides GIS analysis and cartographic
products, and assist on a variety of regional field projects, such Oregon
spotted frogs, great blue herons, loons, western ground squirrels, and golden
eagles. Jane has a B.S. from Michigan State University and has been with
the agency since 1991. |
|
Gretchen Blatz,
Wildlife Datasystem Biologist - Gretchen is the data steward for the
Wildlife Heritage database and Raptor Occupancy and Productivity database.
Gretchen also assists with a variety of field survey projects for raptors,
small mammals, marine mammals, seabirds, and game species. She continues
to provide survey support, as well as spatial and tabular data analysis
and reporting products used in field surveys, research projects, and conservation
planning. Gretchen has a B.S. from The Evergreen State College. Gretchen
has been with the agency since 2000. |
|
| Wildlife
Geographic Information Systems Team |
|
Shelly Snyder,
Wildlife Spatial Data Section Leader and Senior Information Systems Analyst
- Shelly leads and manages a diverse team of GIS, mapping and remote sensing
specialists. Shelly is responsible for the oversight and management of the
design, development, implementation, and maintenance of systems, such as:
LIS, HCP, constituent mapping, etc. Shelly has a B.S. from the State University
of New York, Plattsburgh and a M.S. from the University of Michigan. Shelly
came to work with the agency in 1987. |
Brian Cosentino,
Senior GIS/Remote Sensing Analyst - Brian’s primary area of expertise
is in designing, developing and implementing innovative GIS and image processing
strategies to inventory, model and analyze the complex spatial and temporal
relationships of wildlife resource data. Brian provides expert-level skills
and advanced practical application of raster analysis and remote sensing
principles/technology for vegetation mapping, wildlife habitat modeling
and landscape characterization. Brian has a B.S from Northern Arizona University
and a M.S. from University of Wisconsin,in Madison. Brian has been with
the agency since 1996. |
|
Marc McCalmon,
Senior GIS/Remote Sensing Analyst - Marc is responsible for the development
and implementation of a parcel-based geographic information system (GIS)
designed to support agency-wide management, planning and mapping of approximately
one million acres of WDFW managed lands. The parcel-based Land Information
System (LIS) integrates multiple land records information management systems
into a single, spatially explicit enterprise system. Marc has been with
the agency since 2003. |
Jeff Foisy,
Senior GIS/Remote Sensing Analyst - Jeff’s primary responsibilities
focus on the design, development, maintenance and analysis of mission-critical
resource inventory databases and applications. Jeff serves as the GIS project
lead on road management and abandonment planning (RMAP), wildlife area inventory
and habitat conservation planning (HCP) on WDFW managed lands. Jeff received
a B.A. from the Huxley Environmental College at Western Washington University,
and a M.S. from Oregon Sate University in 1999. Jeff has been with the agency
since 2001. |
|
John Talmadge,
Cartographer Design and Map Production - John is responsible for data
maintenance, metadata development and cartographic design for several recreational
mapping initiatives, such as: GoHunt maps (GMU, deer areas, elk area maps,
wildlife area maps, etc.), Green Dot cooperative road management maps, WDFW
facilities maps, and Wildlife Area interpretive kiosks. John has been with
the agency since 1990. |
Brian Hall,
GIS analyst - Brian is responsible for providing support to the Wildlife
Area Habitat Conservation Planning (HCP) project. Brian fills a broad
set of GIS support needs associated with the HCP project, including data
development and maintenance (data compilation, integration, editing, QA/QC),
GIS analysis, product development and GIS training/consultation. Brian
also contributes a portion of his time to WDFW parcel compilation in support
of the Land Information System (LIS) project.Brian has a B.A. from Luther
College, Decorah Iowa and a M.S. from St. Mary's University, Winona Minnesota.
Brian has been with the agency since 2006. |
| Wildlife
Conservation Genetics Lab |
|
Ken Warheit, Senior
Research Scientist and Director of the Agency's Fish and Wildlife Genetics
Lab. Although
Ken is technically a member of the Fish Program staff, we like to think
that part of him belongs to the Wildlife Program. Ken is investigating wildlife
conservation genetics of endangered species, providing forensic support
to enforcement and numerous salmonid stock id investigations. Ken has a
Ph.D. from U.C.Berkeley and has worked with the agency since 1992. More
information can be found at the Molecular
Genetics Laboratory website |
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