Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

After graduating from Yreka High School in 1986, I started a 16-year career in the Northern California forest resources industry. Out of sheer boredom during typical "mud-season" layoffs I took classes at my local community college. Eventually this led to a two-year general education degree. Meanwhile, as the demand for timber declined, I found myself dissatisfied with the lack of consistent work and decided to pursue a career change. I transferred to Southern Oregon University where I sought to combine my logging experience with higher education in an attempt to bridge the gap between natural resource policy and application. In my undergraduate studies, I developed an appreciation for the challenges faced by diadromous fish as influenced by the anthropogenic management of natural resources. This renewed appreciation directed me towards research opportunities with the University of Idaho, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, employment opportunities with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and finally as a graduate assistant with UMaine's USGS Co-op. . Currently, I am investigating resident and diadromous fish community responses to dam removal with a focus on sea lamprey re-colonization in Sedgeunkedunk Stream, a third order tributary to the Penobscot River. This project affords me the opportunity to monitor the efficacy of barrier removal as a tool for ecosystem restoration, which may inform larger scale management efforts in the future.