Photo by David Ledig/USFWS |
Dave Pitkin
began his association with the USFWS on the Oregon Coast in 1992 when he started
volunteering for and living on Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge
near Pacific City, Oregon. During this time he worked with Aleutian
Cackling Geese, Peregrine Falcons, and Brant. Recognizing his skill and
dedication, the USFWS was able to bring him on as a biological
technician in 1993 and in this position he continued his work along the
coast on these and other species. In 1999, he was hired on as the
Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex's Fish and Wildlife
Biologist and he remained in that position until 2007. At that time, he
left the USFWS and moved to the south coast of Oregon where he worked
on a large ranch, which was one of his favorite field sites, teeming
with birdlife. He continued to be actively involved with the conservation
of coastal ecosystems and cultural resources through contract work for
the USFWS and other organizations until his passing.
To know Dave was to know his extreme dedication in working on behalf
of wildlife. We can't recall meeting anyone who held more compassion
for birds and their welfare. He was a seasoned naturalist whose depth
of knowledge ranged from falcons to salamanders to bog plants. He was
also one of the hardest working people we have ever met, working
tirelessly every weekday and many weekends. Dave was always juggling a
multitude of projects for his work at the Oregon Coast National
Wildlife Refuge Complex: conducting seabird and waterfowl counts,
surveying tidal marsh elevations, helping to reintroduce the threatened
Nelson's checkermallow, creating relationships with local communities, mentoring aspiring biologists, and much more.
We would be remiss if we omitted anything about Dave’s exceptional
love for the Semidi Island Aleutian Cackling Goose. As the refuge
biologist he spent countless hours watching them, reading their tarsus
bands, and getting to know them individually. He once remarked to a
coworker that he had learned so much about himself and life in general
through watching these geese day in and day out. The "Artist" was his
favorite goose -- a blotchy, speckled, and elegant goose.
Dave was also an accomplished nature photographer who contributed
his beautiful images of coastal scenery, plants, and wildlife to many projects, both personal and professional. In addition to his patience, dedication, love of
nature, and kindness, another big part of Dave's personality was his
great sense of humor, often self-effacing. When he laughed, he laughed
loud and it was infectious to those around him. He loved telling
stories and if you got to know him at all then you were in for a treat
as he was bound to share a story (or twenty) about his much-admired grandfather. Dave also loved wood
working, building, and creating. Dave believed that everything in
this world was imbued with meaning and beauty.
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Photo by EPA |
Ray Bentley,
who lived in Blodgett, was a highly respected pilot-biologist for the
USFWS Migratory Bird Program. Following years of work for state and
federal agencies as a field biologist studying a diversity of species
including carnivores, raptors, and small mammals, Ray joined the USFWS
in 1999 as the primary pilot-biologist for the Pacific Flyway (essentially the entire west coast of Canada, the United States, and Mexico). This
position allowed him to use his rare combination of skills to support
wildlife conservation and management throughout the western United
States, and beyond. Every January, May, and July, Ray and another seasoned
observer would take to the sky to conduct annual waterfowl population
surveys. Ray also flew in support of surveys of brown pelicans and
marine mammals in the fall, raptors in the spring, and shorebirds in
the spring and late fall. Due to treaty agreements, U.S.
pilot-biologists also typically fly surveys in Canada and Mexico. Ray's
particular survey and monitoring station, which included pre-season waterfowl banding, was in
south-central Alberta. He had also recently flown above Chesapeake Bay,
the western Dakotas and eastern Montana, and was scheduled to fly to
the Arctic to complete wildlife surveys there.
Ray always said that he had two passions: one was wildlife biology
and the other was aviation. He considered himself fortunate to have
those two lines of passion converge in a job where he could fly to
cover huge areas in short periods of time, capturing accurate snapshots
of wildlife numbers and habitat use . An avid outdoorsman, Ray also
enjoyed hunting, fishing, birding, scuba diving, skydiving, tending his apple orchard, and travel.
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Both Dave and Ray's reach to people was far and wide.
Dave and Ray were our friends as well as our colleagues, and we at the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service express much sorrow for their loss. Our
thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the families, partners, and
close friends of the deceased.
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Memorial Gifts in honor of Dave and Ray
If you are interested in making a memorial gift in honor of Dave, his family and loved ones have established a David Pitkin Memorial Fund at the West Coast Bank. Contributions can be made at any branch. Please make checks out to The David Pitkin Memorial Fund and mail it to the West Coast headquarters office:
West Coast Bancorp
5335 Meadows Rd., Suite 201
Lake Oswego, OR 97035
1-800-895-3345
Fax: 503-684-0781
In honor of Ray's life long devotion to conservation/protection/preservation of critical lands and waters and all of their natural creatures you can send a gift to The Nature Conservancy of Oregon. Please send your donation to:
The Nature Conservancy
821 S.E. 14th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97214
Phone: (503) 802-8100
Fax: (503) 802-8199
E-mail: oregon@tnc.org
Please identify on check/contribution: Contribution in Memory of Ray Bentley
Additionally, you can make a donation memorializing Ray to the Benton County Search and Rescue. Make checks payable to the Benton County Search and Rescue and mail them to:
180 NW 5th Street
Corvallis, OR 97330
Please mention in your correspondence that the donation memorializes Ray Bentley.
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Websites and Blog Tributes to Dave and Ray
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