Contact UsU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Daniel H. Diggs, Assistant Regional Director Fisheries Resources Doug DeHart, Science and Hatchery Reform Team Leader Douglas DeHart, Science and Hatchery Reform Team Leader, is a senior fishery biologist in the Pacific Regional Office of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He has a B.A. in Biology from Harvard University, an M.S. in Fisheries from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in Fisheries from the University of Washington. He has more than 30 years of state and federal fishery agency experience, much of that in the Columbia Basin. He has planned and directed fishery research activities, overseen hatchery and habitat restoration programs and been involved in the conduct of a broad range of fishery management and planning activities. Previous positions have included fishery research coordinator for the US Army Corps of Engineers Portland District, Bioengineering Chief for National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Region and Chief of Fisheries for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He has special expertise in the area of fish passage including design, operation and evaluation of passage and screening facilities. Vicki Finn, Restoration and Recovery Team Leader Vicki Finn serves as the Pacific Region’s Fisheries Restoration and Recovery Team Leader. She has been with the Service for 18 years, working on a variety of fisheries and endangered species policy issues in the Pacific Northwest, California, and nationally. She has a B.S. in biology from the College of William and Mary and an M.S./M.P.A. in Environmental Science and Public Affairs from Indiana University. In her present capacity, Ms. Finn facilitates and oversees recovery and habitat restoration efforts for aquatic species, such as Pacific salmon, bull trout, Pacific lamprey, Oregon chub, coastal cutthroat trout, and other native trout in the West. She is also the Pacific Region’s coordinator for the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and represents the Pacific Region as part of the Western Native Trout Initiative. Previous positions include Chief of Endangered Species and Geographic Assistant Regional Director for Southern California. In the former, she was responsible for policy implementation of the federal Endangered Species Act in OR, WA, ID, CA, NV, and HI, including the Pacific Trust Territories. In the latter, she facilitated coordination between local National Wildlife Refuges, Ecological Services, and Law Enforcement in Southern California. In addition, Ms. Finn spent several years in the Service’s Washington D.C. office, working on national budgetary and policy issues with a focus on Rocky Mountain endangered species issues. She has also served as the Service’s policy representative on various Federal Columbia River Power System forums. Mark Bagdovitz, Columbia River Basin Coordinator Mark Bagdovitz is the Fisheries Program lead for coordination of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service activities in the Columbia River Basin related to restoration and recovery of Pacific salmon and steelhead and other anadromous and resident fish. Mark is originally from upstate New York. He graduated from the State University of New York at Syracuse in 1982. In 1985, he earned a Master’s Degree in Fishery Biology from Michigan State University. Mark has work for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Buffalo District) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington DC. Mark joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Fisheries Program in Marquette, Michigan, and he has been in the Washington Office headquarters in both Fisheries and Ecological Services. He has been with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 18 years. Mark’s current responsibilities include coordinating Fisheries Program activities related to Pacific salmon and steelhead restoration, hydropower operations, and water management. These responsibilities include coordinating FWS activities with other Federal agencies, the Columbia Basin Tribes, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, and the States of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Mark is also the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative to the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority. Mark lives in Vancouver, Washington with his wife (Jennifer) and two sons (Joseph and Peter). Mark’s favorite activities include salmon fishing, mushroom hunting, camping with the family, and, when he can find the time, homebrewing beer. Jana Grote, Fisheries Supervisor Jana Grote, Fisheries Supervisor, began her career with the Service in 1984 after receiving her Masters degree in Wildlife Ecology. She has field experience with Ecological Services offices in Fort Worth, Arlington, and Austin, Texas working on reservoir and flood control projects, habitat restoration, endangered species conservation, and education and outreach. At the Regional office level she has served as Ecological Services Program Supervisor, the Chief of Endangered Species, and as Special Assistant for Ecosystems. Jana enjoys working through partnerships to accomplish resource conservation. She helped develop the Region's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program from 1988-1992 and enjoyed working with landowners, conservation districts and others in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California to accomplish habitat restoration and conservation. From 1998 – 2000, she took a brief hiatus from the Service to work for the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension program and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a Fisheries Partnership Specialist helping sport fishing groups throughout Wisconsin build coalitions and work together on common issues including habitat, water quality, and harvest regulations. She joined the Pacific Region's Fisheries program in 2005 and serves as the regional office liaison for Abernathy Fish Technology Center, Leavenworth NFH Complex, Makah NFH, Mid-Columbia Fisheries Resource Office, Olympia Fish Health Center, Quinault NFH, Quilcene NFH, and the Western Washington Fisheries Resource Office. Craig Martin, Fisheries Supervisor Craig Martin received his Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management from West Virginia University and Masters of Science in fish biology from Oklahoma State University. Craig’s formal education included a strong back ground in data analysis, statistical techniques, and sample survey design. Craig has a broad experience in salmon restoration from Chinook salmon in the Central Valley of California to Atlantic salmon in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Craig has been with the Service for 12 years and is currently an assistant Program Supervisor for the Pacific Northwest Region’s Fisheries Program. While in Vermont, Craig worked closely with the states of New York and Vermont on a salmon restoration program for Lake Champlain. He has been involved in the management and control of aquatic nuisance species, including the development and implementation of a long-term program of sea lamprey control in Lake Champlain. Craig enjoys participating in and helping to build highly functioning, results-orientated teams both within and outside the Service. Craig has been married for 15 years to his wife Karin and has two daughters, Breanne and Kirstin, ages 11 and 7 respectively. He enjoys abalone and SCUBA diving along the California Coast, bass fishing in Ontario Canada, and spending time with family and friends. Rich Johnson, Fisheries Supervisor Rich Johnson is currently a line supervisor, overseeing hatcheries, fish health centers, and management assistance offices in the Columbia River Basin, and has been an employee of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over 29 years. Rich was born in the mid-west, but raised and educated in California, graduating from Humboldt State University in 1976, majoring in Fishery Biology. After graduation he spent time working in the commercial fish farming industry and as a commercial salmon fisherman. Rich began his Service career in 1979 in the Great Lakes Region at Hebron National Fish Hatchery (NFH), Ohio. After Hebron NFH, he worked at Jordan River NFH in Michigan, part of the Great Lakes, lake trout restoration program. From Michigan he traveled to Alaska and the Fairbanks Fisheries Resource Office. There, he worked on fisheries issues in National Wildlife Refuges, the Gates of the Arctic National Park, and with Inupiat subsistence fishers in the village of Selawik, which is located near the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge. Rich became the Deputy Project Leader at the Northern Central Valley Fish and Wildlife Office located in northern California in 1991. There he worked on Chinook salmon and steelhead monitoring and restoration programs on the Sacramento River and its tributaries. In 1999 he came to the Service’s Pacific Region Regional Office in Portland in 1999 to work with the Fisheries Programmatic ARD, in the Management Assistance Division. Paul Hayduk, Facility Operations Coordinator Paul Hayduk, Fishery Biologist; Facility Operations Coordinator earned his B.S. at Juniata College, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania 1989. Paul began his career working as a technician for the Pennsylvania Fish Commission's Division of Research. His research focused on intensive rearing of warm water fish species. In 1992 Paul took a position with the National Marine Fisheries Service in California working to monitor incidental catch of marine mammals by commercial fishermen. He joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994 as a fishery biologist at Hagerman National Fish Hatchery. His career with the Service has included one Fishery Resource Office, three hatcheries until 2001 promoted to Project Leader at Quinault National Fish Hatchery. In 2005 Paul joined the regional office fisheries staff as facility operations coordinator working on asset management and deferred maintenance projects. Paul Heimowitz, Aquatic Invasive Species and Research Coordinator Paul Heimowitz is the regional Aquatic Invasive Species and Research Coordinator. He has a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Arizona and an M.S. in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University. He has been involved in management of Northwest aquatic ecosystems for over 15 years. His current role includes developing and implementing regional aquatic invasive species prevention, detection, and control programs, as well as coordinating with research organizations regarding emerging fish and wildlife information needs. Previous positions have included aquatic health educator for Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension, and oil spill response specialist with the Washington Department of Ecology. Sean Connolly, Fisheries Information Systems Coordinator Sean Connolly, the Regional Fisheries Information Systems (FIS) Coordinator, has been a full-time Service employee since 1997. He has a B.A. in English-Writing from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, and a Master’s Degree in International Environmental Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. His Service career started in 1995 as a temporary Budget Technician in Region 1’s Division of Budget and Finance, and he later rejoined the agency as a Presidential Management Intern and Budget Analyst in the Washington Office Division of Budget supporting the Ecological Services and International Affairs programs. In 2000, he returned to the Pacific Region as a Budget Analyst for Ecological Services and Migratory Bird programs. Prior to joining Fishery Resources, he also worked in the Region’s Division of Ecological Services first as an Assistant Program Supervisor, and later as the Manager for ES Program Operations, where he led a team of four staff who provided operational and administrative support to managers and employees in the Regional Office and five Fish and Wildlife Offices in the Northwest and Pacific Islands. In his current position, he is responsible for maintaining the Region’s accomplishment, plan, population, and project proposal data in the FIS, and provides technical or policy guidance to system users and supplies any FIS-based information needed for outreach purposes, accounting for Service Operational Plan performance targets, and implementation of the regional and national Fisheries Program Strategic Plans. Jerry Van Meter, Fish Passage Program Manager Jerry Van Meter, Regional Fish Passage Program Manager, deals with one of the most demanding issues in the Pacific Northwest, fish passage. He has served as the Chief Management Scientist, Associate Director for Planning, and Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Conservation and holds that Department’s highest meritorious performance award, the Award of Excellence, given jointly by the Department and the Governor. He also has served as an Assistant Regional Director and Special Assistant to the Regional Director in the Pacific Region of the Fish and Wildlife Service, and has almost twenty meritorious performance awards from the Service. Highly trained in planning, problem-solving, negotiations, and management as well as ecology and resource management, he has spent numerous years dealing with high level environmental and management issues in the Pacific Northwest. Jerry holds undergraduate and graduate degrees, was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's most selective all-discipline honor society for academic excellence, has taught both planning and management at the upper undergraduate and graduate levels at a major university, and has served as a management consultant to local, state, and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private businesses. Gary Melvin, Facility Maintenance and Service Asset Managment and Maintenance System (SAMMS) Coordinator Gary Melvin, Coordinator of Facility Maintenance and Service Asset Management and Maintenance System (SAMMS). He has been with the Service since 1998. Gary is a 21-year Air Force Veteran, where he reached the rank of Master Sergeant and finished his Air Force career as the Deputy Chief of Maintenance for a remote Air Force Base. After retiring he spent 7 years working for the Bristol Bay Borough Police Department, before coming to the Fish and Wildlife Service. He started in the Service as a Wage Grade 5 Maintenance Worker in King Salmon, Alaska, where he was selected as one of the original pilot testers for the SAMMS database. In November 2002 he was selected as the first trainer for the SAMMS system. In 2002 Gary received the Department of Interior Environmental Achievement Award for stopping use of almost all non-renewable resource in remote field camps in the Alaska/Becharof Refuges in Alaska while increasing the use of high tech equipment and for finding ways for recycling almost everything in a location that had no road system. He was assigned to the Washington Office, with a duty location at NCTC. He was also member of the national SAMMS implementation team. During the next three years he trained over 1,200 service employees on the use of SAMMS. In 2005 Gary accepted the Facility Management position in the Fisheries in Region 2. And in October 2006 he moved to a similar position in the Regions 1 Fisheries office. Gary has been married for over 35 year to Darlene. They have 5 daughters and 10 grandchildren. Gary’s interests include computers, woodworking and home remodeling. |
