John Engbring Oral History Transcript

After college schooling, took first position with Smithsonian Institution Peace Corps Environmental Program as ornithologist in Palau, 1977-1979.  Worked for Trust Territory Conservation Office in Koror, capital of Palau. Worked for Robert “Bob” Owen, supervisor and chief conservationist covering Trust Territory in Pacific.  Conducted bird surveys in Palau, doing transects and bird counts along these transects. Met Greg Bright (limnologies) and Joan Canfield (botanist), fellow Peace Corps Volunteers. In Palau, met Gene Kreidler, Ernie Kosaka, US Fish & Wildlife Service employees stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii who got the initial bird surveys going in Hawaii and the Pacific. In 1980, started as GS-4 Park Ranger in Corps of Engineers, Southern Illinois, Carlyle Lake, St. Louis District. In 1981, he took a FWS job conducting surveys in the Territories/Trust Territories in the Pacific and the first survey began on the Island of Guam. In 1982, surveys of Mariana Islands, Rota, Tinian, Saipan and Agiguan. The Federated states of Micronesia were surveyed in 1983-1984 (Kosrae and Pohnpei in 1983 and Chuuk and Yap in 1984) Surveyed American Samoa in 1986-87, including main island of Tutuila, Manu’a islands, Ofu and Olosega and Ta’u. In 1991 surveyed Palau. Odd surveys, spring 1992 survey of Hawaiian crow, EA in Solomon Islands, EA in Sri Lanka, and EA in San Tome and Principe (West coast of Africa, Gulf of Guinea). Worked doing HCPs under Endangered Species Program in Olympia, WA and supervised that office.  Worked with timber companies in Pacific NW, State of Washington DNR,  Port Blakely HCP, Murray Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, Plum Creek and others. Negotiations with Washington State, 1992-1998. 1998, Geographic ARD for the Klamath Ecoregion, supervising three field offices, Arcata, Yreka, and Klamath Falls. Federally designated official to the Klamath Task Force. Helped set up the new region in California-Nevada. Water and Fisheries ARD for Region 8, Sacramento, 2006-10.