Baylor comes to the Refuge after 11 years with the Army Corps of Engineers Winona Resident Office where she was a project engineer on various maintenance and rehabilitation, dredging, and EMP projects. She is excited about the opportunity to use her engineering training and experience in helping with fish and wildlife restoration efforts on the Upper Mississippi River.
As EMP coordinator for the Refuge, Baylor will be responsible for project coordination with the Corps of Engineers, various states, and non-government organizations on projects within the 233,000-acre Refuge which extends from Wabasha, Minn. to Rock Island, Ill. She will also help with planning pool drawdowns designed to restore aquatic vegetation for fish and wildlife, and assist Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, Minn. with EMP projects.
Baylor received a bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, is a registered professional engineer, and a member of the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers. She enjoys sports, playing softball, and participates in Toastmasters. She and her husband, Pete Strand, and son Brett reside in St. Charles, Minn.
The EMP was established by Congress in1986 to address degradation of the river ecosystem through long term monitoring and the design and construction of projects to restore lost habitat such as islands and backwater areas. The EMP is administered by the Army Corps of Engineers through partnership with the states, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association.
The "Upper Miss" National Wildlife and Fish Refuge was established in 1924, and is one of more than 540 refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Refuge system is celebrating its 100th birthday this year with numerous special outreach events at refuges across the country. Special centennial events are scheduled at the Upper Miss refuges. For more information, contact the refuge at 1-800-877-8339 or 507-452-4232.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
