I’m honored to serve the Washington Chapter of The Wildlife Society and look forward to working with you to create inclusive, engaging, and meaningful opportunities that will amplify our ability to face the critical environmental challenges of our time. I’m the Director of Wildlife and Environmental Policy at Port Blakely, a family-owned, sustainable, forestland company with properties in Washington, Oregon, and New Zealand. In this role, I oversee all aspects of wildlife and fisheries resources in the U.S.; providing scientific guidance on habitat conservation, protection, research, and restoration efforts. I also lead the company’s forest policy and environmental education programs, and oversee the development and implementation of federal and state conservation agreements. My professional career began as a wildlife biologist nearly 20 years ago and has since spanned the federal, state, and private sectors of managed forests. Gaining a foothold in the streams and forests gave me an appreciation for our northwest ecosystems and fostered my understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced in natural resource management. The complexity of issues we strive to solve underscores the need for collaboration and partnership. As part of my work, I serve on the Washington Natural Heritage Advisory Council which provides guidance to state natural resource agencies on the designation and management of natural areas intended to conserve native species and ecosystems. I also serve on the Board of Directors for Pacific Education Institute, a non-profit organization that empowers educators to advance equitable civic and scientific literacy. As a first-generation college student, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue an education. I have both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Environmental Studies degree from the Evergreen State College. As an undergraduate, my studies focused on salmon and the aquatic environment, while my graduate studies focused on biodiversity and the terrestrial environment. I’m also a graduate of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program. The Washington Chapter of TWS fulfills a key function in bringing current research and applied scientists together. As a professional network, we are rich with opportunities to partner and collaborate. I’m excited to be part of it and look forward to working together to advance the mission of the chapter. A northwest native, I live on a small farm with my partner and have two amazing grown sons. When we’re not growing food, we love to work and play in the mountains, forests, and rivers that make this region so magnificent.

I have been working with wildlife for over a decade. I hold a BA from Hampshire College, an MA from California College of the Arts, and an MES from The Evergreen State College. Over the last several years, I have worked on wolf conservation, landscape connectivity research, and camas prairie restoration. I have also worked with western pond turtles, Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, and yuma and little brown bats. Before moving to Washington, I was a language studies researcher with the lowland gorilla, Koko, through Project Koko—the longest-running interspecies communications study. I am also GIS certified and hold a Level Two certificate from CyberTracker Conservation in wildlife track and sign.

I am based in Olympia and can often be found outdoors with my 14-year-old cattle dog, Hiji, by my side.

I’m grateful to serve as Secretary for the Washington Chapter of the Wildlife Society. I’ve been a member of the Wildlife Society since 2012 and the Washington Chapter since 2023. Originally from the great plains of South Dakota, I earned a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Minnesota and an M.S. in Sustainable Forest Management from Oregon State University. I’ve been working as a Wildlife Biologist for the past 13+ years in California, Oregon, and Washington for universities, federal agencies, and private industry. Currently, I am the Wildlife Biologist for Sierra Pacific Industries where I oversee all wildlife and fisheries management across 310,000 acres in Washington engaging with state and federal agencies, tribal representatives, and the general public. Our ownership covers lands in southwest Washington from the coast to the Cascade foothills and up to the Canadian border.

In my off time, I enjoy spending time with my dog, hiking, skiing, and canoeing.

- Hello, I am happy to have been elected as your Treasurer where I hope to serve the organization for the next few years. Bruce Thompson left some big shoes to fill, but after his multi-year term, the finances of the Washington Chapter are in great shape! For the previous fifteen-years I have worked for a variety of private and public organizations, collecting and analyzing environmental data, mostly surrounding bird migration and their breeding habits. I now help to manage thousands of acres of wildlife habitat in Washington state. I am committed to enhancing and protecting wildlife habitat in the Pacific Northwest. I have been working as a wildlife biologist and environmental consultant for the last five years, based in Portland. I create and lead species surveys, conduct GIS analysis, coordinate management activities with a variety of stakeholders, create wildlife habitat management plans in both Oregon and Washington. For the ten years previous to my current position, I was a field technician working with raptors across the western United States, studying their breeding ecology and migratory patterns, before returning to school to receive a Master’s in Biology. I recently became a Certified Wildlife Biologist with TWS and I am looking for opportunities to support budding biologists through mentoring and skill sharing. -

Lindsey is the Senior Wildlife Biologist for Manulife Timber and Agriculture. A graduate of Oregon State University, she has over 15 years of experience as a professional biologist and has been a member of TWS for the last 18 years. Her early career focused on fisheries research and monitoring and then expanded to include upland gamebird and ungulate work. She now provides risk mitigation and regulatory compliance oversight for threatened and endangered species on 3.8 million acres of forest and agricultural lands across 19 states and 2 Canadian provinces. Her interest in supporting WA TWS as a board member is to facilitate continued engagement of students and professionals with WA TWS as they move through their careers; and to leverage her broad knowledge to advise on landscape level issues and concerns.

I’m the Habitat Connectivity Biologist for the Washington State Department of Transportation, where I work to increase the ability of animals to safely navigate the highway system and reduce the frequency of dangerous wildlife-vehicle collisions, typically with the aid of wildlife crossing structures. My day-to-day work involves a broad suite of duties, including but not limited to prioritizing locations along the state highway system for habitat connectivity investments, managing an array of ~200 wildlife cameras in priority areas across the state to document wildlife activity and justify investments, monitoring recently completed wildlife crossings for success, modeling wildlife corridors using GIS, managing carcass removal and wildlife-vehicle collision data, finding common sense ways to integrate habitat connectivity elements into other aspects of highway management, such as within the purview of fish barrier removal projects, mentoring Habitat Connectivity Interns, and securing funding for habitat connectivity projects and research. I love my job. Some might even say I’m obsessed with it, but one of my favorite aspects is working with students of all levels, from grade school to graduate degrees – hopefully creating connectivity champions for life. The mission of the Washington Chapter of The Wildlife Society, and the annual meeting, promote an educational framework that enables this type of training. I’ve enjoyed attending TWS annual meetings, which are without a doubt my favorite conferences to present at, and I truly value the opportunity to engage with TWS in an official capacity as a board member. In my free time, I like to think about connectivity (obsessed…), manage personal wildlife cameras, engage in wildlife photography, hike, bike, herp, and play banjo and guitar. I grew up in Kentucky, hence the banjo, earning a B.A. in English with a writing focus from the University of Kentucky before returning to school where I earned a B.S. in Wildlife Management with a GIS certificate from Eastern Kentucky University. One of the best decisions of my life was returning to school for a wildlife degree, as that allowed me to ultimately compete for my dream job. I moved to Washington a couple days after I graduated and was hired into a temporary, 6-month Habitat Connectivity Intern position at WSDOT a few months later. I strung together several temporary positions before being hired as the Assistant Habitat Connectivity Biologist where I served under my predecessor for two years before promoting to the Habitat Connectivity Biologist in 2019.

While I grew up in Kentucky, the Pacific Northwest feels like home. I’ve had a beard since I was a child, my wardrobe consists primarily of flannels, and I love wild places!

Brian Stewart manages Conservation Northwest’s Cascades to Olympics conservation program out of southwest Washington to restore habitat and improve wildlife connectivity between the Cascade Range and Olympic Peninsula. He also represents us in the Chehalis River Alliance, Cascades to Coast Landscape Collaborative and Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group.

Brian Stewart, has lived his entire life in Washington State, living and playing in the wild expanses of the Pacific Northwest. The generational traditions of spending weeks at a time camping at locations like Mt. Rainier and the Hoh River have given Brian a profound love and passion for the local environment and native wildlife. Brian is also an avid lover of music and a lifelong musician, playing the drums, piano, and even occasionally singing for local bands. Brian has an A.A.A.S. in Music/Technology and an A.A. in Environmental Studies from Shoreline College, a B.S. in Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science/Studies, and a Master of Environmental Studies with an emphasis on Habitat Connectivity and Wildlife Crossings from the Evergreen State College.

I am pleased to serve on the WA TWS board and have a passion for linking applied science and management. I am the Director of Forestry Research for the Western U.S. and B.C. for NCASI or the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. I have a PhD in Ecology and Environmental Science from Montana State University and completed my undergraduate degree in Wildlife Management at Cal Poly Humboldt. I have spent just over 20 years engaging in a variety of wildlife related research projects, primarily focused on the influence of forest management on biodiversity and ecosystem function. The research program I oversee for NCASI focuses on wildlife, biodiversity, sustainability, and aquatic ecosystems across private and public managed forests of the Pacific Northwest. This is a pivotal time for our Washington TWS chapter. I am excited to serve in a leadership role and enhance the ability of wildlife professionals to conserve the natural environments we share stewardship of. My past service in professional society leadership includes student representative to The Wildlife Society as an undergraduate (California North Coast Chapter), where we received a Chapter of the Year Award. More recently, I served as treasurer for the Biodiversity Working Group of The Wildlife Society. In addition to The Wildlife Society, I am an active member of the Society of American Foresters, American Ornithological Society, Ecological Society of America, and the Pacific Seabird Group. In my spare time I enjoy hiking, backpacking, kayaking, climbing, and snowboarding with my wife, kids, and our lab-German shepherd mix.