NFS 2022 Volunteers of the Year - We Appreciate You!
Native Fish Society’s River Steward Program exists to empower, inspire and grow a region-wide network of local grassroots advocates dedicated to science-based solutions for their Northwest homewaters and wild, native fish. We are eternally grateful for the dedicated advocacy and support of the volunteers that make up this program - we appreciate you!
Native Fish Society would like to additionally recognize a handful of stand-out volunteers for their hard work throughout 2022 and beyond, continuing to make a difference for wild fish, free-flowing rivers, and thriving communities throughout the Pacific Northwest.
See below for the full list and bio's for the 2022 NFS Volunteers of the Year:
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Tyler Allen
Washington 2022 Volunteer of the Year
In recognition of your indelible contributions to the success of spawning surveys on the White Salmon River
Tyler has volunteered for NFS for over three years. He became very interested in the spawning survey project on the White Salmon and has become a champion of that project. Since Tyler lives in the town of White Salmon, he volunteered to keep the iPads (our volunteers use these to enter the data) at his house. He created a safe and dry storage area for the iPads, allowing our volunteers to come to his house to pick them up. Tyler has also shared his expertise at spawning surveys to help us identify safe and reasonable access points for our survey routes and was a tremendous help during the mouse incursion of 2021 involving the repair of munched-on waders. This project's success depends on our strong volunteer base, and Tyler has been an integral part of its success.
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Dave Thomas
Northern Oregon 2022 Volunteer of the Year
In recognition of your enduring commitment to the protection of wild fish in the Willamette Basin
Long-time River Steward Dave Thomas has always been a stalwart supporter of wild, native fish. Previously, he helped lead a citizen science study in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that found ending the stocking of hatchery rainbow trout on select reaches of the McKenzie led to a remarkable increase in wild rainbow and cutthroat trout. Dave is also deeply knowledgeable about the management of the Army Corps of Engineers dams throughout the Willamette Basin and the spring Chinook hatchery program in the McKenzie. But this year, Dave has added to his existing work as a River Steward by engaging with Eugene Water and Electric Board’s decision whether or not to decommission Leaburg Dam and, along with fellow McKenzie River Steward Chris Daughters, has helped support the fledgling McKenzie River Steward Chapter–a Native Fish Society first.
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Andy Marx
Southern Oregon & Northern California 2022 Volunteer of the Year
In recognition of your steadfast advocacy on behalf of wild fish in the Shasta River
Recognition bio by NFS Southern Oregon & Northern California Coordinator, Kirk Blaine:
"It was early morning on August 18th, and my phone started buzzing. I looked over on the side of the kitchen island to see a text from NFS Shasta River Steward Andy Marx. I began to ponder what Andy might be sending over. A request to go fishing? A discussion about the culvert replacement on the upper Shasta River? I picked up the phone to see a hydrology graph with a dramatic drop in flow on the Shasta River. It seemed as though nothing but a trickle of water remained in this precious Klamath River tributary.
Andy immediately organized, sending out info and contacting the waterboard sharing his concern and anger. Andy was speaking up for the wild, native fish of the Shasta. Hours later, flows were restored, and fish were again allowed to use the Shasta River.
This is just one example of the constant, watchful eye Andy provides to his homewaters. Over the past three years working with Native Fish Society, Andy has consistently been advocating and pushing for the Shasta River and the wild naive fish that call it home. He has, and continues, to advocate for instream flows, increased water quality, and compliance with existing management plans to further the restoration of wild fish in the basin. Not to mention, Andy has his eyes on Dwinnell Dam, a total barrier to fish passage on the Shata River. My guess, with the leadership of Andy, that dam quite possibly could be slated for removal in the near future.
Currently, Andy has been working with California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Karuk Tribe to provide volitional fish passage on Little Springs, a tributary to the Shasta River where an unpassable culvert blocks access to cold, clean spring water for rearing juveniles. Andy and I hope to identify funding to jumpstart this project in 2023.
And Andy has been monumental in providing constant pressure for the removal of the four lower Klamath River Dams, advocating for the waters that could help restore steelhead and salmon in the upper Klamath Basin.
He’s committed to understanding the restoration of wild spring Chinook in the upper Klamath Basin. In the spring of 2022, Andy and I traveled to the Keno Dam, a section of river in the upper Klamath Basin, to meet with ODFW biologist Mark Hereford to discuss the spring Chinook reintroduction plan. Andy is a committed volunteer that continues to push wild fish restoration forward.
This year, Native Fish Society would like to recognize Andy Marx as the Southern Oregon/ Northern California River Steward of the year. His continued dedication and passion bring the region closer to restoring wild native fish and the habitats they call home. Thank you, Andy, for your hard work that continues to make a difference for the fish, communities, and people of Northern California."
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Andrew Langford
2022 Fellow of the Year
In recognition of your extraordinary contribution to the mission of restoring abundant wild fish
Andrew Langford grew up drawn to the natural world and with a heart for justice. His early attraction to art and design became an avenue to contribute towards causes, communities, and values he cared for. His goal is to share worthwhile stories and galvanize communities through great branding and design.
After several serendipitous encounters with NFS staff members, Andrew was eager to collaborate. A designer and art director, Andrew specializes in creating brand visual systems and campaign visuals, skills he applied to numerous projects with the Native Fish Society. Andrew is a designer/art director that specializes in building brand visual systems and campaign visual centers. His existence outside of design is in the wild Pacific Northwest with his family. They enjoy the wonder of nature, eat plenty of dino-chicken, and play in the river as much as possible.
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Philippe Gauthier
2022 Fellow of the Year
In recognition of your extraordinary contribution to the mission of restoring abundant wild fish
Since 2019, Philippe Gauthier has served as a Native Fish Fellow applying his skills as a freelance web developer to improve Native Fish Society’s web presence. As an avid backpacker, fisherman, and lover of wild places, Philippe was drawn to Native Fish Society’s focus on working with grassroots volunteers to protect and restore the Northwest’s wild rivers and native fish. In 2022, Philippe designed and built a brand new website for the Native Fish Society which has helped us reach a much larger audience that primarily consumes media on mobile devices. We’re so grateful for Philippe’s tireless work developing the new site and training our staff to use all of its features. Ultimately, Philippe’s work enables the Native Fish Society to share our work with more interested volunteers and supporters - growing our impact to revive abundant wild fish!
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It takes passionate advocates standing up for their homewaters to ensure we can restore abundant wild fish, free-flowing rivers, and thriving local communities. If you are interested in becoming a river steward and standing up for your homewaters, fill out the form below!