Message from Sheldon-Hart Mtn Project Director John Kasbohm
As is the case with much in life, nothing stays the same for long. Likewise, change is upon us at the Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Unfortunately for the Refuges, since June we’ve lost three key staff members. Mike Webster, our heavy equipment operator on Sheldon NWR, retired. In addition, Refuge Ranger Aaron Collins, our Visitor Services, planning and wilderness lead, and Wildlife Biologist Gail Collins, our biological program lead, resigned from the Service and are moving to Idaho. We thank all three for their years of service and significant contributions to the Refuges, and wish them all the best as they move on to pursue new opportunities.
While we will miss Aaron, Gail and Mike, these staff departures offered an opportunity to re-evaluate our staffing and propose potential changes to Regional leadership in Portland to better align our workforce with current priorities and needs. As a result, you will be seeing several new faces on the Refuges over the next year as we recruit and hire seven new employees. These will include refilling the Hart Mountain Refuge Manager position, vacated by Jeff Mackay in early 2017, and replacing behind Mike and Gail with a new heavy equipment operator for Sheldon NWR, and a lead Wildlife Population Biologist for the Complex. In addition, we will be recruiting for another biologist to focus on the detection, treatment and eradication of invasive weeds and two Wildlife Refuge Specialists (essentially assistant managers), one to be stationed on each of the Refuges, that will focus on routine day-to-day tasks. Finally we will be hiring a new Partnerships Corridor Biologist that will work to foster relationships and develop on the ground projects with adjacent private landowners and BLM personnel to advance wildlife needs and conservation for those species like pronghorn and sage grouse that can’t survive just on refuge managed lands. These approved hires are very good news as they will allow us to add staff capacity that we have been lacking for many years.
If you are visiting Hart Mountain or Lakeview, please feel free to stop by and reacquaint yourselves with current staff and introduce yourselves to these new personnel.
While we will miss Aaron, Gail and Mike, these staff departures offered an opportunity to re-evaluate our staffing and propose potential changes to Regional leadership in Portland to better align our workforce with current priorities and needs. As a result, you will be seeing several new faces on the Refuges over the next year as we recruit and hire seven new employees. These will include refilling the Hart Mountain Refuge Manager position, vacated by Jeff Mackay in early 2017, and replacing behind Mike and Gail with a new heavy equipment operator for Sheldon NWR, and a lead Wildlife Population Biologist for the Complex. In addition, we will be recruiting for another biologist to focus on the detection, treatment and eradication of invasive weeds and two Wildlife Refuge Specialists (essentially assistant managers), one to be stationed on each of the Refuges, that will focus on routine day-to-day tasks. Finally we will be hiring a new Partnerships Corridor Biologist that will work to foster relationships and develop on the ground projects with adjacent private landowners and BLM personnel to advance wildlife needs and conservation for those species like pronghorn and sage grouse that can’t survive just on refuge managed lands. These approved hires are very good news as they will allow us to add staff capacity that we have been lacking for many years.
If you are visiting Hart Mountain or Lakeview, please feel free to stop by and reacquaint yourselves with current staff and introduce yourselves to these new personnel.
John W. Kasbohm
Project Leader
Sheldon-Hart Mountain NWRC
Project Leader
Sheldon-Hart Mountain NWRC