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Rick - Environmental Protection Specialist


On any given day I might receive a telephone call about a wind farm in Montana, a fish hatchery in Washington, or a stream restoration project in Oregon. I work for the environmental planning and analysis group at BPA. As a federal agency, BPA is required to consider the environmental impacts of all of its actions. This responsibility is based in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as many other laws that have an effect on the way the agency does business, like the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act.

There are about 30 environmental professionals in my group, and together we try to make certain that every agency action is in compliance with these complex laws. I’ve worked on projects representing all areas of the agency. I sometimes work on the interconnection of wind generation projects to the BPA transmission system, or on the acquisition of renewable power. I also have between 10 and 30 active fish and wildlife projects to work on at any given time.

Some of my favorite projects have been the acquisition and retirement of consumptive water rights for the purpose of increasing stream flows in the Columbia River Basin. I also take pleasure in working with habitat restoration programs, where a number of potential projects such as culvert removal, riparian fencing, and upgrade of irrigation diversions, are prioritized for completion and accomplished over the long term. Over time, you can see the benefits of each individual project add up at the ecosystem level.

Sometimes I am required to travel to project sites in order to gather data for the environmental documents I prepare. This has afforded me the opportunity to visit many beautiful Northwest places. I also spend a lot of time reviewing and writing, as well as managing the work of expert consultants such as archaeologists and wetlands specialists. My experience in wildlife biology and natural resources law and policy have helped me take on this wide range of duties. And…who knows what sort of calls I’ll be getting tomorrow?
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     Page last modified on Monday April 12, 2004.