Idaho People

Courtney Conway Unit Leader Email: cconway@usgs.gov Website: http://www.cals.arizona.edu/research/azfwru/cjc/ Tel: (208) 885 - 6176

I received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University, a M.S. in Zoology from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. in Organismal Biology & Ecology from the University of Montana. I grew up in Cincinnati and spent many of my weekends camping, hiking, backpacking, and climbing in OH, KY, and WV. I was motivated to find a career where I could continue to do these activities as part of my job, while still contributing to science.

Christine Moffitt Assistant Unit Leader Email: cmoffitt@uidaho.edu Tel: (208) 885 - 7047

Dr. Christine Moffitt received a BA in Biology from the University of California, MA in Biological Sciences from Smith College, and a PhD in Fisheries Biology from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Michael Quist Assistant Unit Leader Email: mcquist@uidaho.edu Website: http://webpages.uidaho.edu/quistlab/ Tel: (208) 885 - 4064

Mike received his BS in Fishery Resources from the University of Idaho, MS in Biology from Kansas State University, and a PhD in Biology from Kansas State University. Mike joined the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in 2010, where he is an Assistant Unit Leader and Assistant Professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at the University of Idaho.

Tasha Britton Email: brit5796@vandals.uidaho.edu

Sophomore at the U of I
Major- Fisheries Resources
Minor- Statistics and Geography
From Spokane, Washington

I chose fisheries because my dad is a fly fishing guide and I have spent a great majority of my life on rivers fishing. My dad always taught me to go into something that I care about and enjoy.

Jenna Davis Email: davi8104@vandals.uidaho.edu

My name is Jenna Davis, I am a Senior at University of Idaho. I will be graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Fisheries Resources from the College of Natural Resources. I have been working with Amber Barenberg and Christine Moffit for a little under a year working with New Zealand Mud Snails and Asian Clams.

Candy Ihm Email: cihm@uidaho.edu Tel: (208) 885 - 6336

David Johnson Email: djowl@aol.com

Juan Ortiz-Perez Email: orti1575@vandals.uidaho.edu

Nicholas Porter Email: port5518@vandals.uidaho.edu

I was born and raised in St. Maries, Idaho. I grew up much as many of us fisheries people do, with a deep love for fishing and the outdoors. This recreational pastime developed into an interest in managing our fisheries populations. I am interested in managing lakes and rivers for both sport fishes and non-game fish. I am currently attending the University of Idaho and will receive my bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife Resources in December of 2012.

Travis Schill Email: schi7150@vandals.uidaho.edu

Current undergraduate and full time student in fisheries resources at the University of Idaho. Working for John Walrath on Lake Coeur D’Alene as a field technician studying predation of northern pike and smallmouth bass on westslope cutthroat trout.

Justin Shearer Email: shea2723@vandals.uidaho.edu

Bio: Justin Shearer. 22 yrs old. From Idaho Falls, ID
Studying Environmental Science at The University of Idaho since 2008. Will graduate in December 2012. I enjoy the outdoors, science, family and friends, playing the harmonica, and overall just having a good time.

Katelyn Wilcox Email: wilc2795@vandals.uidaho.edu

I am from Arcata, California, which is right on the north coast and is known as 6 rivers area. Since the time I was baby in a backpack, my dad and I have fished all these rivers and I grew to love every second that I was in the water. Because of this, I chose to come to U of I to major in Fishery Resources. I hope to spend the rest of my life working around and in the water.

Tiffani Wilson Email: wils3915@vandals.uidaho.edu

I moved to Moscow from Quincy, California where I graduated from Feather River Community College with two degrees, Environmental Studies, A.S. and Biology, A.S. I am currently a Fishery Resources major at University of Idaho and will graduate in December, 2012. In 2008 and 2009 I worked for California Department of Fish and Game on a project eradicating Northern pike from Lake Davis. I have worked for the University of Idaho since 2010 where I was employed at the Aquaculture Research Institute for a year and a half, and I currently work at the paddlefish lab under Dr. Scarnecchia aging jawbones. In summer 2012, I worked for Dr. Quist and his graduate student John Walrath on a research project at Lake Couer d'Alene. I am passionate about fisheries and look forward to continuing my career after graduation.

Charles Withers-Haley Email: with0482@vandals.uidaho.edu

I was born in McCall, ID, and raised mostly in Donnelly, ID, in the mountains of central Idaho, I love to fish and have spent a lot of my spare time fishing. Before I came to the University of Idaho, I received an AA in Wildlife and Fisheries at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, OR. At the University of Idaho, I am double majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife, and I would like to minor in aquaculture. Before I started in college, I spent much of my time working at home, then moved on to construction. After I started college, I worked two summers for Idaho Department of Fish and Game as a bio-aide for both Paul Janssen, and Gene McPherson.

Jarrod Yates Email: yate9486@vandals.uidaho.edu

I am originally from southwest Washington, where I earned my A.A. in Natural Resource Management from Centralia Community College. I am currently a senior in Fishery Resources here at the University of Idaho, where I have gained valuable field experience working on a wide variety of projects as a technician for the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. In my spare time, I enjoy fishing, big game hunting, and playing basketball.

Amber Barenberg Email: bare6282@vandals.uidaho.edu

I am an Idaho native and have lived here all my life. After graduating high school in Middleton I pursued a college degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Spanish at the University of Idaho. My junior year in college I studied abroad in Costa Rica for 1 year studying tropical marine biology. After graduating college in 2010 I worked for Idaho Department of Fish and Game first in Nampa Idaho and then later transferred to Lewiston Idaho. I returned to University of Idaho in January of 2012 to pursue a M.S. in fisheries resources working with invasive species under the mentoring of Dr. Christine Moffitt.

Kathi Borgmann Email: borgmann@email.arizona.edu Tel: (520) 621 - 1959

Lubia Cajas Cano Email: lubiacajas@vandals.uidaho.edu

Kristen Dillon Email: dillon@uidaho.edu

I am a native of New England, but have spent the last 13 years wandering the western US and tend to call the desert southwest my home. I'm an avian ecologist interested in conservation, life history evolution, and behavioral ecology.

Marika Dobos Email: dobo6458@vandals.uidaho.edu

L. Dornak Email: lldornak@uidaho.edu Tel: (208) 885 - 3907

I have a BS and MS in Biology from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kansas. I am currently a post-doc in the Gap Analysis Program.

Jesse Fischer Email: fischer@iastate.edu

Jesse received his BA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a major in fisheries and wildlife. After graduating, he earned his MS from Kansas State University while studying prairie stream fish assemblages and sampling methodologies. Jesse is currently a doctoral student focusing on understanding how lentic fish assemblages and population characteristics reflect ecological integrity.

Amanda Goldberg Email: gold1163@vandals.uidaho.edu

I earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.S. from Kansas State University. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer, hiking, canoeing, and photography.

Zach Klein Email: klei7686@vandals.uidaho.edu Tel: (303) 249 - 4190

I graduated from Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL in 2008. After graduating, I moved to the west to work for Idaho Fish and Game and Alaskan Observers Inc. until present. I am currently pursuing a Master's degree at the University of Idaho.

Carl Lundblad Email: lundblad@uidaho.edu

A native of New Mexico and Arizona, I've spent most of my life in the desert southwest exploring its wild lands as an enthusiastic traveler, hiker, birdwatcher, naturalist, and student of ecology.

Elizabeth Ng Email: ng1262@vandals.uidaho.edu

I received a BA in Biology from Pomona College in 2010. Since graduating I have worked for the New Jersey Audubon Society, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and most recently, the US Geological Survey. At USGS I conducted field studies investigating juvenile habitat use and recruitment of two species of endangered suckers in Klamath Falls, OR. My master's research includes a study of population dynamics and trophic ecology of non-native lake trout in Priest Lake, ID.

Tim Parks Email: tparks@iastate.edu

Tim graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a B.S. in Fisheries and Water Resources. Prior to graduate school, he has worked as a Fish Technician for the US Forest Service and the Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game. Currently, his MS research focuses on describing the distribution of fish species of greatest conservation need in nonwadeable rivers and understanding the effect of dams on fish assemblage structure. In his freetime, Tim enjoys playing the guitar loud in local garage bands, skateboarding transitional concrete structures, homebrewing with friends, and fishing from shore.

Zachary Penney Email: penn4282@vandals.uidaho.edu

Where I am from: Wallace, Idaho

B.Sc. Aquatic Resources: Sheldon Jackson College, Sitka, Alaska
M.Sc. of Earth and Ocean Science: University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia

Research interests: I am presently studying fish physiology and bioenergetics, specifically freshwater reproduction in Snake River steelhead trout. I studied age and growth composition of coho salmon as a senior thesis during undergraduate degree and examined trace element chemistry in sockeye salmon otoliths for my Master's degree.

Interests outside of school: Like most fisheries biologists, I love to fish. As a Nez Perce tribal member I enjoy fishing for salmon and steelhead using rod and reel, dip-nets, spears, and gaffs. Growing up in North Idaho I also enjoyed angling for Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass in the Coeur 'd Alene Lake system, as well as fly fishing for cutthroat trout in the north fork of the Coeur 'd Alene River.

Christopher Smith Email: smit8051@vandals.uidaho.edu

With an upbringing on a family farm in rural northwest Iowa, I developed an interest in the management and preservation of natural resources. Subsequently, I attended Iowa State University (ISU) with a major of Animal Ecology and an emphasis in fisheries to pursue this interest. Once I graduated with my B.S. from ISU in 2011, I accepted a graduate research assistantship (MS) with the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. More specifically, my research focuses on an assessment of different sampling techniques for juvenile burbot in the Kootenai River. When I am not working, I enjoy fishing, hunting, and many other outdoor activities.

Zach Swearingen Email: zachary.swearingen@idfg.idaho.gov

I earned a B.S. in Biology from Boise State University. I am currently working for the Idaho Fish and Game in addition to pursuing a M.S. at University of Idaho.

John Walrath Email: walr7955@vandals.uidaho.edu

John grew up in the heart of Nebraska and received a BA in Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010. His undergraduate experience consists of assisting Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit graduate students during the academic years and working for Idaho Department of Fish and Game during the summers. Prior to becoming a part of the Idaho Cooperative Research Unit as a MS student he worked for Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. His research is focused on the effects of introduced northern pike and smallmouth bass on adfluvial cutthroat trout in the Lake Coeur d'Alene system. John enjoys biking, hunting, fishing, and backpacking in his free time.

Steven Whitlock Email: whit4614@vandals.uidaho.edu

I received a BS in biology from Northland College (northern Wisconsin) in 2010. While in school I interned for three years at the USGS Lake Superior Biological Station where I assisted with trawling, hydroacoustics, and analysis of historical fisheries data. After graduating, I worked as a technician for the BLM in Oregon assessing stream habitat condition and mapping channel morphology. My master’s research involves characterizing kokanee reproductive ecology in Lake Pend Oreille, ID and determining the effects of water level manipulation on the availability spawning habitat.