WILD FISH CONSERVANCY NORTHWEST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Biologist and GIS Specialist
- Project Manager With the
Adrian Tuohy joined Wild Fish Conservancy in 2012. He studied at the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, earning a Master of Science degree in 2018 and a Bachelor of Science degree in 2014. Adrian further has a background in economics and environmental studies, gaining his Bachelor of Arts degree from Whitman College in 2011. Adrian contributes to the organization's research and outreach efforts as a biologist and project manager. Presently, he leads various projects developing and researching sustainable commercial fishing practices in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Adrian has managed WFC's scientific evaluation of the pound net ('fish trap') for sustainable, selective salmon harvesting in the Columbia River since 2016. He further co-managed WFC's nearshore juvenile fish use assessment studies in Hood Canal and Puget Sound between 2016-2018. While primarily focusing on development and research of sustainable commercial salmon fisheries, Adrian contributes to a variety of WFC's science projects through data collection, data analysis, reporting, publication, and outreach activities. He currently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Michelle.
Job Titles:
- Chief Engineer / Ecologist
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Artist
Candace Beardslee is an internationally recognized artist/metalsmith. She is a founding member of Wild Fish Conservancy and was a founding member and past Trustee and Conservation Chair of Northwest Women Flyfishers. She has served on City of Duvall committees overseeing sewer issues and Comprehensive-Plan revisions, as an appointed member of the Washington Fisheries Management Task Force, served on the citizens advisory committee for the 2006 King County Flood Hazard Management Plan, and was chair of the Seattle Metals Guild Symposium committee for several years. Candace received a BA in art education from Central Washington University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington. In addition to her board duties, she designs the Wild Fish Journal, the annual newsletter of the Wild Fish Conservancy, and is a full-time studio artist. She lives in Duvall with her husband Kurt.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Professor Emeritus at the Flathead Lake Biological Station of the University of Montana
Jack Stanford is Professor Emeritus at the Flathead Lake Biological Station of The University of Montana, where he has worked since 1972. He has graduated 13 PhD and 28 MS students and published over 220 scientific papers. Professor Stanford is most noted for his long-term studies in the 18,200 km 2 Flathead River-Lake Ecosystem in Montana and British Columbia that demonstrated the 4 dimensional nature of rivers, ecological connectivity of aquatic systems, and food web cascades caused by introduction of nonnative species. In 1999 Dr. Stanford began long term research on a suite of observatory salmon rivers in Kamchatka, Argentina, Alaska, and Washington, Montana and British Columbia. The research focuses on cross-site comparisons of salmon and steelhead phenology, adaptation and productivity and relationships with brown bears and other consumer species. Professor Stanford has served on many national and international science review panels and editorial boards concerning issues such as climate warming, endangered species and water quantity and quality. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science in 2000. In 2004 Professor Stanford received the Award of Excellence of the Society for Freshwater Science, and in 2011 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for River Science. He resides on the Twisp River, Washington, with wife, Bonnie.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Boardmember
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- President of the Board
Job Titles:
- Founding Member
- Member of the Board
- Secretary of the Board
- Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Director of Science and Research
Joe Verrelli lives in the small town of Quilcene, WA on the Hood Canal. For ten years he worked for the Northwest Watershed Institute leading crews of tree planters and ecologists during the restoration of Tarboo Creek, a salmon stream just outside of Quilcene. Joe has also worked as a commercial salmon fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska and as a commercial mushroom harvester all up and down the West Coast. After receiving his Associates of Applied Science from Peninsula College, Joe spent a lot of his free time volunteering with Wild Fish Conservancy, beach seining for juvenile salmon in the Hood Canal. He was hired on as a field technician in January of 2018. Joe is very excited about his first year working on the pound net project in Cathlamet, WA.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Director of Special Projects
Kurt Beardslee is a co-founder of the Wild Fish Conservancy and served as the organization's Executive Director for over 30 years. In May of 2022, Kurt moved to a new position as Director of Special Projects. In this new role, Kurt will continue to serve as a leader on a number of WFC's priority science, education, and advocacy initiatives. Over the years he has enjoyed working with staff on a variety of wild fish issues, from Central California to Northern Alaska. Previously Kurt worked as an art director in an advertising agency producing educational films for the National Science Foundation. A lifelong Washingtonian, Kurt enjoys boating, fishing and exploring the remote coastal fjords of northern Canada with his wife Candy and his dogs Wally and Fred.
Job Titles:
- Projects Manager / Field Biologist