Three Service employees were recognized for their outstanding scientific contributions in June when they received regional director awards. FWS Director Dale Hall (left), Dr. John Scott Foott, Nick Hetrick, Tom Shaw, Deputy Regional Director Ken McDermond and Regional Director Steve Thompson at the award ceremony in Monterey, Calif. (photo by Scott Flaherty)

Nick Hetrick and Tom Shaw of the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Office were presented Regional Director’s Awards June 24 for their work in developing the scientific underpinnings of the Klamath Restoration Agreement as they relate to anadromous fish.  The awards were presented by Regional Director Steve Thompson during the Region 8 All Project Leaders Meeting in Monterey, Calif.,  Hetrick and Shaw share the award because their efforts as a team have been inextricably linked and synergistic.

The Klamath Restoration Agreement is an ongoing effort to address the needs of the stakeholders in the Klamath Basin, from the headwaters in Oregon to the estuary in northern California. Representatives of diverse communities are working with federal, state, and county governments to develop an agreement to rebuild fisheries, sustain agricultural communities, and resolve other longstanding disputes related to the allocation of water resources.

Key to many stakeholders, and to the Service, was to find a way to ensure that any restoration agreement conserved and restored populations of anadromous fish in the Klamath Basin. Beginning in 2006, Shaw and Hetrick lead the development of the initial scientific basis related to anadromous fish for a possible Klamath-basin wide restoration agreement. 

Shaw and Hetrick took responsibility for bringing together vast amounts of information concerning the Basin’s hydrology, instream habitats, anadromous fish populations and life histories, fish diseases, and water quality to assess the potential impacts of restoration scenarios on anadromous fish. Working with numerous partners, they were able to marry the best available science with innovative thinking to model the effects of restoration options on salmon.  As the modeling efforts grew increasingly sophisticated, Shaw and Hetrick communicated with others on the Klamath Science Group to foster understanding of the outcomes to the fish populations.

As the Klamath Restoration Agreement neared completion, Shaw and Hetrick played key roles in explaining the effects and value of the proposed agreement on the anadromous fish population. The success of this process was due in large part to the development of an outstanding science summary document, authored primarily by the two Service employees.  

The contributions made by Shaw and Hetrick go beyond the tangible written documents and analyses.  Their information was heavily used throughout the restoration agreement talks