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)

Dr. Scott Foott, project leader of the California and Nevada Fish Health Center, received a 2008 Regional Director’s award for Outstanding Scientific Contribution at the Region 8 All Project Leaders meeting June 24, 2008 in Monterey, Calif.

Both Foott and the Center are widely recognized and respected for their scientific excellence. Foott’s command of fish pathology and his ability to help other project leaders and Fish and Wildlife Offices and Fish Hatcheries is highly valued, both within the Service and among our partners. Foott and the Center have provided support to efforts to recover Lahontan cutthroat trout, winter-run Chinook salmon, delta smelt, Klamath Lake suckers, and Devils Hole pupfish, as well as supporting efforts to restore salmon on the Klamath River and throughout the Sacramento and San Joaquin systems.

Foott’s work in the Klamath River system was instrumental in identifying the parasite Ceratomyxa shasta as a factor limiting survival of juvenile salmon. Over the last year, Foott engaged partners to develop a cooperative applied research effort directed at breaking the lifecycle of the Ceratomyxa shasta in the Klamath River. The initial stages of developing hypotheses with an expert panel and obtaining support from fisheries groups within California and Oregon has been successful. Improving survival of juvenile salmonids in the Klamath River is a focus of efforts to restore the river. Foott’s work has the potential to make a major contribution to this effort.

Other areas in which Foott contributes to the science supporting management of aquatic species include: assessing the health of threadfin shad and longfin smelt in the Delta as part of the Pelagic Organism Decline studies through the Interagency Ecological Program; investigating the health effects of adverse water quality conditions typical of Upper Klamath Lake on Klamath Lake suckers; studying potential bacterial kidney disease control measures to help support the role of Lahontan National Fish Hatchery in recovering Lahontan cutthroat trout; and working with the Service’s Devils Hole Pupfish Recovery Coordinator to determine if adjacent populations of pupfish also have lymphosarcoma, a disease causing mortality for the few remaining Devils Hole pupfish.

Foott continues to show high levels of initiative in building the diagnostic capabilities of the Center, despite a very limited budget. Under Foott’s leadership, the Center continues incorporate new technologies and to develop state-of-the-art molecular and physiological assays to improve their abilities to provide scientific support to Service offices throughout Region 8 and to many Service partners.

His outstanding scientific contributions are demonstrated by the wide variety of projects handled through his office, the continued growth in the capabilities of his office, and the numerous presentations and publications he and his crew generated the last year, including half a dozen scientific reports and three peer reviewed articles published in scientific journals.