NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest Service Washington, D.C.
Release No. FS-0534	Contact:	Press Office, (202) 205-1134

STOUDER SELECTED TO LEAD FOREST SERVICE’S RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR WILDLIFE, FISH, WATERSHED AND AIR

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2005 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth today appointed Dr. Deanna J. Stouder as the national director of wildlife, fish, watershed and air research.

The wildlife, fish, watershed and air research staff, which is a part of the agency’s research and development deputy area, enhances understanding of organisms, populations, ecosystems, and ecological processes. Information provided by this research is crucial to helping the agency comply with requirements of key environmental statutes, including the National Forest Management Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

“The Forest Service’s research into the field of wildlife, fish, watersheds and air significantly contributes to the health and sustainability of forest, rangeland and aquatic ecosystems,” said Bosworth. “Deanna not only brings a great deal of talent and professionalism to this position, but also an enormous amount of enthusiasm and commitment to research in these important areas.”

Since 2003, Stouder has been serving as assistant director for the agency’s watershed, fish, wildlife, air and rare plants staff within the national forest system deputy area. She joined the Forest Service in 1998 as the program manager of the aquatic and land interactions research and development program at the Pacific Northwest Research Station in Portland, Ore. Before then she was a unit leader within the U.S. Geological Survey's cooperative fish and wildlife research program in Ohio. She has also been a professor at The Ohio State University and the University of Washington.

“I am delighted to accept this new challenge and look forward to working with such a high-caliber staff,” said Stouder. “The research being conducted in this field is so vital to helping to keep our nation’s forests strong and healthy.”

Stouder received her doctorate in ecology from the University of Georgia, Athens, in 1990. She also holds a master’s in biology and a bachelor’s in aquatic biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is an active member of many professional societies, including the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, American Fisheries Society, and Ecological Society of America. Stouder also serves on the Editorial Board for "Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.” She was recently selected as a member of the federal government’s senior executive service.

Stouder will report to her new post July 11.

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