The wild inhabitants of the Alps depend upon the careful stewardship of our public lands. Join our online Public Lands Forum to hear from and ask question of local land and wildlife stewards about what what is being done to protect our wildlife from the growing human presence. As a bonus, we will highlight some wildlife and landscape photography from some of our local artists.
Details
Date: Monday, May 16h
Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Location: Online. Details provided upon registration
Panelists
Chris Anderson, District Wildlife Biologist, WA State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Chris is assigned to the most urban district in the state – King County – which holds 1/3 of the human population in the state. This results in much people management, along with wildlife management, on almost a daily basis – never a dull moment!
Forum Topic: The State’s terrestrial wildlife regulations and protections. plus human-wildlife interactions and conflict reduction-management.
Kelly Heintz, Natural Resources Land Planner, King Co. Dept. of Natural Resources & Parks
Kelly is a program manager with King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Prior to that she was a Natural Areas Manager at Washington Department of Natural Resources in the South Puget Sound Region. Kelly secures grants and other funding to acquire high conservation value natural lands as part of the county’s Land Conservation Initiative. She engages the community around stewardship, public access, and use of those lands. Kelly earned a M.S. in Natural Resources Management from the University of Washington College of Forest Resources.
Forum Topic: King County’s Land Conservation Initiative and how the County considers wildlife in their conservation acquisitions.
Jeff Watling, Director of Parks & Community Services, City of Issaquah
Jeff is the parks and community services director for the City of Issaquah, serving in that role since 2016. Jeff has worked as a parks and recreation director for over twenty years, leading parks organizations throughout the region, including the City of Kent and the City of Sammamish prior to Issaquah. His strategic thinking has led to critical organizational and park system initiatives such as key land acquisitions, park development, the establishment of parks commissions, partnerships with allied organizations, and successful efforts to build consensus and balance competing public values. Jeff has a passion for public spaces and the role they play in supporting healthy communities and healthy people.
Forum Topics: City of Issaquah’s Coexisting with Carnivores program, plus two updates: What’s new at Harvey Manning Park on Cougar Mt. and the City’s recent acquisition of a 20-acre parcel on Squak Mt.
Glen Kalisz, Habitat Connectivity Biologist, WA State Dept. of Transportation
Glen is the Habitat Connectivity Biologist for the Washington State Department of Transportation. In a nutshell, his job involves helping animals safely navigate the state highway system while finding ways to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. He was born and raised in central Kentucky and moved to Washington State after receiving a Wildlife Management B.S. and G.I.S. certification from Eastern Kentucky University. He spends his free time hiking, photographing wildlife, and volunteering for other wildlife-related projects, such as assisting with cougar captures for GPS collaring. He is passionate about all forms of wildlife conservation, but has a special affinity for carnivores and herpetofauna.
Forum Topic: The wildlife corridors created in the SR 18 widening project from Issaquah Hobart to Deep Creek.
The IATC Public Lands Forum engages our community in topics important to the preservation and protection of our natural lands and their wild inhabitants.
As always, this event is free and open to the public.