Dr. Karl Wenner (Chair), Klamath Mountains

Dr. Wenner has lived and worked in Klamath Falls for 30 years. He is a retired orthopedic surgeon and operates a 380-acre cattle ranch and 400-acre barley farm in Klamath County. In addition to his medical education, Dr. Wenner has a Masters of Science in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida. He also worked as a waterfowl biologist for the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission before becoming a medical doctor. He served as a co-chair of the Klamath Basin Working Group, a member of the board of the Oregon Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, founding member of the Klamath Watershed Partnership, member of the board of the Klamath Falls chapter of Trout Unlimited. Karl enjoys birding, natural history, fishing, hunting, rafting, foraging, sailing, camping, and hiking.

Mauricio Valadrian (Vice-Chair), at-large

Mauricio Valadrian has been working as a Bilingual content producer and creative director for almost 19 years, and most recently, as a media consultant and diversity communications expert, in both, the private and governmental sectors. For the last 5 years Mauricio has been an active advocate for diversifying access and usage of public natural areas, particularly for families with young children and underrepresented communities. He has worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Urban Refuge Program; with the Intertwine Alliance; and managing content development and community outreach for the Northwest Family Daycation App, a mobile application that uses GPS technology to inspire families to get outside and connect with nature. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Hike It Baby, a non-profit with over 330 chapters across the United States focusing on building community while getting families on trails.

Sristi Kamal, at-large

Sristi Kamal is a wildlife conservation practitioner with a special focus on the human dimensions of conservation, that is, making people part of the conservation equation. She grew up in Assam, India, home to tigers, rhinos, elephants, leopards and other megafauna that fueled her love for wildlife and wild places. She has a Ph.D. in Ecology and has spent time in various parts of the world working on complex conservation issues during her academic and professional career including India, Poland, Haiti, Timor Leste, Ethiopia, and the US. She currently works for Defenders of Wildlife as their Senior Representative and is based out of Portland. Over her career, she has worked with native forest dwellers, nomadic yak herders, landowners and rural communities to support conservation and livelihood issues, and on science-based policy advocacy to promote wildlife conservation. 

In her spare time, Sristi enjoys Oregon's beautiful outdoors hiking, kayaking and backpacking with her dog, Kropka, but her biggest passion after wildlife is the sport of Muay Thai.

Maret Pajutee, East and West Cascades

Maret Pajutee has 25 years’ experience in Natural Resource planning for public lands in sustainable forestry, watershed restoration, recreation management, post-fire rehabilitation, and invasive and rare plant species management. She is an experienced team leader of public land partnerships and collaboration addressing controversial issues such as old growth management, name changes to meet Tribal Trust Responsibilities, and recreation management to protect river values. She is also a founding board member of Deschutes Land Trust Non-Profit organization which has conserved over 9000 acres of high value habitat in the Deschutes River basin. She retired as a District Ecologist for the Sisters Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service in 2016.

Jane Hartline, Willamette Valley

Jane Hartline retired after a 29-year career as Marketing Manager of the Oregon Zoo so that she could do her REAL job --- being more on the front lines of conservation efforts. She brags that since PERS now pays her salary, she can do whatever she wants. “Whatever she wants” includes, among many other things, founding and heading the Sauvie Island Partnership,serving on the Oregon Native Turtle Working Group, the 4-County Weed Management Area and the Oak Prairie working group….AND being a board member for both the West Multnomah Conservation District and the Scappoose Bay Watershed Council.
She is a consummate weed warrior, frog shuttler, volunteer wrangler, and plant, amphibian, pollinator and bird surveyor. And since all that doesn’t keep her busy enough, she also wrangles a flock of sheep and chickens and tries to keep up with her own 3-acre habitat restoration project on her Sauvie Island Farm. In addition, she owns and manages a native plant nursery.

Mark Stern, at-large

Mark Stern is currently the Director of Forest Conservation for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. He has worked on wildlife projects and natural resource issues across much of Oregon over the past 25+ years, including stints in Harney County for the Burns District BLM and the USFWS at Malheur NWR, as well as on wildlife, water and forestry issues with The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. Mark has worked on a wide range of wildlife projects, including fisheries/water birds in the Warner Valley in Lake Co., sandhill cranes, black terns and yellow rails at Sycan Marsh and Lake/Klamath Cos., snowy plovers along the Oregon coast, neotropical migrant song birds in the Willamette Valley, bird banding station on Sauvie Island WMA, western pond turtles in SW OR and more than a dozen different projects involving fisheries, water birds, amphibians & freshwater mollusks in the Klamath Basin and elsewhere. 

Mark has a graduate degree in Wildlife Ecology from Oregon State University and enjoys recreation in Oregon focused on wildlife viewing (birds, elk, sheep, whales, turtles, plants) while hiking, biking, backpacking and camping in Oregon’s vast outdoors.

Kelly Timchak, Nearshore and Coast Range

Kelly Timchak grew up stomping around the creeks of Southeast Missouri and has always had a love for the great outdoors. This love for all things nature drove her to eventually secure a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Southeast Missouri State University and a M.Sc. in Fisheries from the University of New Brunswick (Canada). Kelly has lived in Gold Beach and worked in Curry County since 2005 and has been in her position as the Lower Rogue Watershed Coordinator since May 2012. You might find her coordinating state and federal agencies and other organizations to collaborate on larger projects or building landowner relationships to form restoration and enhancement projects, or working on grant applications, reports and permit applications, or you might find her running smolt traps and monitoring river temperatures. Kelly previously worked for ODFW and the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team before going back to pursue her Master's Degree. She has been serving on the board for the Network of Oregon Watershed Councils since 2013, helping to serve some 60 councils across the state through training, conferences, and networking events, by providing a voice with agencies and funders, by tracking important issues, and by helping councils learn from each other to increase their efficiency and impact. When she is not working, she is busy playing with her family and surfing, skiing, camping, hiking, and gardening.

Liza Jane McAlister, Columbia Plateau and Blue Mountains

Liza Jane McAlister is the owner of the 6 Ranch; a Wallowa County Century Ranch established in 1884 by her great-grandparents. The ranch is a multi-generational operation involving production of grassfed beef and lamb, conservation, and recreation. In 2016, the 6 Ranch received the State Land Board award for their stream restoration projects on the Wallowa River. Liza enjoys her side-line work as a fly-fishing guide on the ranch during the summer months. Liza Jane worked with her community to build a domestic violence shelter and program, serving as the Director for 14 years. She was honored with a National Peace Award for her work in this field. She worked as the Preserve Steward for the Nature Conservancy Zumwalt Prairie Preserve, which included development of their community-based elk and shed hunting programs. Liza Jane has been a member of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement board since 2018 and is currently serving her second term as Co-Chair. Liza Jane is passionate about her family, taking care of the land and preserving western culture and traditions.

Commissioner Mark Labhart, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission

Mark Labhart is a former Tillamook County Commissioner where he served for 12 years. Prior to that he worked for the Oregon Department of Forestry for 34 years with 20 years as the Manager of a majority of the Tillamook State Forest. He was an Incident Commander on one of Oregon Fire Teams for 11 years. He has served terms on the Fish Restoration & Enhancement Board, the STEP Advisory Committee, the Oregon Hatchery Research Center and the ODF&W External Budget Advisory Committee. He chaired the Legislative Task force to find alternate funding sources for ODF&W. Labhart sits on the OSU Sea Grant Advisory Committee as well as the OSU Extension Statewide Advisory Committee. He was a founding member of the Salmon Super Highway Project that looks to restore salmon access to tributaries in Tillamook County. He was chosen as Tillamook County’s Citizen of the Year and volunteer of the year previously and Forester of the Year for Oregon by the Society of American Foresters. His passion is fly fishing in the central Oregon lakes and deer and elk hunting. He and his wife moved to Sisters to be closer to children and especially their grandchildren.

Cailin O’Brien-Feeney, Director, Oregon Office of Outdoor Recreation

Vacant, Northern Basin & Range

Now accepting applications for this seat please apply here!

Joining the Oregon Conservation & Recreation Advisory Committee

Responsibilities and Expectations of Committee Members:

• Expect to attend about 10 virtual meetings per year (~3-4 hours per meeting).
• At some point in the future, the Committee will resume in-person meetings (4-5 per year) in various locations around the state.
• Prepare for meetings by reviewing materials, considering project proposals, and considering potential recommendations to the Commission.
• Become familiar with the Oregon Conservation Strategy and the stakeholders of both the Fund and ODFW.
• Committee members will not be compensated for their time and participation. Travel related to Committee meetings will be a covered expense.

You might be interested in joining the Advisory Committee if you possess:

• Demonstrable scientific expertise related to one of the Oregon Conservation Strategy Ecoregions.
• Interest in fish and wildlife conservation.
• Interest in outdoor recreation, especially wildlife-associated recreation such as wildlife viewing, nature photography, urban conservation, nature tourism, outdoor education, or community science.
• Experience engaging youth, underserved communities, and diverse audiences in fish and wildlife conservation and recreation.
• Interest in the economic, social, and educational benefits of healthy ecosystems.

Applying for a position on the Oregon Conservation & Recreation Advisory Committee

To submit yourself for consideration, review the materials on the Governor’s Boards and Commissions page. When you are prepared to apply, you must submit your application materials for the Governor’s consideration through Workday. Contact odfw.ocrf@odfw.oregon.gov with any questions at any stage of the process and to confirm that your materials were received.

Criteria for membership on the Committee

The Commission adopted Administrative Rules governing the Oregon Conservation & Recreation Advisory Committee on October 11, 2019. The final rules are accessible in OAR 635 Division 98. Rules governing membership appear in OAR 635-098-0040 and are copied below.

(a)The advisory committee shall consist of nine members appointed by the Governor.

(b)Six members of the advisory committee shall be appointed to represent one of each of the ecoregions described below, which are documented and described in the Oregon Conservation Strategy. To represent an ecoregion, the member shall live in and possess demonstrable scientific expertise related to the ecoregion:

(A) Nearshore Marine or Coast Range
(B) Willamette Valley
(C) Klamath Mountains
(D) West Cascades or East Cascades
(E) Columbia Plateau or Blue Mountains
(F) Northern Basin and Range

(c) Three members of the advisory committee shall be appointed from Oregon-at-large. These three members shall have an interest in fish and wildlife conservation or outdoor recreation, especially wildlife-associated recreation such as wildlife viewing, nature photography, nature tourism, outdoor education, or community science.

(d) In making appointments of all nine advisory committee members, consideration should be given to appointing members who possess experience engaging youth, underserved communities and diverse audiences, such as communities of color, tribes, and low income communities,in conservation and recreation activities. Consideration should also be given to members with interests in the economic, social, and educational benefits of healthy ecosystems.

(e) Consideration should be given to ensuring that the advisory committee membership reflects the demographic and geographic diversity of Oregon.

(f) The Associate Director of Outdoor Recreation, or the Associate Director’s designee, shall serve as a non-voting, ex-officio member on the advisory committee.

(g) One member of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission may be designated by the Commission to serve as a non-voting ex-officio member on the advisory committee.