Executive Director

Margaret has been a key part of growing the organization. Margaret has more than 30 years of experience in watershed restoration, including organizational, grant, and program management. In addition to leading the organization, Margaret is also responsible for project development and implementation in the Klickitat, White Salmon and Wind River watersheds. Margaret joined Mid-Columbia Fisheries in 2005

Yakima Basin Program Director

Rebecca joined Mid-Columbia Fisheries in 2008. She is responsible for project development and implementation in the Yakima Basin, which encompasses most of Kittitas, Yakima and Benton counties. Rebecca brings six years of experience as a fisheries biologist with the USDA Forest Service to this position.

Bookkeeper

Rhonda joined Mid-Columbia Fisheries in 2012 and has had a long career in bookkeeping.  In addition to working for Mid-Columbia Fisheries, Rhonda owns Gorge Bookkeeping.

Riparian Program Director

Katrina has been with MCF since 2012, and brings over 25 years of ecological restoration experience to the team.  Katrina manages all aspects of riparian restoration projects for MCF.  She has managed ecological restoration projects in numerous habitats, and managed landscape-scale inventories (meadows, forests and shrub-steppe), invasive plant management, native plant propagation, vegetation monitoring and rare plant management. Prior to MCF she worked for the Yakama Nation and the National Park Service.  She has an M.S. in Biology and Community Ecology from California State San Francisco

Outreach and Communications Director

Merritt joined the MCF team in 2016.  She received her B.S. from the University of South Florida and a M.S. in Environmental Science and Education at Lesley College in Massachusetts. Merritt’s career experience includes being part of the opening team of The Florida Aquarium where she developed, marketed and implemented educational outreach programs for the public and recruited, trained and managed facility volunteers, and as External Affairs Manager/Ombudsman for the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She loves working on issues in the lower Yakima river and all of MCF’s educational outreach, media and social media.

Upper Yakima Project Manager

Mike is a dedicated naturalist working in the Upper Yakima Basin, where he applies his lifelong passion for studying and restoring streams. With degrees in Biology and Computer Science, along with certifications in GIS and Teaching, he focuses on low-tech, process-based restoration of deeply incised tributaries using beaver dam analogs, post-assisted log structures, and small wood placements. He is also developing the Upper Yakima Beaver Program, which promotes public education, habitat restoration, and coexistence strategies, with a trap-and-relocation component for cases where coexistence isn’t feasible. His work aims to enhance habitat conditions and support natural stream processes throughout the basin.

Middle and Lower River Project Manager

Moving from the heart of the Appalachian Mountains (West Virginia), Zac joins the MCF team with a diverse background. Zac has both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the West Virginia University and has spent time studying Panax quinquefolus (American Ginseng) along its entire native range during his B.S, and spending a decade of winters as a snowboard coach, countless whitewater trips, to completing a M.S in Fisheries Biology where his project sought to address habitat stability in headwater systems and how temporal pool availability impacts fish population dynamics.

Education and Riparian Outreach Coordinator

Tori Wood has joined our team as the new Education and Riparian Outreach Coordinator.  Tori has a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and recently completed a Masters of Science in Environmental Education from Southern Oregon University. Her work experience includes a combination of organizing and leading volunteer events to improve wildlife habitat and teaching community members of all ages about the ecology of the Pacific Northwest.  Tori spent two seasons as an intern with our partner organization, the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, where she developed a passion for connecting people with the natural world and empowering people to be better stewards of salmonids and their habitat.

Operations and Outreach Coordinator

Emily first joined the team as an intern in 2016, and after graduating from Central Washington Univeristy with a Environmental Biology. Since this time Emily has held many hats at MCF. After a breif departure, Emily is excited to be back at Mid Columbia Fisheries because she is passionate about natural resources, habitat restoration, and operational organization. In her free time she loves being outside, baking, and spending time with her family.

Riparian Project Manager

Steven joined MCF in 2022 after receiving his B.S. from Central Washington University and finishing two field seasons with WDFW. His professional interests lie within stream and wildfire ecology, ecological succession, and statistics. In his free time, he enjoys many activities- including fly fishing, bird hunting, and chess.

Restoration Crew Supervisor and Volunteer

Aaron joined the MCF team in 2018 after graduating from CWU with a bachelors in Biology. In his free time he enjoys lifting weights and cooking (and eating) delicious food. He always looks forward to his upcoming field seasons at Mid Columbia and to continuing on working to improve and restore habitats around Washington!

Project Manager

Carson graduated from Central Washington University in 2018 with a B.S. degree in Environmental science with a specialization in geography. Carson has been apart of the team since 2019 and is an enthusiast of everything outdoors especially hunting, dirt biking, and fishing.

Fish Biologist

Aimee Taylor is a fishbiologist and the Bull Trout Recovery Coordinator for Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group. She has been working on salmon, steelhead and native trout recovery in California and Washington for the past seven years. Aimee completed her undergraduate studies in 2016 at University of California, Davis with a degree in Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology. In 2022, she completed a Master of Science degree in Biology at Central Washington University. Aimee originally joined MCF as a crew lead for the Bull Trout Task Force in 2019, and has been working with Bull Trout ever since. She now coordinates the Yakima Basin Bull Trout Working Group and continues to lead the Bull Trout Task Force during the field season.

Washington Conservation Corps Individual Placement

Lily graduated from Central Washington University (CWU) in 2023 and recently completed her first AmeriCorps term at CWU where she served as the Sustainability Education Program Specialist. Lily grew up in Pray, Montana along the Yellowstone River where she gained her appreciation for the outdoors and conservation efforts. She looks forward to continuing her service with Mid-Columbia Fisheries where she hopes to inspire kids to become excited about the outdoors and be stewards of nature. In her free time, Lily enjoys making clothes, going to concerts, and exploring the Pacific Northwest!