| Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board Press Release 10/5/2020 | For more information contact: Nicole Jordan (360) 319-1365 |
Wenatchee, WA – The Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board (UCSRB) is pleased to award Lee Carlson, Yakama Nation Fisheries, with the Esther Stefaniw Memorial Award. This award is presented to those who contribute to restoring salmon, steelhead and other at-risk species through collaborative, economically sensitive efforts.
Lee played a foundational role in salmon and steelhead recovery in the Upper Columbia over the past two decades, most notably helping to form the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board (UCSRB), draft the Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Plan and establish the regional framework for the plan’s implementation. In the early days, he served as UCSRB staff when UCSRB barely had any other staff. As Recovery Plan implementation began, he continued to help address issues as they arose, always offering a well-thought-out opinion to focus efforts in a positive direction for improvement. Lee never left anyone guessing where he stood on an issue (though sometimes one did have to ascertain when he was joking and displaying his infamous dry-witted humor!).
In response to receiving the reward Lee said, “This is an award that means quite a bit to me since I had the chance to work with Esther during the initial days of salmon recovery in the Upper Columbia. Ester really was the “Energizer Bunny” that got things rolling for the creation of collaborative recovery work.”
For more information on the UCSRB and the Upper Columbia Spring Chinook Salmon and Steelhead Recovery Plan, visit ucsrb.org.
