Pheasants Forever has announced the hiring of two new Farm Bill range/wildlife biologists in Washington. Kelli Bartholomew and Erik Lewis are the first Pheasant Forever biologists of this kind for the state.

Bartholomew will cover Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Kittitas, Yakima and Benton counties. Lewis will cover a significant portion of Washington east of the Cascade Mountains, with an emphasis on the Channel Scablands.

These two will work with landowners, farmers and ranchers to implement wildlife habitat conservation measures. Bartholomew will focus her efforts at fulfilling the NRCS Sage Grouse Initiative, while Lewis will focus his efforts on the Wetlands Reserve Program in Eastern Washington.

Bartholomew will be located in Ephrata. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2004 with a degree in biology. Prior to joining Pheasants Forever, she worked as a restoration biologist for Mississippi Valley Conservancy, and the U.S. Forest and Wildlife Service in eastern Wisconsin. Bartholomew can be reached at 509-731-5502 or by email at kbartholomew@pheasantsforever.org.

Lewis will be located in Spokane. Lewis has spent the past five years as a Pheasants Forever Farm Bill wildlife biologist in southwest Ohio. During that time he worked extensively with USDA Farm Bill conservation programs. Lewis can be reached at 937-654-3884 or elewis@pheasantsforever.org.

Washington is home to 10 Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters and more than 1,400 Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever members.