Outdoors - Hunting and Fishing

POSTED: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009

Terrell turned out for the best

Richard Kessler is only the third person in nearly 40 years to take the helm at Lake Terrell, now known as the Whatcom Wildlife Area.

And his arrival as manager is by dint of an unfortunate situation that turned out for the best.

Kessler's transition to Terrell was precipitated by spending cuts the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife that started earlier this year eliminating his job at another wildlife area near Olympia.

With his seniority, Kessler was offered a manager's position in Central Washington, but it was not a locale to which he and his family wanted to move.

Shana Winegeart, the sitting Whatcom Wildlife Area manager, who took over when Tom Reed retired in 2007, was seeking an opportunity to return to the eastside where she began her career with the department. The two worked with agency administrators for an agreed swap of assignments.

Kessler said he, his wife, Veronica, and their three girls enjoy living in Western Washington and have already taken to life here. Two of his younger daughters made the move here, while their oldest elected to finish her last year of high school in their former community.

"We like it, it's a nice area," said the 17-year agency veteran referring to the rural locale west of Ferndale. The family will live in the former farm house at the headquarters compound next to Lake Terrell.

Kessler said his previous experiences as manager of the now-merged South Puget Sound Wildlife Area, south of Olympia provided a good foundation for his new role at Whatcom Wildlife Area.

In addition to managing unique native prairie habitats in the former SPSWA, he oversaw recreational activities on department lands there including conducting seasonal pheasant releases on the Skookumchuck Unit.

Kessler said his immediate objective is to integrate himself into current Whatcom Wildlife Area activities. He doesn't plan to make changes until he understands the operations here and the needs and desires of the community.

"I'm looking forward to working with all the volunteers," said Kessler.

Besides the original department-owned lands surrounding much of Lake Terrell itself, Kessler supervises other large fish and wildlife holdings including the Marietta (or Nooksack) and Tennant Lake units, an agency-held reserve on Lummi Island and land surrounding Cedar and Pine lakes in the Chuckanuts.

In addition, Kessler oversees public recreation, including waterfowl and upland bird-hunting, hiking and summer bird-watching on two large tracts of private land owned by Alcoa Intalco Aluminum Works and BP Cherry Point. The companies make these lands available to the public for access and recreation under written cooperative agreements with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Including a number of smaller parcels and tracts of department property, Whatcom Wildlife Area encompasses more than 4,000 acres.

For more information about fish and wildlife recreational opportunities on the Whatcom Wildlife Area, check out wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/search/search_county.php?searchby=County&search=Whatcom&orderby=wla%20ASC .

For a copy of the areas management plan, log on to wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/management_plans/index.html .