Dawn Presler
Snohomish PUD

Jordan Tollefson
NorthWestern Energy

DESCRIPTION

Three expert panelists will discuss their experiences in developing whitewater flow release programs, considerations and coordination when implementing whitewater releases, and adapting a whitewater program over time.

This panel is within the Natural Resources Track at the conference. 
 
This session is a 201-level discussion for those looking to take a deeper dive into this subject matter. 

Moderator:
Tom O'Keefe, Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director, American Whitewater

Panelists:

• Dawn Presler, Lead – Environmental & Licensing Compliance, Snohomish PUD
• Jordan Tollefson, Water Quality Specialist, NorthWestern Energy

Speaker Bios:

• Tom O'Keefe is an aquatic ecologist representing the whitewater paddling community in connecting the interests of human-powered recreational river users with ecological and science-based data to protect and restore rivers. Over the past 25 years he has served in a leadership capacity in dozens of successful campaigns to restore instream flows to rivers impacted by hydropower and remove dams where environmental and social justice impacts outweigh benefits of hydropower. Tom serves as the National Chair of the Hydropower Reform Coalition, a diverse consortium of more than 160 national, regional, and local conservation and recreation organizations dedicated to protecting and restoring rivers affected by hydropower dams, ensuring public access to these lands and waters, and reforming the federal licensing process to ensure public participation and to improve the quality of the resulting decisions. Tom received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University before completing his graduate work in aquatic ecology at the University of Wisconsin where he received his PhD. He served as research coordinator and instructor for the river ecology group at the University of Washington before joining American Whitewater.
• Dawn Presler has been in the hydropower industry for over 20 years, providing licensing and compliance expertise to the relicense, acquisition, and/or construction of the 5 hydro projects owned and operated by Snohomish PUD. She also brings a new standard for environmental stewardship to the PUD, helping the utility to go above and beyond with the development of a food forest on PUD property, acquiring grants for additional salmon habitat projects, and leading other stewardship initiatives outside of license requirements.  
• Jordan Tollefson has a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of North Dakota. He has worked for various state and federal agencies in North Dakota, Idaho, and Montana before landing with NorthWestern Energy in 2017. Jordan manages NorthWestern Energy’s water quality programs for their 11 Montana dams.