Commissioner of Public Lands Announces Quarterly Award For DNR Employee

Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark has honored a Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employee who helped the department secure millions of dollars in grant funding to improve fish habitat on forested state trust lands.

Jason Mettler, a DNR road engineer, received the DNR Supernova Award, which honors outstanding performance. Mettler researched the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant process to find alternative funding for several DNR needs. His efforts led to nearly $5 million in FEMA grant awards to DNR over the past four years. The grants include about $3 million for correcting culverts and other barriers on forest roads that prevent salmon and other fish from reaching upstream habitat.

Both DNR and private forestland owners are directed by the state’s Forests and Fish Law to remove or repair fish barrier culverts and other obstructions to migrating fish by 2016.

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Extra Mile Awards

Goldmark also announced two additional awards to DNR staff – both awarded by Secretary of State Sam Reed:

Ted Smith: The 2012 Extra Mile Award. Smith, a land surveyor with the DNR Public Land Survey Office, was honored for his dedication to helping private citizens and public employees learn to use survey document research software. Smith works at DNR headquarters in Olympia

Roger Huestis: The Longevity Award. Honored for 40 years of public service, Huestis works in a DNR timber sales unit in the northeast region of the state.

About DNR 
DNR manages about 3 million acres of state-owned trust lands for revenue to trust beneficiaries including public schools, universities and public services in several counties. The department also manages about 2.6 million acres of aquatic lands, including bedlands under Puget Sound. Peter Goldmark is Washington’s 13th Commissioner of Public Lands since statehood in 1889.