Panelists

Eric Barker covers natural resources, public land management, endangered species, climate change, the environment, and outdoor recreation for the Lewiston Tribune, a job he has held for more than 25 years.

In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the rivers, canyons and mountains of north central Idaho and southeastern Washington as a hunter, angler, rafter, forager, camper, skier, and hiker.

Karl Brooks is a native Boisean and former BSU instructor. Since 2022, he has been Professor of the Practice, University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration. He was a three-term Idaho Senator (1986-92), and his district encompassed BSU. He earned a Ph.D. in history, then taught environmental history, policy, and law at KU (2000-10). President Obama appointed Karl EPA Heartland Regional Administrator in 2010, and EPA national operations manager in 2015.

Karl is the author of Public Power, Private Dams (2006) about the Hells Canyon High Dam controversy, author of Before Earth Day (2009) about the emergence of American environmental law, and editor of an environmental history of the Truman Administration (2009). Before returning to KU, he managed statewide operations for the New Mexico Supreme Court in Santa Fe and the District Court headquartered in Taos (2018-22) after teaching in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin (2016-2018). Karl first hiked Hells Canyon in 1973, floated the Snake through the Canyon in 1985 and 2004, and backpacked the Seven Devils Mountains in 1979 and 2024.

Michael Ace Field is retired, and has held a variety of roles in public policy: Idaho Rural Partnership Executive Director, USDA Rural Development State Director, Northwest Power Planning Council Member, U.S. Senator Larry Craig staff, USDA Farmers Home Administration State Director, USDA Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) Executive Director, and U.S. Senator McClure staff. Mike worked for Senator McClure for 13 years; 1.5 years in Washington, D.C. and 11.5 years in Idaho. His last position with the Senator was as State Director in the Boise Office.

Mike was raised in Grand View, Idaho, on a farm, then attended Utah State University, Boise State University, and Brigham Young University where he earned a degree in Political Science. He has been married to Debbie Field for 47 years and is father of three children and grandfather to 13 children. Mike’s hobbies include grandchildren, hiking, whitewater rafting, gardening, and family history.

Rod Gramer is an Idaho native, journalist, author, and education advocate. Rod most recently served as president and CEO of Idaho Business for Education.

Before joining IBE, Rod was a journalist for 38 years. He worked at The Idaho Statesman for 13 years where he served as political editor, editorial page editor, and columnist. After The Statesman, he was executive news director at KTVB for 10 years where he also moderated the Viewpoint public affairs program.

Rod also spent 13 years as executive news director at KGW in Portland and two years as vice president and general manager of two 24-hour news stations in Tampa Bay.

Rod is the co-author of “Fighting the Odds, the Life of Senator Frank Church,” and two other books, “Lucky: The Wit and Wisdom of Governor Phil Batt,” and “The Good Assassin,” a political thriller.

Rod holds a degree in history and journalism from the University of Idaho.

Sandra is a product of the West! Born in Oregon, she spent several years in the Tri-Cities in Washington, then moved to California, and from there to Ketchikan, Alaska where she graduated from high school. Sandra then attended the University of Wyoming and the University of Idaho. Once in Idaho, she knew it was where she wanted to stay!

In 1975, she worked for Congressman and U.S. Senator Steve Symms managing his Lewiston Congressional Office and retired after 12 wonderful and most interesting years!

In 1994, she accepted a position with Joe Scott and moved to Boise to work on recreational access to Idaho’s magnificent public lands and waters. Never boring, it has allowed her to work with amazing people from all over the state. Sandra currently serves as Public Lands Director for the Idaho State Snowmobile Association and the Executive Director of the Idaho

Tom spent 36 years with the U.S. Forest Service, including 10 years in Baker City with the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. He served as the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Supervisor from October 2014 until May 2021 and before that, Deputy Forest Supervisor starting in August 2011.

Starting out as a Range Conservationist with the Humboldt National Forest (1985-1990), Tom then served as a Fish Biologist until 2001 with the Humboldt, Ochoco, and Salmon-Challis National Forests. Between 2001 and 2011, he served as a District Ranger with the Salmon-Challis and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests before moving to Baker City.

Tom studied at the College of Idaho (A.S., Fisheries) and Montana State University-Bozeman (B.S., Range Science).

Robin Pace was born in Nampa, Idaho. Raised in the high desert waterways at the intersection of Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada, she spent school years in the high desert and summers on her grandmother’s farm in the Wallowas of northeast Oregon. An alum of BSU, she believed a summer or two of whitewater rafting would be a brief interlude before continuing on to graduate school. That first summer in Hells Canyon lit an inextinguishable spark, which evolved from joyous infatuation into a career.

Robin is the owner of Winding Waters Rafting based out of Joseph, Oregon. She also recently purchased Winding Waters River Expeditions where she was a guide for the past thirteen years. As an outfitter, Robin hopes to continue the work she began as a guide: stewardship of place, education, deep conversation, accessibility, guiding profession, and laughter echoing off canyon walls.

Scott was born and raised on the Alsea River in western Oregon. For the past half century, he has worked as a logger, a journalist, and an advocate for wild lands. Since 2003, he has lived near Riggins, Idaho. With a special passion for horses and mules, he, and his wife Holly Endersby, have packed into some of

America’s biggest wilderness areas.

During the 1990s, Scott represented the Oregon Hunters Association and worked with the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest within a working group to help formulate the first management plan for the Hells Canyon NRA. In 2003, Scott took a position as Trout Unlimited’s field coordinator for the protection of cold water fisheries in roadless lands in Idaho. He retired in 2016. He and his wife currently live at the edge of the Rapid River Roadless Area in the Hells Canyon NRA.

Chris Welcker, Ph.D., PE has worked in Hells Canyon for 18 years. His first day working for Idaho Power was in Hells Canyon surveying water surfaces to improve hydraulic models. And two weeks ago, he was back there reviewing the Forest Service’s potential sand replenishment sites. In between those trips, he has led Idaho Power’s Hells Canyon Sediment Program that collaborates with universities and agencies to uses GPS, green and red LiDAR, and sonar to survey sediment in and out of the water while using GIS, game cameras, zircons, optically stimulated luminescence, and cosmogenic nuclides to determine the current and historic sources and volumes of sediment inputs to the Hells Canyon NRA.

Dr. Welcker graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Idaho.

Born and raised in Meridian, Idaho, Shay is a life-long Idahoan. He has worked in the boat industry for over 20 years with a focus on aluminum jet boats. His first jet boat ride

in Hells Canyon was at the age of three. Shay spends much of his recreation time in Hells Canyon, which he considers a very special place. In fact, over the last 34 years,

there has never been a year that Shay has not been to Hells Canyon.

Shay is an avid outdoorsman and loves hunting, fishing, and racing boats. He currently is the co- chairman of the Hells Canyon Recreation Collaborative and is the chairman of the John Day Snake River RAC. Shay is former President of the Western Whitewater Association and Member of the IDPR Waterway Improvement Fund Committee and Idaho Recreation Council representing power boaters.

Nakia graduated from Lewis-Clark State College, B.S. Social Science. Nakia gained much of his knowledge and education concerning the traditional ‘Way of life’ of the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) from Nimiipuu Culture Bearers over a lifetime. He worked in the area of Cultural Resource Management for 30 years, currently serving as Program Manager for the Nez Perce Tribe Cultural Resource Program. He conducts and coordinates technical consultation with various federal/state agencies, such as U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration, 13 National Forests, and Bureau of Land Management, to name a few. Nakia is an accomplished artist, particularly painting, but also other forms, including traditional artwork, such as featherwork-bustles/warbonnets.