Sherwood man named to help oversee wetlands, waterways

By Kerri Anderson

The Sherwood Gazette, Jul 23, 2010

Kerri Anderson / Sherwood Gazette

WETLANDS WATCHER — Bill Ryan stands in his back garden at his Sherwood home. Ryan recently was named assistant director of Oregon’s Wetlands and Waterways Conservaiton Division.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Bill Ryan is so enamored with water that he takes advantage of every opportunity he can to get wet by surfing, scuba diving and snorkeling.

But the Sherwood resident also realizes that in addition to the recreational attributes of H2O, it has a tremendous societal and environmental purpose.

So it’s only natural that Ryan is in a job where he’s protecting Oregon’s waterways and wetlands for both their natural and human uses such as fishing and navigation.

In June, Ryan was promoted to assistant director of the Wetlands and Waterways Conservation Division for the state of Oregon. Ryan plans to use the opportunity to help restore Wetland habitats, protect Oregon’s salmon, and improve sustainability.

“The natural environment is critical for the survival of humans as a species,” Ryan said during a recent interview at his Sherwood home. “The natural world provides a lot of functions or ecosystem services.”

Things like cleaning the water and air, and providing fuel, fibers, and pollinators for the plants are natural processes that are essential to human life and need to occur as part of the ecosystem, Ryan said.

As assistant director, Ryan works with developers to design and permit projects that have a minimal effect on the environment by building around wetlands and water systems. He also helps to revitalize wetlands in other areas to compensate for any damage to habitats at the construction zone.

The department also issues permits to fill or remove materials from Oregon’s streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, or coastal areas. A common request is to remove gravel from coastal rivers to construct state highways. As part of his new job, Ryan plans to i.mprove customer service in his department to make the permit process more efficient.

“I have a great staff of about 32 folks that do a really great job, but we need to continue to streamline and improve the process, and make it easier for applicants to get through the regulatory process,” Ryan said.

Ryan is currently working with other state agencies to develop projects that restore watersheds and prevent salmon from becoming endangered in support of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds developed by Governor John Kitzhaber in 2000.

Ryan grew up in Los Angles, California where he earned his undergraduate degree in geography. After realizing the need for habitat restoration, Ryan earned his masters in biology with a focus on plant ecology at California State, Fullerton.

1 | 2 Next Page >>