National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) - January 23 - January 27, 2023

Tim is a 25-year employee of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Law Enforcement Division. Tim’s duties are the coordination of the department’s hunter education program. This program has expanded over the years to include many new and engaging educational programs such as Indiana’s - National Archery in the Schools Program. Tim was appointed the State Coordinator for this program in December of 2005. He is also the National Range Manager for the national archery tournaments hosted the National Archery in the Schools Program across the country. During Tim’s career, his involvement in the shooting sports and hunting has strengthened his abilities to lead the department’s outdoor education programs to a new level. With over 40 years of volunteering and working to promote outdoor activities. In 2018 Tim was inducted into the International Hunter Education Association – USA, Professional Hall of Fame Award while also receiving the Jim and Nancy Mahoney Hunter Education Heritage Award from the Indiana Hunter Education Association. Tim holds numerous training certifications from various organizations that promote and encourage the use of our great natural resources.

Currently, Bob is owner of Bob Byrne Consulting, a conservation consulting firm specializing in finding innovative solutions to conservation issues through strategic planning, programmatic reviews, evaluations, group facilitation and literature reviews.

Prior to forming his own company, Bob spent 30+ years in conservation where he worked for three state wildlife agencies, two conservation NGOs and a conservation-communications consulting firm.

Being an avid hunter and angler, Bob has a deep concern about passing on our hunting and fishing heritage on to future generations, and has focused much of his recent efforts on this task.

Some of his most recent projects include:

➢ Assisted The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CHASS) and the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) develop the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan that is being used as the framework to improve recruitment, retention and re-activation (R3) programs for hunting and the shooting sports.

➢ Assisted the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and the Aquatic resources Education Association (AREA) develop a strategic plan for angler recruitment, retention and re-activation programs.

➢ Developed Environmental Stewardship Plans for 17 outdoor shooting ranges operated by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Bob can be reached at bobbyrne2018@gmail.com or 540-937-2139.

Tom Decker is the Branch Manager of the Communications, Analysis and Partnerships Branch for the US Fish & Wildlife Service - Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. Tom is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and has worked for USFWS for 10 years. Previously Tom worked for 15 years for Vermont Fish and Wildlife and 9 years for Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife holding several positions including Furbearer Biologist, Director of Wildlife, and Director of Operations. Tom is a life member of the American Society of Mammologists and a Professional Member of the Boone and Crocket Club. He has been a member of The Wildlife Society since 1988 and is a TWS Fellow and National Conservation Leadership Institute Fellow. Tom is a certified hunter education and trapper education instructor in Massachusetts and a hunting instructor in the Vermont 4-H Shooting Sports program. He is also a certified archery instructor in the National Archery in the Schools Program. Tom has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Worcester State University. He lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and spends much of his time gathering wild edibles and fishing, trapping and hunting moose, waterfowl, deer, grouse, pheasant, squirrels and turkeys.

Philip H Dietrich II, consultant and shooting instructor known for entertaining anyway legally and safely with a shotgun. Currently Director of Outdoor Recreation and Habitat at McGraw. He has managed Wing & Barrel Ranch located in Sonoma, Ca. catering to the heart of wine country. Prior at Five Star Plantation, the South’s Premier quail facility. And Before that he was the GM of Prospect Hall Shooting Club, a private hunting and shooting facility serving world class wing shooters of the Washington D.C. area. He is NSCA level II certified shooting instructor. Between coaching shooting and Dog handling, he loves being a slave to an age-old trade. He has a diversified professional background in land management, habitat & herd management along with shooting sports course layout and design. In addition, he was the Area Chairman of Eastern Panhandle of Ducks Unlimited when hosting the 2012 Federal Duck Stamp Vote. A graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia with a BS in Sports Management and a Business Minor. He was born and raised in Ohio where he was mentored by family and friends at an early age in the world of conservation through hunting and shooting sports. Phil enjoys hunting waterfowl, upland birds and anything with feathers using great dogs, the best shotguns with the finest of companions. He is committed to introducing educating and passing along the heritage and importance of hunting and shooting sports to the world of conservation.

Patt Dorsey is a native Coloradoan and a graduate of “the” Colorado State University. She became a "member of the flock," joining the National Wild Turkey Federation in February of 2019. As the Director of Conservation Operations for the West Region, she supervises biologists and R3 coordinators in 9 Western States. She was drawn to the NWTF because working on forest and watershed health is an increasingly important and urgent issue and the NWTF is implementing on-the-ground solutions with local partners. Before that, she held several positions with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (Boulder district wildlife manager, Hunter Education Administrator, area wildlife manager in Durango and a member of the Director's staff -- Southwest Region Manager). She was recognized as Colorado's Shikar Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year in 2012, presented with the International Hunter Education Association Past President’s Award in 2004, the Jim Jones Outstanding Employee Award in 2000, Most Creative Idea Award in 2008, Teamwork Award and Most Positive Employee awards in 1995.

Patt is an avid outdoors person and naturalist. She enjoys hunting, fishing, writing, photography, gardening and beadwork (using roadkill porcupine quills).

Chris is currently a Wildlife Biologist with the USFWS Office of Conservation Investment in the Northeast Region. Previously, he served as the Regional Chief of Hunting & Fishing (2017-19) and Migratory Game Bird Biologist for the USFWS, Northeast Region (2006-17), working with State and Federal partners in the U.S. & Canada to support science-based conservation and harvest management of migratory game birds. From 1996-2006, Chris served as a Wetland Wildlife and Furbearer Biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW), where he developed research, monitoring and public communication programs to improve furbearer management within the State. He also served as the State Coordinator in the testing and development of Best Management Practices for Furbearer Traps and Trapping in the U.S. His efforts also led to the first regulated trapping season for river otters in Ohio following their successful reintroduction in the early 1980’s, built around strong science and communication efforts within the agency, and more importantly, with the public. Prior to working with ODOW, he was employed as a Wildlife Research Biologist with the MO Dept. of Conservation and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, and Wildlife Technician with the U.S.G.S., Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Station. Chris is also a volunteer Trapper Education instructor with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Hunter Education Program.

Robert J. Gates is Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University. Bob grew up and began hunting with his father in east central Wisconsin, after which his family moved to the hunting paradise of eastern South Dakota, where he received his B.S. in Wildlife Science from South Dakota State University. Bob’s graduate degrees were from Montana State University (M.S.) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Ph.D.). Bob’s travels have provided many memorable hunting, fishing and other outdoors activities that he has shared with family and friends in 19 states/provinces in the U.S. and Canada. He is most proud of passing on the hunting and fishing traditions to his younger brother Dale, and to his sons Eric and Jared. Bob is an avid bird hunter who most enjoys hunting pheasants and prairie grouse over pointing dogs (especially Brittanys) and also hunts doves, waterfowl and big game. Bob has taught classes and conducted research with graduate students for nearly 30 years, first at Southern Illinois University, and currently at Ohio State University. His research interests are primarily focused on ecology and management of upland game birds, waterfowl and other wetlands-dependent wildlife, and conservation of wetlands and early successional habitats. He has been a member of The Wildlife Society (TWS) for more than 30 years, serving as state chapter president in Illinois and Ohio, and President

Anna has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 2009, and her journey has brought her from D.C., to the Pacific Northwest, to the rocky coast of Maine and now to an ecologically diverse wildlife refuge complex in the tri-state area of northern NJ, southeast PA, and southeast NY known as the Lenape National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Anna lives with her husband Kyle, their two young sons and bird dog Burly on a blueberry farm in Sussex, NJ.

Aaron grew up spending some time camping and fishing, but it wasn't until high school that he discovered hunting. That discovery played a pivotal role in starting the fire that got him interested in conservation as a career. He received his B.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and his M.S. from the University of Kentucky studying the physiological effects of translocation on elk. He has been the Cervid Biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation since 2016 helping to conserve the state's deer and elk population. He has been an instructor with CLfT since 2009 and enjoys the opportunities to work and interact with the diverse array of participants and instructors at each workshop.

Noe is the Area Wildlife Biologist for USDA-NRCS in northeast Colorado. She works with farmers and ranchers to develop high quality wildlife habitat on privately owned lands.

Prior to coming to CLfT, David was a Captain with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division where he served for 27 1/2 years in a variety of positions including Field Officer, Environmental Investigator, Homeland Security Coordinator, Training Administrator and the Education and Training Section Commander. David has held a number of instructor certifications and specialties that included: 4H Shooting Sports Shotgun Instructor, NRA Muzzleloading Rifle, NRA Range Safety Officer, Indiana and Illinois Hunter Education Instructor and Indiana Trapper Education Instructor. David is a 1980 graduate of Vincennes University with an Associate of Science degree in Conservation Law Enforcement and a graduate of the 191st Session of the FBI National Academy. He served three terms as president of the Association of Natural Resource Enforcement Trainers (ANRET)(now a subcommittee of NAWEOA). David served as Secretary of the International Hunter Education Association, IHEA from 2009 to 2011. David was inducted into the IHEA-USA Hall of Fame in 2018. He has remained active in law enforcement by serving with the Mason County Sheriff's Marine Patrol Division and in 2021 he became NASBLA's 1st Certified Recreational Boating Professional (CRBP) in the Nation.