Kate Day spends a lot of time in some of the most out-of-the-way places on a forest. Some days, she helps make sure fish can get through barriers, like roads that cross streams. Other times, she oversees the placement of wood in streams to mimic nature’s chaotic cycle of life. Her main job is to make sure electricity producers follow all the rules on the forest. Day is the Hydropower Coordinator for the Colville National Forest.
She works with government agencies, tribes, and non-governmental agencies to make sure power companies meet the conditions of their hydropower licenses. Day also works on recreation improvement projects, such as campsite upgrades, trail construction, and stabilizing banks around lakes and streams. It’s work she’s done on the Colville since 2014.
“I love the diversity of landscapes I've had the pleasure to work on throughout my career,” she said. “The public lands in the U.S. for all to enjoy is what makes this country great! I also love the diversity of opportunities in the agency, and the people I work with.”
Day started her career in 2000 as an AmeriCorps volunteer working on urban stream restoration in the Atlanta area and on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Georgia.
“The beauty of the landscape, diversity of the work, and the willingness of Forest employees to share their passion for the Forest with our young crew was inspiring,” she said. A few years later, she was back on the Chattahoochee-Oconee in a trainee position as a hydrologist. They study the movement and quality of water on the landscape, often protecting water resources and advocating for a river system’s sustainability.
Her best advice to those interested in working for the Forest Service is to get out and experience your National Forests. “Your time spent on the land will give you an understanding of the multiple resources the agency manages and the potential opportunities available,” Day said. “Everyone I have worked with across the Forest Service has a genuine passion for the work we do and the land we manage.”
Some of the projects Day manages involve truly enormous work.
Stream restoration work, such as the Sullivan Creek Restoration project, places large logs in a jumble to imitate what happens naturally after trees reach the end of their life cycle and heavy rain or snowmelt washes the timber into a logjam. The resulting heap makes countless eddies and pools in the stream, providing habitat for fish and insects to live, breed, and grow from egg to adult.
On a smaller scale, Day also manages fish passage improvement projects. These structures allow aquatic animals to survive around the infrastructure people count on to live in forested areas. Roads, culverts, and dams all interrupt the natural flow of water. It’s a compromise that attempts to balance what nature needs with the necessities of modern human life.
“I never thought, starting my career as a hydrologist, that I would end up going into hydropower,” Day said. Interrupting the natural flow of a stream runs counter to what hydrologists do, but she knows people rely on dams. “Mitigating the damage dams can cause using scientific solutions is a big part of why I do this work.”
The Colville National Forest has two large dams – Boundary and Box Canyon dams. These dams are required to be licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Day oversees the FERC license projects on Forest Service lands and ensures dam operators complete required environmental improvements.
“The partnerships and the work that comes from my professional relationships in my current position are extremely rewarding,” she said. “The Forest Service's participation with partner agencies to accomplish restoration work for multiple benefits through consensus on contentious issues is inspiring and energizing.”
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