Message from the Chairman: Barbara Cairns Resigns as LLTK Director after 13 Years

It is with great sadness, yet with gratitude and pride for all we’ve accomplished during her long tenure with Long Live the Kings, that I announce that our Executive Director Barbara Cairns has decided it is time to pursue new challenges.

Barbara’s leadership over the last thirteen years has led to several notable achievements: LLTK helped make Hatchery Reform an essential aspect of salmon recovery in the region. We helped the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife create a comprehensive, long-range template for salmon and steelhead recovery with the 21st Century Salmon and Steelhead project. And we launched the Hood Canal Steelhead Project, a 16-year scientific study of ways to recover steelhead across all the Hood Canal watersheds. Barbara has assembled and managed an impressive staff; kept the organization financially secure; and inspired the Board.

With that kind of record, I’m pleased to report that Barbara has agreed to stay on until March, 2010 to help us finalize plans for our next big project (we’ll keep you informed) and to help us find and assist her successor.

I’m very proud, and even sometimes slightly amazed, at what LLTK has accomplished. We will continue our focus on developing imaginative and scientifically credible remedies to the causes of the salmon’s decline. All of us at LLTK know that our contributions to wild salmon recovery would not be possible without the equal commitment of our partners and funders. Thank you for your continued support.

We will post a position description on our website – www.lltk.org – in December. LLTK Board member Jerry Grinstein will chair our search committee, and inquiries should be directed to him c/o LLTK’s administrative office in Seattle (1326 Fifth Ave., Ste 450/Seattle, WA/98101).

Sincerely yours,

Jim Youngren
Chairman, Board of Directors
Long Live the Kings