For nearly 30 years, Terry was one of the strongest voices for conservation in the Chehalis Basin. He was an employee of LLTK from 1986 to 2007. He began working at the hatchery in 1973, when Mayr Brothers Timber Company established the facility. Before that, Terry worked in forestry and fisheries research for the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
The following is an excerpt from an article Terry wrote for LLTK's June 2006 Summer Update Newsletter, which celebrated the organization's 20th anniversary:
Early in 1974, a job became available on the Wishkah River working for Mayr Brother's Timber Co. I had been in Forks (the rain capital of Washington) doing fisheries research for the Department of Natural Resources and was ready to dry out.
The new venture was a combination of forestry and fish rearing. Since I had education and experience in both, I jumped at the opportunity. It was a great job with a fabulous place to live. They even let us build a new house and Mayr Brothers paid for it!
But after 12 years, the company went bankrupt and the Federal Land Bank took over all assets, including the hatchery. In 1986 I was collecting unemployment and still raising a cycle of steelhead trout at the facility. The hatchery had been acquired by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Soon the Northwest Renewable Resources Center (NWRRC) came along looking for a new site to do Chinook rehabilitation. What a blessing! The NWRRC gave me the chance to continue doing what I truly loved. LLTK was developed as a project of the NWRRC, and with our first executive director we were off and running.
In the early days, we had a large crew of volunteers who devoted countless hours to capturing adult Chinook from the Wishkah River. We were eventually hired by WDFW to do the same thing on the Humptulips. We were growing as an organization; being recognized as a player in salmon recovery. As we grew, developing new projects on Orcas Island and Hood Canal, we became increasingly committed to the mission of restoring wild salmon.
As a 20-year member of the LLTK family; sitting back and reflecting on this growth, I feel fortunate to be doing a job I love, working with great people who have a passion to help keep wild salmon runs viable. I've spent 32 years working with this resource, and the fish still amaze me each year as they return home from their journeys to survive.
- Terry Baltzell, Wishkah Hatchery Manager, June 2006
Todd (Terry's son) worked for LLTK at the Wishkah Hatchery from 1992 to 2007. A true native of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, Todd was born in Port Angeles, attended Wishkah Valley School, and has lived in the valley since he was a year old.
Terry R. Baltzell