Small Forest Landowner Office Manager Tami Miketa recently sat down with Ken Bevis, DNR’s stewardship wildlife biologist. The talkative traveling troubadour has bounced around Eastern Washington for more than three decades, and now spends his time teaching landowners across the state how to best create wildlife habitat in their forests. He’s almost certainly got more mileage on his state work truck than anyone else at DNR, and he’s never too far from a guitar.
Tell us a little about yourself, Ken.
Not too tall, not too big. Love the outdoors.
Noisy.
Musical.
I think I’m funny.
I’m originally from Virginia – I migrated west to Colorado at 23, then came to Washington. I have lived in Eastern Washington for 33 years in various places along the Eastern Cascades. I have been camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, bird-watching, etc., my entire life, starting with farm ponds and whitetail deer way back in Virginia.
Family camping trips, my folks, an influential uncle and the Boy Scouts were seminal in my life and career choices.
How long have you been working in forestry and wildlife? Why did you go into this field?
I have been in and out of natural resource jobs for more than 40 years. My family background of outdoor play and an inherent love of nature made declaring forestry my major at Virginia Tech easy. I was lucky to get to go to college right out of high school, and choosing that major shaped my future.
What sort of jobs have you had? Schooling?
I have worked for state and federal agencies and the Yakama Nation, and a university. Each job has been a stepping stone, and it has been an amazing ride so far.
My first forestry job was with the Virginia Division of Forestry in 1978 as a summer intern, where I learned about loblolly pine management and southern Virginia culture.
I migrated west after a divorce some personal changes, and worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Colorado on trails and timber crews for five years, before coming to Washington to study spotted owls in 1986. “The owl” was just becoming an issue and I was one of the first people to work with them on the east slope of the Cascades.
For several years, I worked on the Cle Elum and Naches ranger districts in the East Cascades, surveying and studying spotted owls. We would go out in the forest at dusk, and work on survey routes until 2 or 3 a.m., while no one else was out there. We saw lots of wildlife.
I had attended graduate school at Central Washington University and studied woodpeckers in managed and unmanaged forests. There weren’t many studies of woodpeckers in Northwest forests, so it was a good opportunity.
Upon graduation in 1994, I went to the Yakama Indian Nation and back to owls, where I was a biologist supporting the on-reservation timber program. We surveyed and studied the owl to help the tribe layout timber sales that included habitat areas. We used to catch owls and put radios and bands on them. We caught quite a few!
I went to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in 1998 and became a habitat biologist responsible for forestry-related issues and permitting for the south-central East Cascades area. I assisted DNR Forest Practices staff in reviewing and sometimes modifying forest practices permits across a large area with LOTS of timber harvest activities. I got to know the forests of Kittitas and Yakima counties really well.
I then moved up to the Methow and became the watershed steward for WDFW, assisting with salmon recovery efforts, working as a coordinator/grant writer/meeting attendee/outreach specialist. I learned a lot about fish, river restoration, riparian habitats, and small-scale politics.
In 2013, I came to DNR as the Stewardship Wildlife Biologist. This job is my favorite of my whole career. I get to meet people all over the state, give presentations, attend and teach workshops, write, and apply all that I have learned over the years.
What do you emphasize when talking to small landowners?
Habitat diversity is the key. More diversity will mean more diverse wildlife.
I want people to maintain habitats for as many species as possible. I want them to be knowledgeable and motivated to improve and protect our rich and diverse wildlife habitats. My task is to understand where my clients are right now, and help them become better stewards of their habitats. I will constantly point out valuable habitat features to any audience, and craft my delivery to them as I see fit.
I like to emphasize habitat features, by which I mean natural elements such as big dead wood (snags and logs), ephemeral wetlands, the shrub layer (brush), and canopy complexity. I emphasize retention of larger-diameter dead wood (snags and logs), healthy and robust shrub species, reduction of the nastiest noxious weeds (Scotch broom – yuck!), and retention of big trees and patches of older forest components.
I want to be a catalyst and conduit to get people to do more for habitat on their forest land. I use the tools of education and motivation.
Education is filling a blank spot in someone’s knowledge, but motivation is moving them to do the thing that education informs. My job is to help fill in those blanks – and to encourage people to act.
If they are concerned about wildlife, and educated about the habitat needs of our native species, then they can act on their land. This is how our work can help support preservation of biodiversity today.
I want landowners to better learn what they have and encourage protection and development of it.
Why do you think our work is important?
There are a lot of acres held by our small forest landowners. Cumulatively, we can have a great impact on the landscape, one piece at a time. Our small forest landowners are active land stewards, often living on their forest and caring deeply for the health and quality of their land and habitats.
The world is in the midst of an extinction crisis, driven by human population and climate change. Our small forest landowners can actually make a difference and help with conservation of many species.
What is your favorite kind of critter and why?
They are all my favorites, but if I had to pick one, it would be the pileated woodpecker. They live in mature forest habitats (sometimes in patches dispersed), feed in big dead wood, have amazing charisma, and fill a keystone role in the forest ecosystem. And they have a cool call.
I am a singer/songwriter and even wrote a song called “King of the Woods,” inspired by pileated woodpeckers. (Can I do a shameless plug? (ed. note: fiiiiiiiine) – Check out my website at KenBevis.com.)
What kind of legacy would you like to leave from your work here?
I want to leave a body of work that stands beyond my tenure with DNR, and provide tools that help maintain biodiversity in the face of this modern onslaught. I want to know that I made a difference and gave people something to work with that wouldn’t have been there without me.
And I want to have a good time and remind people that nature is a great teacher.
You can contact Ken at 360-489-4802 or by email at Ken.Bevis@dnr.wa.gov,and he’ll be glad to help you with questions and help you with habitat on your small forest lands.
Small Forest Landowner News 