Racing the Tide
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service heavy equipment operators tackle challenging nighttime project on Oregon Coast
Story by Brent Lawrence, public affairs officer in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Regional Office.
The tide was slowly draining out of Nestucca Bay, and it was still hours before the sun would peek above the horizon. The only light was from headlights of the machinery that was already rumbling along in the cool night air, moving dirt at a furious pace.
A crew of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service heavy equipment operators were racing the tide.
The objective was to install a fish screen for a pump, and remove and replace tide gates that help manage water levels on the Upton Slough section of Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge on the Oregon Coast.
The entire project took weeks, but this critical element had to be done in a narrow window of time at the lowest tides last fall.
This work on soft ground on the bank of the Little Nestucca River was left to a crew of five heavy machinery operators from National Wildlife Refuges across the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.
In bureaucratic terms, the heavy equipment operators are known as wage-grade professionals. That’s the official term.
But to project leaders, facility managers and biologists --- they simply call them the backbone of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They're the people who turn habitat conservation dreams into reality.
They're creators of conservation.
“They are so important to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission. Without our wage-grade professionals, we couldn't accomplish the important habitat and conservation work we do on refuges. They're unsung heroes of conservation,” said Kevin Foerster, Refuge Chief for the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.
Due to the location and environmental factors for the Upton Slough work, this project had a variety of technical challenges including daily tidal changes, a variety of infrastructure upgrades/installations, ever-changing weather conditions, and the need for specialty heavy equipment to implement the habitat restoration.
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“This was a technically challenging project and all the construction work was completed by our heavy equipment professionals. What really floored me was the morning of the first tide-gate replacement,” Oregon Coast NWR Complex project leader Kelly Moroney. "We were following the tidal cycles, which required operations to begin a 3 a.m. I have been involved in many projects over my 25-year career, but nothing came close to what I saw when I pulled up to that morning. It almost looked choreographed. I was impressed. They are true professionals.”
(Facilities operations specialist Gary Rodriguez, left, and Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex project leader Kelly Moroney.)
Gary Rodriguez, a 32-year Service employee and now-retired Facilities Operations Specialist/ Engineering Equipment Operator at Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, served as lead for the project.
“Our job was to execute the project. We had plans, elevations and equipment, and then it was up to us to be able to put that all together. Some folks were skeptical if we could do it. From our standpoint, it was not a problem. It was going to happen, and that’s what we did,” Rodriquez said.
The crew during the nighttime installation was (from left) Kenny Berry from Malheur NWR; Shaun Matthews from Willapa NWR; Gary Rodriguez from Oregon Coast NWR Complex; Kelly Connall from Little Pend Oreille NWR; and Tyrone Asencio from Willamette Valley NWR Complex. Dave Harlow from Willamette Valley NWR Complex primarily worked on the channel restoration at Upton Slough.
Spencer Berg, heavy equipment manager for the Service’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region, also worked heavy equipment on the project. He says that wage-grade staff play an essential role in conservation for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“I consider our wage-grade staff the backbone of the refuge system,” Berg said. “They’re doing the work on the ground, mowing the habitat, maintaining the boiler systems and parking lots, and creating wetland habitat. They are doing phenomenal things. On the Upton Slough project, a project like that takes a lot of planning and work to get going. You have to order the culverts and supplies, you have to get the permits, and watch the tide charts and weather. Getting all those factors lined up is a huge lift.”
All the construction work on the Upton Slough project was handled by the Service’s heavy equipment professionals, saving taxpayers close to $200,000 for the project.