President: Wes Bascom, Moscow, Idaho
Wes grew up on the edge of the Palouse with mountains to the east and has been exploring them since his parents first let him ride a bike that far. A WSU and UI graduate, Wes continues to enjoy the big wild of Idaho in a variety of non-motorized ways. Wes first became involved with FOC in the mid 1990’s and though he has spent a good deal of time away, has always considered the “big wild” home. Now an upper elementary school teacher specializing in science and social studies, he shares each experience with a new generation of Idahoans.
Vice President: Jill Johnson, Moscow, Idaho
Jill first became active in environmental issues when a mining project threatened the Wolf River in northern Wisconsin. She moved to Moscow in 2002, after many years of education and training in the upper Midwest, and is now an Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Biochemistry at the University of Idaho.
Secretary: Diane Prorak, Moscow, Idaho
Diane has lived in the Clearwater country for over 20 years after growing up in the Midwest. She was attracted out here partly by the large green areas on the Idaho map. She and her husband have hiked a lot of the Clearwater country and were involved in a group, Clearwater Forest Watch, that appealed some key timber sales a number of years ago. She is also a librarian at the University of Idaho and wants to make sure there is wild Clearwater country left for her two children.Treasurer: Jeanne McHale, Moscow, Idaho
Jeanne is a Professor of Chemistry at Washington State University and has lived in Idaho for 30 years. Raised in the midwest, she moved to Salt Lake City for graduate studies in Physical Chemistry at the University of Utah. On the way to earning a PhD in 1979, the great Wasatch mountains and the natural beauty of Utah inspired a longstanding love of the outdoors. Her present research uses spectroscopy to study the harvesting and utilization of solar energy, including investigations of natural plant pigments as sensitizers for solar photovoltaics. She enjoys cross-country skiing, bicycling, hiking, and playing music. She lives on Moscow Mountain with her husband Fritz Knorr and commutes to work in Pullman WA by bicycle as often as possible.
A board member since late 1999, Chris is a Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Laura Earles, Moscow, Idaho
Laura hails from the foothills of the Blue Ridge in Virginia, where she spent a lot of time hiking with her family as a kid. She moved to the Northwest in 1999 for graduate school as well as for the scenery and outdoor activities. After spending eight years in Eugene while attending the University of Oregon, she moved to Idaho in 2007. She is a sociology professor at Lewis-Clark State College specializing in environmental sociology.
Steve Paulson, Lenore, Idaho
The founder of Friends of the Clearwater, Steve is a fourth-generation Idahoan and a life-long subsistence farmer, hunter, and fisherman. He has served as a U.S. Marine, a smokejumper for the Forest Service, and a registered nurse with a B.S. in Nursing. Steve initiated the Cove Mallard Campaign, the Gray Wolf Committee, and the Clearwater Forest Watch and has written several Endangered Species Act petitions, too many timber sale appeals to count, and plenty of comments on public land management activities. He has also been arrested for non-violent civil disobedience while protesting on Forest Service land. In his free time, Steve sails his 28-foot Cape Dory sloop, presently berthed at Lago Isabel. He has sailed from Maine to Guatemala and from New York to Europe with his wife and friend Susan Nelson.
Al Espinosa, Moscow, Idaho
Al is a retired fisheries biologist from the Clearwater National Forest. He was a private consultant (Espinosa Consulting) for eighteen years following his career with the Forest Service. He specializes in fishery-forest interactions, fish habitat and restoration, endangered species management, and biological assessments. Despite retirement, he will fight anyone or anything that threatens the wonderful resources of the Clearwater and Salmon River Basins.
Ellen Magnuson
Ellen grew up in Vancouver BC but has been living on the Palouse since 1977. She was an early board member of Hanford Watch, and helped change its name to the Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute in 1990. She teaches English as a Second Language in the Moscow School District, but lives a dual life as a river rat. She slips off to sleep next to rivers, or run rivers in her kayak, or raft whenever possible. In the winter, she likes to ski as deep into the woods as possible, where the only other tracks are from animals.