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NMFWA Board Members
Titles and affiliations are for informational purposes only and do not present the individuals as spokespersons of the Department of Defense or the agency/installation listed.
Regional Map
President - Rich Fischer
 | Rich is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, and Team Leader of the Wildlife Ecology Team in
the Ecological Resources Branch, US Army Engineer Research & Development Center's
Environmental Laboratory (ERDC). He grew up in Atlanta, GA, where he earned a B.S. in
Biology from Oglethorpe University. From there he went on to Auburn University (MS in
Wildlife Science) and the University of Idaho (PhD in Wildlife Resources) where he studied
the ecology of gray squirrels and sage grouse, respectively. His one and only real job has been
as a Research Wildlife Biologist at ERDC. The majority of his work involves research and
monitoring of bird communities on civil works and military lands; restoration and management
of riparian systems; and as lead instructor for several riparian ecology courses. He lives in
Louisville, KY, and works out of the Army Corps' Louisville District office. Aside from travel,
playing basketball, and birding, he enjoys spending time with his wife Tami and 8 school-aged
children. |
President Elect - Kirsten Christopherson
 | Kirsten has worked for the Air Force since 1996 and is currently the Senior Biologist at Beale Air Force Base in north central California. She has been a NMFWA member since 1999 and a NMFWA Board Member since 2005. She is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and holds a B.S. in Zoology (University of California, Davis) and an M.S. in Biological Conservation (California State University, Sacramento). Her primary interests include restoration and monitoring of riparian areas, vernal pools, and native grasslands in California. She also enjoys the educational outreach opportunities her job allows, by working with volunteers and mentoring interns, students, and young professionals. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and a multitude of outdoor activities with her husband, 2 year-old daughter, dog, and friends. |
Immediate Past President - Tammy Conkle
 | Tammy Conkle is a certified wildlife biologist that is currently the Natural and Cultural Resources
Manager for the Commander Navy Installations Command in Washington DC. Before that position at
NAVFAC Tammy supported Naval Facilities Engineering Command as the Natural Resources Business
Line Team Leader in the Southwest. Her installation management experience also comes from the Navy
Region Southwest footprint and where she was directly responsible for the wildlife programs at Naval
Base Coronado, Naval Base Point Loma and Naval Base San Diego. Prior to that Tammy was the wildlife
biologist at Naval Air Station/Marine Corps Air Station Miramar where she started her career with the
federal government in 1994. Her primary interest any experience has been with the management of
endangered species, migratory birds, and invasive species on Navy lands.
As your Past-President Tammy is committed to an organization that incorporates the priorities of our
members, gets folks involved, and that the importance and mission of our organization becomes more
common to the general public and our peers. Tammy is always interested in getting input from and
involving others so please let her know if you have any comments, questions, concerns, ideas or just how
you want to be involved. |
Vice President - David McNaughton
 | Dave received a B.S. in Environmental Studies from George Washington University in 2000. He worked
with butterflies at Ft. Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center in 2000 before going into wetlands
consulting for three years to see the real world. He returned to the Gap in 2004 and is still there as
the Assistant Wildlife Program Manager. Primary research interests include general botany, ecology,
woodrats, birds, and regal fritillaries. Dave has been a member since 2004 and has served as an At-
Large Director and the Recording Secretary for a number of working groups. He loves his wife, two dogs,
exploring and travel, and discussions over free beer. |
Secretary - Coralie Cobb
 | Coralie is a Senior Natural Resources Specialist working for Naval Facilities Engineering
Command, Southwest. Her father was in the Navy and she was born at the Naval Hospital
on Port Hueneme. Being a Navy child she lived a little bit of everywhere but only for two to
three years before going to college in San Diego at the University of California, San Diego.
Her first professional job was at Naval Air Station Miramar as a Biological Aide, Natural
Resources Specialist, and Botanist. During those seven years, the installation won the Secretary
of the Navy Installation award for Natural Resources Conservation Award in recognition of
outstanding achievements (1991, 1994 and 1996) and Coralie was the recipient of the 1994
Secretary of the Navy, Natural Resources Conservation Individual Award. She moved to Naval
Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest in 1996 to work as the biologist overseeing the
avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures related to the $350 million dollar realignment
of NAS Miramar to MCAS Miramar. Most recently she worked on a 10 month detail to
NAVFAC Pacific and was the lead biologist for the Section 7 consultation for the relocation
of Marines from Okinawa to Guam and Tinian. When not working, Coralie enjoys spending
time with her husband (Jess) and two boys (Ethan and Bennett) enjoying the great outdoors in
Colorado. |
Treasurer - Jacque Rice
At-Large Director - Aaron Alvidrez
 | Aaron Alvidrez is a wildlife biologist at Luke AFB in Phoenix, where he manages natural resources on the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Southwest Arizona. After receiving a B.S. in Biology at Northern Arizona University in 2000, he began his federal career with the United
States Forest Service where he worked as a biologist on the Ogden Ranger District in northern Utah. Aaron worked with a variety of ?Management Indicator Species? and received fulfillment from the projects he was a part of, including the Northern Goshawk Program. As a native of Phoenix, Aaron enthusiastically accepted his position at Luke AFB in 2005 and was thankful for the opportunity to return to the Sonoran Desert. He takes much pride in managing the Sonoran Pronghorn Antelope Recovery Project, and enjoys working on collaborative partnerships with neighboring agencies. Aaron is happily married and takes advantage of any opportunity to share his love for wildlife and the land with his 9 year old son. He also enjoys golfing, fishing, and volunteering with the American Cancer Society. |
At-Large Director - Jackie Smith
 | Jackie is a University of Georgia graduate (BS - Zoology) who was lucky enough to land a gig in the NAS Patuxent River Natural Resources Office in 1995 (NMFWA membership followed in 1996). Her program responsibilities include wetlands, Chesapeake Bay, Coastal Zone Management, rare species, invasive species, INRMP oversight, pop-culture trivia and general Julie McCoy-level social planning for the group. |
Regional Director East - Joe Hovis
 | Joseph Hovis is the Wildlife Program Manager for the PA National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap. He has 2 decades of experience in conducting wildlife research and almost 10 years of experience managing natural resources at Fort Indiantown Gap. He has been a NMFWA member since 2001 and has attended every annual meeting since. Joe (to his friends or those that know he is of German decent) was Eastern Regional Director 2003-2004 and Chair Herpetology Workgroup 2006-2008 and will present/talk about management of natural resources and the military mission to anywhere/anyone that is willing to accept an abstract or stand still for 2 minutes.
His goal as an At-Large Regional Director is to elevate NMFWA in the eyes of the command as supporting the mission (today?s and tomorrow?s) and natural resources agencies as an organization of experienced professionals, improve networking among members, and provide assistance to members as requested.
Major objectives are to improve communication inter-services and within the Major Commands through presentations, sessions, and work-groups, challenging each other to kick butt, promoting friendly competitions, and learning, adapting, borrowing from each others programs and projects and learning from successes and failures. Learn about each others missions and challenges from each other and not TV and movies (e.g. NCIS, The Unit, Full Metal Jacket, Top Gun, Apocalypse Now, Heartbreak Ridge, Platoon, Black Hawk Down, Big Red One, Saving Private Ryan, The Hunt for Red October, and Stripes). |
Regional Director East - Don George
 | Don works as a wildlife biologist for the 45th Space Wing (45SW) of the United States Air Force on Cape Canaveral Air force Station (CCAFS), Florida, and has been actively managing natural resources on CCAFS and other 45SW CONUS and GSU installations for over 31 years. Don has also been a member of NMFWA since the early 1980?s
His degrees are in biology and chemistry from Daytona State College and California State University, Sonoma, with an academic focus on marine invertebrate zoology. He proudly served as radioman in the U. S. Navy, including two tours of duty in Viet Nam and was honorably discharged in January of 1970.
He has been honored to receive recognition for his environmental work by being awarded the General Thomas D. White Natural Resources Conservation Award for Individual Excellence, a Citation for Meritorious Achievement pursuant to the Department of Defense Natural Resources Conservation Program, and in 2008 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Military Fish and Wildlife Association. |
Regional Director Central - David Beckman
 | David is a Wildlife Biologist at Fort McCoy Wisconsin where he has worked since 1990. David?s current role includes the management of the hunting seasons, permit sales, invasive plant species control, wildlife populations and native habitats. He received his BS in Wildlife Management from the University of Wisconsin ? Stevens Point in 1993. Starting as an
undergraduate, David has worked on a wide range of projects associated with black bear, urban deer, northern harriers, wild turkey, Copper?s hawk, grassland birds, prairie restoration, and wetland restoration. He is an active member of the Wisconsin TWS chapter where he served as editor of the chapter newsletter, developed the electronic newsletter, electronic election procedures, and initial chapter web page and spearheaded IT support for the Midwest Fish and Wildlife and National TWS conferences. He also provided support to the Invasive Plant Association of Wisconsin (IPAW) and Midwest Invasive Species Network (MIPN) in the development of their electronic newsletters, web pages and listservs. |
Regional Director Central - Dan Friese
 | Dan currently holds the position of Natural Resources Specialist at the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) with responsibilities running the full gamut from T&E and wetlands to Sikes Act and fish and wildlife management.
His educational background includes a B.S. in Zoology from Oregon State University, M.S. in Entomology from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of California.
Dan came to AFCEE from previous stints with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria, the USDA/ARS, as the Natural/Cultural Resources Manager at Ellsworth AFB, and as a Wildlife Biologist at Luke AFB.
As a NMFWA member for the last 12 years, he enjoys birding, butterflying, travel, hiking, pet birds and dogs and antiques. |
Regional Director West - Lisa Markovchick
| Lisa is a Natural Resource Specialist with the Naval Facilities Engineering
Command, Southwest in San Diego, CA, where she manages Natural Resources
Damage Assessments, INRMPs, vegetation restoration and management, fairy
shrimp surveys and other projects. Lisa has called the Navy home for 5
years, including stints with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Navy's
Bird/Animal Aircraft Strike Hazard Program, and MCB Camp Pendleton's
Environmental Security and Fire Departments. Lisa is an ESA Certified
Ecologist, and earned an MS in Biology from San Diego State University
(2007) and a BA in Psychology and Education from Victoria University in
Wellington, New Zealand (1998). Prior to working at the Navy, Lisa
coordinated monitoring, adaptive management, and volunteers for 6 former
Superfund estuarine restoration projects in urban Seattle, and worked as an
independent consultant on consensus in natural resource decisions,
population viability analyses and temporal and spatial statistics for mammal
movement in San Diego County. |
Regional Director West - Bob Schallmann
 | Bob works as the Conservation Program Manager at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
as part of Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest. In addition to his duties
as the Station?s Natural Resources Manager, he also manages Stormwater Compliance,
Integrated Pest Management, Agricultural Outlease, and Spill Response programs. Bob
also acts as the Navy liaison to the on-site Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge and its
associated public volunteer group, the Friends of Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge.
A southern California native, he earned his B.S. in Biology with an emphasis on Ecology
and Environmental Science and M.S. in Biology from California State University
Long Beach and earned a certificate in Environmental Management from University
of California, Irvine. With over 20 years of experience working in a broad-spectrum of
habitats, his primary passion is avian ecology and management. In addition to his work
at Seal Beach, Bob is active with the National Military Fish and Wildlife Association,
Department of Defense Partners in Flight program, Ecological Society of America, and
the Pacific Seabird Group.
Prior to working for the Navy, he was an educator, trainer, and environmental consultant.
In addition to keeping up with his kids, he enjoys travel, fishing, basketball, volleyball,
photography, and hiking. |
Newsletter Editor - Laura Busch
 | Laura is a Natural Resources Specialist with Navy US Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, VA. She works to ensure Navy training remains in compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and NEPA. Her previous military experience includes serving as the Environmental Planner at Seymour Johnson AFB in NC, a Natural Resources Specialist at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms CA, and also as an enlisted Marine in the CH-53 helicopter squadron, HMT-302 in Tustin, CA. Laura received a BS in Agriculture Economics from West Virginia University and a MS in Beef Cattle Science and a MAg (Masters of Agriculture) in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Texas A&M University, where she interned as a wildlife/range biologist at the King Ranch in Kingsville TX. Laura has been a member of NMFWA since 2006 and previously served as Eastern Regional Director. She became editor of the FAWN in 2010 and is always looking for interesting articles. When not editing the FAWN or the Annual Training Program, Laura enjoys traveling, knitting the yarn gathered in her travels, and hiking with her two dogs. |
Phone List
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Commercial |
| Rich Fischer |
502-315-6707 |
| Kirsten Christopherson |
530-634-2643 |
| Tammy Conkle |
202-433-4482 |
| David McNaughton |
717-861-8408 |
| Coralie Cobb |
720-542-3085 |
| Jacque Rice |
619-726-0873 |
| Aaron Alvidrez |
623-856-8487 |
| Jackie Smith |
301-757-0007 |
| Joe Hovis |
717-861-2806 |
| Don George |
321-853-6823 |
| David Beckman |
608-388-5374 |
| Dan Friese |
210-395-8406 |
| Lisa Markovchick |
619-549-6592 |
| Bob Schallmann |
562-626-7290 |
| Laura Busch |
757-836-8471 |
E-mail List
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