Jay Hunter

Jay Hunter – Biography

I had the good fortune to be born into the Washington Game Dept. (WDG) and was raised hunting and fishing throughout the state. My father is Wes Hunter who went from Asst. Dir. WDG to set up the Wash. Department of Ecology where he was Deputy Director and Director. When WDG headquarters moved from Seattle to Olympia, we moved to waterfront on south Puget Sound and I had my first power boat at 13 years old. SCUBA diving was one of my main activities during high school and my interest in the fisheries world was firmly established. Two summers during high school were spent monitoring the sport razor clam harvest for the Washington Department of Fisheries. During my college years I worked for the National Park Service. At Alaska’s Mt. McKinley National Park I spent two summers and a winter doing general labor, feeding sled dogs, and running instruments as a surveyor. Bighorn Canyon National Park Montana was next, again doing surveyor, construction layout work. Alaska and Montana both provided many exciting fishing, hunting and outdoor adventures.

Graduation was from Western Wash. University majoring in Biology, with Chemistry and Math minors, specializing in aquatic resources. In 1972 I started with the WDG working with water programs, habitat permits and running fisheries research projects. In 1978 I joined the WDG Region 6 fisheries staff for Pacific, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Clallam, Mason, Kitsap, Thurston, and (later on) Pierce counties. I fell in love with the habitats and resources of our coastal region and remained working in that region as a Fish Biologist until retirement in 2002. Working with multiple waters, sport clubs, tribes, governments and interest groups was very educational. The diversity and beauty of the Pacific Ocean coast, Strait of Juan De Fuca, Hood Canal, South Sound and all the associated lakes and rivers provided me a unique and rewarding fisheries career. At one time or another I was the Fish Biologist for all the freshwater resources in Region 6, with many projects, many awards and many friends.

Major activities as a fish biologist include stock assessment and harvest management. Stock assessment includes steelhead and salmon spawner surveys to determine “escapement”, the number of fish of a particular species spawning in individual rivers (Willapa and Grays Harbor streams north to the Quinault and Puget Sound tributaries in Mason, Thurston and Pierce counties). Floating, walking or flying rivers to count spawning sites (redds) is one of the more enjoyable activities of a field job. Harvest management includes working with tribes to determine harvest allocations and sport seasons, (Quinault, Chehalis, Squaxin, Nisqually and Puyallup tribes). Lowland lake lead for WDFW Region 6, kokanee and cutthroat lead including developing the Endangered Species cutthroat response for Region 6 WDFW to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Designating all trout lake plants in my District, coordinating “opening day” information for all of Region 6, kokanee spawning surveys and High Lake growth/population surveys in the Olympics provided me a tremendous “inland fish” background. Bull Trout recovery team member for the Cascades.

After retirement in 2002, with over 30 years with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), I have continued to expand my professional experiences. I’ve been fortunate to continue working for WDFW in a part-time capacity. I supervised an effort to monitor Issaquah Creek for extinct kokanee and worked sampling the commercial Purse Seine fishery in the waters of the San Juan Islands, Hood Canal and Puget Sound. In volunteer capacities I have been a Fisheries Advisor to the Washington Wildlife Federation on the Toutle/Cowlitz system and joined Eyes In The Woods as their Fish Director. Please see the STREAMWATCH program at eyesinthewoods.org. I look forward to working with the many exceptional organizations and sportsmen of Washington to protect those resources I love. In 2004 I went to the Seattle Maritime Academy for training to get my Coast Guard Masters License, to allow me to guide with my boat Snow Goose.

Through my first marriage I have two wonderful adult children. In 1993 I married to Rosanne Thompson, a Youth Services Librarian. A Port Angeles native, her boundless energy and love of horses, camping, and the outdoors is a great compliment to our mutual interests. My favorite activities are saltwater fishing, cross country skiing, hunting, shellfishing, camping and gardening. Rosanne’s are horseback riding, cross country skiing, fishing and camping. We live in an outdoor setting in Olympia where we keep our horses-Tanner & Dallas, goat Gerta, dogs- Jiffy & Choco, cat- LC and boat-Snow Goose. We are developing “Washington Outdoor Adventures” as a guide to adventures service, to share our skills and experience with others.

Jay completed a one year position with the Quileute tribe during 2006/07 as a Salmon Recovery Biologist for the Quillayute watershed. A list of all potential salmon restoration projects for the Quillayute, Dickey, Sol Duc, Calawah, Sitkum and Bogachiel rivers was developed and prioritized.