Will Arnesen and Josh Drown receive 2010 NCR Co-Employee of the Year Award

Please help us in congratulating Will and Josh in receiving 2010 Natural and Cultural Resources Co-Employee of the Year Award who extend their thanks to all the volunteers that contribute their valuable time and efforts to their programs.
Will Arnesen is being recognized as the Natural and Cultural Resource (NCR) Division Co-Employee of the Year for 2010. Will directs the park’s field restoration operation and takes great pride in all aspects of the vegetation restoration program. He is a very accomplished at coordinating invasive non-native plant treatments by both the crew and the EPMT, native plant salvage and maintenance, and planting of both salvage and greenhouse produced native plant materials. In October 2009 he coordinated the completion of planting approximately 100,000 greenhouse plants and 5,000 contractor grown shrubs at Paradise, and this year will plant approximately 120,000 plants at Paradise and Sunrise. He is very dedicated to protecting the ecosystems of the park and maintenance of the salvage and greenhouse plantings through scheduling regular watering by the crew after initial planting. He has proven to be an excellent supervisor of a crew that is composed of personnel from various sources including seasonal hires, student hires, SCA’s, YCC’s and Japanese VIP’s. He also incorporates the efforts of various volunteer groups on weekends and specials events, including training for the ongoing efforts of volunteer meadow rovers. On National Public Lands Day he coordinated the efforts of over 150 volunteers in that one day. Since the previous restoration lead went on extended detail, Will has assumed leadership of the vegetation restoration crew without missing a beat. He purchases supplies and materials needed to support the operation, and documents those purchases to support management of the numerous accounts that fund the operation, including Paradise restoration, Sunrise restoration and several Federal Highways projects. Will also routinely presents vegetation of the park and restoration program information to both internal and external groups, such as seasonal interpreters and Elderhostel.

Josh Drown is being recognized as the Natural and Cultural Resource (NCR) Division Co-Employee of the Year for 2010. Josh manages the park’s horticultural operation and takes great pride in the production of native plants for the vegetation restoration program. He is a very accomplished at coordinating seed collection and cleaning, stratification and propagation, care of containerized plants and subsequent transplanting. In October 2009 he completed production and delivery of approximately 100,000 greenhouse plants to the Paradise restoration site, and this year is in process of production of another 120,000 plants: 80,000 plants for Paradise and 40,000 plants for Sunrise. He is very dedicated to the nurturing of the seedlings and plants by tending to the watering and climate control of the greenhouse. He will come in on weekends or holidays before seasonal staff have come on duty or when they are otherwise unavailable to provide plant care and facility maintenance. Since the retirement of the previous horticulturist, Josh has assumed management of the greenhouse without missing a beat. He purchases supplies and materials needed to support the operation and maintain the facilities, and documents those purchases to support management of the numerous accounts that fund the operation, including Paradise restoration, Sunrise restoration and several Federal Highways projects. Josh routinely assists other staff in the operation of the park’s air quality monitoring station at Tahoma Woods, and directs the mowing of the meadows adjacent to the greenhouse to reduce the potential of invasive plants to contaminate the native plant materials used for restoration.

Will and Josh are hard-working employees and well respected by their staff, peers and all NCR personnel. Will and Josh are to be commended for their excellent technical skills and dedication to resource protection. Their work in the vegetation restoration program compliments each other and they are both very deserving of this award.