Kent Woodruff

Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service

Methow Valley, WA

8/18/2022 — 8/29/2022

Make way for the irrepressible Kent Woodruff!

Kent was our humble, knowledgeable, and overwhelmingly generous guide in the Methow Valley. He, along with our fearless leader Phil, planned the entirety of our Methow segment. His numerous connections in the valley provided us with a plethora of wise, kind, and informative speakers from day one onwards.

Kent began his work in the valley with the United States Forest Service (USFS) in the early 90’s and completed a truly mind numbing quantity of projects in his many years there. A number of these projects have taken off in incredible ways since their humble beginnings. And, as their humble founder, Kent took us to see the exciting work that is now being done around the Methow. Beginning with a rickety shack at the foot of a jaw-dropping cliff containing what is thought to be the largest townsend's big eared bat population in Washington state; to the Methow Beaver project, whom we spent a thrilling day with at one of their most successful restoration sites in the valley; to the Chelan Ridge Raptor Migration Observatory, where we saw the (very humane) trapping, data collection, and release of the first migrating sharp shinned hawk of the season. Kent gave us the insider scoop on the inner workings of the valley and the inspiring conservation efforts being spearheaded by passionate locals.

It was immediately apparent to our cohort that Kent was incredibly well respected among the many speakers with whom we met. Everyone we spoke with greeted Kent as an old friend, which we eventually came to do as well. Kent met us at the crack of dawn everyday and didn't leave until long after dusk. He bestowed an immense amount of his own knowledge and worked tirelessly to provide an unbeatable lineup of guests, each bringing their own unique take on the importance of place-based conservation. And, after two weeks in the Methow he had earned the respect, love, and friendship of each and every one of us.

We are overflowing with gratitude for you, Kent. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off our semester. Thank you so much for all your hard work and for being the sweetest, wisest human being to have touched our lives.

By Jonah Rosen-Bloom