Salmon Regional Office Dedicated

The new regional Fish and Game office in Salmon was dedicated last week, appropriately enough on Earth Day. Nearly one hundred local residents, Fish and Game staff, and members of the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation gathered on a sunny afternoon to dedicate the new building. The festivities began early in the afternoon with an open house. Fish and Game staff gave tours to local residents who stopped by to see the new facility. Residents familiar with the cramped, dilapidated conditions of the old building were impressed with the spaciousness of the new building. In addition, visitors enjoyed the new foyer and its attractive displays of mounted fish and big game animals. Formerly, many of these mounts could not be displayed due to limited space in the old office. Steve Barton, Treasurer of the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation opened the official dedication and provided background information regarding the Foundation's role in making the new Salmon office a reality. "Part of the mission of the Foundation is to help Fish and Game with projects the agency cannot undertake on its own. We took advantage of low-interest rates to finance not only this office but also new office buildings in Lewiston and Jerome." Salmon region Fish and Game Commissioner Gary Power and Fish and Game Deputy Director, Terry Mansfield both thanked the Foundation on behalf of the Fish and Game Commission and the Director's Office. Both men echoed Barton's comments on the building of the new office as being a "win-win situation" and "a good business decision" for both the Foundation and the Department. Foundation Board Member Hadley Roberts provided historical perspective on the old building as he outlined his work with Fish and Game biologists during his tenure as a wildlife biologist on the Salmon National Forest. Roberts recalled the cramped conditions in the old building, chuckling over the conversion of a men's restroom to office space a number of years ago. Roberts also expressed his pleasure as a Foundation Board member "to be able to give something back to the agency with which I had such a good working relationship for so many years." Salmon Regional Supervisor Jim Lukens took the podium to express his thanks to the Foundation as well as his staff for weathering their cramped quarters for as long as they did. "Morale is definitely up around here." Lukens noted. Following the ribbon cutting, attendees moved into the new conference room for refreshments and the opportunity to visit with Foundation Board Members. Additional building tours were also conducted for interested visitors. The new Salmon regional office is approximately 9,300 square feet and replaces a smaller building originally constructed for the Anadromous Screen Program in 1958. Remodeling of this building occurred in 1969 and again in 1996 when the screen shop was moved and the space converted to a conference room, bathrooms, and office space. Unlike the old facility, the new one has modern energy efficient heating, cooling and insulation systems that will make the facility very energy efficient. A sprinkler system for fire suppression, unheard of in the old building, is located throughout the new office. The spacious conference room can be divided to accommodate two different meetings at once. In addition, a smaller conference room is also available for small meetings when the larger conference room is in use, eliminating the need for holding meetings in office spaces where other employees are trying to work. Fish and Game will lease this building from the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the next 20years. After this time, ownership of the building will be transferred to the state. When asked what they think about their new facility, most Salmon Region employees just grin. As Nongame Biologist Beth Waterbury says "It's a totally different world working in this quality workplace." Most employees would probably agree.