Sportsmen's Conservation Project - Staff Directory

Steve Kandell, Director
1053 Main Ave #111
Durango, CO 81301
(970) 259-5116

Steve Kandell joined TU in 2008, and is based in Durango, Colorado. Steve was drawn to the West over a decade ago to pursue his passions for hunting, fishing and conservation. Prior to working for the SCP, Steve worked as an environmental planner for both the private and public sectors, working with sportsmen, industry, local communities and others to address a variety of contentious public lands issues. Steve now coordinates the SCP's efforts to secure a strong sportsmen's heritage in the West for future generations.

Chris Hunt, Communications Director
(208)552-0891

Chris is an author and former newspaper editor and reporter who lives in Idaho Falls, Idaho, with his wife and two children. An avid fly fisher, Chris spends his free time pursuing wild trout in small water throughout the West—like most die-hard creek freaks, he almost always has his six-foot, 3-weight and a ragged Atlas and Gazetteer tucked behind the passenger seat of his truck. He has worked for TU since 2005, where he handles the media efforts for all Sportsmen's Conservation Project staffers.

Brad Powell, Energy and ORV Coordinator
(928) 300-5451

Brad has a deep personal and professional interest in wildlife and management of important habitats, particularly onpublic lands. He is an an active outdoor enthusiast enjoying the trails, lakes, and rivers of the West. He was raised hunting for big game (rabbits and quail) and fishing for trophy fish (blue gill and bass) in Missouri. After moving to the West he graduated to other big game and fish species to continue his interests. Brad was born in Houston, Texas, raised in Missouri, and received a degree in Forest Science from the University of Missouri. He began his working career as a wild land firefighter for the Forest Service in Arizona. He worked for the US Forest Service for over 30 years serving as District Staff, District Ranger and National Monument Ranger for Mount Saint Helens, as Forest Supervisor in Kentucky and Alaska and as Regional Forester in the Pacific Southwest Region (California) and in the Northern Region (Idaho and Montana). He currently resides in Payson, Arizona.

Mike Beagle, Oregon/Washington Field Coordinator
(541) 482-4895

Mike works with sportsmen onpublic lands issues in Oregon and Washington. He grew up hunting, fishing and backpacking in the south Cascades of Oregon then earned his BS in History at Southern Oregon State College. He graduated from the US Army Officer Candidate School and the Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia and served as a field artillery officer in the 9th Infantry Division. He later taught history and coached in Oregon high schools for 15 years and received his MA in History and Government from the University of Portland. With his wife Karin and two children, he loves to hunt, fish and backpack the west.

Corey Fisher, Energy Field Coordinator
(406) 546-2979

Corey grew up in the same state as TU, Michigan. After jobs guiding and with the Forest Service, he came to work for TU's Sportsmen's Conservation Project on oil and gas development issues facing Western trout, wildlife and hunters and anglers. Located in Missoula, Montana, Corey spends his free time in the mountains, on the rivers, or in the sloughs hunting elk, deer, and ducks, hiking wild country, or casting to cutthroats.

Greg McReynolds, Public Lands Coordinator, New Mexico
(505)803-4694

Greg's priority is reducing the impact of off-road vehicles onpublic lands, but he also works on native fish and other SCP issues. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife Denise and spends much of his time traveling the state and working with sportsmen. Greg previously worked at the Idaho State Journal and has spent time as a writer, photographer and editor for various newspapers and magazines. When he is not working, he tries to get in as much fishing and hunting as possible. He spends the fall chasing scaled quail and mule deer and the rest of the year fly fishing New Mexico's high mountain streams.

Rod Mondt, Conservation Lands Coordinator
Rod works primarily on the Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System. He is conservationist and educator, a member Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and a founder of Sky Island Alliance as well as several other not-for-profit conservation groups. He has worked as a law enforcement ranger with the NPS, a recreation manager with the USFS, for several Not-for-Profit conservation groups and as a lecturer and field coordinator for Columbia University. He has a Masters degree in Environmental Geography with a special interest in conservation planning, regional reserve design,public lands management and environmental education. He spends his off time camping, fishing, hunting, birding, and occasionally he even gets in a round of golf.

Cathy Purves, Technical Advisor
(307) 332-9299

Cathy joined TU as Technical Advisor for TU's Responsible Energy Program in June 2005. She works on issues relating to energy development onpublic lands in the West and often collaborates on several different campaigns and projects that involve working directly with energy companies and grassroots participants. Prior to coming to TU, she worked for 3 years for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation as the Field Director and Acting Executive Director. Her career in natural resource conservation first began with a job as a Fisheries Technician for the Wyoming Game and Fish in western Wyoming. That job inspired her future career with Wyoming Game and Fish as a habitat biologist, wildlife disease technician, and a wildlife strategic planner. She has also worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and was President and owner of Purves Environmental for 10 years, working on compliance issues related to wildlife, oil and gas. She is a graduate of the University of Wyoming and lives in Lander, Wyoming with her husband, Chris, and their collection of Arabian horses, dogs and cats.

Tom Reed, Wyoming/Montana Roadless Organizer
(406) 522-7291x104

Tom works in Wyoming and Montana on a number of projects including protecting the Wyoming Range from gas drilling. A life-long Westerner, Tom attended Arizona State University where he received a bachelors degree in journalism. He has spent a career inpublic relations and communications and has worked for several newspapers and magazines. He was the information supervisor for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. He is the author of two books, Give Me Mountains For My Horses and Great Wyoming Bear Stories and is working on a third about fishing small mountain streams. He is an avid outdoorsman, horseman, hunter and angler. He splits his time between Bozeman, Montana, and Lander, Wyoming.

Scott Stouder, Idaho Field Coordinator
(208) 628-3992

Scott was born and raised in a Western Oregon logging family on the Alsea River. He grew up on that river and in the mountains that surround it. After college and a stint in the Marine Corps, he cut timber for 20 years before leaving that career and becoming a full time outdoor writer. He now lives near Riggins, Idaho a few miles from where the Salmon River leaves the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. He, his wife Holly and their family of nine horses and mules hunt and fish in Idaho's wilderness and backcountry. Scott is the Western Field Coordinator for the protection of Idaho's roadless lands for Trout Unlimited's Sportsmen's Conservation Project.

Kendall Van Dyk, Montana Field Coordinator
(406) 248-8089

Kendall joined Trout Unlimited in 2007 as a Western Energy Coordinator. Most recently, he served his first term as a Representative from Billings in the Montana Legislature. Prior to that, he was a Field Organizer for the Northern Plains Resource Council in Billings, Montana and worked primarily with landowners on coal bed methane issues is southeastern Montana. Born and raised in rural Montana, Kendall has stayed close to home. He earned his bachelor"s degree in political science in 2003 from Montana State University-Bozeman. He is an avid fly fisherman and a determined, yet fairly unsuccessful bow hunter. Kendall lives and works in Billings, Montana.