From the MidCoast Watershed Council

My name is Evan Hayduk. I will be taking over as the Watershed Restoration Specialist with the MidCoast Watersheds Council later this month. I am new to Oregon but have an ingrained sense of Pacific Northwest pride as a lifelong Washingtonian. I recently moved to the state to join my wife, Jen, who is a graduate student at Oregon State University. We currently live in Corvallis, but will be making the move to Lincoln County to be closer to the MCWC office and Jen’s fieldwork in the estuaries along the coast.

I spent most of my childhood outside. My parents set me to work in the family garden from a young age, and I would take every moment to enjoy the outdoors. My first real job was at a retail nursery in high school, and my love for plants and the outdoors continued from there. In college, I focused on environmental issues and policy in my political science degree. Soon afterward I found out that I was much more interested in the” hands-on” side of the restoration world.

Since college, I have been committed to environmental restoration and have worked in riparian, wetland, sub-alpine, prairie, forested and oak savanna ecosystems in Washington State. I completed a Master’s in Environmental Studies at The Evergreen State College in 2012, focusing on watershed restoration, hydrology and the use and development of cutting edge data visualization technologies.
In my free time I love to camp, hike and backpack. I’m also a vegetable gardener and avid birder, splitting time between the backyard garden and favorite birding spots. Also, Jen and I both have a travel bug that is constantly calling and have spent time volunteering and traveling in South and Central America.

I am very excited to start work with the MidCoast Watersheds Council. My tasks for the coming year include initiating 4-6 new restoration projects and continuing to manage all current projects. However, my first goal is to meet and get to know all of our collaborators. I am here to help, so please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or ideas about MCWC or the work we do. Please come meet me and attend our next general meeting on Thursday, May 5th at the Lincoln County PUD building at 6:30 PM.