Our Team
Director
Eric is a biologist with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and Mathematics from Lewis-Clark State College and an associate’s degree with advanced GIS emphasis. He is an enrolled Nez Perce tribal member who has resided in Nimiipuu Country most of his entire life. Eric has strong bloodline attachments to the Wallowa Bands of the Nez Perce and the Cayuse people where many of his ancestors were prominent leaders. Since 1997, Eric’s work history with the Nez Perce has included positions in Water Resources, Wildlife, Forestry, Fisheries, and Bio-Control. For the past many years, Eric was responsible for greenhouse management, data management, and invasive and native plant inventories in the Selway Bitterroot, Frank Church Wilderness of No Return, and the North Fork Clearwater country. Throughout his entire career, Eric has managed to work full-time, pursue his education, and raise 4 children. In his free time, he enjoys studying the history of the Nez Perce, sharing his knowledge with family and friends, wood cutting, working on cars, hunting, fishing, and traveling the region his ancestors once inhabited.
Eric Kash Kash
Tekinkéecet Waq'iswíitoqt Program Leader
James Holt, Sr. is a Rural Environmental Sociologist with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Idaho. James has over 27 years of expertise in environmental sciences and tribal community engagement. Specializing in tribal public policy, including natural resources and water policy development; climate change planning; wilderness management; and utilities administration, James brings a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues at the intersection of environmental conservation and Indigenous rights. His adeptness in federal lands management and intergovernmental relationship building further enhances his capacity to foster collaborative partnerships that prioritize tribal interests while promoting sustainable environmental practices. Through his dedication and breadth of experience, James plays a crucial role in advancing tribal relations and environmental stewardship initiatives.
James Holt
David Moen
Conservation Biologist
David is a seventh generation Oregonian with family roots in the Grand Ronde Valley. David acquired his Bachelor’s degree in Los Angeles in Cultural Anthropology and Biology. After an internship on the California condor recovery project on the central coast of California, he returned to his home state to earn a Master’s degree at Portland State University. His thesis topic: the “Bio-Cultural Recovery of Condors in the Pacific Northwest.” After working for five years as a condor field biologist, he moved to Lewiston, Idaho in 2016 to spearhead the Tribe’s condor feasibility study, and he continues to work developing the Tribe’s Hunter Stewardship Program.
Hétes’wits Wétes Field Botanist
Brandi grew up on a ranch in Texas, and from a very young age, she was always in the brush studying the dynamics between landscape ecology, plant identification, forage preferences, and wildlife populations. This foundation prompted her to pursue her educational goals where she earned her B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University. She began her M.S. in Range and Wildlife Sciences at Texas A&M University – Kingsville. Her research focused on quantifying various habitat characteristic changes relative to white-tailed deer density and habitat quality. Brandi earned her PhD at South Dakota State University where she focused on the epidemiology of respiratory disease in bighorn sheep but also continued studying nutrition, disease, and population dynamics of various big game animals. In 2017, Brandi moved to Lewiston, where she worked as a wildlife habitat biologist for 5 years, then was the wildlife biologist at Dworshak for 2 years. In her spare time, Brandi enjoys spending time with her dogs, chickens, and horses. Brandi’s favorite thing to do is to take her horses into the far stretches of the Idaho backcountry, bow in hand, pursuing bugling bull elk in September.
Brandi Felts
Gina Rickman
Administrative Assistant
Gina has served the Tribe in a number of roles for over 27 years, including as an administrative assistant for the Wildlife Division beginning in 2009. Gina enjoys the outdoors, rides into the woods, looking for and photographing wildlife, and her growing family (2 children, 6 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild).
Hétes’wits Wétes Crew Leader
Louie started with the Hétes’wits Wétes Program in 2002 after initially working on the Salmon Corp crew within the Tribe’s Department of Fisheries Resources Management.
Louie Scharnhorst
Hétes’wits Wétes Technician II
Riley started with the Hétes’wits Wétes Program in 2006 after several years as a fisheries technician with the Tribe’s Department of Fisheries Resources Management.
Riley Lozon
Tekinkéecet Waq'iswíitoqt Technician II
Lee started with the Tekinkéecet Waq'iswíitoqt Program in 2004 after many years of Tribal service with the Department of Fisheries Resources Management and Environmental Restoration & Waste Management Division’s cultural resource program.
Leland Mitchell
Carnivore Fellowship Intern
Rosie is a PhD student at the University of Colorado Boulder, focusing on the intersection of Indigenous treaty rights and natural resource management, particularly in the conservation of carnivores like wolves, grizzly bears, and wolverines! For the past 10 years, Rosie has worked in wildlife conservation in multiple capacities, including as an environmental educator, wildlife rehabilitator, and on political campaigns such as the reintroduction of wolves to Colorado and most recently, the reintroduction of wolverines. With roots in Guatemala (Maya Mam) and Michoacan, Mexico, her work is driven by a commitment to support tribal sovereignty and protect wildlife. Rosie holds a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from Oregon State University (Go Beavs!) and is a fellow with Conservation Nation. In what free time she finds, Rosie enjoys hiking, ice climbing, paddleboarding, and riding!