Local Leavenworth Manager Promoted

The position of Manager for the Leavenworth Fisheries Complex (LFC) has been vacant since May 2019. As of March 2, Jim Craig will take over the job. Jim has been the Deputy Manager for LFC since 2014 and a local resident since 2000.

After acquiring his BS in Fisheries from Humboldt State University in 1985, Jim started his fishery career aboard a stern trawler monitoring foreign fishing in the Bering Sea. He then spent a field season with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife working on the Skykomish River, and several years as a term employee at two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) offices in California.

Jim started his permanent career with the Service in 1992 at the Stockton-San Joaquin Fish and Wildlife Office, where he supervised investigations evaluating the effect of release location on survival of juvenile Chinook salmon within the Sacramento Bay Delta. Later, Jim took a job at a Service office in Arcata, California, supervising the Klamath/Trinity River juvenile salmonid monitoring program. He next became responsible for the salmon and sturgeon gill net harvest monitoring program on the Yurok Indian Reservation on approximately 40 miles of the lower Klamath River.

In 2000, Jim accepted a position as Deputy Project Leader at the Mid-Columbia Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (MCFWCO) in Leavenworth, Washington, which is part of the LFC. In 2007, he was selected as Project Leader of the MCFWCO, responsible for budget development and planning and the overall supervision of about 30 staff located over 3 different offices from Yakima to Winthrop. In 2014, Jim was designated as the Deputy Complex Manager of the LFC. In his new job as Complex manager, he will supervise about 50 employees spread over five locations, recruit personnel, develop and execute a large budget, and oversee management of facilities at hatcheries in Leavenworth, Entiat, and Winthrop. Jim lives in Cashmere with his wife Lisa. When not working, he enjoys fishing, golfing, and spending time with his grand-kids!

“I look forward to the opportunities and challenges of this position,” Jim said. “We continue to pursue infrastructure upgrades at all three of our now 80 year-old facilities.  I am very excited about two major projects at Leavenworth NFH that will improve both our ability to raise and release spring Chinook salmon while also benefitting the Icicle Creek environment.  In 2022 we are planning on a major project to replace our water delivery system. The project will include a new water intake head works, all-new compliant screening, fish passage improvements, and replacement or re-lining of the current water delivery pipeline. About the same time, we will be building and testing a new fish rearing system that will reduce our surface water withdrawal from Icicle Creek and improve the quality of the water we send back to the creek.  The challenge will be to keep fish production going throughout these important projects, but these challenges can be met due to the dedicated and excellent staff at the Complex and with the support of all the partners we work with in this beautiful valley.”

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit:

http://www.fws.gov