STAFF
Erik Rook
District Manager
Erik grew up in the coastal mountains near Santa Cruz California. He earned his BS in Ecology from the Evergreen State College in Washington after 2 years of internships and courses at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. He moved to Eastern Oregon in 2010 with a 4 year stint working as a biologist in Alaska from 2012 to 2016. Erik started working for the SWCD as a Project Manager and took the role of District Manager in 2021. He has 12 years of experience in resource management and watershed restoration. Living in the natural playground of eastern Oregon, he spends his off time hunting, fishing, rafting and skiing with his wife and their two dogs.
Todd Hoodenpyl
Office Manager
Todd Hoodenpyl has been working for the Monument Soil and Water Conservation District since the Fall of 2022. Todd has 25 years’ experience working as a Game Warden for the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division and brings many years of experience working with Oregon’s Natural Resources and conservation partners. Todd is a landowner within the District and an avid sportsman where he enjoys hunting with an addiction for waterfowl.
BOARD of DIRECTORS
Jim Bahrenburg - Zone 1
Chairman
Lisa Atkin - Zone 2
Director
Vice-Chairman
Andy Watkins - At Large #2
Jeff Thomas - At Large #1
Secretary/Treasurer
Brian Campbell - Zone 3
Director
Carrie Jewell
Associate Director
Emily Schmidt
Project Manager
Emily was born and raised in Homer, Alaska. She earned a BS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, in 2016. Emily has worked on numerous wildlife research and conservation projects across the United States, including for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, working with pacific salmon; and for the University of Wyoming’s Natural Diversity Database, conducting amphibian and small mammal surveys. She has also studied seabirds for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and served as a wildlife technician in Central California, Maine, and Oregon. She is very excited to explore eastern Oregon and make Monument her home.