Welcome New Staff!

SFEG would like to welcome two new Americorps volunteers, Kyle and Sacha. We look forward to working with them and helping them get to know the Skagit and its salmon.

Hello! My name is Kyle Koch (pronounced Cook with a German accent). I am the new Habitat Restoration Assistant with Skagit Fisheries, through WCC. I was raised in Madison, NH, which is in the gorgeous White Mountains. I always had an interest in environmental science and went to Unity College in Maine and graduated with a BS degree in ecology. During my time there I had an internship for one summer with the White Mountain National Forest where I mainly conducted stream restoration for brook trout. After graduation I found that I had a strong interest in invasive plants and freshwater ecosystems, so I worked with Invasive Plant Control, Inc, which, well, manages invasive plants in the southeast. After that I served with AmeriCorps Cape Cod for a year, where I had a variety of responsibilities with different organizations including herring run restoration, invasive plant management, shellfish propagation and trust land monitoring. I look forward to working with Skagit where I can obtain more work and life experiences!

Kyle Koch exploring Finney Creek

My name is Sacha Johnson, and I’m excited to be serving as the outreach assistant through Washington Service Corps for the next ten months. I’ve been splashing around in Northwest waters for as long as I can remember. I learned to swim in Jim Creek along the Stillaguamish River. I’m guilty of building dams, “rescuing” salmon fry, and pulling caddis flies out of their cases to get a closer look. I’ve squeezed salmonberry juice and collected cottonwood fluff. And let me discourage you from ever eating skunk cabbage; it is a very painful experience. Although my explorations were not always beneficial to my backyard ecosystem, they have inspired me to study ecology and work in stream restoration. My family has farmed, logged, and depended on the Stillaguamish Valley for five generations. I view my work as an act of respect and gratitude for the larger ecological community that has raised me.


I graduated from the University of Washington with a B.S. in ecosystem science and a certificate in restoration ecology. During college, I worked as a camp counselor for YMCA Camp Orkila and as a naturalist leading Junior Ranger programs for Mount Rainier National Park. I also worked on restoration projects with the U.W. Botanic Gardens and Snohomish County. I have been working for the National Park Service for the past four years implementing restoration projects in wilderness areas and conducting vegetation surveys. I spent the past summer mapping vegetation associations in North Cascades National Park. I have also worked for North Cascades Institute, working with the Native Plant Steward program on a restoration project at the new North Cascades Environmental Learning Center. I believe that citizen education and stewardship should be at the heart of all natural resource management. I am very excited to be working for Skagit Fisheries and have already learned a lot about salmon and the Skagit River. Hopefully I will see you around at planting parties, or I may even be teaching your child in the Junior Stream Stewards program!

We are happy to also welcome Mary Mae Hardt, our new finance manager. She is responsible for tracking Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group’s federal, state, and private contracts and managing the day to day accounting. She grew up on a wfarm in eastern Washington and has been living iSkagit Valley for the past six years. Prior to joining Skagit Fisheries, Mary Mae has been raising her two children who are now attending Clear Lake Elementary. She has learned all her accounting know-how on the job, most recently as bookkeeper for Burlington Little School. Mary Mae has a Masters in Biology. With 15 years of professional experience, Mary Mae has worked for the National Park Service, the Forest Service, and the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department. She was responsible for the creation of Kansas’s first Rails to Trails trail. Mary Mae loves the diversity of the Skagit Valley: being able to enjoy the mountains, rivers, and, at the same time, being able to purchase fresh food from local farmers. She enjoys constantly learning new things about the fascinating history and ecology of the area.