Meet our Officers
President Mike Mumford
Pend Oreille Conservation District
Mike grew up in Southwestern Michigan on a sixty plus acre hobby farm (though if pressed, he’ll admit it was more work than hobby). The farm had a small commercial asparagus operation and for a while his dad ran a sixty head pig business. There were always two to three Holstein steers hanging around; all of the corn and alfalfa used to feed the steers was grown on the farm. Besides picking asparagus he earned spending money picking raspberries, grapes and helping bale hay for local dairy farmers. Mike graduated from Michigan Technological University with a bachelor of science degree in forestry. He worked for almost thirty years for the U.S. Forest Service as a small sales/salvage sales forester, a presale forester/logging systems specialist as well as in various positions within the Fire and Aviation Management division ending his career doing resource protection work. When he was stationed on the Paisley Ranger District of the Fremont National Forest he gained experience with large scale beef cattle operations including how to navigate a rig through a 1,000 head of cattle being driven down a state highway! Because of his forestry knowledge Mike was asked in October 2015 to join the Pend Oreille Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors, and in June of 2019 joined the Washington Association of Conservation Districts as an Area Director; he currently serves as the Association’s vice-president. Mike’s interests are small farm operations (including farmer’s markets), small woodlot management, wildfire prevention/protection especially in the wildland urban interface and wildfire smoke intrusion into populated areas.
Vice President Amy McKay
Whitman Conservation District
Conservation issues are hugely important to Amy, considering her and her family’s farming and ranching livelihood depend on sustainable conservation practices to keep the ground healthy for crops and animals to prosper. Amy furthered her interests in agricultural conservation by joining the Whitman Conservation District in 2017 as a supervisor. In 2018, she was chosen to serve on the WACD State Board of Directors as one of two SE Area Directors. Then, at the 2019 Annual WACD Meeting, she was selected to be secretary on the Executive Committee. She believes that for animals and people to coexist harmoniously, conservation practices need to be approached in a unique way. This individuality will permit people to be successful in earning a living and allow flora and fauna the habitat they need to thrive. Informing landowners about conservation practices will improve their land and enhance the surrounding ecosystem. Amy earned a B.S. in biology from Eastern Washington University. When she is not volunteering her time for the conservation district, she can be found assisting her husband with their farm and ranch responsibilities, working in a salon as a colorist/stylist and doting on her horses, dogs, cats and chickens.
Email Amy
Secretary Barbara Bailey
Underwood Conservation District
Treasurer Dave Fenn
Lewis Conservation District
When asked to join the Lewis Conservation District Board, Dave decided to accept the challenge because he was concerned about the noxious weeds growing on a nearby CREP planting. Working with district staff and the Washington State Conservation Commission they were able to satisfactorily address the issue. His biggest challenge since serving on the board arose after the flood of 2007 on the Chehalis River. Lewis CD staff and Board members worked with state and federal agencies to aid landowners to clean up after the flood. The district continues with projects to open streams to salmon and work with farmers to manage manure and improve soil health among other projects.
Dave and his brother farmed together for 40 years and he is now sort of semi-retired. They operated an old fashioned diversified operation, growing processing vegetables, vegetable seed, grains and forage crops for cattle. Name a Western Washington field crop and Dave has likely grown it.
Email Dave
National Director Doug Rushton
Thurston Conservation District
Doug loves the locally-lead, incentive-based, voluntary approach of CDs. He started at the Thurston district as an associate in 1994 and has held all the board positions, chairing from 1999 to 2014. (He is proud of the fact during that time, the Thurston CD was district of the year twice.) He has served on numerous WACD committees, chairing the operations committee and the former forestry committee. He currently serves as the WACD national director (i.e. representative to NACD) sitting on the NACD Natural Resources Policy Committee and the NACD Board. He is currently the vice chair of the NACD Pacific Region and has sat on the NACD Forestry Group since 2006, again representing the Pacific Region. Even though he is a forester by training, he has farmed in both Ferry and Whatcom counties. He spent most of his career working water issues for Ecology, but has also been a Forest Service forester, a fish biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, a wildlife agent for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, among other adventures.
Email Doug
Past President Jeanette Dorner
Pierce Conservation District
Jeanette’s first experience with conservation districts is when she was a community volunteer starting in 1996, working with the Pierce Conservation District and her neighbors to take care of the rural creek she grew up on. In 2009 Jeanette was elected to Pierce’s Board of Supervisors and in 2010 she was elected by her fellow board members to be Chair. Jeanette continues to serve as Chair of Pierce CD’s Board. She was elected to the WACD board first as Area Director for the Northwest Area and then soon after the Vice President of the Association in 2016. She completed two years as Vice President before being elected President in 2018. She has since been re-elected twice to continue as President. When she’s not volunteering to support the work of conservation districts she splits her time between her work as the Executive Director of the Nisqually Land Trust, and as a mom of a 17 year old son and a 11 year old daughter. Jeanette has degrees in Earth Science, Environmental Studies, and Restoration Ecology.
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