Crystal Boatman

Certified MOITC/MOTC instructor delivering basic boating and watercraft safety course recognized by scientific boating safety association equivalent to us-doi mocc professional standard for boat safety training on agency and institutional small boats.

• Assisted in training new operators, sharing knowledge of best practices and promoting a culture of teamwork amongst peers.
• Trained new operators on safety procedures, equipment setup, and process requirements.
• Maintained a safe working environment by enforcing strict adherence to safety guidelines and protocols.

• In this position I piloted WDFW research vessels to conduct recreational test fishing. Use a variety of fishing methods (e.g., weight and bait, downrigger, jigging, diver) to emulate the recreational salmon fishing fleet. I operate outboard and inboard/outboard motorboats, including trailering, coming along side other boats in motion, launching and docking, in all types of weather conditions. I was responsible for training and directing staff in the techniques used while Test Fishing. I performed minor routine maintenance on the boats, motors, trailers, and test fishing equipment. Operated GPS, depth finder, AIS, VHF, and electronic data collection devices. I ensured safety of self and other staff while at sea. I collected biological data on salmon catch. I ensured that the data is accurately recorded, summarized, and uploaded to Puget Sound Sampling Unit's database. I also piloted WDFW research vessels to conduct on the water boat surveys. I would intercept recreational and charter fishing vessels at sea (stationery and while trolling) to conduct angler interviews. I trained and direct new staff in launching, retrieving and operating the vessel safely. I sampled recreational fisheries for salmon, marine fish and shellfish catch to determine the catch per unit of effort and species composition to obtain valid sport catch estimates for salmon and other marine fish. Interviewing as many recreational fishery anglers as possible at assigned boat launch facilities. I observed, counted, and accurately identified all salmon and marine fish species. I would sample all Coho and Chinook salmon with electronic coded-wire tag (CWT) detection devices (wand detectors).

• Certified MOTC/MOTC instructor delivering basic boating and watercraft safety course recognized by Scientific Boating Safety Association, equivalent to US-DOI MOCC as professional standard for boat safety training on agency and institutional small boats.

• I am a subject matter expert and primary Trainer responsible to organize, instruct, facilitate, and contract training for job tasks involving the operation and safety of motorized vessels and electrofishing. Training courses also include non-motorized vessels, snorkeling, diving, cold water survival, and cold-water fishery observation. I am a MOTC, CPR/FA, Wilderness First Aid instructor for the agency and am responsible for developing e-learnings, as well as delivering in person training to the agency. I developed, maintained, and trained agency policies and standard operating procedures that includes operations, personal protective equipment, working remote and/or alone, emergency procedures, and emerging issues for electro-fishing. I was responsible for managing training and equipment logistics and maintenance. Under the direction of the Safety Manager I was to respond to Safety and Security Incident Reports involving watercraft and aircraft. Evaluate incidents/near misses and provide training recommendations to management to avoid future incidents. Respond as directed to concerns, requests and reports received by employees, management, agency partners and the public by conducting a thorough review, providing training recommendations. Provide consultation to supervisors, programs, and HR Consultants on training issues.

• I primarily conducted spawning ground surveys by locating on GIS, or a map random predetermined locations. The sites were accessed by driving to and walking or boating selected stream reaches to count spawning salmonids. I would document all live as well as spawned salmonids. The survey areas were located by reading written descriptions and maps and identifying landmarks. I would operate state vehicles, and watercraft. I would accurately record field data on redds, counts of fish and survey conditions on PDAs. I also obtained various biological samples from spawned-out salmon. This included size, sex, otoliths, and scales. I also document any fin clips, PIT or CWT tags and remove snouts to recover coded wire tags. Check data and biological samples for accuracy prior to uploading to the server daily. I also worked weirs daily as needed, assisted in obtaining 25 pairs of salmonids to meet hatchery broodstock goals. Would respond to site locations to recover any public reports of Salmon loss for pathology to determine cause.

• In this position I was tasked with collecting, sorting, spawning, sampling, of adult and juvenile salmon. Broodstock collection was primarily accomplished at the Modrow weir. At Modrow I would operate the riding crowder, the lift gate, pescolator, and electric shock box. I would coordinate with the biological field techs and assist them by accurately sexing and identifying all fish, wand for PIT's, sort by species and mark status while recording data. I performed daily routines which included the operation of pond vacuuming with both a trash can pump and a venturi system. I operate a pressure washer for pond cleaning, I brush screens at the intake, and pond screens to maintain water flow. Pick and record fish mortality both on an in-house form and in FishBooks. I weigh and feed fish daily. I am responsible for weighing and counting salmon eggs to estimate fecundity. I lay eggs down, shock and pick out dead, deformed eggs and record dead loss. These duties require long periods of standing, careful attention to detail and protocols in often cold temperatures. cleaning adult handling areas, vehicles, hatchery buildingsthrrooms were also part of my duties. I would routinely weed eat, rake, paint, and patch leaks in raceways and screens. I often did small equipment repairs and maintenance. I would respond to/answer questions from visitors or outside entities in a polite and professional manner. Conducts organized tours; identifies the best way to respond with difficult-to-answer questions or when information is not readily obtainable. I am forklift and chainsaw certified and can operate a tractor safely and have successfully completed snorkel, swift water, OARS, CPR, and wilderness first aid classes with the agency.

• Participated in hatchery evaluation and monitoring activities at multiple collection locations and hatchery facilities. This is accomplished by conducting field work associated with sampling and biological data collection on Chinook, Coho, Chum, Steelhead, and Trout within the Lower Columbia River Basin Hatchery Complexes. This included bio-sampling at hatchery spawning events, with collection of Coded Wire Tags (CWT), genetic and scale samples, and biometric data. Utilized electronic data capture by entering real time data into data loggers and tablets and PDA's Also participated in capturing, identifying, enumerating, handling, and tagging and/or marking salmonids (juveniles and adults) at or near hatchery facilities for monitoring and evaluation purposes. Conducted run-evaluation sampling of salmon and Steelhead per programmatic objectives and for fishery management. Responsible for organizing and conducting pre release length/weight sampling of juvenile salmonids throughout the lower Columbia River basin, and coordinating with hatchery, fish pathology, and tribal staff to ensure all sampling was conducted according to established protocols. Collected broodstock for established enhancement and hatchery programs. Worked closely with M&E Tech 3, hatchery staff, M&E Biologists, and district/area biologists for coordination of field activities, scheduling, and communicating with stakeholders on broodstock collection goals. Regularly used a computer to enter data that had been collected into established spreadsheets and/or databases, ie FishBooks, TWS, ArcGIS. Assisted in pedestrian survey of spawning grounds for enumeration of redds and carcass collection following established protocols. Identified and enumerated adult salmonids (live and dead) and redds, as well as tallying Pacific Lamprey. Conducted interviews with hatchery staff to develop updated hatchery specific operation manuals and protocols.

• In this position I was tasked with collecting, sorting, spawning, sampling, of adult and juvenile salmon. I would coordinate with the biological field techs and assist them by accurately sexing and identifying all fish, wand for PIT's, sort by species and mark status while recording data. I performed daily routines which included the operation of pond vacuuming with both a trash can pump and a venturi system. I operate a pressure washer for pond cleaning, I brush screens at the intake, and pond screens to maintain water flow. Pick and record fish mortality both on an in-house form and in FishBooks. I weigh and feed fish daily. I am responsible for weighing and counting salmon eggs to estimate fecundity. I lay eggs down, shock and pick out dead, deformed eggs and record dead loss. I would routinely weed eat, rake, paint, and patch leaks in raceways and screens. I often did small equipment repairs and maintenance. I am forklift and chainsaw certified and can operate a tractor safely and have successfully completed swift water, OARS, CPR, MOTC and wilderness first aid classes with the agency.

• My duties were to inspect recreational and commercial watercraft at mandatory check stations, identify and preserve possible AIS from watercraft, and report watercraft if infested with AIS for decontamination. Record collected information on electronic tablets. Interact with the public, conduct standardized interviews to obtain watercraft data, and perform routine data. Collect, organize, and compile information from check station operations, complete and submit weekly activity reports. Perform quality control on information collected at inspection stations. I also maintained vehicles, inspection station sites, and trailer electronic reader boards. I ensured that electronic tablets are in safe and working order.

• My duties included conducting angler creel interviews, providing feedback about sampling protocols, and accurately recording data. I observed, counted, and accurately identified all salmon and marine fish species Capture, identify, enumerate, handle and tag and/or mark salmonids (juveniles and adults) for mark/recapture programs and distribution monitoring. I was responsible for gathering biological data i.e., DNA on all salmonid species caught commercially, tribally or via sport fishing through scale, snout collection and fin samples. I recorded fork length, sex, species, color as well as used equipment to identify and recover PIT and CWT tags for recovery. I conducted interviews with sport anglers and recorded catches by species and collected biological samples from fish such as salmon, trout, and sturgeon. Monitor and observe commercial fisheries. Use established protocols to detect and collect coded wire tags (CWT) and passive integrated transponders (PIT), collecting DNA for Genetic Stock Identification (GSI) and making Visual Stock Identification (VSI) calls. Accurately enter data into dataloggers and PDAs. I also sampled all Chinook, Steelhead, Sturgeon and Coho salmon with electronic CWT detection devices, while classifying, sorting, and enumerating marked (adipose fin-clipped) and unmarked salmon by CWT status. Remove snouts from Chinook and Coho salmon with CWTs, to assess stock specific impacts for fisheries modeling. Error checks of sampling data were routinely required. This position also was responsible for providing sport fishing regulatory information to the public and acting as a liaison to regional supervisors on fishery violations observed in the field. I provided written reports on violations and could be called to give testimony informally or in court. I was responsible for the operation and maintenance of agency vehicles. I was chosen to be a member of a research project that investigated the mortality rate on Coho Salmon and by catch that were caught by commercial fisheries using monofilament nets. Data was gathered in the field through live real time use of monofilament nets and all information gathered tested to see if it supported our hypothesis that there was a lower mortality rate on Coho Salmon when commercial fisheries caught them with a mono-filament net in comparison to currently used multi-filament tangle or gill net. This included following strict study guidelines and protocols as well keeping legible, accurate and complete recording of all data. I conducted this research while fishing on a commercial vessel with a licensed commercial fisherman with only one other researcher. With the specified nets we would catch and document data relating to Coho Salmon using the study designed methods for marking and recording catch method, condition and outcome of each salmonid as well as other aquatic life caught with the net. We then transported, and manually moved each fish by hand from the vessel to a designated net pen for a 6-day observation period before releasing them into the Columbia River.

• I participated in a conservation-driven research project focused primarily on the oyster population and the negative impact that suffered when two invasive species of oyster drill snails were introduced into the Willapa Bay area. The drill snails Urosalpinx cinerea, and Ocinobrellus inornatus species are responsible for an overall industry decline in oyster industries viability and production of oysters cultivated for commerce and distributed for human consumption from Willapa Bay Oregon. These snails are invasive species that were annihilating the oyster population of Willapa Bay. I conducted field investigations to observe the species, their behavior, feeding habits, reproduction and communication methods, and the habitats where they were located. Using active collection methods, I collected both species, surrounding habitat, vegetation, food sources, and other aquatic invertebrate species native to the habitat. In the WSU lab and at the Department of Fish and Game's substation we recreated the habitat allowing us to perform experiments and collect valuable data used to control the species and limit the destruction caused by these species of drill snails. Passive collection methods were used for substrate sampling and the collection of the water inhabited by the drill snails. I was a lead and responsible for numerous undergraduates, specifically DNA extraction and qPCR. I performed a variety of computations and assessments of the biological data collected. I prepared data for interpretative use, and reported my findings in biological reports. I utilized technical equipment such as GPS units, microscopes, tag detection equipment, electronic data collectors, water salinity and quality sampling tools as well as BLAST, GenBank and other NCBI software to assist in primer section. I was actively involved with all stages of the process, including troubleshooting lab equipment. I was a mentor to the new undergraduates as well as graduate students. My Primary Investigator was Dr. Steven Sylvester whom I reported findings, concerns, issues and ideas to weekly.

• I was always the lead on my truck. I had the highest level of training and was not solely responsible for just my actions but that of my assigned EMT-B. I learned that effective communication was the key to our success. I learned how important everyone whom I worked with was. I learned that you can always learn something from someone even if your training and experience exceeds theirs. As a Paramedic I was also assigned several different levels of EMS classes to teach for both the public sector and internally. These classes were basic CPR, defibrillator, and first aid for adults and infants, up to advanced CPR and wilderness first aid classes. I also was a paramedic preceptor, which meant I had to sign off on all new hires skills over a minimum of 16 shifts before they could be assigned their own shift and rig. This entailed overseeing all aspects and levels of patient care, map reading, care rendered/patient encountered documentation and patient transportation.
• Assessed emergency patients, prioritized treatment, and delivered advanced prehospital care under high-pressure conditions.