Jess is an information specialist for the DNR, working primarily with water quality and nonpoint source pollution issues. She produces brochures, news releases, displays, fact sheets, and other communication products to encourage Iowans to take a watershed approach in improving their streams and lakes. In addition, Jess writes for the Iowa Conservationist magazine. She has worked with the DNR since 2003.

Originally from Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jess earned degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication and Communication Studies from the University of Iowa.

Greg is the Interior Rivers and Streams Research Biologist for the Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau. He received a B.S. degree in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution from the University of Illinois and an M.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Missouri. Following graduate school, Greg spent four years working for the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri on several research projects on the Missouri River and smaller streams in Missouri. Greg has been in his current position as leader of the Interior Rivers Fisheries Research Program since 1999. He is responsible for a variety of research projects being conducted on fish and fish habitat in Iowa's interior rivers.

Bill has worked with the Iowa DNR Fisheries Bureau for over 20 years with areas of responsibility ranging from the Mississippi River in southeast Iowa to lakes and streams in north central Iowa. For more than a decade Bill's primary area of responsibility has been the management of coldwater and warmwater streams and rivers in northeast Iowa. Bill is currently responsible for an eight county area in the northeastern corner of Iowa. He oversees all fisheries activities in these counties including sampling fish populations, improving river and stream habitat, and public relations activities. In the past five years Bill has been involved in more than 30 individual habitat improvement projects, primarily on coldwater trout streams.

Bill is a native of Protivin, Iowa. He received a B.S. from Iowa State University in Fish and Wildlife Biology (1981). He is passionate about rivers, spending most of his free time floating, fishing, hiking, camping, or skiing along rivers and streams. He currently owns three canoes and is contemplating buying a fourth.

Becky has served on the SWIM team since it originated in 2000. In 2006 Becky became the Source Water Protection Coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Her role is to provide oversight of SWP plan development and provide assistance in implementation of SWP practices in a watershed based approach.

Before coming to the IDNR, Becky worked for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) as a watershed project coordinator covering 16 counties in central and southern Iowa. In addition, she spent one year working in the IDNR Non-Point Source - EPA 319 program. After working 6 years as a project coordinator, she transferred to Des Moines to work as the IDALS/DSC Regional Coordinator covering the state of Iowa.

Becky was born and raised near Pomeroy, Iowa. She received her bachelor's degree in Agriculture from Iowa State University in 1989. In addition, she completed graduate credits in plant breeding/statistics. Becky spent five years in plant breeding research before transferring into the water resource arena. She enjoys working with Ag Commodity groups, local, state, and federal agencies/groups, and farmers in addressing watershed concerns. She is a member of the Soil & Water Conservation Society (SWCS). Becky's interests are bike riding, horseback riding, hiking, and winter skiing

Keith is a research geologist at the Iowa Geological Survey. He received a B.A. degree in Geology from Knox College and an M.S. degree in Water Resources from Iowa State University. Keith joined the Iowa Geological Survey in 1997 after working as a Senior Hydrogeologist for an environmental engineering firm where he specialized in contaminated site investigation and remediation. Keith is currently responsible for Walnut Creek Watershed Restoration and Water Quality Monitoring Project in Jasper County, the site of a large-scale conversion of row crop to prairie at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Keith also conducts research on a variety of other water-related issues in Iowa, including surface and groundwater interactions, groundwater flow and quality, and watershed processes. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles related to Iowa's water resources.

Dick is a professor at Iowa State University and teaches courses in Natural Resource Ecology and Watershed Management. His major professional interests are in riparian ecology and restoration, hydrology and soils, and agroforestry. His present research emphasis is in the ecology, hydrology, and restoration of riparian management systems; design, installation, and maintenance of restored riparian forest, prairie, and wetland systems; and the integration of native systems in agricultural landscapes. A web site featuring the research that he and his team conduct is located at www.buffer.forestry.iastate.edu/.

Greg is a Fisheries Research Technician for the Iowa DNR. He has held that position since October 1997. Greg received a B.S. degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University. His primary responsibilities are to conduct research projects on Iowa's interior rivers and streams.

Tom is a water quality specialist in the Des Moines office of the Iowa DNR Environmental Services Division. Since joining IDNR in 1990, Tom's work has mainly involved surface water monitoring and assessments throughout Iowa. One of his largest projects is the development and implementation of biological assessment criteria for measuring the health of Iowa's streams and rivers. Before joining the IDNR, he conducted lake and stream ambient water monitoring and assisted in special water quality studies for the Wisconsin DNR, and performed stream ecology research at the University of Minnesota.

Tom was born and raised in Glenview, Illinois. He earned a B.S. (Agronomy; 1979) from Iowa State University and M.S. (Forestry; 1989) from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) and the North American Benthological Society (NABS). Tom's interests are family, canoeing, fishing, and cross-country skiing.