Staff Spotlight: Jim Bond - Program Director
What is the most important thing to you that you're working on right now?
It’s almost like asking your parents who their favorite child is! I think that everything that we are working on is important because it's all about improving the management of our water to ensure there is enough water to meet all the needs, including the environment, agriculture, and communities. Ultimately, all the projects work together towards a common goal of flow restoration in the Deschutes Basin and I think that’s pretty great.
What is the unique part about working for The Deschutes River Conservancy?
I really enjoy the people I work with, both at the DRC and including all the different partners we work with and alongside. There are so many different people with different interests working on these issues, but generally speaking, there are a lot of common goals. We may not always agree on exactly the approach to get there, but the fact that so many people are willing to sit at the table and have these conversations and work together toward finding good solutions is to me one of the unique things about the Deschutes Basin. Because of that, the opportunities for success feel greater here than in other places I’ve worked, which is very exciting.
What advice do you have for people trying to get into this field?
Be a sponge. To be successful in this field I think you need to know at least a bit of a lot of different things. So don’t be afraid to take on jobs that help give you experience and exposure to these things. Getting your foot in the door and working as a field tech, or in the office helping with GIS or report writing, or as part of a fire crew is a great start and may open up other opportunities you may not have previously considered. And these jobs may help you figure out what aspects of the work you like most or are most curious about, and what inspires you to want to focus on and continue to learn more about. What it comes down to is your willingness to be open and be ready to go after what you are passionate about when the opportunities present themselves.
Last book you read OR movie you watched?
I'm in the middle of a book right now called, The Golden Spruce, by John Vaillant. It’s a really interesting non-fiction book that combines PNW history and culture with an environmentally-themed true-crime story. So far, it's really good.
One thing you can’t live without?
Music, a world without music would be boring.
