Archives: Staff

Marcus joined the team in 2026 as the John Redmond Watershed Technician.

Marcus is originally from Hoxie, Kansas. He attended Pratt Community College, receiving an Associate’s Degree in applied science for Wildlife Outfitting & Operations. He continued his education at Kansas State University, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Outdoor Enterprise Management. While attending KSU, he spent time running horses out of 2UW Brushcreek Ranch, working as a ranch hand for F&R Swine, and landscaping for PrairieStone. He interned for the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation in Dundee, Illinois, in the outskirts of Chicago. After college, he contracted with Bayer Crop Science helping an agronomist conduct soybean studies in the Eastern half of Kansas. For the last five years he has worked as a FITASC and Sporting Clays Referee for the National Sporting Clays Association (NSCA).  Most recently, he worked for Pheasants & Quail Forever as a Public Lands Habitat Specialist to help manage the Tuttle Creek Wildlife Area and a few other properties though KDWP. In August of 2025 he shifted into a Farm Bill (Wildlife) Biologist position with PFQF covering seven counties in partnership with Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Along with his busy work life, he is an avid outdoorsmen. I enjoy taking Remy, my 6.5-year-old Brittany Spaniel, out hunting.  His fall/winter free time gets pretty scarce! He enjoys shooting on a trap team, along with sneaking away to camp/fish now and then.

Lucas joined the team in 2026 as the Toronto-Fall River Watershed Coordinator and assists with the John Redmond Conservation Technician program and the NFWF CPP grant.

Lucas grew up in Littleton, Colorado. Where his passion for the outdoors was born exploring the Rocky Mountains and eastern plains of Colorado. 

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Rangeland Ecology and Stewardship from Colorado State University in 2020 he began work with Pheasants Forever as a Habitat Specialist working on public lands at Fall River, Toronto and other surrounding KDWP owned properties. In 2021 he took a new position with Pheasants Forever as a Farm Bill Biologist in Sidney, Nebraska at an NRCS Field Office working heavily with Farm Bill programs. Using the knowledge, he gained as a Farm Bill Biologist he began working as a Natural Resources Specialist for the NRCS out of Sidney where he worked on CRP, EQIP, and CSP conservation planning with farmers and landowners.   

Lucas and his wife just moved back to the area and reside in Chanute with their chocolate lab Winnie.  In his free time Lucas enjoys hunting, fishing, and watching hockey.

Denise joined the team in 2026 as the John Redmond Watershed Coordinator.

Originally from the eastern U.S., Denise is a longtime resident of the Flint Hills of Kansas. She grew up in southwest Florida, exploring beaches and estuaries, and spent summers in Catskill Mountain streams, cultivating a deep connection with water and the natural world. Denise returned to upstate New York to earn her B.S. in Wildlife Science before moving to eastern Kansas, where she earned her M.S. in Biology from Emporia State University. 

Denise has experience working in state and federal conservation roles with KDWP and the National Park Service. She brings a strong background in avian ecology and conservation land management. Denise values the challenge of integrating diverse ecological tools and strategies to meet the needs of specific spaces and enjoys all things GIS. She believes in the importance of collaboration and looks forward to fostering existing relationships as well as building new partnerships in her role. 

Outside of her professional life, Denise lives in Emporia with her partner and four rescue pups. She enjoys a mix of hobbies, from birding, biking, and kayaking to crafting, reading, and learning new skills. She has run the local women’s disc golf league in Emporia for more than ten years and loves creating community and a space for new players to learn the sport.

Lindsay Morris joined the team in 2026 as the Middle Kansas Watershed Coordinator and lives in Nemaha County.

She moved to Kansas in 2018 to attend Kansas State University, which sparked a love for agriculture and conservation. She completed her PhD in Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics with a dissertation on “Open-path dual-frequency comb spectroscopy of methane from livestock production.” Previously, she served as the Soil Health Specialist in Northeastern Kansas under the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts for two years. Lindsay is a USDA-NRCS Environmental Conservation Planner Level III.

She is married to Bob and proud owners of two cats (Peach and Mango) and one dog (Mishka).

Tamara grew up in rural south-central Michigan surrounded by a mix of forest and agriculture. A self-described child of the dirt, she spent countless hours catching critters, biking, climbing trees (and falling out of them), wandering public land looking for mushrooms and sheds, running through corn fields, and walking down to the creek to have stick races with her siblings.

This love of the outdoors grew into a passion to study wildlife biology after high school. Upon earning her B.A. and M.S. from Grand Valley State University in west-Michigan, Tamara traveled the country to wherever the jobs were, eventually landing in Kansas as a fauna Field Ecologist with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). In 2021, Tamara met Aaron Deters through outreach with NEON, and upon learning more about KAWS and its partners, became interested in the intricate relationship between agriculture and water in Kansas. Seeking an opportunity for growth and expansion of knowledge, Tamara joined KAWS and the NRCS as a Conservation Specialist working with the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

During her free time Tamara enjoys hiking, kayaking, strength training, painting, drawing, and baking sweets. She has one giant rescue dog named Winston, two little fish, and an increasingly large number of house plants taking over her Manhattan apartment.

Jim has spent most of his career in education, serving students in grades 6-12 as a school counselor.  He has always had interest in the environment and conservation and stepped away from education after 33 years to pursue a different direction.  Having lifelong experience with agriculture and completing a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Assessment, he worked a seasonal position with the McPherson Valley Wetlands just west of McPherson and feels extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to now work with KAWS as a Conservation Specialist.

In his spare time or vacations, Jim finds spending time outdoors most appealing.  National Parks, State and local Parks, hiking, learning about new places, and tends to gravitate toward water structures or bodies of water.   Other interests include golfing, fishing, working with mechanics, inventive ideas, riding his bicycle, and spending time with both immediate and extended family.

Based out of Lawrence, Andrew serves as the Director of the Baker Wetlands Education Center. Previously, he has been involved with WRAPS since 2021, having worked for the Kansas Department of Health & Environment prior to holding the Upper Wakarusa Watershed Coordinator position with KAWS.  Andrew recently returned to Kansas after working as a wildlife ecologist in Illinois; there he managed human/wildlife conflict and studied the impacts of suburban sprawl on fragmented wildlife populations. Prior to that, he studied river otter ecology in southern Illinois. 

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Emporia State University and a Master of Science in Forestry from Southern Illinois University. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist® with The Wildlife Society. When he’s not managing wildlife habitat on his family’s land in southeast Kansas, you can find him hunting, fishing, or trapping. He also enjoys the food and music scene of Lawrence.

Kourtney is the WRAPS coordinator for the Lower Kansas River Watershed. Growing up she traveled frequently, but passing through the great plains of Kansas always gave a sense of homecoming. Camping, hiking, and all things on the water spurred her interests in the great outdoors.

After receiving her bachelor’s of science, focused on Wildlife and Natural Resource Conservation, she worked inventorying landscape characteristics and in land trust management with an emphasis in wetlands and watersheds throughout Kansas. Her career steered her further into water quality issues and she has found a deep appreciation for the intersection of land owners and conservation.

In her free time, Kourtney enjoys spending time with family, hiking, camping, and kayaking, as well as learning about new places and ideas.

Bryan is the WRAPS coordinator for the Milford Lake Watershed. A life long Kansas resident, he grew up in Valley Center, spending his childhood building his passion for the outdoors.

In 2008, after receiving his bachelors degree in Wildlife Biology from Kansas State University, he began his career with KDWP managing public lands and waters within the state. In 2015, he joined Star Seed to work with their growing conservation seed production and sales team. He spent 9 years managing native grass seed production acres across Kansas.

Bryan and his wife, Arin, reside in Concordia, where they are raising their two sons, Bryson and Blayne. In his spare time he enjoys taking his boys hunting, fishing, camping and attending sport activities