Reclamation
spokeswoman takes new assignment
Rae
Olsen headed to Billings, Mont.
By
STEVE KADEL
H&N
Staff Writer
September
13, 2006
H&N
photo by Andrew Mariman Rae
Olsen, a public relations specialist for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath
Falls office, is moving to a new job in Billings, Mont.
Rae Olsen will carry memories of Klamath County’s beauty and its friendly
people to her new assignment with the Bureau of Reclamation in Montana.
Olsen, public relations specialist for the BOR’s Klamath Falls office the
past three years, spent her last day on the job Wednesday. She is moving to
Billings, Mont., to become special assistant to the regional director.
Olsen will concentrate on water, power and recreation issues in a nine-state
area in her new position.
“Everything I’ve done here has been like a graduate school for Bureau of
Reclamation issues,” she said.
Montana is home for Olsen, who has
sisters in Billings and Helena. She also will be closer to her son, who
lives in Denver. Olsen
was partner in public
relations firms in
Helena, Missoula and Billings for 18 years before joining
Reclamation. Her clients included power generators, banks, mining companies
and lumber firms.
Klamath water issues
She studied journalism at the University of Montana and public relations at
UCLA. She was lured to Klamath County and government work by the challenge.
“Water issues in the Klamath Basin were very intriguing,” Olsen said.
One of her most satisfying projects here was the Conservation Implementation
Project, which is intended to guide various stakeholder groups working toward
watershed restoration.
Olsen also is proud of completing a video on the Klamath Irrigation Project.
It explains the intricate water project and why it’s so important to resolve
Klamath River issues.
Olsen sees progress toward that goal because fishermen, farmers, Tribal
members and environmentalists are working together, she said.
“It’s partly a recognition by the individuals that the Basin belongs to
everybody and everyone has to work together to solve the problems,” she
said.
She said there’s also good news in efforts to develop off-stream water
storage capabilities in the Basin. Initial tests by Reclamation geologists
show that Long Lake, proposed as a holding site, has low permeability required
for the task.
Filling it would be a challenge, she said, requiring several years of high
run-off.
Looking back on her years in Klamath Falls, Olsen said she’s particularly
enjoyed being close to the ocean and having access to the Shakespeare Festival
in Ashland.
“This is a stunningly beautiful area, and I’m a bird lover so I’ll miss
that,” she said, “but I’ll miss the people most of all.”
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