Sandy Kennedy

Assistant Program Leader /Field Coordinator

(541)953-0214  |  Sandy.L.Kennedy@odfw.oregon.gov

BSc. in Fisheries Science, BSc. in Wildlife Research, University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), 1983.

Sandy Kennedy is an Assistant Program Leader and Field Coordinator for CCRMP, supporting field staff conducting research and monitoring activities of Oregon Coast Chinook Salmon populations from the Nehalem River south to the Elk River, including adult mark-recapture, juvenile coded-wire tagging, spawning ground surveys, telemetry, and creel. She also designs electronic data programs and assists with data management. Prior to joining CCRMP full-time in 2005, she worked five years for ODFW as a seasonal Port Sampler (Florence, Winchester Bay), Coho Spawning Ground Surveyor, Aquatic Inventories Winter Habitat Surveyor, and Crew Leader for CCRMP’s Siuslaw River Chinook Salmon mark–recapture and wild juvenile CWT studies. In Alaska, she worked on a diversity of studies including aquatic invertebrate inventories; bumblebee pollination and flowering plant phenology; habitat mapping and herbarium curations; aerial moose and Beluga whale censuses; and caribou, reindeer, muskox, and moose research for UAF and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Chris Stephens  

Elk River Crew Leader /South Coast Sampling Coordinator 

BSc. in Fisheries Science, Oregon State University, 1988.

Chris began work with ODFW’s Coastal Chinook Studies (now CCRMP) as a seasonal Creel and Spawning Ground Surveyor on the Salmon River in 1989. In 1998, he transitioned to Crew Leader on the Elk and Sixes rivers and South Coast Sampling Coordinator for the Ocean Sampling Project. After more than two decades and counting, Chris is still passionate about monitoring the annual Chinook return in remote regions of the Wild and Scenic Elk River on the Southern Oregon Coast, near Cape Blanco, “as West as it gets.”

Amy Anderson 

Project Biologist /Crew Leader

BSc. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Oregon State University, 2010. 

While working towards her degree and soon after graduation, Amy worked with endangered species, such as Western pond turtle, Oregon Megomphix, Aleutian Canada goose, Dusky Canada goose, Marbled murrelet, Northern spotted owl, Oregon spotted frog, and Fender’s blue butterfly. In 2008, Amy joined ODFW and worked on several projects with Chinook Salmon, Coho Salmon, Borax Lake Chub, and Oregon Chub. Amy is currently a Crew Leader and Project Biologist for CCRMP. Amy generally acts as the Crew Leader for the Umpqua River and Siuslaw River spawning ground surveys. On any given sunny day, Amy can be found rafting a river with family and friends.

Michael Sanders 

Project Biologist /Crew Leader

BAc. in Biology, Lewis and Clark College, 2008.

Michael first joined CCRMP in 2011, working as a Creel Surveyor on the Nestucca River. After two seasons he transitioned to ODFW’s Clackamas office, conducting creel on the Clackamas, Columbia, and Willamette Rivers. In 2017 he moved to Corvallis to pursue other field work opportunities including two projects with the OSU College of Forestry. In 2020 he returned to CCRMP, this time as a Creel Surveyor on the Siletz River. Since 2022 he has put all his creel experience to good use as CCRMP’s North and Mid Oregon Coast Creel Crew Leader.

Ari Blatt 

Project Biologist /Crew Leader

BSc. in Environmental Science, Western Washington University, 2016. 

MFAc. in Creative Writing, Oregon State University-Cascades, 2022.  

Ari first began working with CCRMP as a seasonal in 2017, and since then has worked as both a Creel and Spawning Ground Surveyor on a suite of North Oregon Coast rivers from the Siuslaw to the Nehalem. Between seasons with CCRMP, she also worked for ODFW as a Port Sampler and Restoration Technician out of Newport. In addition, Ari has worked for nonprofit organizations conducting stream habitat restoration and for consultant companies involved in Marbled murrelet and Northern spotted owl surveys. In 2023, she became a Crew Leader and Project Biologist for CCRMP. Ari generally acts as Crew Leader for the North Oregon Coast spawning ground surveys.  

Chris Traill 

Salmon River Crew Leader /North Coast Sampling Coordinator

BSc. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Oregon State University, 2019. 

Christopher is a United States Navy veteran who first began working with ODFW as a Port Sampler in Winchester Bay and Charleston with the Ocean Sampling Project in 2019. After three seasons, he transitioned to working as a Creel Surveyor on the Columbia River based in The Dalles. In 2023, Christopher returned to the Ocean Sampling Project as the North Coast Sampling Coordinator in the spring and summer, and Salmon River Crew Leader and Project Biologist with CCRMP in the fall and winter.