FOW Board of Directors: Vern Fish (President), Mary Jean Blaisdell (Vice-President), John Holmes (Treasurer), Lindsey David (Secretary), Brian Beney (Board Chair), Ray Tallent, Douglass Blount, Mhairi McFarlane, Beth Rausch, Kristen Setala, Corey Dagenais, Jeff Schimpff, Petra Nikolaou, & Laurence Mills. Currently, we have one open position and strive for a balance between Canadian and U.S. board members. Contact us at [email protected] if you're interested.
Vern Fish - President
Vern is the former Executive Director of the Black Hawk County Conservation Board in Waterloo, Iowa. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation Board and the Conservation Corps of Iowa/Minnesota. He is the president of the Black Hawk Creek Water & Soil Coalition and the Friends of Wabakimi Provincial Park. As an advocate for clean water, he also serves as the co-chair of the Cedar River Watershed Coalition and as an assistant commissioner for the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District. A passionate paddler he has run wild rivers from the Mexican border to Hudson Bay and north to the Arctic Circle. (Current term to 2024,) 
Douglass Blount
A 1957 Quetico trip with his father introduced Doug to wilderness canoeing. He got back into serious wilderness canoeing in the 1999 with another Quetico trip with his son. Wilderness tripping became a passion which now includes 16 weeks with "Uncle" Phil and The Wabakimi Project. As a trip leader in 2008, his group made a west-to-east crossing of Wabakimi Park from Davies Lake to the Ogoki reservoir. In 1969, upon completion of a 4-year stint in the US Navy serving on a destroyer and a net layer, he began a real estate career in which he is still active, operating a small brokerage firm. He is an avid skier, hot air balloon pilot and sailor. (Current term to 2025) 
John Holmes - Treasurer
John is a Mechanical Engineer from Thornbury, Ontario who has done many canoe trips in Northern and Northwestern Ontario parks, including 28 weeks on The Wabakimi Project trips. An avid hiker, he and his wife have trekked in South America, Europe, Africa, Iceland, Greenland, the Canadian Rockies and New Zealand. John designs and builds bicycle frames in his spare time and is a keen road and MTB cyclist. Proper trip planning and safety, along with a good balance between trail work and fishing, photography, or relaxation time are a part of John's trips. (Current term to 2024) 
Laurence Mills
Laurence (Laurie) Mills was born in England and emigrated to Canada as a young man. After a 30 year career in financial services spanning various major international and trans-Canada postings, he decided it was time for something truly different and retired to Northern Ontario. Once there, a casual interest in canoeing quickly turned to passion for paddling in remote waters, and a deepening fascination with the remote wonders of Wabakimi. Frustrated with the absence of reliable and comprehensive canoe route maps for the area, Laurie began creating and expanding detailed maps and additional information based on his direct experiences, leading to the creation in 2008 of wabakimimaps.com. Introducing others to this sparsely traveled and pristine canoeing paradise has in itself become a passion and led directly to Guidebook produced for the Friends of Wabakimi’. (Current term to 2025) 
Beth Rausch
Beth has been anchored in the northern outdoors since her childhood in the family’s aluminum Ouachita canoe named “Two-Ton”. Five decades and five layups later, she continues to enjoy paddling, whether solo or as part of a group. A veterinarian by training, she teaches in the Department of Animal Science at UW-River Falls. She enjoys solo and group paddling, as well as phenology and birding as effective pathways to community education and conservation. Her tax-based home is River Falls, WI, but she spends as much time as life allows in a dry cabin in Cook County, MN paddling, hiking, and birdwatching. 
Petra Nikolaou Petra lives and works in Toronto but her heart is anywhere she can paddle her canoe. She has great passion for wilderness canoe tripping, wildlife, and simply being in nature. A new member of the Board, Petra got involved with the Friends of Wabakimi by joining the inaugural surveying trip of the Woodland Boreal Caribou Citizen Monitoring Project. She plans on continuing to assist with that project and hopes that as a Board member, she can play a role in getting others out and enjoying the Wabakimi area safely and with great respect for the land. 
Jeff Schimpff
From middle school through college, Jeff grew up a three minute bike ride from swimming, fishing, canoeing, or pick-up hockey at lovely Powers Lake in southeast Wisconsin. At UW-Madison, he majored in zoology, limnology and wildlife ecology. In five western states he served as a seasonal ranger, historian, fire fighter and naturalist in four U.S. national parks and five national forests, and in winter as a Nordic ski instructor and public health specialist. While completing a Master's degree in natural resource administration, Jeff compiled the introductory draft of the bill that created the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway. He then worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for 27 years. Most of that work involved documenting potential environmental impacts of proposed stream, mining, landfill, and energy projects. His most engaging work was compiling the wetland and aquatic resources sections for the online WDNR publication, "The Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin." Over the past 40 years, Jeff has enjoyed more than 25 visits to the BWCA, Quetico, Wabakimi, and Woodland Caribou areas. A FOW member for five years, he is a member of the Expedition and Science Committees. Jeff is greatly impressed with the accomplishments of FOW thus far. He would like to contribute to expanding our role as a great source for trip planning information, and in gathering "citizen science" and other data that can help inform management decisions for the greater Wabakimi region. He’s interested in working for the sustainability of the Boreal Forest ecosystem, and exploring mutually beneficial ways to involve more First Nations people. Jeff’s other interests include senior league softball, Nordic skiing, hiking, fishing, swimming, and commenting on a wide range of natural resource issues. Post-retirement, he has worked as a restaurant helper, a salesperson and Canoecopia set-up helper at Rutabaga Paddle Sports, a kids' tee-ball coach, and a school crossing guard. He also serves regularly as a City of Madison election official. 
Brian Beney - Board Chair
Whether it's paddling, backpacking, camping in all seasons, or just being active outdoors, Brian loves to share his enjoyment of wilderness experiences with others. Since his first trip on the Kopka River in 2022, the Wabakimi area has been his favourite paddling destination in Northwestern Ontario. Brian is grateful for the opportunity to assist others to not only experience this special place, but also to advocate for the area's preservation and respectful use as guests in this vast landscape. Brian lives in Waterloo, Ontario, and when he isn't dreaming of his next wilderness journey to the north, he works as a supply Elementary School Principal. |
Mary Jean Blaisdell - Vice President
Mary Jean Blaisdell lives in Independence, Iowa. She is a retired elementary principal who loves wilderness paddling and camping. As a principal, she did annual presentations to young students about her trips in order to encourage them to seek outdoor activities and the wilderness. She currently serves on her local Buchanan County Conservation Board. She has sea kayaked with a group to the Apostle Islands, gone on some local river paddling outings with others, has been on over 15 trips to the BW/Quetico areas, participated on 3 Wabakimi Project trips and has done 3 solo trips to the Boundary Waters. 
Mhairi McFarlane Mhairi is the Director of Science and Stewardship for Ontario Region of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. She oversees stewardship of NCC properties throughout Ontario, and landscape scale planning for property acquisition. She first joined NCC in March 2008 and spent 6.5 years as a Conservation Biologist in Southwestern Ontario where she designed, implemented and managed field scale restoration of habitat in Norfolk County and on Pelee Island. She grew up in Scotland, holds an Honours Ecology degree from the University of Stirling, and a PhD in Ecology from the University of Exeter in Cornwall. Her thesis was on the behavioural ecology of Cape Sugarbirds in South Africa. She moved to Ontario in 2006, and had short contracts with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Bird Studies Canada before joining the Nature Conservancy of Canada in March 2008. (Current term to 2025) 
Ray Tallent
Ray manages a university greenhouse and teaches botany courses in Iowa City, Iowa. He has canoe-tripped in the Boundary Waters and Quetico since he was a teenager. Since meeting “Uncle Phil” Cotton in 2011 he has served on twelve weeks of Wabakimi Project trips. In 2018, he was able to join Vern Fish on a farther north trip to Nueltin Lake and the Thlewiaza River. All these experiences have served to foster a love for Canada’s boreal country and, of course, always the desire to paddle new waters. (Current term to 2025) 
Kristen Setala
Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Kristen has spent much time paddling, hiking, camping and exploring the landscape of northwestern Ontario. She is an avid conservationist and birder, and has experience in wildlife rehabilitation, bird banding, and working on community science initiatives such as the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas. Through her previous job at Ontario Nature, she connected with FOW and embarked on an eight-day trip on the Big River, conducting bird surveys and admiring the beauty of Wabakimi for the first time. She joined FOW as a board member in October of 2023, and co-chairs the Woodland Caribou Survey Project. Kristen is currently based in Montreal and works as a biologist for an engineering company. 
Corey Dagenais Corey Dagenais has dedicated two decades to education in the rugged yet beautiful landscape of Armstrong, Ontario, just outside of Wabakimi Provicial Park. This environment, marked by its stark contrasts and challenges, has profoundly influenced both Corey's personal journey and professional philosophy. Corey’s passion for the outdoors is reflected in their interests, including canoeing, fishing, hunting, cross-country skiing, and biking. Building and maintaining trails in the area surrounding Armstrong is a lifelong interest, providing valuable lessons in perseverance and respect for nature—qualities Corey encourages in both students and staff. Travel has also shaped Corey’s worldview, allowing for exploration of diverse cultures and experiencing the world from other points of view. During the long, dark winters, Corey finds balance through a love of sci-fi literature, poetry, and video games. These interests offer both escape and inspiration, highlighting the importance of imagination and the exploration of new ideas. Corey embodies a commitment to resilience, learning, and community, leaving a lasting impact on the area he calls home. Their vision for the future embraces challenges, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence. Corey wants to see the Wabakimi wilderness area preserved for generations to come and create opportunities for others to enjoy and thrive in this special landscape. 
Lindsey David - Secretary
Lindsey resides in Thunder Bay in the winter but spends the paddling season in Armstrong, working for Wabakimi Outfitters as the Booking Manager. She helps ensure that paddlers have both a fun and safe trip in and around Wabakimi Park. Through this work, she joined the Friends of Wabakimi. Lindsey reflects, “It’s a true joy and privilege to combine my love for nature, assisting others to experience nature, and now being part of a wonderful volunteer organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Wabakimi.” Lindsey is also a floatplane pilot; the unique aerial perspective enhances her appreciation of the Wabakimi wilderness. |