Menu
415 West 17th Street, Suite 200
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001
Phone: 307-634-1756
Fax: 307-637-6981
[email protected]
6715 8 St NE, Suite S138
Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7H7
Phone: 587-432-3015
[email protected]
Dale Strickland is President and a senior ecologist with WEST. Dale received both a B.S. in Zoology in 1969 and a M.S. in Wildlife Management in 1972 from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wyoming in 1975. Prior to his employment with WEST, he served as a scientist and administrator with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and on the faculty of the Department of Statistics at the University of Wyoming. Dale also taught courses in wildlife management and statistics as a visiting instructor at the University of Wyoming.
Dale has over forty years of experience in ecological research and wildlife management. His specialties include the design, conduct, and analysis of field studies of terrestrial and avian wildlife; threatened and endangered species; wildlife management; impact, risk, and injury assessment studies; and resolution of conflicts over natural resources. Dale is author of more than 150 papers and technical reports in the scientific and popular literature on wildlife research and natural resource conservation and management. He is the lead author of a chapter on harvest management in the 5th edition of the Wildlife Techniques Manual and co-author of the text “Wildlife Study Design” published in 2001 and “Wildlife Study Design, 2nd Edition” published in 2007. Dale contributed to documents for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the quantification of injury due to oil spills in Type B Natural Resource Damage Assessments and authored a chapter in a guidance document on the conduct of research on avian wind power interactions for the National Wind Coordinating Committee. He is also lead author of the “Comprehensive Guide to Studying Wind Energy/Wildlife Interactions” published in 2011 by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative. Dale is currently the leader of the Third Party Contractor team for the Army Corps of Engineers for an Environmental Impact Statement regarding the expansion of two reservoirs in Colorado and has led the development of numerous other National Environmental Policy Act documents. He worked on numerous Natural Resource Damage Assessments, including the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska, the Clark Fork River in Montana, and Coeur d’Alene in Idaho.
While with the State of Wyoming, Dale served on many regional and national boards and committees, including the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee for 10 years, the Central Flyway Council, and as a charter member of the Black-footed Ferret Advisory Committee. As an employee at WEST, he served as the executive director of the Platte River Endangered Species Partnership and Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) from 1998 through June 30, 2007. Dale and his staff provided scientific and administrative support for the Governance Committee, which oversees the Program. Dale has served as a peer reviewer for several scientific journals, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the California Energy Commission and two years as an associate editor for the Journal of Wildlife Management. He is a member of the National Wind Coordinating Committee’s Wildlife Working Group and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Communications Tower Working Group. Dale also served on The National Academies, National Research Council, Committee on Environmental Impact of Wind Energy Projects, and The Wildlife Society’s Committee reviewing the wildlife impacts from wind power development and is currently a member of the Council’s Committee on the Evaluation of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. He served as a technical advisor to the Federal Advisory Committee developing recommendations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider as they revised wind energy development guidelines. Dale is currently on the Advisory Board of the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, a science advisor to the American Wind Wildlife Institute, and on the Board of Professional Certification for the Ecological Society of America.
Dale is a member of the Ecological Society of America, Certified Senior Ecologist; The Wildlife Society, Certified Wildlife Biologist; the American Statistical Association; and the Wyoming Chapter, The Wildlife Society, Past President.
Lyman McDonald, biometrician/statistician, was co-founder of WEST in 1990 after working for Kansas State University and University of Wyoming for 20 years. He continued working with WEST for thirty years, retiring in 2020. Lyman’s specialties included sampling and monitoring of biological communities, calibration of biased sampling procedures, and modeling resource selection by animals.
Lyman is the author or co-author of more than 100 papers in scientific literature and is joint author of the second edition of the book Resource Selection by Animals: Statistical Design and Analysis for Field Studies. His responsibilities on projects included design and analysis for Natural Resource Damage Assessments, wildlife surveys, study of habitat selection by wildlife populations, and monitoring abundance of wildlife populations. Lyman continues to have contact with WEST employees and enjoys discussing issues in ongoing projects.
Clayton Derby serves as WEST’s Chief Executive Officer. Clayton emphasizes teamwork in living WEST’s Mission Statement and Core Principles through the lived experience of the WEST Team and by promoting the quality of the company’s products and services. Clayton received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Moorhead State University and a Master of Science in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming. Clayton has worked for WEST as a wildlife biologist since 1995, moving into project and personnel management as his career advanced. In his technical role, Clayton has been a project manager for several large natural gas pipeline development projects in the midwestern and western US and wind energy development projects throughout the country. As a project manager, Clayton has ensured that the wildlife, vegetation, and state- and federally listed species resource surveys and reviews are completed on time, within budget, and to the client’s and resource agencies’ high demands. As the Chief Executive Officer at WEST, he works extensively with the Executive Team, Service Directors, Business Development, Senior Managers, and WEST’s branch offices throughout the country, in developing and implementing strategies to successfully lead WEST into the future.
In 2005, Clayton opened a branch office of WEST in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he continues to live and work.
Deby Forry serves as WEST’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and General Counsel, working with the finance, legal and contracts teams. Deby has over 35 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, environmental consulting, risk management, strategic planning, government contracting, compliance and human resources. Deby is a leader who prides herself in mentoring women and business professionals. Born and raised in Wyoming, she attended the University of Wyoming on an athletic scholarship. She earned her Bachelors, Masters and a Juris Doctorate while competing for the University of Wyoming women’s track and field team. She held the outdoor 800-meter record for just over 30 years before it was broken.
Before graduating from UW’s Law School, she served on the Law Review and published one of the first articles on LLC treatment in Wyoming. She clerked for the Wyoming Supreme Court right out of law school, then served most of her career as a CFO, General Counsel, Board of Director and Senior Officer for a large environmental engineering firm in Wyoming. In 2018, she received the Wyoming Woman of Influence for Energy and Utilities. Outside of work she serves as a resource for many organizations and panels addressing business issues and leadership topics.
Deby spends her free time watching her daughter play college basketball, camping, cooking and spending time with her family. Her son, Shane recently started law school following in her footsteps.
J.R. Boehrs serves as the Chief Operating Officer at WEST. J.R. is responsible for managing and continuously improving WEST’s day-to-day business operations, with a focus on strategic short- and long-term operations management. He collaborates with the management team to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems, processes, and personnel designed to accommodate WEST’s operational and growth objectives. J.R. is responsible for the design, operation, and improvement of systems and processes that create and deliver WEST’s products and services and supports the core operations. He coordinates, maintains, and improves business operations to increase departmental and organizational productivity, efficiency, and performance. J.R. maintains ongoing knowledge, control and inventory of WEST’s health & safety, information technology, purchasing & inventory departments as well as, administrative support and company infrastructure.
J.R. has extensive experience leading operational and cross-functional teams and implementing strategic initiatives to achieve operational efficiencies at WEST. He joined WEST in 2007 and has held multiple roles in the company, including most recently Operations Manager. J.R. received a Master’s of Business Administration from Colorado State University as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Geography-Natural Resources Management from the University of Wyoming. He is a member of the Association for Strategic Planning and the Association of Business Process Management Professionals.
J.R.’s operational, leadership and management skills align well with WEST’s core values, culture, and service offering. As the Chief Operating Officer, he will continue to work with the Executive Team, Board of Directors, and WEST personnel throughout the US to deliver on long-term company goals, provide an excellent work environment for employees, and maintain the highest scientific standards when providing environmental consulting services to clients.
Shay is a recognized leader at WEST, currently serving as a Service Director and the President of the Board of Directors. For over 20 years Shay has designed client-focused technical solutions in the subject areas of statistics and data science for complex ecological challenges. While serving as Quality Program Manager, Shay worked with WEST project managers to improve deliverables and client experience through a focus on continual improvement. Shay has led mentoring and team-building efforts within WEST to ensure our employees have the skills to manage projects and excel above client expectations. Shay holds a Master’s degree in Statistics from Oregon State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Pennsylvania State University.
Todd is a Board Director, Service Director, and Principal Ecologist at WEST where he is responsible for strategic initiatives, business diversification, and overseeing teams of natural resource specialists in both the US and Canada. He has particular expertise in conservation planning and managing environmental regulatory compliance issues for major energy development and/or land management projects, particularly those requiring compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Todd has led environmental planning, permitting, and compliance efforts on renewable energy and other development projects. As part of his duties, he routinely advises clients on environmental permitting strategy and risks.
Prior to joining WEST, Todd was a director of environmental affairs at Element Power, where he was responsible for leading environmental permitting and compliance efforts for Element Power’s wind and solar energy development projects throughout the US, Prior to Element Power, Todd was also a vice president and wind energy program manager at HDR Engineering, Inc.
Kim Bay is a Senior Scientist working out of WEST headquarters in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where she has worked since 2001. Kim has served in many roles over her career, as Biometrician, Data and Report Manager, and Senior Manager, and currently as a Project Manager and Service Director. In her current role as Project Manager and in previous roles, Kim participated in numerous assessment and monitoring projects related to understanding and assessing the effects of wind turbines on birds (including eagles) and bats, and in avian (eagle) and bat risk reduction studies. Over her career, Kim has developed several large cumulative databases, managed large teams conducting standard wildlife surveys to cutting edge research, all to assess potential risk or impact to wildlife from energy development. She, along with others at WEST, have used these databases and data collected to publish several peer reviewed manuscripts to further help industry and agencies better understand the overall effects on wildlife, advance statistical methods, and advance new survey methods and technologies. She received her B.S. in Mathematics/Statistics in 2000 and her M.S. in Statistics in 2003 from the University of Wyoming.
Tiffany joined WEST in 2015 as a Human Resources Generalist, was promoted to Human Resources Manager in 2016, and was recently promoted to Senior Operations Manager. As a Senior Operations Manager, Tiffany is responsible for assisting the COO in maintaining and improving operations, facilities, processes, and policies throughout the corporation and assisting in creating and implementing programs and objectives in support of WEST’s Strategic Plan. Through thoughtful leadership and support of the Human Resources, Corporate Training, and Facilities departments, she will help promote and guide the healthy and successful operations and the sustainable growth of the company. Tiffany has been heavily involved with assisting in developing and implementing initiatives outlined in WEST’s strategic plan to include the ongoing development of career pathways for staff development and career advancement, development of a Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility plan, and oversight of the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
Tiffany has over 24 years of experience in the field of human resources with a wide variety of HR knowledge in the areas of policy, compensation, recruitment and retention, benefits, labor and leave laws, employee relations and training and development. She earned her Professional in Human Resources certification in 2014 and SHRM-CP certification in 2015.
Prior to working for WEST, Tiffany was part of a start-up company in Nebraska for 8 years and was primarily responsible for the development and implementation of all HR and administrative policies and protocol. In January 2009, Tiffany expanded her employment law knowledge as she began working for a large, national child support enforcement company as the Regional HR Manager of their Wyoming and Colorado divisions.
Nick Bartok is a Senior Manager and Wildlife Biologist for WEST’s Canadian operations. Nick is based near Kingston, Ontario, where he manages projects in a variety of sectors, including renewable energy and the associated wildlife and permitting work. Nick specializes in avian biology, but is also proficient with mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and bat acoustic surveys. He effectively navigates the associated regulatory procedures and has exceptional knowledge of the various environmental protection laws and associated regulations in Canada, including the Migratory Birds Convention Act, Provincial Wildlife Acts, and the Species at Risk Act.
Prior to joining WEST, Nick worked as a senior biologist and team lead for six years at Tetra Tech in Calgary, Alberta. He has conducted wildlife surveys across a wide range of habitats, including prairies, foothills, and boreal forest. Nick is a current member of the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists Registration and Wildlife Committees and a certified Trainer with the North American Bird Banding Council, where he leads bird banding workshops, marsh bird workshops, and Bird ID Workshops in Calgary.
Nick holds a Master’s of Science from the University of Western Ontario, where his research focused on Least Bittern detection and habitat use in southwestern Ontario. Nick also has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies degree from the University of Waterloo.