Hey y’all! My name’s Mitch Cutter and I’m excited to join Idaho Conservation League for the next two years as the Salmon and Steelhead Advocacy Fellow. I’ve had a long-standing interest in energy and species conservation. This position is a perfect mix of the two, wrapping them both in what some consider the most complex natural resource issue in the West.

I grew up in Bend, Oregon, tromping around the sage of the High Desert and skiing the slopes of the Cascades, but my zeal for the natural world didn’t really take hold until college. As a student on Whitman College’s Semester in the West program, I got to see firsthand the work that so many politicians, ecologists, ranchers, writers, and activists do around the West to manage and protect resources in the region I’ve called home all my life.

After graduating with a degree in Biology, I worked in the energy field as a consultant, helping utilities and federal agencies plan for the future and modernize to better serve their ratepayers and the public. In the process, I learned a lot about the Northwest power system, and what utilities think about when making strategic decisions.

At ICL, I look forward to combining what I’ve learned as a consultant with what I’m passionate about as a constant student of ecology and advocate for wildlife. I’m here to help reinforce our salmon and steelhead engagement efforts with analysis and technical information on energy, agriculture, and how both affect fish recovery.

I’m new to Boise, and excited to see what the state of Idaho has to offer! I hear the beer’s hoppy and the powder’s fluffy: outside of the office you can probably find me figuring out if one of those rumors is true.