Fish and Wildlife Service supervisor in Old Town honored

The supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s field office in Old Town has received one of the federal agency’s top public service awards for his contributions to the Penobscot River restoration agreement.

Gordon Russell, the Old Town office’s project leader since 1990, is being honored as the 2005 recipient of the John S. Gottschalk Partnership Award.

The award, which is named for a former director of the service, is given out annually by the federal agency’s Northeast region headquarters to an employee or group of employees who developed and implemented natural resource partnerships, according to Friday’s announcement.

The Northeast region of the Fish and Wildlife Service encompasses 13 states from Maine to Virginia with nearly 1,000 employees.

“It is the most prestigious award we have in this region,” said Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Diana Weaver.

Russell represented the agency during the 5-year negotiating process to reach an agreement on restoring Atlantic salmon to the Penobscot.

The agreement, which was completed in June 2004, calls for demolition of two dams, a new hydraulic fish lift on a third dam and improved fish passages at other dams. Power company PPL Corp., in turn, can increase power generation at six other dams and will not face relicensing opposition from groups involved in the negotiations.

“Gordon Russell played a vital role in bringing together diverse parties, resolving differences and moving forward with the common goal of restoring the Penobscot River,” Laura Rose Day, project director for the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, said in a statement.

Mike Thabault, assistant regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said in the statement that the agreement could be the single most important action to recover wild Atlantic salmon in the United States.

Russell, who could not be reached for comment Friday, has worked for the federal agency for 28 years. He is a resident of Holden.