Phil Koepp
Date of birth: 25.03.1942
Place of birth: Eunice, New Mexico
Nationality: American
Languages: English, Spanish
1961-1966
University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Arts, 1966, Major: Botany with Minors in Geology, Zoology, and Spanish
1966-1968
Plant Quarantine Inspector, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Jamaica, New York Details
Completed a 3-month intensive training program in entomology, plant pathology, agency mission and federal regulations pertaining to importation of agricultural products. Assigned permanently to JFK International Airport. Inspected baggage, cargo and aircraft entering the U.S. from foreign ports for insects, plant and animal diseases, plants, animals and products thereof regulated by USDA. Enforced agricultural quarantines. Collected, identified, recorded and destroyed regulated pests and other items. Worked closely with the U.S. Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Public Health Service and the JFK Airport Authority.
1968-1969
Park Ranger Trainee, Glacier National Park, West Glacier, Montana DetailsAttended a 3-month Park Ranger Training Academy at Grand Canyon National Park and was assigned from there to Glacier National Park. Performed general Park Ranger duties and worked with other divisions within the park in a training capacity. Duties included law enforcement, campground management, entrance station management, boat patrol, wildland and structural fire, search and rescue, visitor service and public contact and a variety of resource management tasks.
1969-1973
Park Ranger, Blue Ridge Parkway, Love, Virginia DetailsPerformed general Park Ranger duties such as law enforcement; road, trail and boundary patrol; accident investigation; public health inspections of concessions operations; wildland fire control; search and rescue, emergency medical services; campground operations and fee collection; and conducted formal and informal interpretive presentations. Maintained good working relations with federal, state and local agencies in a four-county area. Maintained good neighbor relations. Managed special use permits and easements and handled encroachment problems. Served as Acting Subdistrict Ranger for four months with duties including supervision, timekeeping,and report preparation.
1973-1975
District Park Ranger, Mammoth Cave National Park, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky DetailsManaged 27,000 acres of backcountry, 32 miles of river, 30 miles of secondary roadway and 30 miles of hiking and horseback trails. Supervised one full-time Ranger and one seasonal Ranger.. Planned, constructed and maintained hiking and horseback trails. Served as the primary boat operator for the park. Wrote the park‘s Resources Management Plan and Water Operations Plan. Worked with the park‘s hydrologist/geologist to initiate exploration and mapping of caves in the district utilizing an „outlaw“ cave exploration group. Coordinated Youth Conservation Corps projects in the district. Worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff at their Deer Research Lab in the district to control the park‘s deer population. Maintained good working relationships with park neighbors and cooperating agencies.
1975-1978
District Park Ranger, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida DetailsBegan service at Everglades National Park as a GS-9 Subdistrict Ranger and was promoted to GS-11 District Ranger. Supervised eight permanent employees and abut eight work-years of seasonal staff. Prepared long-and short-range District goals. Prepared and tracked annual operating programs and budgets. Wrote, reviewed and revised District Action Plans such as Exotic Plant Control Plan, Structural Fire Plan, Hurricane Evacuation Plan and Standard Operating Procedures. Represented the district in cooperative relations with other agencies and groups such as the U.S. Army, the Miccosuki Tribe, Dade County Sheriff‘s Department and Florida Fish and Game Department. Negotiated and drafted cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding between the park and other groups. District programs included fee collection, campground management, law enforcement, emergency medical services, structural fire, park-wide dispatch operations, backcountry patrol, wildland and prescribed fire management, exotic plant control and abandoned farmland reclamation.
1978-1981
Fire and Vegetation Management Specialist, Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida and member of South Florida Interagency Fire Council, Dade County, Florida DetailsSupervised five permanent employees and a seasonal Park Ranger crew of up to 10 persons. Developed short- and long-range goals for the section. Developed annual and multi-year operating programs. Prepared and tracked annual budgets. The Fire and Vegetation Management program consisted of wildland fire suppression, prescribed fire management, exotic plant control, abandoned farmland restoration, pesticides management, equipment development and improvement of the park‘s photopoint/photofile system. Revised and updated the park‘s Fire Management Plan. Initiated use of computer-aided fire and fire weather prediction capability for the park.
1981-1988
Chief, Resources Management and Visitor Protection, Guadalupe MountainsNational Park, Salt Flat, Texas DetailsSupervised four Park Rangers, one Resources Management Specialist and about five work-years of seasonal staff. Prepared and monitored annual budgets. Developed annual goals and work plans. Division programs included air and water quality monitoring, environmental compliance, exotic species control, threatened and endangered species management, mountain lion management, historical and archeological compliance, research administration, law enforcement, wildland and structural fire, emergency medical services, visitor safety, stock use, fee collection, campground management and backcountry use management.
1985
Special Achievement Award for Superior Performance – U.S. National Park Service
1988-1992
Chief, Resources Management and Visitor Protection, Big Bend National Park, Texas DetailsDirected natural and cultural resources management and research programs, as described above, as well as protection and visitor services programs. Supervised an Assistant Chief Ranger, 10 permanent Park Rangers and a varying number of seasonal Park Rangers in addition to resources management staff. Ranger programs included exotic species control, large mammal (mountain lion and black bear) control, law enforcement, narcotics interdiction, employee and visitor safety, emergency medical services, search and rescue operations, structural and wildland fire, campground management, fee collection and radio dispatch services. Prepared and tracked budgets for the division. Prepared and directed annual goals and work projects. Worked with the park‘s Mexican Affairs Coordinator and Superintendent in developing and implementing cooperative programs with Mexican governmental entities and non-governmental environmental groups.
1991
Incident Commander for the Emily Davis-Mobley Rescue from Lechuguilla Cave Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, April 1-5, 1991 DetailsAt the time, this was the longest, deepest cave rescue in U.S. history. The rescue team utilized deep-cave experts from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and had extensive national and international media coverage.
1992
Fire Achievement Award – Southwest Fire Council: Recognized for establishing and training a Mexican Wildland Fire Crew (Los Diablos de Boquillas), in Boquillas del Carmen, Coahuila, Mexico.
1992-1996
Chief, Science and Resources Management Division, Big Bend National Park, Texas DetailsResponsible for a complex program of natural and cultural resources management and natural science research administration. Developed annual and multi-year goals and operating programs. Prepared and tracked annual budget for these programs. Managed „soft monies‘ to ensure successful implementation of programs such as air quality monitoring, watershed studies and vegetation mapping. Directed Americorps projects such a spring surveys, long-term vegetation monitoring and database preparation. Directed management of the park‘s research library and preparation of an Annual Research Newsletter.. Wrote, revised and reviewed a variety of management plans such as the Natural and Cultural Resources Management Plan, Fire Management Plan, River Use Plan, Backcountry Management Plan Black Bear Management Plan and Mountain Lion Management Plan. Prepared and reviewed National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Prerservation Act compliance documents. Served on the park‘s Mexico Affairs Team and as the Man and the Biosphere Coordinator. Represented the park at public meetings and worked with a variety of Mexican governmental and non-governmental organizations, federal and state agencies, universities, environmental groups, native American tribes and the private sector on matters of mutual concern.
1993
Special Achievement Award for Superior Performance – U.S. National Park Service
1994
Special Achievement Award for Superior Performance – U.S. National Park Service
1996
Retirement from the US National Park Service
1996-1998
Program Manager for Park Services, Parks and Natural Resources Division, Travis County Department of Transportation and Natural Resources, Austin, Texas DetailsManaged Travis County‘s 27-unit park system. Developed and implemented long- and medium-range improvement strategies for the system. Prepared and directed implementation of policies, guidelines, operating statndards and protocols. Responsible for grounds and facilities standards and maintenance; fee collection and visitor services; visitor safety, law enforcement and emergency medical services; recreation and education programs; and natural and cultural resources management programs. Prepared annual budgets and monitored expenditures. Directed preparation of Annual Work Plans and their implementation. Instrumental in selecting, planning for and developing two new multi-use parks for the system. Represented the park system in relationships with other agencies, the media and the general public.
1998
Retirement from working
1998-2000
Board of Directors and Chair, Land Management Committee – Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve, Austin, Texas
1999-2007
Volunteer Preparator, Vertebrate Paleontology Lab, University of Texas, Austin, Texas DetailsPreparing a fossil crocodillian from the late Cretaceous period, Deinosuchus sp., for scientific description and study. Assisted Dr.. Wann Langston, Ph.D. of the University of Texas’ Vertebrate Paleontology Lab in excavation and recovery of the specimen from Big Bend National Park, Texas. Preparation of the specimen includes removal of collections from plaster field jackets, cleaning of rock matrix from fossil bone using chisels, picks and airscribes, matching random fragments with larger pieces of the specimen, use of glues, epoxies, plasters to bind the fragments securely and otherwise utilizing standard techniques to prepare the specimen for museum storage and scientific study.
2000-2003
Environmental Consultant, Griffith League Ranch Project, Boy Scouts of America, Capitol Area Council, Austin, Texas DetailsPrepared a habitat management plan/environmental assessment to permit development of a 5,000 acre Boy Scout camp in Bastrop County, Texas. The property is habitat for the Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis), a federal and state-listed endangered species. Development and use of the property required issuance of an Incidental Take Permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Provided input to the Capitol Area Council on planning, use and early development of the property to afford protection for the Houston toad while allowing low-impact, minimal use of the property. Coordinated research on the Houston toad, other wildlife and vegetation with scientists at Texas State University. Directed the preparation and signing of Cooperative Agreement between the the Council and Texas State University. Prepared grant proposals for funding research and management activities to supplement the Boy Scout‘s efforts to protect the Houston toad. Made presentations about the project to the Capitol Area Council‘s board and to civic organizations in the area.
2004
Planner III (temporary), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Region I,Fort Davis, Texas DetailsMember of a 3 person team employed to revise and update the Public Use Plan for Big Bend Ranch State Park, a 300,000 acre wilderness park in remote west Texas. Reviewed the existing General Management Plan. After orientation to the park by foot, horseback, 4-wheel drive vehicle and air reconnaisance, made recommendations for changes in types of use, use limits, appropriate uses of existing facilities and structures, establishment of use management zones, development of an expanded trail and backcountry camping system, cross-country hiking and horseback riding, mountain biking,hunting, closure of certain trails and campsites and opening of previously closed portions of the park to public use. In making recommendations, took into consideration the park’s remoteness, ruggedness, size, staffing needs, sensitive natural and cultural resources such as springs and water sources, rare plants, wildlife, archeological sites and historic ranching sites.
Special knowledge, membership of professional associations, etc.