Russ Cahill, a retired parks and recreation professional and lifelong outdoor recreation advocate, has been appointed to the State Parks and Recreation Commission. Gov. Chris Gregoire made the appointment late last month.
Cahill, 73, lives in Olympia. Cahill replaces Fred Olson, who served on the commission from 2007 through last summer. Cahill’s term runs through December.
A biologist and former National Park Service ranger who has managed parks in Hawaii, Alaska, California and Washington, Cahill also was deputy director for the State Parks and Recreation Commission for four years, retiring in 1997. Following his retirement, he served for six years on the state Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Cahill has been a board member with the National Parks and Conservation Association, served as a board chairman with the Nature Conservancy of Washington and Alaska and was a founding committee member and first executive director of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. During the past decade, he has volunteered with Catholic Community Services. He and his wife, Narda Pierce, live on Woodard Creek in Thurston County.
The commission sets policy for the State Parks and Recreation department, which manages more than 100 parks. The commission is comprised of seven citizen members. They hire a director to oversee the agency’s operating and capital programs. The commission has public meetings six times a year at locations around the state.
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