About Harry O. Bhagwandin
Bio
Harry O. Bhagwandin is semi-retired but continues to work in his local community in the development of grant projects promoting local agriculture and adventure travel tourism, while maintaining his 65-acre tree farm, organic orchards, and short-term rental and wellness retreat in Onalaska, WA where he raised four children with his wife Annie of 40 years.
Harry is the co-founder and founding past President of Onalaska Alliance, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to innovative and sustainable economic, educational, and natural resource development opportunities for rural communities. As president Harry was responsible for negotiating the purchase of a Carlisle Lake for the community of Onalaska. As a volunteer grant writer Harry generated $470,000 in grants in partnership with Federal, State, County, Tribal, Onalaska School District, non-profits, and area businesses in the creation of a natural resource-based tourism destination site at the 72-acre Carlisle Lake project site. In addition, Harry generated $750,000 grants for the design of fish passage project proposals at Carlisle Lake and its associated South Fork Newaukum River tributaries.
Recent tourism event projects Harry helped initiate include Ride the Willapa, and Tour de Farms, incorporating his work with local farmers markets and the Port of Chehalis to promote direct access to local agricultural products funded through several USDA grants. He is currently the project manager for a USDA grant sponsored by the Port of Chehalis looking at the possibility of implementing a Lewis County Direct Farm Marketing Association. He has served on many non-profit boards including Lewis County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, the county Citizen’s Budget Committee, Lewis County Community Trails, and as Vice Chair of the Habitat Work Lead Entity Work Group.
Harry received a Bachelors in biology from Indiana University and a Masters in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College. Professional experience includes work as a Grant Program Administrator and Project Manager for the State of Washington, Department of Natural Resources, where he was responsible for acquiring, administering, and project implementation of land acquisition and planning grants in support of critical habitat conservation and protection for listed species; multiple-million dollar grant budget development; and project administration of $130 Million in federal grant awards to the State of Washington for acquisition of 80,000 acres of wildlife habitat in fee and/or permanent conservation easements.
Harry O. Bhagwandin, Candidate, Lewis County Commissioner, District 3 (R)
Background
I moved from Indiana to Lewis County in 1985. I raised four children with my wife of 40 years on our tree farm in Onalaska, where we grow timber, chestnuts, fruit trees and vegetable crops. Our 65-acre tree farm is Forest Stewardship Certified under three complimentary management plans and certified sustainable practices by Forest Stewardship Council, the Department of Natural Resources/WSU Forest Stewardship Program, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. I am a member of Lewis County Farm Forestry, Lewis County Farm Bureau, Washington Stewardship Forestry, the American Tree Farm Program, and a founding member of the national Chestnut Growers Association. I am a current member of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and the Citizen’s Budget Committee. I have been regularly attending Board of County Commissioner meetings since 2009 to learn the job and how county governance works.
When I first came to the PNW I made a living a nurseryman and orchard consultant. As a long-time resident of Lewis County, I have worked a variety of jobs including construction, sales, landscaping, and trades instructor at Centralia College. I received a Master’s in Environmental Studies at The Evergreen State College to compliment my biology undergraduate degree from Indiana University. This helped me secure a position with the executive management team at the Department of Natural Resources in Olympia. My tenure as a state employee includes nine years of experience as a Program Administrator where our team was responsible for acquiring, administering, and project implementation of land acquisition and planning grants in support of critical habitat conservation and protection for listed species. I learned to manage multiple-million-dollar grant budgets, and juggle administration of $130 Million in federal grant awards to the State of Washington for acquisition of 80,000 acres of wildlife habitat in fee and/or permanent conservation easements. I am trained as a wildland firefighter and served as a Public Information Officer on our State inter-agency Incident Command Team throughout the Pacific Northwest for 7 fire seasons.
As a volunteer community organizer, and part-time educator at Onalaska High School in the early 90’s, I helped the Onalaska FFA start a fish rearing enhancement project on the South Fork Newaukum River. This project is still run entirely by high school students annually contributing coho and steelhead hatchery run smolts into the Chehalis River system. In 2010 I co-founded and served as the first President of Onalaska Alliance, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to innovative and sustainable economic, educational, and natural resource development opportunities for rural communities. Fostering public and private partnerships and leveraging Federal, State, County, Tribal, and foundation grant funds we generated $470,000 to acquire and develop the 72-acre Carlisle Lake property in the first five years of our formation. I am very proud to have also been a founding partner in the creation of the Onalaska Apple Harvest Festival, Ride the Willapa, and Tour de Farms – ongoing tourism promotion events that generate revenue to support local community projects.
I am currently a grant writer, in partnership with a variety of local non-profits to develop projects that focus on rural-economic development. I just wrapped up phase I of a 3-phase direct farm marketing project for a Port of Chehalis sponsored USDA Rural Business Development Grant. This project identified economic barriers to direct sales and consumer access to local farm products in Lewis County. I applied for Phase II funding to assist the development of a business and strategic plan to move forward with the potential formation of a Lewis County Direct Farm Marketing Association. This project contributes to our local agricultural economy.
Maintaining a high standard of quality, professionalism, ethics, and integrity have guided my work throughout my professional and private life. I am confident that my timber, agriculture, fisheries experience, volunteer partnerships, and community focus on rural economic development projects will add a unique perspective to the duties of the Board of County Commissioners.
As Lewis County Commissioner I would leverage this experience to focus on recovery of the County’s share of timber revenue from our public forest lands, restoration of our Cowlitz fishery, implementing a balanced solution between flooding and habitat restoration of aquatic species in the Chehalis River Basin, planned development of our budding recreational and sports tourism economies, strengthening public, private and non-profit partnerships for rural broadband access and infrastructure capacity to position Lewis County to be more competitive and attract outside investment opportunities that will provide our current and future residents, including your children, diverse opportunities to earn a family-living wage and meaningful employment.