Greetings!

Welcome to the July 2017 TBird "Flight Status" update, presenting recent company news, information, and fun things we enjoy sharing with our friends, colleagues, and valued clients.  Please feel free to reach out to us directly if you have any questions or comments about this months update.  
 Thunderbird Receives Highest Federal Contracting Award
USDA SDVOSB of the Year!
In June 2017 Thunderbird was named Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year by the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  This is an amazing achievement for our staff and supporting family members, and we are so proud to share the news of this honor with everyone. We would like to extend a special "thank you" to Michelle Warren, Deputy Director of the USDA's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), to all the staff members within the USDA's AbilityOne program, and to all of our loyal clients who continue to support Supplier Diversity within their own organizations. 
Thunderbird staff attended the Small Business awards ceremony in person at USDA headquarters located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  "We want to share this prestigious award with everyone who has supported Thunderbird over the past three years.  Thank you!"  - Darby Hittle
Employee Spotlight:
Rory Parcell Celebrates 1 Year
Rory Parcell celebrated his one year anniversary as an Environmental Scientist / Ecologist at Thunderbird in June 2017.  Rory has spent most of the past year working hard every day and eagerly learning all that he can about the environmental consulting business.  Rory has truly become an indispensable member of the Thunderbird team, and much of our success over the past year can be attributed to his personal contributions to the work we do for our clients. Thank you Rory, and we look forward to another great year with you as a key member of the TBird Team!
Federal Judge Halts Fish ByPass Project - Again
Pallid Sturgeon at Risk
In November 2015, Thunderbird was selected by a federal prime contractor to administer the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) for a $57 million dam / fish passage construction project on the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana.  The planned re-construction of a 100-year old weir, and construction of a new 2-mile long fish bypass channel is aimed at helping the endangered Pallid Sturgeon migrate upstream during its annual spawning season. However, the project has been delayed numerous times over the past two years since an environmental group filed suit against it, saying the proposed improvements will not improve the chances for the pallid sturgeon to migrate upstream past the weir.  

If and when this project clears the persistent legal hurdles in the federal court system and finally gets moving, Thunderbird will manage the SWPPP related tasks out of its Bozeman, Montana office.  
Thunderbird Therapy

You probably have a good idea of what Thunderbird does from 8 to 5; now you can see what our team members have been up to from 5 to 9.
2017 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival
in the Catskill Mountains
In July 2017, for the third year in a row Darby and his daughter Jessie Hittle attended the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in the Catskill Mountains of New York. The four day music festival included performances by The Steeldrivers, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Del McCoury, Jerry Douglas, Balsam Range, Ricky Skaggs, and a host of other great bluegrass performers.  Each J uly, the Grey Fox Bluegrass festival draws more than 4,000 campers and musicians to t he Walsh Farm, located in the beautiful Catskills, in Oak Hill, New York .  It's like a modern day Woodstock, with banjo's, mandolins, and fiddles instead of electric guitars. :) 
At this year's Grey Fox Open Mic night, Jessie had a chance to showcase her bluegrass vocals on the "Catskill Stage", where she and her dad performed an original song, "Flowers Round Her Grave." - So much fun!  Great job Jessie!   
Thank you for sharing the July 2017 TBird Flight Status update.   We hope you enjoyed hearing about all that's been going on with us lately at Thunderbird.  Until next month, have a great rest of summer.  

 - Darby and the entire TBird Team

Thunderbird Environmental
darby@tbirdenv.com
(860) 227-4714 

Please check out our recently revamped website by clicking the link below.   We've made some improvements that we think you'll appreciate!