Intelligent, Skilled and Resourceful are Words that not Only Describe Rick Harness, but also the birds of prey, such as falcons, eagles and hawks, he works to protect. A certified wildlife biologist for EDM International, an engineering consulting firm in Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S., Harness has managed to take his passion for nature and create a successful and meaningful career.

Born overseas, Harness, who is a self-described Navy brat, spent part of his childhood living in Japan, England and Spain. He also lived in six states as well as the District of Columbia before graduating from high school. No matter where his father's military career took the family, one facet of Harness's life remained constant: his love of animals. “I was always dragging home anything and everything I could catch,” he says.

After earning his bachelor's of science degree in fisheries and wildlife from the University of Missouri, Harness headed to New Mexico to work as a ranger for the National Parks Service at Carlsbad Caverns. “In Carlsbad, I met a girl who was a student at the University of Montana in Missoula. At the end of the season, she went back to school, and I followed her.” Intending to return to the National Park Service, Harness set about finding part-time work to get him through the Montana winter season and into the next summer. “An engineering consulting firm to the electric utility was looking for a draftsman to help with some of its projects,” he remembers. “I landed the position with them doing some basic drafting work. Soon after, I was placed on survey crews and got to hold the dumb end of the tape. Later on, I got to hold the smart end of the tape.”

Harness eventually became more involved with power line design at the company. He also became more involved with Sue, the girl he had followed to Montana. “Sue and I got married and had a child. Before I knew it, I'd spent five years at the consulting company getting a pretty good education in power lines,” he says.

Opportunity came knocking again in the form of a job offer with another engineering firm based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Although the position was similar to the work Harness had done in Missoula, it also called for someone who could handle environmental compliance issues. “During my time with the company, I gravitated toward the environmental work,” he says. “I also became aware that we had a number of clients wrestling with bird-of-prey electrocutions. Clients started asking me what they could do to prevent them, and I didn't know what to tell them.”

Instead of ignoring the matter, Harness decided to find answers. Continuing to work full time, he entered the master's program at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins and focused his studies on the raptor electrocution problem. While attending CSU, his work came to the attention of EDM International, who ultimately offered him a job. “Before accepting the position, I negotiated with EDM to start an environmental group, and the company agreed to do it,” says Harness. “Today, there are five people in the group, which provides support services to the electric utility industry, from permitting to helping to properly site wind farms to helping test products.”

The group has worked with hundreds of utilities from around the world. Although most of the work is done in the United States, Harness has traveled to Mexico and South Africa to assist in resolving bird-related issues. In September, he spent two weeks of vacation time in Mongolia, traversing the country's steppes to determine how to mitigate the number of bird electrocutions caused by power lines. “Most of Mongolia's infrastructure was built by the Russians, who ruled the country until 1990,” Harness explains. “Now, changes are taking place, including the way power lines are being constructed. Unfortunately, this new construction has led to a lot of dead birds.” Harness is especially alarmed by the electrocutions of saker falcons, a critically endangered species. “We're writing a paper on what I found in Mongolia and how to fix the problem. We hope to present our results at a workshop at the University of Mongolia, where we can show the utilities how to make their electrical system more robust while also protecting the birds,” he says.

Like many people, Harness's professional life spills over into his personal one. In addition to birdwatching, he enjoys wildlife photography and leads field trips for the Fort Collins Audubon Society. The wildlife biologist also tests mitigating devices with raptors at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, a nonprofit organization that performs rehabilitation for injured raptors. According to Harness, he typically spends his vacations in places that have wildlife refuges or at national parks, such as Yellowstone. Surprisingly, he doesn't own any birds.

“The thing that's exciting to me professionally and personally is the attention being given to bird collisions and bird electrocutions,” Harness says. “When I began doing this type of work, not a lot of people were looking at this problem. Now, I know students doing thesis work on these issues, and it's rewarding to mentor them. I'm also encouraged by the various animal protection measures being adopted across the United States.”