ROGER K. PATTERSON

Roger Patterson was appointed Director of The Department of Water Resources in 1999.   Prior to his appointment with the State of Nebraska, his entire career was with the Bureau of Reclamation, beginning part-time as a student in 1969 and then full-time in 1974 in McCook, Nebraska. In 1978, he transferred to Reclamation's former Lower Missouri Region in Denver, Colorado. From 1983 to 1986, he was the Project Superintendent in El Paso, Texas.

His accomplishments include the implementation of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992, a landmark reform legislation involving more than 100 separate mandates which address project operations such as water conservation, contract renewals, and water transfers. A founding member of the Federal Ecosystem Directorate, Patterson was responsible for coordination among four Federal agencies on issues related to protecting the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta. He also played a key role in forging an historic agreement with the State of California and other interest groups which broke a long-standing gridlock and established new water quality standards.

Patterson has been honored with numerous awards throughout his 25-year career, among them the 1995 Presidential Rank Distinguished Executive Award B the highest award bestowed on a Federal career employee B and in 1994, the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive Award. These presidential-level honors recognized Patterson for his leadership role in the development and supervision of water resource management programs which have a major environmental and economic impact on millions of California residents. In 1993, Patterson received the Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award for achievements in addressing engineering, environmental, and public concerns as Regional Director of the Mid-Pacific Region and as former Regional Director of the Great Plains Region.