About Us

Ken Carrasco, MS 

Fisheries Biologist, Marine Biologist, Marine Applications Consultant, Captain License for Charter Boat trips (Coast Guard); Fisher Consulting Services, LLC

Videographer - Environmental Topics

Co-Owner, Manager; Blue Mountain Farm

Ken has over 35 years of experience as a fisheries biologist and marine biologist, having worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; NOAA; King County, WA; Tetra Tech and Fisher Consulting Services.  He started his career by working for the Coast Guard for 4 years in Antarctica, Michigan and Alaska.  He worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as a marine biologist on fishing vessels out of Homer, AK.  For several years he worked for NOAA out of Seattle collecting and analysizing fish samples for cancer after collecting field data from all over the US.  At the King County Department of Parks and Natural Resources he worked as a Fisheries Biologist working with salmon and farmers and worked in environmental education.  He started his career as a private consultant by working first for Tetra tech as a fisheries biologist and then, after he met Mariann, working jointly with her as part of Fisher Consulting Services.  He has been licensed by the Coast Guard with a 6 pack license for boat charters. He completed a filmmaker certifcation program with WWU and is a licensed videographer. In addition is the manager and operator of Blue Mountain Farm, a retreat center nestled in the Blue Mountains below the Twin Sisters Wilderness.

Mariann Carrasco

Wildlife Biologist, Wetland Scientist, Marine Mammal Biologist; Fisher Consulting Services, LLC

Principal Investigator, Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network

Co-owner, co-host;  Blue Mountain Farm

Mariann has over 34 years experience in the fields of resource management, wildlife management and, more recently, marine mammals and wetlands assessment.  She has experience writing all types of NEPA and SEPA documents, management plans, critical area assessments, habitat management plans, and biological assessments.  She has completed surveys and analysis for a variety of threatened, endangered and sensitive species such as bald eagle, peregrine falcon, marbled murrelet, spotted owl, goshawk, pileated woodpecker, gray wolf, wolverine, marten, fisher, lynx, elk, and Larch Mountain and Van Dyke’s salamanders as well as a variety of plant species.  Mariann has both east-side and west-side experience having worked on four different National Forests.  She has also planned and implemented habitat improvement projects for wildlife such as prescribed burning with and without helicopters, vegetation management, spring developments, pond developments, meadow rehabilitations, wetland mitigations,  road closures, oak management, and browseway improvement.  Her first 21 years were with the US Forest Service.  After that she spent 10 years in private consulting working for companies such as Foster Wheeler, Tetra Tech, and Parametrix doing both terrestrial vertebrate and wetland work.  Clients have included PG&E, Seattle City Light, various National Forests throughout the west, including Idaho and Montana, US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington Department of Transportation, Plum Creek Timber Company, and the National Marine Fisheries Service to name a few.

In the last 5 years she has also worked as a marine mammal biologist and is currently the Principal Investigator for the Whatcom Marine Mammal Stranding Network (which she founded) authorized by NOAA to respond to strandings in Whatcom county and the surrounding waters and shorelines (see www.wmmsn.org).  As a marine mammal biologist, she has worked for Tetra Tech and E2M, and clients have included the Navy, in more than one capacity. 

Mariann also owns and operates, with her husband Ken Carrasco, Blue Mountain Farm, which  is an environmental education and retreat   center.  Her passions include her horses, Mirador  Morgans, which she has owned and operated for more than 41 years; breeding raising,  training, showing, trail riding her morgans.  See www.bluemountainfarm.com/morgans.

In addition, she raises Australian Shephard dogs, in the past as Cherry Creek Aussies, both in California and in Washington specializing in Twin Oaks herding dogs, and after a 13 year hiatus, has returned to breeding aussies under the name Blue Mtn. Aussies, shifting to a more multi-purpose aussie by including agility, obedience, tracking and conformation.  See www.bluemountainfarm.com/aussies.