Papers of John W. Shields

John W. Shields (b. 1958) worked as an interstate streams engineer for the State of Wyoming for thirty years. For most of that time, he also served as chairman for the Management Committee of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program.

Shields earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural engineering at the University of Wyoming. In January 1984, he began work as an interstate streams engineer in the Wyoming State Engineer's Office. During this time, he specialized in resolving interstate water issues, including those arising from differing state water rights laws or from federal legislation.

Shields became involved with the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program from its establishment in 1988. As chairman of the Management Committee, he helped local, state, and federal agencies, along with non-governmental organizations, work in a collaborative partnership to implement recovery actions for four species of endangered Colorado River fish: bonytail, Colorado pikeminnow (formerly called Colorado squawfish), humpback chub, and razorback sucker. Careful coordination of all parties helped achieve the recovery of the endangered fish while still meeting human needs. Shields received the Secretary of Interior's Cooperative Conservation Award in 2008 for this work. He remained involved until his retirement in March 2014.

Following retirement, Shields went to work for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at the Boulder Canyon Operations Office. Shields has also been involved with the Upper Colorado River Commission, the Colorado River Water Users Association, and the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management Work Group. He maintains a personal interest in Wyoming water history, in particular Elwood Mead, the state's first state engineer.