Oregon and Idaho members will lead Power Council in 2017

This month the Council members elected Henry Lorenzen of Pendleton chair of the Council and Bill Booth of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, vice chair. Both served in the same positions in 2016.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council this month elected Oregon and Idaho members to lead the four-state energy and fish and wildlife planning agency in 2017.

The Council re-elected Oregon Member Henry Lorenzen as chair. Mr. Lorenzen, of Pendleton, is an attorney, licensed professional electrical engineer, and third-generation dry land wheat farmer. He was appointed to the Council in August, 2012 and reappointed and unanimously confirmed by the Oregon Legislature in April 2015.

Prior to joining the Council, he was a partner in the law firm of Corey, Byler, Rew, Lorenzen & Hojem, LLP, and continues to serve the law firm on an “of counsel” basis. Mr. Lorenzen has served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Department of Justice, a member of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, and a member and chair of the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission. He has also served as a member and president of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. He received his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University, his MBA from Harvard University, and his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School.

The Council also re-elected Idaho member Bill Booth as vice chair. Mr. Booth previously served in several Council leadership positions including two terms as chair, in 2008 and 2009. He also has chaired the Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee and was elected vice chair in 2015. Mr. Booth, of Coeur d’Alene, was appointed to the Council in January 2007 by Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and also serves as a member of the governor’s cabinet. 

Mr. Booth is a former U.S. Air Force Captain, serving as a missile combat targeting officer. Previously, he was a senior minerals industry executive overseeing environmental and government affairs and an instructor of economics at North Idaho College. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Idaho and earned a master’s of business administration degree from the University of North Dakota while serving in the Air Force.