An Interview with Tim Guilfoile

The following excerpts are from an interview with Sierra Club conservation organizer, Tim Guilfoile in August 2006, reprinted by permission from in Your Town, a newsmagazine located in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, and published by Beech House Press, LLC.

Tim Guilfoile

iYT: You recently won the award "Water Conservationist of the Year" from the Kentucky Wildlife Federation for your work to remove deicing fluid from Gunpowder Creek.

Tim Guilfoile: The Northern Kentucky Water Sentinels, a program of the Sierra Club, and the Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers helped achieve a significant victory in a long standing battle to stop pollution from airport deicing fluid in Gunpowder Creek. We were able to transcend politics and unite to save a beautiful creek. The Sierra Club's relationship with hunters and fishermen has been strained, but we are natural allies when it comes to protecting the environment. Gunpowder Creek was dead because of deicing fluid from the airport. There were no insects or fish.

The water didn't even freeze in the winter because of the antifreeze. We were able to convince the state Division of Water to issue its most stringent water permit regarding discharge into a waterway, and the airport has been very cooperative once public pressure was mobilized. We organized public hearings and went door to door to educate people who lived near Gunpowder Creek. You can't keep a dog out of a creek.

iYT: Is Gunpowder Creek recovering?

Tim Guilfoile: Yes. We tested it two weeks ago and it's coming back to life. Fish are returning. The Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers has adopted Gunpowder Creek and is doing the water testing. Sportsmen are perfect environmentalists. They're in the woods all the time.

iYT: Are you testing other streams and rivers in the area?

Tim Guilfoile: Water Sentinel volunteers are trained to test water for oxygen, PH levels, and bacteria content. We work with the Licking River Watershed Watch to test the Licking River. We also test on Banklick Creek, Grassy Creek and other waterways.

iYT: What type of water pollution should we be concerned about in Northern Kentucky?

Tim Guilfoile: There are two major water pollutants. The first is silt that comes from storm water runoff. Silt is basically dirt. When we recently tested Gunpowder Creek, we noticed a weird color in the water of a tributary. We walked up that creek and came upon a construction site for a strip mall. A layer of dirt had washed into the creek. The second major pollutant is sewage. We have a combined sewer system in Northern Kentucky. It handles sewage and storm water runoff. When we have a heavy rain, the sewer system overflows and sewage is dumped into our creeks and rivers. We're working hard to control the sewage problem.

iYT: The idea of bringing hunters and fishermen together with environmentalists makes a lot of sense.

Tim Guilfoile: It does. We have many of the same interests and goals. In 2004, we had a clean water summit for anglers and hunters at Blue Licks State Park. It went pretty well. In February, in Louisville, we held a convention for anglers and hunters with environmentalists and attracted 160 participants from 10 states. It was a huge success. A representative from Duck's Unlimited spoke on silt and the National Wildlife Federation addressed the new Farm Bill. The convention brought members of the National Rifle Association together with members of the Sierra Club. It worked. We focused on issues of concern to both groups and left politics out of the discussion.

Let's face it, there's nothing political about sewage. When ORSANCO [Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission] proposed a reduction in recreational water standards for the Ohio River after rainstorms because of our combined sewage system, hunters, boaters, fishermen and environmentalists got angry and mobilized. ORSANCO decided not to enact the new standards last month because of the unprecedented public outcry. I'm really into coalition building through hunter and angler cooperation.

iYT: Being named "Water Conservationist of the Year" had to be a great honor because it was awarded by a wildlife organization.

Tim Guilfoile: It made me very proud. I'm a Sierra Club staffer and I was given the award by a hunting, fishing and wildlife organization. It's an example of how well environmentalists, hunters and anglers can work together for the common good. I'll give you another example of what I mean. Pete Garrett of Fort Thomas was a classmate of mine at Highlands. Today, he owns a gun shop in Newport and is running for Campbell County Commissioner. Pete and I couldn't be more different politically, but I guarantee we totally agree on environmental issues.

iYT: Where did you go to college?

Tim Guilfoile: I attended the University of Kentucky and majored in Political Science and Economics. I was involved in student government and did very well in school. I also helped publish an underground school newspaper during the Vietnam War. I taught introductory sociology courses during my fifth year of school, when I was considering graduate school.

iYT: Did you go to work after graduation?

Tim Guilfoile: I went from a Political Science major into a career in health care. I needed a job and a friend told me about an opening at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. I started out in respiratory therapy and went on to become Director of Respiratory Therapy. I moved up to Director of Professional Services and Assistant Vice President of Operations, and ended my career as Vice President of Planning & Building Development.

iYT: What were some of your proudest accomplishments?

Tim Guilfoile: I developed a plan to expand Children's Hospital into the entire Greater Cincinnati community. We opened satellite branches in Mason, Eastgate, Fairfield, Anderson and Western Hills. Our newest venture is with St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood. We also opened a community center in North Fairmont, an area of Cincinnati with a high crime rate and no doctors. We brought primary care doctors into an area that had a great need for medical services. The building includes a police substation. Our goal was to keep children out of the emergency room by offering them neighborhood care.

iYT: Children's Hospital has a great national reputation.

Tim Guilfoile: I spent 22 years at Children's Hospital before opening my own health care consulting firm. It is the largest children's hospital in the United States by all measures. It was very exciting to be a part of that.

iYT: What type of work did you go into?

Tim Guilfoile: My health care consulting firm worked with doctors in private practice. I helped them with the business side of their practices. I sold the firm in 2003 and retired after 30 years in health care.

iYT: And now you're in a new position as a Regional Conservation Organizer for the Sierra Club.

Tim Guilfoile: That's right. I've blended my interest in child health issues with my interest in protecting the environment. For example, this area has one of the highest childhood asthma rates in the whole country because we have terrible air pollution. People say it's too costly to do anything about it. I say it's too costly not to address.

I've been a volunteer naturalist at the Cincinnati Nature Center for a number of years. I've taught classes to school children and led nocturnal hikes. It's a lot of fun. I've been a bird hunter for 20 years and member of the Sierra Club for 15 years. I've done a lot of backpacking and canoeing with the Sierra Club.

iYT: You're also Vice President of the Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers.

Tim Guilfoile: I became interested in fly-fishing about 12 years ago. I joined a Cincinnati club and then learned about Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers through another Highlands graduate, Morris Cecil. I fell in love with fly-fishing and the Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers are a great group of people. I'll be President of the organization next year.

iYT: You're really passionate about your work with the Sierra Club.

Tim Guilfoile: I am. I'm having more fun at this stage of my life than I ever thought possible. My work at Children's Hospital has given me an excellent background for what I do today. I write grants and proposals and have the benefit of working out of my home. I really believe we have to approach environmental issues at the gut level. Nobody wants their children exposed to mercury poisoning, and a lot of people would love to be able to fish in Gunpowder Creek. We need issue-oriented discussions.

Tim Guilfoile: An Advocate for the Waters of Northern Kentucky Tim Guilfoile is a resident of Edgewood who works as a conservation organizer for the Sierra Club. He's also an avid hunter and fisherman. His mission is to bring environmentalists and sportsmen together in an effort to protect the creeks and rivers of Northern Kentucky. He believes environmentalists and sportsmen have much in common because of their love for woods and waters. To contact Tim personally, or learn more about the Club's Water Sentinels program or work with hunters and anglers, email tim.guilfoile@sierraclub.org.

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