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Forensics Lab gets $9 million boost By JOHN DARLING ASHLAND � In recognition of its growing importance nationwide in the world of forensics, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab will soon undergo a $9 million doubling in size, add at least 30 new staff and bring in the latest technology to help scientists nail poachers and traders of threatened species. Architects will spend the next year designing a new wing on the back of the operation, expanding it to 50,000 square feet from its present 23,000, said Director Ken Goddard. Construction will take a year and should be complete about October 2002, he said. The expansion will make room for the latest generation of technology, including a Level III containment facility which will allow the lab to "lock down" and analyze animals carrying extremely dangerous and contagious diseases, he said. The new space will allow the lab to hire 20 new scientists, Goddard said, "because us old folks have a lot of accumulated knowledge in our heads, which isn�t being taught in any university, and we need to transfer that to the next generation." This new generation of scientists is critical because many present staff members will retire in 10 to 15 years, he said. About a dozen computer and clerical workers also will be added. The expansion will house an herbarium for plant identification, a 100-person conference center to host international gatherings, a test-firing tank to handle up to .50 caliber bullets, a video-conferencing room for remote testimony, a clean room for highly sensitive instrumentation and lab space for evidence, toxicology, PCR (polymerase chain reaction process for duplicating DNA), latent fingerprints and questioned documents (forgeries), he said. In its 11-year history, Goddard said, the lab has essentially "pioneered a new science" � wildlife forensics � and now performs autopsies and species identification for the entire United States and 150 member nations of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). "This is pretty much it for the whole world," Goddard said. "We�re working against time and there�s a tremendous amount of work to do. We�ve had quite an impact on the prosecution of cases and we�ve set a baseline for the next generation of scientists." The lab has developed species-defining protocols, using DNA, bone and feather patterns, cell structure, skull curvature and other markers, to identify whether parts of threatened species are being used in products, he said. The facility is the only full-service wildlife forensics lab in the world. Small operations, staffed by one or two people, exist in six states, all in the West, he said. Several nations, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China and Great Britain, have sent scientists here to learn the new methods, he added. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA