About

Specialties
My focal area is in the applied ecology of watersheds integrating an understanding of biotic (soil microbes, plants, aquatic organisms) and abiotic elements (nutrients, water, geology). While I have spent the majority of my career within the rivers, estuaries, and wetlands of riverine corridors, I also have worked in upland forests and prairies, including in working landscapes. I lead Inter-Fluve’s estuary science and restoration team, coordinating activities across the company. I have a particular interest in framing restoration efforts in the context of future climate change. My technical skills include site assessment, project identification and design, riparian ecology and monitoring, wetland assessments, and environmental compliance.

Biographical Sketch
I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest to parents who were at the forefront of the natural/organic/local food movement. My childhood was spent listening to my family talking about the philosophy and the nuts and bolts of re-working our food systems. I visited ranchers in Eastern Oregon and witnessed firsthand how they were stewards of their land and water; they knew the landscape was their legacy. From my earliest days, I have been drawn to the natural world, and river systems in particular. For me I find that river systems, like food systems, are complex, dynamic, and intrinsically about people living and interacting within their environment.

I have a degree in Environmental Science from Colorado College, and a Masters of Forest Science from Yale University. I joined Inter-Fluve in 2012 and for nearly eight years have had the great pleasure to walk and float watersheds across the country supporting restoration designs.

Statement of Interest
iver Restoration Northwest is a hard-working, science-based organization that supports collaboration across organizations striving to improve the practice of restoration by shared knowledge and experiences. I would like to share my time with RRNW and support this mission. I have been a member of RRNW for several years, and participated in the symposium and attended the speaker series. I believe that RRNW provides the opportunity to bring colleagues together to further our professional practice. I am particularly interested in advancing mentorship opportunities through RRNW by bringing together seasoned and early career professionals to continue to move our collective restoration practice forward. Additionally, just as I am committed to working to find ways to increase diversity and resilience in ecological systems, I am similarly committed to working to increase the diversity and therefore effectiveness and resiliency of restoration practitioners.

Specialties
I am involved in the planning, analysis, and implementation of river restoration projects in California, Oregon, and Nevada. I work with private landowners and restoration practitioners to design fluvial restoration projects to benefit aquatic species and improve management of river corridors. My primary design focus is working to adapt or remove anthropogenic constrictions to accommodate a more dynamic and heterogeneous riverscape.

Biographical Sketch
I began my career at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab restoring oyster reefs to protect eroding shorelines in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Fleeing the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, I moved west and began working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Klamath Basin. There, I worked with private landowners to implement voluntary restoration projects to benefit two endangered sucker species, bull trout, and the Oregon spotted frog. After five years, I moved to the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge to work in the Sacramento River Basin, Sierra Nevada foothill floodplains, and mountain meadows. Since then I have continued to work with a variety of public and private partners as well as researchers to implement and monitor habitat restoration projects to benefit anadromous salmonids and mountain meadow dependent amphibians. I continue to work to restore fluvial systems in California, Oregon, and Nevada.

Statement of Interest
RRNW has been an invaluable part of my career. I have met a world-class network of professionals while learning about the cutting edge of river restoration at the annual symposium. I have learned new implementation techniques from the short courses and toured high quality projects during field trips. I would like to give back to the organization that has helped me so much in my career. I would like to maintain the quality and fun of the symposium. I would also like to expand the network and activities of RRNW to include California and Southern Oregon. The RRNW speaker series in Portland and Seattle is great and I would like to do something similar to service the community in my area. Overall, I would like to meet the high standard set by previous board members by helping maintain and expand the beneficial influence of River Restoration Northwest.