What is your current occupation?

I’m a research scientist at the University of California Berkeley, and a coastal rivers ecologist at California Trout (CalTrout), a conservation nonprofit whose mission is “to ensure healthy waters and resilient wild fish” in California. I work on the ecology and conservation of Pacific salmon, primarily in Northern California.

Where were you born, where do you live now, and where were you educated?

I was born in Forestville, California, and I now live in Arcata, on the Northern California coast. I attended Santa Rosa Junior College, received a bachelor’s degree in natural resource planning and a master’s degree in environmental resource engineering from Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt), and then my PhD from the University of California Berkeley, where I also did two years of postdoctoral research.

What is your area of expertise?

Salmon ecology and behavior, river food web ecology, instream flow management, and salmonid recovery planning.

What is your primary motivation for doing the work that you do?

The importance of healthy river ecosystems and salmon populations to human culture. The ultimate goal of my research is to integrate the scientific and cultural narratives about salmon in river ecosystems and to apply those narratives toward the recovery of wild salmon, healthy river ecosystems, and a healthy relationship between people and salmon – with a focus on coastal streams in Northern California.

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?

I haven't really accomplished anything “on my own.” It's always been in a community and with lots of support. I think that's the way the world goes around! Being a Dad, getting to spend time with my three sons and introducing them to the amazing places where we live is my greatest joy. But even that isn't a "personal" accomplishment, since my wife (of course!) and our families and the people all around us help to make it happen. Professionally and personally, I care a lot about community and place. I feel really honored to help build and support the community of people dedicated to understanding and protecting river ecosystems in California. Mentoring young scientists and community members and introducing them to the beauty of these places and the cultural stories that keep them centered in our world is something that is very fulfilling to me.             

What do you strive to achieve in the future?

To develop deeper, sustaining relationships between the people of the North Coast and the rivers and salmon that we live with is a goal that I have, both personally and professionally. I want to dig deeper into what it means to become part of a place. Wendell Barry said "The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope." That is what I want to achieve in the future!

Have you ever thought about the name HOBO and what it might mean?

Yes, but I never figured it out!

What HOBO products do you use on a regular basis?

HOBO U20 Water Level Loggers, U26 Dissolved Oxygen Loggers, and U24 Fresh Water & Salt Water Conductivity Loggers - and I collect temperature data from all of them too!

Can you describe a specific project where HOBO data loggers played a key role?

There are quite a few! But a key one that comes to mind is a multi-partner instream flow augmentation study on Porter Creek in Healdsburg, CA. This study evaluated the effect of flow augmentation from off-channel storage on habitat connectivity, water quality, invertebrate drift, and juvenile salmonid movement & survival in a small stream. HOBO loggers were deployed in 16 pools, eight above and eight below the point of augmentation, and they played a key role in our analysis of habitat connectivity (depths) and water quality (dissolved oxygen and water temperature) in response to augmentation. 

A key finding was that flow augmentation increased the survival probability for salmonids, with a larger effect during the dry summer (24% higher survival for Coho Salmon and 20% higher survival for steelhead) than during the wet summer (no effect was observed for steelhead survival, and Coho Salmon survival increased by 11%). This effort suggests that appropriately designed, small-scale flow augmentations can improve conditions for rearing salmonids, particularly during dry years. More broadly, it provides empirical evidence (often lacking!) that efforts to restore summer streamflow in small, salmon-bearing streams can yield significant ecological benefits.

What HOBO features do you consider most important?

Reliability, long battery life, and durability in harsh environments.

Do you think accurate data can help you build a better tomorrow?

No question about it. Accurate data, combined with a vision for a healthy world, is a great combination.

If you could spend the day on the job with one person (living or deceased), who would it be?

Man, that's a tough one! So many amazing choices. Amongst those who are deceased, probably Japanese ecologist and collaborative researcher Shigeru Nakano, who, in March 2000, was lost at sea at the age of 37. But the North Coast salmon team that I work with throughout the year makes our field work joyful and meaningful!

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