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Expert has worked for multiple years in marine ecology and regulatory compliance.Expert specializes in understanding effective watershed processes and restoration techniques. He has built that understanding on his knowledge of aquatic organism life history diversity, fluvial geomorphologic concepts, riparian-aquatic interactions, floodplain ecology, limiting factors identification, and understanding the effects of land use on aquatic environments. He has served in various roles of technical and senior-level consultation within the Department of Natural Resources, splitting his time with three distinct divisions: State-owned forest land management, Forest Practices, and Aquatic Lands. These positions provided diverse experience in uplands, riverine, and marine ecosystems.

Several years of additional experience with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and California Fish and Game, provided diverse and valuable experience in headwater, large river and nearshore ecology and insight into local, state, and federal regulatory environmental permit requirements. Expert has managed projects and tasks related to aquatic resource assessment and endangered species including restoration conceptual designs in the lower Willamette and Columbia River Estuary, and was a principal technical author for the Fidalgo Bay Aquatic Reserve, Skagit County, identifying marine and estuarine habitats and function for conservation value. Expert was also the agency stewardship scientist during the development of the Aquatic Lands Habitat Conservation Plan providing input into the effects analysis, effectiveness monitoring and adaptive management portions of the plan and was one of the agencies senior scientists during the implementation of Washington’s science-based Forest and Fish Plan. Expert has published articles in woody debris placement, salmon habitat rehabilitation techniques, salmon-wildlife interactions, and management for restoring aquatic function.

Expert As part of national cadre deployed during declared disasters, He conducts environmental investigations for disaster related projects to ensure NEPA compliance and all local, state, and federal permits and improves project design in light of aquatic habitat needs and species conservation. He advises or authors Biological and Environmental Assessments and creates formal interagency correspondence. Expert provides technical input into resolving public infrastructure or natural resource damage and works with the Public Assistance Program with FEMA typically as a Task Force Member. Recent project work includes Endangered Species issues pertaining to Hurricane Irene and Coastal/nearshore process issues of Hurricane Sandy.

He served as task manager for a biological assessment of pallid sturgeon, piping plover, and interior least tern. An additional task was an aquatic resource assessment for commercial dredging permit renewal in 500 miles of the lower Missouri River. Project included evaluating effects of entrainment, turbidity, and mechanical streambed disturbance on fish resources and freshwater invertebrates. Potential effects of sand plant facility siting were also evaluated. He was responsible for literature review, life history analysis of pallid sturgeon, effects analysis, multi-state agency correspondence and informal ESA consultation documentation.He provided a baseline assessment of shoreline conditions along a 1.5 mile reach of the White River which had 14 rock vanes placed for bank stabilization purposes. He worked with the homeowner’s association to develop long-term erosion monitoring protocol and establish rationale and guidelines for installing streamflow gauge. He conducted aquatic resource assessment characterizing stream crossing areas and assessed the potential impact of over 200 fish-bearing stream crossings in alternative routes. The project included evaluating the potential effects of shade loss, turbidity, sedimentation and loss of habitat structure due to riparian tree removal. He contributed to a resource report that wasbe utilized for NEPA EIS analysis. The review included threatened and endangered species status and distribution, critical habitat evaluation, and the use of stream temperature class and related WA State Forest Practices management guidelines to develop resource sensitivity rules. The team used existing databases to provide a comprehensive, consistent, and efficient assessment for a large number of crossings. He served as task manager for an aquatic resource report of Third-party EIS involving placement and maintenance of a buried pipeline across six states (Montana to Texas). The effects analysis included status and distribution review of multiple state and federal threatened and endangered species and potential effects of various wet and dry stream crossing methods He contributed to cumulative effects analysis sections of the EIS and technical support for Montana’s Major Facility Siting Act compliance. Aquatic issues included listed fish species, wetlands, streams, construction accidents (contaminant release), and channel modifications.He served as a project manager for an Environmental Foundation Study for the City of Portland to determine feasibility of multiple use development on a portion of an undeveloped island near urban and commercial areas. He provided habitat characterization, fish and wildlife species use including sensitive and threatened and endangered species. The analysis framework included developing rules based on forest and landscape features that benefitted fish and wildlife productivity. The framework and resulting habitat mapping and valuation provided the information that would be used to determine compatibility of a marine terminal and/or other uses consistent with the City of Portland’s growth management strategies. The mid- and final project findings were presented to the multiple stakeholder work group.