Madelinn Schriver, 2015

Thesis:

Stand and tree growth characteristics of Quercus garryana and Quercus kelloggi woodlands in northwestern California

Andre Sanchez,

Thesis:

Quantifying summer water budget use by fir and oak trees within overtopped and released forest stands.

Growing up in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Andre‚ was surrounded by an agriculturally fueled community and the many water issues that ensue. This, in combination with frequent family trips to the Sierra Nevada gem that is Yosemite National Park, ultimately shaped his passion for conservation and restoration work. After receiving his B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology from UC Davis in 2014, he went on to conduct amphibian surveys and aquatic restoration for Yosemite National Park where he would return for three seasons. Andre also went on to work with other aquatic restoration and water resources oriented programs that include the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Program, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and conducting coastal climate change monitoring with the U.S. Geological Survey. Andre would return to academia to pursue the M.S. in Natural Resources with a Watershed Management emphasis. Andre's research interests lie in landscape scale watershed management and restoration, aquatic ecology, and forest ecology. Working with Dr. Andrew Stubblefield, Andre's research looks at quantifying summer water budget use by fir and oak trees within overtopped and released forest stands.

Chantell Royer, 2011

Thesis:

Building a foundation for coordinated water quality monitoring in the Klamath River basin.

Prior to attending Cal Poly Humboldt (Humboldt) as a graduate student in Watershed Management, I worked for five years the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) as a research assistant. My work at NOAA Fisheries and UCSC was primarily focused on Chinook salmon life history and production source identification using otoliths (fish ears). While working for NOAA Fisheries I began volunteering for the Coastal Watershed Council, monitoring water quality in local streams. While there, I began to recognize the vital role terrestrial habitat play in salmonid survival, a role that is often forgotten as land use, water and riparian resources are prioritized for anthropogenic needs.

My passion for understanding the intersection between salmonid habitat utilization and water quality continued at Humboldt through my graduate research project. At Humboldt, I was fortunate to be part of a multi-year project in the Klamath Basin. Through the Klamath Watershed Institute (KWI), an affiliate of the University, water quality monitoring organizations participated in an effort to establish a basin-wide monitoring organization and draft a monitoring plan. The KWI played a central role in facilitating this interagency effort. As part of my thesis work, I worked with stakeholders to draft a water quality monitoring plan for the Klamath Basin. I served as the geographic information systems (GIS) analyst, mapping, documenting and archiving monitoring locations and water quality data. The Klamath Basin Monitoring Program (KBMP) was born out of this effort.

In addition to my Masters degree from Humboldt, I also earned a certificate in GIS from Humboldt. I am currently part of a local GIS start-up, Humboldt Cartography. Humboldt Cartography was established in 2011 by four Humboldt GIS certificate students. Humboldt Cartography specializes in geographic information systems and cartographic solutions.

Chantell Krider (nee Royer) graduated in 2011 and is currently the Recovery Plan Coordinator for the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Board.

Diedra Rodriguez, 2018

Thesis:

Persistence of stream restoration with large wood, Redwood National and State Parks, California

Diedra Rodriguez grew up in a coastal city in Ventura County, CA and received her B.S. in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Ecological Restoration from Cal Poly Humboldt. During her time as an undergraduate she has worked with Humboldt County Resource Conservation District on the Salt River Ecosystem Restoration Project in Fortuna, CA and Bureau of Land Management studying amphibians in Headwater Forest Reserve in Eureka, CA. Upon graduation she worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the Shasta-Trinity Forest restoring areas that have been affected by intense wildfires. Diedra?s research interests lie in ecological restoration and river ecology. Her thesis research explores the effectiveness of constructed log jams for stream restoration in Mill Creek, Redwood State and National Park.?

Kelley Reid, 2011

Thesis:

An assessment of gravel bar texture and composition following in-channel mining in the Mad River, California.

Skimming of gravel bars is an important industry in Humboldt County. Concerns have been voiced that the practice could release fine sediment into the stream which could affect salmonids. For his Masters thesis, Kelley sought to collect quantitative information to inform the debate. Gravel samples were taken from five gravel bars, and sifted into size classes. Statistical analysis will be used to determine if there was a difference between pre-extraction, post-extraction, after rains, and after-inundation gravel bars. Kelley works for the Army Corps of Engineers in Eureka, CA.

Kirsten Reddy, 2017

Thesis:

An examination of water consumption during and after severe drought in coastal stands of Douglas-fir in the Pacific northwest

Kirsten grew up on the Russian River outside of Cloverdale, CA. She graduated in 2011 from Cal Poly Humboldt with a B.S. in Environmental Management and Protection. She then went on to be a member of the Watershed Steward?s Project where she worked with Department of Fish and Wildlife doing salmon spawner and habitat typing surveys in Southern Humboldt and Mendocino Counties. Her love of rivers and streams was quickly rediscovered and brought her back to Humboldt to pursue a Master?s in Watershed Management. Her thesis work explores the relationship between forest thinning and increased water yield. She hopes this work may eventually help guide management decisions for restoring dense stands to a more productive state while increasing low flows to maintain ecologically healthy streams.

Nathan Queener, 2015

Thesis:

Spatial and temporal variability in baseflow and stream drying in the Mattole River headwaters.

Nathan completed a B.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. His thesis research focused on understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of stream drying in the Mattole River headwaters, the factors driving observed decreases in dry-season flows, and the resulting consequences for aquatic habitat, especially the survival of juvenile coho salmon.

Jeffrey Paulson, 2016

Thesis:

Logistics of integrating a biomass conversion technology into a centralized biomass recovery operation supply chain.

I completed my B.S. in Forest Operations in the fall of 2014 at Cal Poly Humboldt. My academic interests include natural resource planning and management, specifically with regard to commercial timber harvesting. I began my work with the Forest Operations Team during my senior year at Humboldt. My work began in the summer of 2014, working with Green Diamond Resource Company and the U.S. Department of Energy in an effort to determine how to best utilize commercial timber harvest residues for bioenergy production. After becoming deeply involved in this research work in the following year, I decided that pursuing a graduate degree was something that I wanted to do. Consequently, I am now continuing my academic career and earning a M.S. in Forest Operations with a focus on GIS.

Trever Parker, 2011

Thesis:

Fluorometry as a bacterial source tracking tool in coastal watersheds, Trinidad, California.

Trever received her B.S. in Natural Resources Planning with minors in Zoology and Applied Mathematics from Humboldt. She has worked for Streamline Planning Consultants in Arcata since 2001. Through this firm, Trever serves as the City Planner for the City of Trinidad, and is currently working on their general plan and local coastal plan update. She assists in stream assessments/monitoring, water quality sampling and wetland delineations. She has completed permitting and environmental assessments for a full range of development projects including habitat restoration projects, in-stream gravel mining, mixed use developments and more. She has also been successful with grant writing and administration. Trever is very familiar with coastal regulations and processing coastal development permits as well as environmental analysis under NEPA and CEQA. She also teaches EMP 425 (Environmental Impact Assessment) at Humboldt.

Trever's thesis is entitled "Fluorometry as a bacterial source tracking tool in coastal watersheds, Trinidad, CA". In this study, a fluorometer was used to measure fluorescence in natural creeks as an indicator of concentrations of optical brighteners found in laundry detergent. Fluorometry was used in Trinidad area watersheds in conjunction with bacterial sampling and measurement of other water quality data for correlation and comparison in order to identify bacterial pollution from failing septic systems. Results showed that optical brighteners, when coupled with other information such as rainfall and turbidity, may be able to accurately predict whether bacterial standards will be exceeded within individual watersheds. Fluorescence of optical brighteners was also shown to be a useful tool for prioritizing watersheds and tributaries for more detailed investigation of bacterial pollution sources. This study was funded by the State Water Resources Control Board through the Clean Beaches Initiative with Proposition 50 (Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002) funding.

Tim Montgomery, 2014

Thesis:

Modeling work plan logistics for biomass recovery operations using spatial analysis.

I completed a B.S. in Forestry with a minor in GIS for Agriculture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. My research interests are focused on the production and exploitation of forest resources. I am currently working on a GIS-based model which defines the economics and logistics of centralized biomass grinding operations. I am working with silviculturist from Green Diamond Resource Company and a private contractor from Steve Morris Logging. Their combined years of experience are being used in developing system logistics for my model.