Jess Newton received a Bachelors of Science in Fisheries from Cal Poly Humboldt in 1997. He then worked for the USGS conducting radio telemetry studies of juvenile Chinook on the lower Snake River . Since 1998, Jess has worked for the US Fish & Wildlife Service at the Red Bluff Fish & Wildlife Office. His current work includes monitoring the response of juvenile and adult salmonids to a variety of restoration actions on Clear Creek and Battle Creek , tributaries to the upper Sacramento River.

After graduating from Cal Poly Humboldt with a B.S. in fisheries and an applied mathematics minor I moved directly into the graduate program at the University of Idaho to earn a Master's Degree in statistics. My interests were in stock assessment modeling and having a solid foundation in fisheries I starting working to further improve my statistics and math. After three years in that program, working on salmon models, I took the opportunity to work as a fisheries modeler in New Zealand . That changed my life, not only because of the overseas experience, but because my colleagues were well known fisheries scientists and I was exposed to the non-academic side of fisheries research. I performed stock assessments, did statistical analyses, designed and participated in trawl and acoustic surveys, and attended many stock assessment working group meetings.

My thirst for more knowledge grew while in New Zealand and I decided to return to academia by coming back to the states to earn a PhD in fisheries at the University of Washington . I am now learning from faculty and fellow students, and fortuitously, my research is on orange roughy fisheries in New Zealand , giving me the opportunity to travel there every year. I have been performing stock assessments for orange roughy, studying various aspects of orange roughy and their fisheries that would improve the stock assessments, teaching workshops on stock assessment methods and software, and taking classes. I have also remained in close contact with my previous major professors and have helped them simulate salmon populations in the Central Valley of California. I feel that my career is just beginning with a solid foundation beneath me.

When I graduated from the Humboldt Fisheries Program I was honored to receive the Michael G. Scott Award in recognition of my outstanding efforts during my tenure at Humboldt. Receiving this award crowned a fun and rewarding undergraduate experience and I am very glad that I chose Humboldt Fisheries; I can't think of any other undergraduate fisheries programs in the nation that would have better prepared me for a career in fisheries biology. After graduation I took a year off to travel the Pacific Rim and a year to gain valuable work experience while applying for graduate schools and fellowships.

I was delighted to receive a full ride National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship which helped propel me to the University of Washington 's School of Aquatic Fisheries Science , where I am currently pursuing a PhD in Fisheries with an emphasis on river ecology and restoration. My fieldwork has brought me back to the Arcata area, however, where I am working in collaboration with the Yurok Tribe to undertake a comprehensive study of adult chinook migration in the Klamath River Basin . While I am incorporating a variety of data sources into my study, I rely heavily on radio and sonic telemetry to determine chinook migration behavior. Thus I have the privilege of spending my time catching, tagging, and tracking these majestic fish as they complete their final journey to the place of their birth. In light of the massive adult chinook fish kill on the lower Klamath River in 2002, this work is especially pertinent, and I give thanks to Humboldt Fisheries for giving me the foundation I needed in order to undertake such an ambitious and important research Project.

2000 - Thomas Worsley

I graduated from Humboldt in May of 2001 with a BS in Fisheries Biology (Freshwater Emphasis). During the first year after graduation (May 2001 through June 2002), I worked for Dr. Bret Harvey with the U.S. Forest Service as a Fisheries Technician at Redwood Sciences Laboratory in Arcata, CA (a position that I also held during the last year that I was a student at Humboldt). In July 2002, I moved to Redding, CA and accepted a job with the Forest Service as the Assistant Fisheries Biologist for the Inland Fish Management Zone of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. This position is a cooperative education position and has allowed me to return to school to complete a graduate degree. I deferred the fall 2002 semester to stay in Redding and work on the Shasta-Trinity NF so that I could identify a project for my graduate work.

Currently, I am a graduate student at Utah State University working toward a MS in Aquatic Ecology (Spring 2003-present). During the past two summers (2003-04) I have returned to Redding to work on my thesis research at Shasta Lake, CA. The title of my research project is, “Assessing the Effectiveness of Planted Grass Beds in Shasta Lake, California: An Evaluation of Possible Benefits for Juvenile Bass.” My work involves evaluating one of the habitat enhancement projects that the Forest Service uses to try and mitigate the impacts of reservoir drawdown on bass populations in the lake. I am currently processing samples and data collected during the past year while completing my last semester of coursework. Once my thesis has been accepted and successfully defended, I will return to Redding and convert to a full time employee with the Forest Service. I am an active member of the USU Student Subchapter of the American Fisheries Society and presented a poster on my preliminary thesis work at the 2004 Western Division AFS meetings in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have recently been awarded a Research Fellowship from the USU Ecology Center in support of my research project.

My time in the Humboldt Fisheries Biology program and managing the Arcata Wastewater Aquaculture Project were invaluable in providing me with the skills and knowledge essential to succeed in commercial aquaculture. Post-graduation, I’ve worked at a clam and oyster farm in Humboldt Bay, operated a 150 acre koi and goldfish farm in South Carolina, and currently manage a state hatchery for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. I started working at ODFW’s Leaburg Hatchery in 2006, and have been the manager since 2011. With a $1 million annual budget, we raise 100,000 summer steelhead smolts for the McKenzie River and about 500,000 rainbow trout for stocking in over 25 waterbodies throughout the Willamette Valley. I have benefitted greatly from the resources available at Humboldt in developing technical and analytical skills which I apply every day. I am grateful to the faculty for their commitment to help students succeed and encouragement in pursuing my goals.

After a ten year career in floral design and management and the partial completion of an undergraduate degree at SFSU, I felt the need to take a new career and lifestyle path. My journey led me to the Humboldt Fisheries Department where, influenced by my newfound love of trout fishing, I opted to concentrate freshwater fisheries. Though I had virtually no prior knowledge of natural resource management issues, least of all fisheries, I rapidly became immersed in this fishy culture.

Personal incentives and inspirations derived from the teachings of the diverse and well-respected faculty guided me to become involved in local and regional salmonid issues. Currently I serve as a Director for the Salmonid Restoration Federation where I help to promote restoration, stewardship, and recovery of California native salmon, steelhead, and trout populations through education, collaboration, and advocacy.

My voyage has most recently delivered me to Stillwater Sciences where I have had the fortune to remain in Humboldt County to work as an aquatic ecologist. This consulting position has allowed me to expand my focus to projects within the Pacific Northwest, most of which focus on improving salmonid and native fish habitat quality through a wide range of means. The subjects studied and techniques learned from my time spent at Humboldt have afforded me the array of skills needed to understand the diversity of topics encountered with these various projects, and to implement and execute plans to address the issues that evolve in the process.

Immediately after graduating in May of 2004 I started working for Stillwater Sciences, an environmental resource consulting firm with offices in Arcata, Berkley , Davis , Olympia , and Seattle . While working for Stillwater Sciences I have mainly been involved with the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Relicensing project on the Upper McKenzie River in Oregon . Studies that I have helped conduct within this project include description of fish distributions, fish population dynamics, and habitat criteria modeling. The skills involved with these studies include direct observation (snorkeling) surveys, spawning surveys, habitat mapping, and reviewing literature, not to mention many office related skills.

My future plans include moving to Bozeman, Montana and finding a fisheries related job to occupy my time for a few years before going back to school for a Masters degree in fisheries or a related aquatic science. But first I am traveling to New Zealand in late November 2004 for three months to backpack, relax, and make fish related contacts for possible future employment.

I was the co-recipient of the Michael G. Scott award in May, 2004. After receiving the award in May, I left for an internship with NOAA/NMFS Fisheries in Alaska four days after graduation. I worked for Humboldt Alumni, Mitch Lorenz at the Auke Bay Laboratory. Over the summer I worked on three different projects. I was a part of NMFS 2004 Sablefish Longline Survey between Dutch Harbor and Kodiak. I also helped assist a fellow college with his sleeper shark tagging project. The last bit of work dealt with Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) in Southeast Alaska 's estuaries.

As for now, I am back in school finishing my undergraduate degree in Fisheries Biology with a minor in Scientific Scuba Diving. I will be done with school in the fall and am presently looking for a job in the fisheries field. I plan on going to Alaska again next summer to work as a commercial fisherman, fishing for Dungeness Crab and Halibut.

I completed my undergraduate education with a B.S. in Fisheries Biology in May 2005. Since June 2004, I've been working as a research technician at the California Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit. Working for the Fish Coop has enabled me to gain experience with fisheries research techniques including direct observation (snorkel surveys), depletion-removal electrofishing, habitat surveys, and mark-recapture. In addition, I've also been able to conduct research in some of the area's most magnificent terrain. Despite suggestions that I should enter graduate school immediately, I have decided to remain in the area for a few years and continue getting experience with the planning, field-work, and analysis stages of small stream fisheries investigation. I am taking the GRE in Fall of 2005 and will be applying to graduate programs with the intention of beginning my graduate education in 2 years. Ultimately, I would like to be in a position to monitor wild trout populations in the Sierra Nevada range and to protect their native streams from the effects of ever-increasing human population. With the education I received from Humboldt and a deep-seated love for all things wild, the sky is the limit.