Dam Removal Expert
What got you interested in ecology (or your related field)?
I was studying civil engineering in undergrad, and it was all stormwater drainage and drinking and wastewater treatment, things that didn’t inspire me. What did inspire me was being in nature; I loved biking, hiking, camping, being in the woods, on the water and on a mountain side. I decided to see if I could integrate the two and add conservation as second major, but still didn’t know how they could be linked. Luckily, I found out with one of the first classes I took with my additional major, Ecology. One of the major systems we studied were rivers, and one day the prof put up a cartoon picture of a very stereo-typed engineer and a biologist and said, both alone cannot figure out rivers, but together they can. I am sitting there in ecology and heading to a civil class next saying I think that’s me! From then on out, I found ways to integrate the two fields and have found my passion in restoring the waters we all need and want to be around.
What do you love/inspires you most about your area of expertise?
I love that water is very often the places people go to vacation, so it’s their happy place. When I need a boost to my mindset as work gets hard or in a grind, I remind myself that in a way I get to make people’s happy place and that lifts me to keep doing the good work of restoration.
What's the weirdest or funniest thing you've seen in the field?
You do find many unexpected things in the rivers and surrounding areas. I’ve found money several times, straight up cash with a $20 bill being the highest. Another time we found a grenade buried in muck, luckily it ended up being a very realistic toy, but it was extremely difficult to tell, and we had to call in the police to figure it out. I’ve also found things I would categorize more as disturbing, but you have to buy me a drink to find out what those are.
What's one interesting fact about you we need to know?
I have way too many hobbies but want to learn more things! Also, I will burn up the dance floor at your wedding reception – mind you my moves are limited. Last, cause if I don’t say others will hassle me, I used to be a pro soccer player and still love the game as a fan, coach, and occasionally recreational player.
What would your wish be for our planet's future?
I truly wish everyone finds a passion or connection in the natural world and works to protect it and understand how our human habits may impact it. The more connected we all are to something in nature the more we will think about how our consumer/political actions effect that resource.
What's one thing we didn't ask you that you want to share?
I love collaborating and working across geographies. I am always interested in brainstorming and finding solutions to the challenges within a project or getting a project off the ground. The initialization is often the first challenge with dam removal, lets figure out how we get the ownership saying YES!
