James Lee, M.S., Implementation Branch Chief, Trinity River Restoration Program
James Lee is the Implementation Branch Chief at TRRP and is employed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. His current role focuses on stream habitat restoration projects on a dam-regulated river, with a special emphasis on increasing native runs of Pacific salmon. James has worked for the program since 2012 as the staff Riparian Ecologist (employed by the Hoopa Valley Tribe) and then Science Coordinator.
Prior to his time at TRRP, he worked at an environmental consulting company, served the public as a wildlife biologist at a state natural resource trustee agency, and studied the ecology of several native desert fish species from a university in the southwestern U.S. He earned a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from the University of California, Davis, and a M.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia.
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day 3 of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Physical Channel Form. Listen in as James Lee, M.S., Implementation Branch Chief, Trinity River Restoration Program gives his presentation titled, “Implications of variable summer baseflows to riparian vegetation in the Trinity River riparian corridor.“
Conor Shea, Ph.D., P.E., Civil Engineer: Hydraulics and Geomorphology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata
Conor Shea specializes in the application of fluvial geomorphology, hydrology, and hydraulic analysis to develop aquatic habitat restoration projects. He has worked for government agencies, private consulting firms, and in academic settings. He provides technical assistance to a variety of partners that includes local and state government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private landowners. His work includes all phases of restoration project development from site assessment, monitoring, and concept development to preparing full construction plans and supervising construction.
Conor earned a B.S. in Forest Engineering and M.S. in Water Resources Engineering from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and a Ph.D. in Fluvial Geomorphology from the Johns Hopkins University. Conor has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 2003.
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Evolving Paradigms of Trinity River Channel Form
Day 3 of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Physical Channel Form. Listen in as Conor Shea, Ph.D., P.E., Civil Engineer in Hydraulics and Geomorphology for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arcata gives his presentation titled, “Evolving Paradigms of Trinity River Channel Form”
Nate Mantua, Ph.D., Research Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Marine Fisheries Science Center
Nate Mantua is a climate scientist with research focused on climate dynamics, climate impacts on natural resources, and the use of climate information in resource management. Much of his work has focused on climate, marine life, and fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean and western North America, including understanding climate impacts on Pacific salmon ecology and salmon fisheries. Nate is a former Associate Professor at the School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences (2006-2012) and founding member and co-director of the Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington (1995-2012).
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day one of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Fish Populations. Listen in as Nate Mantua, Ph.D., Research Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Marine Fisheries Science Center presents, “Monitoring to Science to Management: science-informed decision making to combat an aquatic parasite.“
Nicholas A. Som, Ph.D, Unit Leader, U.S. Geological Survey California Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, CalPoly-Humboldt
Nicholas joined the U.S. Geological Survey California Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in November of 2023, as the Unit Leader. Additionally, Nicholas teaches graduate courses on statistical methods common to fish and wildlife projects, such generalized linear models, applied Bayesian modeling at the Department of Fisheries Biology at California Polytechnic University, Humboldt.
Nicholas’ educational history includes an undergraduate mathematics degree from Regis University, a master’s degree in statistics from Washington State University, and he received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University where he studied time-series and spatial statistics for data originating from stream and river networks. Prior to joining the CRU, Nicholas was a statistician and program lead for the fish and aquatic conservation program at the Arcata US Fish and Wildlife office.
Nicholas’ research focuses on answering ecological questions with quantitative tools aimed to inform resource management decision makers. His main interests include water management and the ecology of pacific salmon, and his work includes both methods development and applied science projects. His applied work has ranged from the Columbia to Sacramento Rivers, but with most attention on the Klamath Basin. He frequently works on models for aquatic habitat, population dynamics, and disease dynamics.
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day one of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Fish Populations. Listen in as Nicholas A. Som, Ph.D, Unit Leader, U.S. Geological Survey California Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, CalPoly-Humboldt presents, “Monitoring to Science to Management: science-informed decision making to combat an aquatic parasite.“
Chad Martel, Hoopa Valley Tribe Fisheries Department
Chad obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cal Poly Humboldt where he focused on marine and estuarine fish. Currently, he works with the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department as a Habitat Biologist. His focus with Hoopa has been on smaller scale restoration projects, juvenile outmigrant monitoring both on and off the reservation, and habitat monitoring projects.
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day one of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Fish Populations. Listen in as Chad Martel, Hoopa Valley Tribe Fisheries Department presents, “Trinity River outmigrant survival study.”
Bill Pinnix, Supervisory Fish Biologist – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Arcata
Bill has been studying fish and their habitats in the Humboldt Bay area since 1993. His early career pursuits included marine fish ecology and the importance of marine zooplankton to fish populations. Bill graduated from Humboldt State University in 1995, and moved to Seattle to work on his Master’s degree at the University of Washington (UW) School of Fisheries.
At UW Bill worked with the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean / Pacific Northwest Climate Impacts Group to understand climatic forcing mechanisms of the nearshore marine environment and the resulting impacts to marine survival of coho salmon to improve Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s coho salmon harvest forecast model. Following completion of his Master of Science degree from UW, Bill moved to Newport Oregon to work as a faculty research assistant to research climate forcing mechanisms on early life history of sablefish, looking closely at otoliths to try and find a ‘climate signal’. Bill served a brief stint with the National Marine Fisheries Service working with zooplankton before moving back to Eureka to work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in late 2001. Bill’s duties with The Service began with monitoring juvenile fishes, involved work with rotary screw traps and acoustic and radio telemetry, and currently serves as the lead of the Monitoring and Assessment division of the Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program at the Arcata Fish and Wildlife Service. Bill serves on multiple technical advisory committees and is especially proud of his work with the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Partnership. Bill loves to be outdoors with his wife Jenny and puppies Frankie and Beans, and when conditions allow can be found recreating on or in the ocean.
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day one of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Fish Populations. Listen in as Bill Pinnix, Supervisory Fish Biologist – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Arcata presents, “Status and trends of juvenile and adult Chinook salmon in the Trinity River.”
Andrew J. Paul, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Department of Biological Services – University of Calgary, Canada
Dr. Andrew Paul has been working as an aquatic ecologist in western Canada for 35 years. His work has encompassed the fields of conservation biology, community restoration, non-native species invasions, population ecology and river ecology. Andrew uses quantitative methods to aid in understanding ecological patterns or processes and has worked with the Theoretical Population Dynamics Group (University of Amsterdam) and the Fisheries Centre (University of British Columbia). Andrew spent 15 years with Alberta Fish and Wildlife studying environmental flows and now works with Alberta’s Chief Scientist to support scientific excellence in government. Andrew is an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary (Dept. of Biological Sciences).
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day one of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Fish Populations. Listen in as Andrew J. Paul, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Department of Biological Services – University of Calgary, Canada presents, “Importance of experimental design to understanding aquatic ecosystems: how good intentions and experience can be the enemy of knowledge.”
Kurt Fausch, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
Kurt Fausch is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University, where he taught for 35 years. His research collaborations in stream fish ecology and conservation have taken him throughout Colorado and the West, and worldwide, including to Hokkaido in northern Japan. His experiences were chronicled in the PBS documentary RiverWebs, and the 2015 book For the Love of Rivers: A Scientist’s Journey which won the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award. He has received lifetime achievement awards from the American Fisheries Society and the World Council of Fisheries Societies, and the Leopold Conservation Award from Fly Fishers International.
2024 Science Symposium Presentation
Day one of the Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium covered Fish Populations. Listen in as Kurt Fausch, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University presents “What is essential about rivers for fish and humans? Lessons on connectivity and connections from four decades.”
The final day of the symposium focused on the physical environment that underpins the complex riparian and aquatic river ecosystem. We learned that while the Trinity River is actually used as an example for successful implementation of a functional flows approach to streamflow management, we are still missing some key components of a functional flow hydrograph that are essential to optimizing the physical and ecological processes of the river.
Day 3 – Physical Channel Form presenters and organizers. From the left; Conor Shea, Dave Gaeuman, John Buffington, Scott McBain, Kiana Abel, Todd Buxton, Sarah Yarnell, Daniele Tonina and Mike Dixon.
Contrary to the prevailing folk wisdom in salmonid streams that all fine sediment in salmonid streams is bad, it was revealed that having too little fine sediment can impede the movement of larger gravels, and that having river flows match tributary flows is important to moving fine sediment in a way that is healthy for the river, rather than harmful. There were insights about what we know about how gravel routes through the upper river and what that means for our approach to sediment augmentation. A uniquely interdisciplinary presentation focused on how flow management influences where riparian plants grow, spurring conversation about how varying base flows could promote willow growth across different active channel widths, which could provide roughness and improve sediment sorting and storage. The takeaways really came down to this; we can’t have healthy fish and other wildlife populations without process, and we have learned a lot about how to improve those processes.
Dr. Tonina holds the mic during the panel discussion on day three of the 2024 Science Symposium.
The panel discussion at the day’s conclusion was moderated by SAB member John Buffington, Ph.D.. The questions from the audience were stimulating and the panelists conversation informative. The discussion can be viewed in its entirety by clicking the YouTube link below.
Day 2 presenters for Habitat, Flow and Temperature. From the left, Kyle De Juilio, Derek Rupert, Eli Asarian, Seth Naman, Don Ashton, Todd Buxton and John Hayes.
Day two of the 2024 Trinity River Restoration Program Science Symposium was intended to explore the function of the Trinity River and other lotic (rapidly moving fresh water) systems. With an emphasis on creating a common understanding that can be applied to management in the future. Much has been learned in the relatively young field of river restoration over the last few decades, and leveraging that learning is critical to successful restoration in our watershed and others.
The day started with new TRRP Science Advisory Board member and world renowned researcher, John Hayes, Ph.D.. Dr. Hayes presented on his work with salmonids in New Zealand to describe their flow requirements through numerical modeling of drifting macroinvertebrates and drift foraging behavior. These innovations have changed the way managers think about the effects of flow management on salmonid populations.
Dr. John Hayes talks about attending the Trinity River Restoration Program 2024 Science Symposium. Dr. Hayes is a new member of the Program’s Science Advisory Board and he opened Day 2 presentations with a talk titled, “How flow affects aquatic invertebrate habitat and drift, and salmonid net energy intake and instantaneous carrying capacity.
We had additional talks on temperature and thermal diversity from Eli Asarian (Riverbend Sciences) Klamath Basin water temperature expert along with Todd Buxton, Ph.D. (TRRP) a physical scientist and an accomplished fisheries researcher. We heard from regional reptile and amphibian expert, Don Ashton (McBain and associates) about the decades of research on the Trinity River and the impacts that flow management have had on these important indicator species of ecosystem health.
Don Ashton (McBain and associates) during his presentation about the decades of research on the Trinity River and the impacts that flow management have had on reptiles and amphibians.
Finally, we heard from Seth Naman, currently with NOAA Fisheries and long time Klamath Basin Fisheries researcher, and Derek Rupert, currently with Reclamation and former USFWS Fisheries Biologist on the Trinity River, about 2 proposed methods to manage flow releases year-round on the Trinity River and Clear Creek respectively. These proposed methods rely on seasonal and annual patterns of run-off to restore the functionality of the river to that which the species evolved with to ensure reproductive success and productivity.
Together this suite of talks described our current understanding of how cold-blooded species feed and behaviorally regulate their body temperature in regulated and unregulated rivers. As well as the known and suspected impacts of flow and temperature management and proposed methods to reduce impacts and improved function of the environments we seek to restore.
The panel discussion at the day’s conclusion was moderated by SAB member and Fisheries Researcher from Canada, Andy Paul, Ph.D.. The conversation was stimulating and informative and can be viewed in its entirety by clicking the YouTube link below. The direct communication between SAB members, scientists within the Program, managers, and the public is critical to moving management forward together to benefit the resource for all.
Day 2 Panel Discussion on Habitat, Flow and Temperature.
