Featured Scientist

Preparing to plant 350 Mesquite trees at the Palo Verde Ecological Reserve.


A 10,000 gallon water storage tank before installation.


Water storage tank, and drinker box, during installation.

Richard Francis is a wildlife habitat supervisor for CDFW’s Inland Deserts Region. He’s based in Blythe, in eastern Riverside County near the California/Arizona state line. He was raised in the city of Corona, also in Riverside County, where he graduated from high school. As a young man Richard was anxious to have a career involving the outdoors, which is how he ended up working at a ski lodge in Mammoth, before spending 25 years as a fishing guide on the Colorado River, just south of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. His love of the outdoors finally led him to CDFW in 2005 where he became a seasonal aide, then a technician, and eventually a wildlife habitat supervisor.

What does your job as a wildlife habitat supervisor entail?

I’m in charge of fish and wildlife technician seasonal aides, managing properties and making decisions on what to do with those properties. A large part of my job is creating food plots and habitat for wildlife. That means planting trees, growing food, putting in riparian habitat, and taking out invasive species and noxious weeds and replacing them with native plants and animals to create better habitat for wildlife. I have a few other duties, like habitat restoration along the Colorado River.

Much of the work we do is of direct benefit to hunters. Blythe has a good population of mule deer, and this is one of the premier white-winged and mourning dove hunting areas in the United States. We also have 60 acres of wetlands for waterfowl hunting. We plant those ponds with Japanese millet, which is basically a weed and can get up to 6 feet tall. It’s used for both waterfowl habitat and as a food source.

Why did you make the jump from being a licensed hunting and fishing guide to working for a fish and wildlife conservation agency?

It sounds kind of crazy to leave that because I really enjoyed guiding and helping people learn about hunting, fishing and conservation of our unique desert fish and wildlife, but it was time to grow up! There were some things missing in my life, like a monthly check. It’s very unusual but I’m one of few people in this work without a college degree. I believe I was hired because of my knowledge of fish and wildlife habitat, and because I have experience in the operations of farm equipment and farming practices.

Can you describe the property where your work takes place?

Our main focus is the Palo Verde Ecological Reserve. It’s farmland purchased in 2005 and consists of two units. One is north of Blythe and is approximately 1,500 acres that are planted in cottonwood and mesquite trees. Two hundred of those acres have been set aside for waterfowl and upland game bird hunting. The newest property, purchased in 2017, is approximately 400 acres of farmland, also in the Blythe area. It’s currently planted in wheat and 400 mesquite trees. The wheat will be cut weeks prior of opening of the first dove season, Sept. 1, and will be open throughout the entire upland season. Our game species include white-winged dove, mourning dove, Eurasian-collared dove, Gambel’s quail and rabbits. All are available for hunting on this property.

What’s a typical day for you?

It depends on the season. In the wintertime we irrigate duck ponds and clear the ditches of invasive species. We disc and plant wheat fields for our upland game bird program. We plant the wheat in the winter, and we irrigate and farm it like a crop, but we mow it rather than harvest it. When we mow it down, it attracts doves for dove hunting. It feeds everything – the deer love it. In the springtime we do a little bit of monitoring of the deer population and waterfowl. Monitoring in our area is done by visual surveys and game cameras placed in strategic high traffic locations. The cameras are checked on a monthly basis. Then in the summer, as the heat comes, we spend more time out in the desert. We have a series of wildlife drinkers that CDFW has installed to provide water for wildlife species in the hottest part of the year. We have to go out and do maintenance on those and make sure they’re full of water. If the water levels get low, we haul water into the desert and fill them up, and that happens all summer long.

Why is it important for CDFW to create and fix habitat, as opposed to allowing habitat to be created naturally?

It’s best to keep invasive stuff at bay, to keep areas like they were. We keep the noxious weeds out of there, and the native plants come back and the wildlife will follow. In the ’80s, the population of waterfowl (Canadian geese and duck) were in the hundreds of thousands. Then the numbers dropped off for no obvious reason. We believe they’re coming back now because we got rid of the salt cedars and phragmites (non-native reed or wetland grass) and replaced them with huge cottonwood and mesquite groves.

When the Palo Verde Ecological Reserve was established, there was a healthy population of desert mule deer living among mesquite on farmland across the river in Arizona. Now that our trees are grown, we see the deer swim back and forth to live among the mesquite, cottonwood, and giant willows that we planted. In a single day we might see 75 deer in the open and many more within the trees, where they take advantage of the cover.

What projects have you worked on that you’re the most proud of?

Installing and maintaining the wildlife drinkers is some of the hardest work I’ve done. A drinker is a 10,000 gallon underground storage tank with a drinker box connected to it. There’s a dam built uphill from the storage tank, so when it rains, the water collects and fills the storage tank. If the conditions are right in the desert, they can stay full for a long time but they often need maintenance or refilling in July or August. That’s really hard work because we sometimes need heavy equipment like excavators, up in the mountains to get it done. We have to keep a level head and work well together because it’s hot, exhausting and can be dangerous. But it’s rewarding to know the work will enable important species, like bighorn sheep and deer to survive. We also put in small-game drinkers for the birds that live in the desert.

How bad are the weather conditions?

Come July and August it will be up to 115 degrees in the desert and the humidity can make it feel like it’s 125. On those days, your time outside is very limited. You have to be finished by noon or 1 p.m. so we start at 5 a.m. or earlier, depending on what we’re doing that day. If we’re working way out in the desert checking drinkers, we might leave at 3:30 or 4 a.m. just to avoid the heat.

If you weren’t doing this – if jobs working with wildlife and the great outdoors didn’t exist – what else would you be doing?

Fishing and hunting mostly! Or maybe I’d be an executive chef at my own restaurant. It’d be a barbecue restaurant. My specialty is everything – brisket, ribs, pork butts. But I have 15 years in at CDFW. Though l can retire at 20 years, if they’ll have me I’d be happy to stay. I love this job. It’s awesome – I’m blessed.

CDFW photos. Top Photo. Richard Francis, in a wheat field at the Palo Verde Ecological Reserve. 

Simpson surveying Guthrie Creek in Humboldt County to determine the extent of existing and restorable fish habitat. Photo by CDFW’s Dan Hansen.

Nicholas “Nick” Simpson is a senior environmental scientist (specialist) with CDFW’s Northern Region, based in Eureka. He works in the Timberland Conservation Program helping to manage natural communities on privately owned timberlands. He is responsible for ensuring that timber operations will not lead to significant or long-term negative impacts on aquatic communities. Simpson’s work includes technical support for CDFW timber staff reviewing timber harvesting plans, lake and streambed alteration agreements, threatened/endangered species consultations, incidental take permits, and habitat conservation plans. Nick is also conducting studies to evaluate the effects of timber operations such as water diversions, road construction and riparian zone management on aquatic communities.

Nick earned his Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees in freshwater fisheries and natural resources at Humboldt State University. Prior to coming to CDFW in 2013, he worked in the private and public sectors as a hydrologist and fisheries biologist, where he evaluated past and current timber harvesting effects on aquatic communities on the North Coast.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

My father and grandfather introduced me to fishing and diving at a young age, and I became fascinated with all things swimming. Exploration led to questions, which ultimately formed a drive to conduct scientific evaluations. Later, as a Fisheries major at Humboldt State University, I became intrigued by the extensive network of local salmon-bearing rivers and streams on private timberlands. Under the context of historical and current logging practices, as well as recent salmonid population declines, I wanted to study the effectiveness of conservation strategies being applied in these watersheds.

What is a typical day like for you at work?

A typical day may include a variety of field inspections including proposed timber harvesting plan reviews, sensitive species or lake and streambed alteration agreement consultations, or compliance/effectiveness inspections of completed projects. My day consists of meeting with foresters and other agency representatives at the closest location we can drive to with a truck, then utilizing all-terrain vehicles and hiking to access remote forest locations. Inspections help ensure that fish and amphibian habitat were delineated accurately, and appropriate riparian buffers are clearly flagged in the field. In addition, watercourse crossings are commonly evaluated to assess their appropriateness and functionality and whether reconstruction, removal or maintenance is required. The following day is usually spent writing reports to record my field observations and to support my recommendations.

What is most challenging about your work?

The most challenging aspect of the job is balancing permit review, scientific study/research and landowner outreach. Permit review, in the form of timber harvesting plans and lake and streambed alteration agreements can be intense, especially when timber is selling at a higher price and more permits are in need of review than normal. I find it important to keep a landscape-level perspective, through research and landowner outreach to ensure conservation efforts are maximized in watersheds with critical habitat for sensitive species.

What is the most rewarding project that you have worked on for CDFW?

I recently completed a pilot study evaluating the effects of water diversion on macroinvertebrates in headwater streams. It was a great experience to generate a scientific study to support protective measures used in Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements. The project also ended up winning the “Early Career Scientist Best Poster” award at the 2017 CDFW science symposium.

I have also been involved with reviewing multiple logging road crossings and fish barrier projects, which, after execution, have ultimately allowed fish access to formerly blocked habitat. It is always rewarding to facilitate the expansion of salmon range and the restoration of habitat.

What is your favorite species to interact with or study?

My favorite species is Coho salmon. Coho’s life history includes a juvenile winter rearing period, which makes this species highly susceptible to logging impacts such as increases in turbidity and sedimentation. Any recent Coho reoccupation of formerly unoccupied habitats (usually after barrier removal, or stream quality restoration) is the ultimate indicator of the effectiveness of forest conservation and restoration efforts. However, we are still learning about the dynamic aspects of streams and salmon, such as juvenile winter rearing and stream limiting factors.

What is it about the work you do that you would most like us to know?

Our website is regularly updated, and is a great resource for those who want to know more about the Timberland Conservation Program. It is located at www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/timber.

If you had free reign and unlimited funding, what scientific project would you most like to do?

Large woody debris (LWD) is an important stream component for Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). In a recent analysis, we found that 73 percent of Humboldt County Coho streams are depleted in LWD due to historical “stream cleaning” (log harvesting from streams) and past logging practices. It would be great to develop a model to assess the best restoration strategies based on stream channel type and condition.

Do you have any advice for people considering careers in science or natural resources?

I would consider gaining experience in the field you are interested in as early and often as possible. A common misconception in college is that you go to school for four years, graduate, and then obtain your dream job right away. In reality, employers are looking for someone with experience, in addition to the basic academic knowledge. It is worth putting in the time as a seasonal technician or volunteer while in school to gain that valuable experience.

CDFW Photos. Top Photo: Simpson performing a survey of a tributary to Big River in Mendocino County. It was determined that the waterfall was not a barrier to adult steelhead. Photo by CDFW's Jon Hendrix.

Erin Chappell is an Environmental Program Manager in CDFW’s Wildlife Branch, overseeing the department’s Nongame Wildlife Program. Until recently, she worked for the Fish and Game Commission, where she served as Wildlife Advisor. In her new position with CDFW, which she’s held since February, Erin oversees a staff of 13 scientists who work with CDFW’s regional offices to help conserve and manage California’s nongame and threatened and endangered wildlife species. She is also responsible for managing two critical grant programs: the State Wildlife Grant Program, which directs federal funds to benefit nongame species in California, and the Endangered Species Act Section 6 grant funding for research, recovery and land acquisition for endangered species. Erin is a graduate of Humboldt State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biological oceanography.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I grew up mostly in California but I have also lived in Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Germany. My dad was my inspiration. He was a high school biology teacher, both in Germany where he taught at an American school that was part of the Department of Defense Dependent Schools system and in California. He was always exposing us to wildlife. What got me hooked was when he took me tide-pooling in Monterey when I was 10. I was fascinated by the variety of animals all using and sharing such a unique habitat. I wanted to learn more about the species and their interaction with the ocean.

Did you originally plan to pursue oceanography, then?

Yes, I originally planned to be a marine biologist specializing in marine invertebrates but ended up getting a scientific aid position with CDFW’s Stockton office, identifying freshwater zooplankton and larval fish. I also assisted with two diet analysis studies, one for juvenile striped bass and one for Delta smelt. My job was to identify the zooplankton in their stomachs and intestines.

From there, my career path shifted inland. I spent 10 years tracking juvenile Chinook salmon in the Delta for the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), two more years working on a Habitat Expansion Agreement for spring-run Chinook and then six years working for DWR’s climate change program, where I focused on climate change adaptation for the water sector. I joined the Fish and Game Commission in 2016.

How did your work experience lead you to your current job?

Starting in 2010, I had opportunities to work on a number of efforts that involved the concept of integrated resource management. A key aspect of my work was integrating environmental stewardship and ecosystem services into cross-sector planning in a meaningful way.

For example, I worked on ways to use green infrastructure, such as wetland restoration, as way to buffer storm surge, improve water quality, provide habitat for species and recreational opportunities, reduce operation and maintenance costs and improve public health and safety. Another example is restoring mountain meadows as a way to not only provide habitat for species, but also to increase water retention, decrease erosion and improve water quality.

While I was able to gain a lot of experience in fisheries and water management, I was missing an integral piece: wildlife management. So, I began looking for opportunities to work more specifically on wildlife. That’s what ultimately brought me to the Fish and Game Commission as its Wildlife Advisor.

What exactly does the wildlife advisor do for the commission?

My job was to advise the Commission on wildlife and inland fisheries management issues and potential regulatory changes. I had to consider biological, societal and political factors for almost every issue. The advisor also facilitates the Wildlife Resources Committee as a forum for discussions among the Commission, CDFW and stakeholders on wildlife and inland fisheries issues, as well as other stakeholder forums as necessary.

What brought you to CDFW?

As the Commission’s wildlife advisor, I had the pleasure of working and interacting with staff throughout CDFW. Across the board, I was impressed by their expertise and dedication to the protection and enhancement of California’s natural resources. It made me want to become part of the team. My new position will also allow me to expand on the knowledge I gained at the Commission.

What is special about working in the Wildlife Branch’s Nongame Program?

Working in the Wildlife Branch allows me to coordinate and collaborate not just with staff within the branch but with staff throughout the entire department. Being able to capitalize on all that knowledge and experience is essential for effectively conserving and managing species and their habitats against sometimes seemingly overwhelming odds. Finding new ways to help species adapt to and thrive in the face of population growth, land conversion, and climate change is a challenge I just can’t pass up.

What sort of projects are you working on right now?

Most of my time right now is being spent on getting to know my staff and learning as much as possible about all the things they are doing. As far as projects go, we have three big priorities. The first is the California Endangered Species Act. Our staff completed a status review of the tricolored blackbird earlier this year, and the Commission listed it as threatened, consistent with our recommendation.. We are now finalizing the status review for the Humboldt martin, leading development of status reviews for the foothill yellow-legged frog and the Cascades frog, and working to prioritize five-year status reviews.<

Scientific collecting permits are another priority. New regulations were approved earlier this year and will go into effect on Oct. 1. This includes a new online system for applications, so we are working on developing that and preparing guidance documents for permitees to help them make the transition.

And, lastly, we are actively working on a number of conservation strategies – for Mojave ground squirrel, great gray owl and willow flycatcher, and planning for another one on Sierra Nevada red fox. Also in development is the Bat Conservation Plan and an update to the Mammal Species of Special Concern report.

When you look back at your career so far, what project are you the most proud of?

The project I’m most proud of is my work with juvenile Chinook salmon. I was part of an interagency team that designed a decision matrix that could be used in real-time to make operational decisions for the state and federal water projects to protect listed winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon and improve water supply reliability. The project demonstrated how real-time monitoring data could be used to inform management decisions while balancing multiple needs. In thinking about it, salmon are probably my favorite – their life history diversity is amazing and their resiliency is inspiring.

If you had free reign and unlimited funding, what scientific project would you most like to do?

I’d like to take on a comprehensive, multi-species, statewide monitoring project. Uncertainty abounds in too many of the management decisions we’re asked to make every day because we lack the basic species data necessary to answer key questions.

What is the best thing about being a wildlife scientist?

Playing an active role in helping to ensure that current and future generations are able to enjoy all that the natural world has to offer.

Do you have any advice for people considering careers in science or natural resources?

Create a broad network of colleagues from as many disciplines as possible – modelers, engineers, social scientists and others can provide valuable perspectives and help you find some of the missing pieces in Mother Nature’s elaborate puzzle.

Photos courtesy of Erin Chappell.