Featured Scientist

Sara Holm is an environmental scientist with the Wildlife Management Program in CDFW’s North Central Region. Based in Colfax, she is the unit wildlife biologist for Placer and Nevada counties. Her work includes a multi-agency wildlife-crossing project, collared mule deer studies, coordinating the region’s upland game bird hunts, land acquisition and management and many resource assessment projects and surveys. She works primarily with deer, bear, dove, pheasant and turkey but dabbles with lions, elk and bighorn sheep. Critical aspects of her work include responding to wildlife conflicts and providing technical expertise to hunters and the public.

Sara earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University in 1999 and started her career two days later as a scientific aide with CDFW. She has worked in the North Central Region for 17 years. She also recently became a hunter education instructor.

What led you into a career as a wildlife biologist?

I credit my family for introducing me to wildlife. The first vacations I can remember were camping, fishing and visiting national parks like Yosemite, Glacier and Yellowstone. There is nothing as exciting as a bear jam (a traffic jam caused by tourists stopping their cars on the side of the road to view bears) in Yellowstone, or that quick flash of a trout taking your fly.

When I was young, I knew I wanted to work outside but all I could envision was being a park ranger. I took a forestry class in junior college but realized that was not quite right for me. My biology professor told me about Humboldt State University and CDFW, so I volunteered with CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Lab. That is when I realized I could be a wildlife biologist and that I wanted to work for CDFW. It was all fascinating work, whether I was pulling a bear tooth at the front counter, feeding a lion in the pens or responding to a deer stuck in a fence.

I am inspired by the resources and by the chance to make a difference with science. It always made me proud to know I worked for the wildlife as well as the hunters (and anglers). When I complete a great project that I know will help wildlife, or validate a deer tag and talk to another happy outdoor enthusiast, I know that I am in the right place.

What is a typical day like for you at work?

One of the things I like best about my job is that it is never typical! On an office day I may start out answering nuisance wildlife calls, doing paperwork, checking on our collared deer locations or catching up on data entry -- but I could get a call that takes me into the field, to help an injured animal or check damage caused by a bear or lion. When I know I will be in the field the day usually starts early and could take me anywhere in my unit, or throughout the region to help on a colleague’s project.

The work can be hard if you are putting in 14-hour days trying to collar deer and you do not see a single animal, or you come out of the field to 20 messages on your phone, but I would do most of it for free because it is so fun. I have collared tons of deer, put bear cubs out in dens, flown many helicopter surveys, captured bighorn sheep and had many great adventures, but all of the work I do is made better by my fellow biologists. They are a second family to me and we have fun together, whether we are at a meeting or around the campfire. I think everyone should love their job but I am lucky to love the people I work with.

What is your favorite species to interact with or study?

I have a hard time choosing and I am always looking to work with something new. I love seeing fuzzy quail babies in the summer and flushing blue grouse out in the woods but I am more of a mammal person. I mostly work with mule deer and they are more fascinating than they look. Ground darting is anything but routine, as each captured animal is different. It is so exciting to get collar data back and see how and where they moved.

What aspect of working in the Sierra Nevada foothills is unique?

The foothills are interesting, especially considering my unit covers the foothills all the way over the crest of the Sierra to the Tahoe Basin (the elephant in this room is actually a bear!). The most complex part of this area is that there are many people living in urban environments that are actually in rural settings. Communities and pets, including livestock, actually create habitat in areas that are not ideal for wildlife. A pond in the middle of a small town attracts too many geese or maybe invites beavers that then flood roads. Rose bushes attract deer, which draw in lions. People want to raise chickens and then bears walk past homes and across busy roads to eat them. Sometimes I evaluate human-wildlife conflict in a busy city like Auburn, and other times I have to drive an hour out a dirt road for a similar issue.

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

I am the most proud of my work with the Highway 89 Stewardship Team. Our inter-agency team has built three wildlife crossings with fencing and wildlife jump-outs (which allow animals an exit point if they are within a fence) that are allowing animals to get across the road safely, connecting their habitat and making it safer for drivers. We have mentored other teams and run a successful program for students to teach others about the problems roads cause and the available solutions. These crossings will be in place long after I am gone, so it is a legacy that I can leave on the landscape.

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

I believe we are currently doing projects that are good science and important for our agency but we could always do them better. I completed a project to evaluate the feasibility of reintroducing desert bighorn sheep to the North Central Region. With enough time, money, and legwork we may be able to clear out the livestock and make it happen. I would love to release some collared animals back in the Truckee River Canyon, spend my days monitoring them and witness their successful return to the area.

Is there a preconception about scientists you would like to dispel?

I guess I would dispel any lasting notions that science is only for men. I work with several other “lady bios” and I am proud of how we operate and the skills that we have. Sometimes when you are talking to the public, they will misconceive what you know or can do just because you are a female. After providing technical assistance I’ve been asked how long I’ve done this job as if to validate my credibility, or I’ve had questions automatically directed at male counterparts even though it’s my area and I’m the one who can answer the question.

Any advice for people considering careers in science or natural resources?

Be persistent and open to opportunity where it is available. We tend not to leave our jobs, so you may have to put in time and wait for something permanent to open up, but you can find a natural resource job in unexpected places like airports or land trusts. Volunteering and meeting people are how I got in. I would advise people to work hard for what they want because this is the best job!

Hailey Marie Harrell is an Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) environmental scientist working as part of the Northern Field Response Team. She graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 2013, with a double major in Plant Biology and English.

Hailey was initially hired as a scientific aid for CDFW’s Habitat Conservation Planning Branch’s Native Plant Program. There, she had the opportunity to do field work with skilled botanists on some of California’s most sensitive plants, conduct census surveys and issue California Endangered Species Act scientific collection permits. She promoted to a permanent role with OSPR in 2016, and has been immersed in the world of oil spill prevention and response ever since.

A relative newcomer to CDFW in terms of job tenure, Hailey has a very fresh perspective on working as an OSPR environmental scientist.

Who or what inspired your love of natural resources?

I’ve spent countless hours in the woods and along waters of this state and I have observed many wonderful and fascinating things within them. I was raised by avid hunters and fishermen who instilled in me an admiration of our truly beautiful natural resources. They hammered home the importance of conservation and taught me to take care to leave places as good as, if not better, than I found them.

How did you come to work for CDFW?

I chose to study plants instead of animals when I got to college because they were a form of life I knew very little about. I was encouraged by a few professors who liked my writing style to take English courses while in college because it is rare to find someone who loves science and also enjoys writing. They saw me as a bridge between technical information and the layperson.

After college, I took a job as a technical writer for a privately contracted aerospace and defense company. After several months, I had learned all the ins and outs of the position and no longer felt challenged. I spent every minute of every 40-hour workweek sitting at a desk in front of a computer screen. In the small bits of time I could manage, I took every opportunity to network with people that were already working in various natural resource agencies. Through these interactions, I got to know some great employees of CDFW who gave me advice and let me do some volunteer work to gain experience for my resume. I eventually landed a scientific aid position with CDFW’s Native Plant Program where I learned my way around the intricacies of state service as I assisted in surveying some of California’s amazing threatened and endangered plant species and issued permits for their protection.

Why did you change your focus from native plants to oil spill response?

I didn’t know if I could love a job as much as the one I had with the Native Plant Program, but knew I couldn’t stay a scientific aid forever so I applied for environmental scientist positions. The OSPR position I have now was the only one of many applications I submitted that gave me a call back. I went into my interview knowing nothing about OSPR except what I had scrambled to learn about it before the interview. I was ecstatic, but at the time had no idea how truly lucky I would be to be offered this position.

Was there a tough learning curve?

The learning curve when joining OSPR was very steep, initially. I think the most challenging aspect was figuring out all the acronyms that are used. In working with the Native Plant Program I scrambled to learn the intricacies of working for a government agency, but the language itself was straightforward because I was exposed to plant terminology throughout college. OSPR was a whole different ball game. For example, it took some time just for me to realize that they were saying “T and E” species (referring to threatened and endangered wildlife) instead of “teeny” species. I would hear the question, “Were any teeny species impacted by the spill?” and would quietly wonder why they were only concerned with little organisms.

In your new position at OSPR, what are your typical duties?

As a first responder to petroleum spills, I work with a wide variety of our state’s natural resources and travel to many beautiful places across California. I get to work closely with our game wardens, the U.S. Coast Guard, private industry and other local, state and federal government agencies. At some spills, I will be the first person on scene and will have to convey my initial findings to my team to determine what level of response we will need to resolve the issue. Sometimes I will be on my own to resolve the issue, sometimes there will be a small group of us working together and sometimes there will be a large contingency of federal, state and local agencies involved to help resolve the incident. Each incident has a unique set of obstacles that need to be overcome. I fill whatever role is necessary to help get the job done as quickly as possible.

This job is also full of surprises. Few days are the same as a first responder to petroleum spills. One minute you think you’ll be in the office all day and the next minute you’re in the car driving to the coast to walk the shorelines and look for oil, or responding to a sunken vessel, or getting to the scene of a truck crash, etc. Weird reports sometimes come in that challenge your knowledge and your strategies for managing problems. It is hard to get bored, and that is one of the many things I love about it.

What has been the most exciting or enjoyable aspect of working at OSPR for you so far?

I think that the most exciting part of the job has to be emergency response. When you go on call you never really know what kind of spills you are going to get. When you get a report of a spill that warrants a response you generally know where you need to go, but there’s almost always some ambiguity regarding what you are going to find. I love working in a position where there’s so much variety.

The networking, training and interagency collaboration are equally enjoyable aspects of the job. For example, one of my first oil spill drills played out a scenario at an oil refinery in San Pablo Bay. It was a large drill with key representatives from the refinery, government agencies, county hazmat, etc. No more than a month later, there was a response to that very same refinery and almost all of those key players I met at the drill were in the command post during a real event. It felt like déjà vu being there and seeing everyone again. It helped put into perspective just how important it is to practice with drills and meet the key players that will be involved during real spills. It builds trust and understanding between those parties involved and helps to demonstrate that we are all working towards a common goal.

You’re still early in your career. Where do you think you will be, professionally speaking, in five years, or 20 years?

I can really see myself sticking with OSPR for the long hall through to retirement. From discussions with friends and family, this really is a unique and amazing position I am in that is unlike any they have heard of before. I need variety to keep myself content and OSPR certainly has that.

Any advice for people considering careers in science or natural resources?

Having a job where I could contribute to prolonging our natural resources and get out in the outdoors to enjoy them as much as possible has been a dream I did not know I would achieve, but that was my goal and I fought for it. You may have to scrape by and do things that you don’t want to for a while (maybe even a long while), but if you have enthusiasm, determination and a true love of conserving our natural resources, keep working towards your goals. Talk to people, volunteer your time and keep climbing the ladder. Eventually, if you remain persistent, you will find yourself somewhere you never thought you’d be, with a job that you can’t imagine being without.

Joe Croteau is an environmental program manager with the Timberland Conservation Program in CDFW’s Northern Region. He oversees a team of scientists and administrators responsible for conservation and regulatory compliance on approximately 5 million acres of non-federal timber production lands in the Northern Region. The team includes dedicated people working in Fort Bragg, Eureka, Yreka and Redding. Joe’s office is in Redding, but his job takes him to all corners of the region, occasionally headquarters in Sacramento, and to the hidden forests in between.

An avid outdoorsman, Joe has been a member of The Wildlife Society, The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, The Wild Turkey Federation and the California Licensed Foresters Association. He served as President of a local unit of the Backcountry Horseman’s Association and is a Hunter Education Instructor.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

The “who” is my mother. She made sure I could go fishing, play in the poison oak and bring home lizards and snakes … and she took me to the doctor’s office when I was reckless. She turned me on to Wild Kingdom where I latched on to Marlin Perkins’ conservation movement. I immediately connected with Marlin and his friend Jim Fowler as they explored all critters, both safe and dangerous.

The “what” is just an innate curiosity and admiration of fish and wildlife … and my mom informing me I could actually earn a degree and have a career doing this kind of stuff.

How did you come to work for CDFW?

I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University in 1990, and came to CDFW’s toxicology laboratory in Elk Grove in 1991 as a scientific aid. The Cantara spill happened in July 1991 and so I participated in the evaluation of that ecological disaster. A train car fell into the Upper Sacramento River spilling about 19,000 gallons of the herbicide metam sodium. I was part of a team that was responsible for evaluating the damages and measuring lethal doses to aquatic species. After bouncing around a bit, I finally landed in in the Timberland Conservation Program.

You’ve been with the Timberland Conservation Program since 2001. What is the purpose of the program, and why is it important?

The California Forest Practice rules require an entity that wants to harvest timber on non-federal lands to first file a timber harvesting document. CDFW is the trustee agency that reviews and provides recommendations for the proposed harvesting plan. Our top priority is to ensure the conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants on land where timber harvesting is going to occur. We think of ourselves as a Swiss army knife and can tackle just about any conservation challenge.

What is a typical day like for you at work?

Personally, my typical day includes correspondence or a meeting to make sure our team has the funding, tools and inspiration to do their jobs. The better story is a typical day in the Timberland Conservation Program. Today, one of our staff members is probably walking in the woods with a forester to look at a timber harvesting plan, a proposed bridge and a meadow restoration project. A couple others are administering grants for Yreka Phlox and Townsend’s big-eared bats. Two or three others are working through the challenges of developing safe harbor agreements for Humboldt Martens, Great Gray Owls, Gray Wolves and Coho Salmon. Somebody is probably at their computer looking at multiple monitors to model wildlife habitat or a decision support tool. Somebody is thinking about how to incorporate drones and bio-dogs into our workplace. Somebody is working on regulatory rules to conserve sensitive plants. Several are involved with various working groups like the one dealing with barred owl impacts to northern spotted owls, or doing strategic planning. Certainly, somebody is preparing for, attending, or summarizing a meeting. The supervisors are looking forward, motivating and enabling their staff to challenge the system.

Every one of them is thinking about how best to monitor the effectiveness of everything we do. Oh, and there is the whole email thing … we call it “whack a mole.”

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

I would go back to the Great Gray Owl project that I was encouraged to tackle by my manager in 2008. The Great Gray Owl is a state endangered species we knew very little about. At the time, we were aware of breeding pairs in Yosemite and in Southern Oregon, but we weren’t sure if there were any in our region. I pursued a state wildlife grant that enabled us to look for breeding pairs, and nine different private and federal landowners allowed us to conduct surveys on their properties. We found two reproducing pairs during the study and have identified a couple more since. I remember getting a text message around midnight from a scientific aid in the first month of the study. It said, “If or when you wake up, call me. Male GGO!” That was an awesome moment.

Websites, conservation strategies and textbooks were later modified based on that work. Scientific aids from that project went on to become environmental scientists. Safe harbor agreements are being crafted because of our study. That’s the personal project that makes me proudest.

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

Wow, fun. I would like to create a fire-resilient landscape that enhances deer, elk, pronghorn and sage grouse carrying capacity. I would probably eliminate all but the few oldest junipers from the landscape, and I would work with our internal and external experts to return our cheatgrass-infested basins to support low sage and bitter brush habitat. I would try to bring our mountain meadows back to life by removing suppressed conifers and restoring hydrologic connectivity. I would then hire enough people to investigate and brag about all the good we are doing.

What is it about the work you do that you find most interesting or rewarding?

I often miss getting on the ATV, chasing down an owl or a fish, and just getting dirt on my clothes. But – and this is somewhat surprising to me – the best part of my job is probably not handling a fish, bird or plant. What I really enjoy is recruiting people to our team, helping somebody else prepare for an interview, and seeing people promote and move on to bigger challenges. Allowing people to seek training, explore new information technology and feeling safe to challenge the system is enormously rewarding.

I am most grateful to be associated with a team and a department loaded with hardworking, intelligent and dedicated people. This is what I brag about to family and friends.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

Remembering to strive to be an inspirational leader so that staff can embrace our most difficult challenges. Reminding myself what I represent, who I represent, and thinking forward with a vision … the ability to do that is not something anybody is born with. Those are learned behaviors, and it’s always a work in progress for me.

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

Be persistent, and know that it is not for material gain that any of us do this. You need to be willing to move around a bit, embrace uncomfortable challenges, and strive to become really good at what you do.