Featured Scientist

Marcia Grefsrud is an environmental scientist with CDFW’s Bay Delta Region. She spends much of her time working in the field, reviewing requests for incidental take permits and streambed alteration agreements. Her work helps to ensure that urban development does not destroy the resources upon which wildlife depend. She also serves as an advocate for many vulnerable species in the Bay Area, most notably the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), a stocky black and yellow amphibian that inhabits many of the stock ponds and grasslands in Alameda County.

Marcia took an unconventional path to her current position. She has attended a number of colleges and universities from as far north as Bemidji, Minnesota to as far south and east as Puerto Rico and as far west as Cal State East Bay in Hayward. A former petty officer in the US Navy, she also served as a CDFW wildlife officer before becoming a scientist.

Outside of work, Marcia is also skilled photographer with an extensive portfolio of wildlife images. She is particularly good at “macro-photography” – capturing small details of a dragonfly’s wing or a bushtit’s feathered breast. Her images are often featured on CDFW’s social media pages and in publications.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I grew up during the time of “Wild Kingdom,” “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” and “Jaws,” and I became fascinated with marine biology, especially sharks. My passion at the time was to be a marine biologist, but there obviously weren’t any colleges in Minnesota offering that field of study and I didn’t have the money to move out of state. Eventually, I couldn’t afford to stay in college, so I opted for something else – the Navy. That decision sent me on an entirely different career track of advanced electronics and cryptology.

How did you come to work for CDFW?

I moved to California after accepting a job as a Navy Tech Rep/Project Manager at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo. That job required extensive overseas and stateside travel and long work hours often in remote military bases such as Iceland and Adak, Alaska. The base closures left two options – I could relocate to San Diego or find another job. I opted to leave the federal government and return to school with the goal of studying raptor biology. But life had other plans, so after graduating from CDFW’s Resource Academy, I worked as a fish and game warden for three years. I made the jump to the scientific side 17 years ago.

Your job involves working with developers and builders to issue permits in the East Bay. Why is that important?

I cover all of Alameda County, which includes the highly urbanized area along the easternmost portion of San Francisco Bay and the more rural, eastern portion that supports ranching, with an urban/suburban center located in the Tri-Valley region. The county is approximately 50 percent agricultural land and 50 percent urban lands. Then there is the Altamont area of Alameda County, which is known for the wind turbines populating the hillsides. Combined, each of these areas make Alameda County one of the busiest counties in the region for Habitat Conservation. For example, from 2010-2015, approximately 668 acres of habitat in Alameda County was permanently lost as a result of residential development alone. But approximately 2,066 acres of habitat has been permanently conserved as a result of incidental take permits issued for those residential developments.

What is a typical day like for you at work?

When I’m in the office, I spend the day answering emails and telephone calls. I split my time between writing permits and agreements, reviewing conservation lands packages and monitoring reports. On the fortunate days when I’m in the field, I could be doing compliance checks, visiting project sites or attending meetings. If I’m really fortunate, I could be doing stream or pond surveys.

What is your favorite species to interact with or study?

Hands down, the California tiger salamander. They are my favorite probably because there is so much more to learn about them and I love the challenge. There have been many studies but there are still gaps in our knowledge that may never be filled. Plus, they are so darn cute!

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

The California Endangered Species Act (CESA) was intended to help protect wildlife and their habitats, but it can also create unintended hurdles. For instance, in Alameda County, privately owned stock ponds – which are prime breeding grounds for the California tiger salamander – have a finite lifespan, and may require maintenance and upkeep in order to function properly. When California tiger salamanders became a candidate species for state listing in 2009, new permitting and mitigation requirements went into effect. Because any land improvements or changes within CTS habitat were now subject to strict oversight, I became concerned that some ranchers would let their stock ponds go unmaintained rather than attempt to go through the permitting process.

After doing a lot of digging, I found a little-used section of the Fish and Game Code regarding Voluntary Local Programs (VLPs). These are similar to the state and federal Safe Harbor Agreement program, except the VLP is specifically for routine and ongoing agricultural activities on farms and ranches that encourage habitat for state listed or candidate species. A VLP must include management practices that will avoid and minimize harm while encouraging the enhancement of habitat. Landowners or ranchers that sign up with the local VLP agree to voluntarily carry out specific habitat improvements and to abide by avoidance and minimization measures. These measures are developed and agreed upon by CDFW, the program administrator (in this case, the Alameda County Resource Conservation District), the California Department of Food and Agriculture and other agricultural experts.

Ranchers can then perform routine and ongoing agricultural activities and necessary maintenance to stock ponds, roads, streams and other agreed-upon practices without risk of violating CESA. Even though we had to “give a little,” the Alameda County VLP has helped CDFW build trusting relationships with the Resource Conservation District and the local ranching community, and has ultimately allowed more potential breeding ponds to be repaired in a timely manner.

What is the most challenging aspect of your career as an environmental scientist?

The enormous amount of work and the limitations of our job duties.

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

At the moment I want to do a study on teeth patterns of California tiger salamanders compared to hybrids and non-natives. One study I looked at found that considerable variation in tooth morphology may be found between species of the same genus. There is a possibility that the teeth patterns between the native salamanders, non-natives and hybrids are different. If so, it may provide another indicator to determine whether or not a specific animal is pure CTS or hybrid.

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

Some people think Habitat Conservation work is boring and/or not important because it doesn’t sound as exciting as chasing poachers or studying wildlife. Sometimes the work is tedious, but what we do is extremely important because without it we would face more species’ extinction and destruction of terrestrial and aquatic habitat.

How does your interest in photography intersect with your work as a scientist?

I have had a lifelong interest in photography and art, but only recently started to explore photography as art. In addition to photographing wildlife (which has its challenges), I am drawn to the old, obscure, dilapidated and overlooked parts of our environment -- from the tiny mushroom to the broken-down piano dumped on the side of the road. One of the joys I find with photography is being able to show beauty in things that often go unnoticed.

One of the cool things about photography for me is it allows me to visually study some of these animals without physically capturing them. It is amazing what you learn when you are looking at a macro, like the wing structure of a dragonfly or embryos of foothill yellow-legged frogs. I’ve also been able to capture some remarkable photos of birds in action. I have a series of photos of an osprey repeatedly dive bombing a bald eagle. Then another series with a red-tailed hawk attacking a bald eagle that was trying to steal a fish from an osprey. One photo that will hopefully be published in a short note soon is of a peregrine falcon that predated a federally and state protected Ridgway’s rail. The photos are not National Geographic worthy, but they do tell stories!

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

With so much information available on the Internet now, I would start by exploring government and non-profit websites to find volunteer opportunities. The more field experience they can get the better off they will be both in finding a job and really beginning to find their passion. Finally, I would recommend when they do find something they are passionate about then stay focused and go for it!

Jack Crayon is an Environmental Scientist for CDFW’s Inland Desert Region, which includes Imperial, Inyo, Mono, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Jack has spent his entire 16-year career on a single area of study: the Salton Sea.

Jack earned a B.S. from UC Davis and a M.S. from UC Riverside. He has worked in the lab and in the field for a number of US Geological Survey researchers. Originally from upstate New York, Jack developed his passion for the outdoors and its denizens when he was still very young. After mostly working in the trades after high school, he spent 11 years working for the (then) San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, including several years as an elephant keeper. Today primary job duties include study and analysis of Salton Sea fish and wildlife issues and how the sea impacts the ecology of the region and, ultimately, the entire west coast.

Did someone or something inspire you to study science or the environment?

While at the Wild Animal Park, I volunteered in a scientist’s lab and realized I really wanted to work in a more impactful capacity than just caring for captive wildlife. I saw how the power of research was driving conservation efforts.

What is your favorite area or species to study?

I caught my first snake in the late ‘50s. I’ve been infected with a severe case of herpetology ever since. Working around the Salton Sea I run into sidewinders and Western Diamondback rattlesnakes – the stuff of my childhood dreams!

What inspires you in your job or area of study?

The good-hearted people I have met and worked with who have decided to spend their lives trying to make things better in the natural resources world.

Why is the Salton Sea important?

The Salton Sea is a very large example of a phenomenon I recognized years ago: that the degraded and limited habitats that have been damaged by human development and recreational activities can still harbor vital resources for wildlife. For all its supposed unattractiveness, the lake generates unbelievable productivity for wildlife. It has become a birder’s paradise since its accidental inception. And, most importantly, we have lost so much of California’s natural wetlands … this lake has now become an irreplaceable surrogate habitat. In many cases, the bird species using the Salton Sea no longer have other options available for resting and feeding during migration.

What is CDFW’s role in the Salton Sea restoration?

In the 1950s and 1960s, CDFW was deeply invested in establishing and supporting a sport fishery here. This ended up becoming a world-class angling opportunity. But as the water quality has deteriorated over the years, our focus and emphasis have shifted to broader-scale environmental issues that go far beyond just the loss of a recreational fishery. Much of what we have engaged in during the last decade – analyzing the environmental threats and designing restoration strategies – has been driven by legislative directives.

Over the last century, the lake has become so much more than just a good place to fish. Now, its decline raises economic and human health issues. We no longer work in an arena of simple wildlife conservation. We sit at the table with a large and diverse array of stakeholders, including Native American tribes, federal agencies, local governments, environmental advocacy groups and water districts. The challenge now facing the Department is to achieve our wildlife management efforts within a broad and complex setting of social, political and economic concerns.

What should people know about the desert region? How does it affect the rest of the state?

The average person thinks the desert is an unproductive place – a wasteland of sorts. It sometimes becomes an easy target for development since people assume it has less ecological value than stands of redwoods, or salmon-filled streams. But so much of its botanical beauty is seasonal and ephemeral. So much of the wildlife diversity spends a large part of lifetime underground, or is active only at night. The unique adaptations of desert dwelling plants and wildlife are fascinating.

What would a day in the field be for you?

Lately, I’m often called upon to provide mini-workshops on the Salton Sea, traveling with others to highlight the ecological values of the lake and letting them experience some of the truly awe-inspiring visual treats you only can see from an air boat.

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

Two projects were interwoven. The first was developing and implementing a sampling protocol to monitor the Salton Sea fisheries. There were periodic fish die-offs numbering in the millions in the lake, and the causes weren’t fully understood. The second was working with US Fish and Wildlife to implement bird salvage efforts during the botulism events that plagued the lake. During the late 1990s the Salton Sea experienced die-offs of fish-eating birds numbering in the tens of thousands. It turned out that they were being poisoned by eating the dying fish, but then their carcasses became vectors for additional poisoning of many other bird species, from ducks to egrets. Sick birds could be saved with Vitamin K and fluids, and collecting the dead birds would break the cycle of poisoning. So summertime would require all hands on deck, collecting as many dead and dying birds as possible from a moving air boat.

Over the course of your career, was there a discovery or an incident that surprised you?

The Salton Sea’s sport fisheries were established back in the 1950s when the Department stocked the lake with several species from the Gulf of California. Orangemouth corvina, Gulf croaker and sargo took hold and provided hugely successful fisheries. During the 1960s, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area was a popular spot for anglers, and it hosted more visitors than Yosemite National Park during those times. Fish die-offs occurred occasionally throughout the lake’s history, but the fisheries always rebounded.

After we started to sample the Salton Sea fisheries, we detected the crash of the sport fish populations over a single year’s time. It was unusually abrupt, and we met a lot of skepticism from the local folks who insisted it was just part of the fisheries’ “cycle,” and the fish would come bounding back as they had before.

What was different this time was the suppression of reproduction by some unique water quality conditions. The increasingly saline water body was now 50 percent more salty than the ocean these marine species came from. At the same time, scientists were piecing together a driver behind the fish kills totally different from the algae blooms which everyone assumed were responsible. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia (products from the microbial decomposition of organic matter) accumulate at the lake bottom.  When the lower water is mixed during summertime wind events, these chemicals strip the oxygen from the entire water column. In the early 2000s, these upwellings were so persistent and widespread that it meant the end of the three sport fish species.

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

There are many secretive and understudied reptile and amphibian species for which we have so little information. I’d love to use a dog trained to scent track species like rubber boas or Couch’s spadefoot, and fill in the blanks about their distribution.

What is the best thing about being a wildlife scientist?

As a CDFW employee, I get to go places, see things and handle animals in ways I could never do as a private citizen. One special treat I like to give visitors is to take a boat to the middle of the lake and turn off the engine. I ask them to just be silent and experience the feeling of complete detachment from civilization.

The world of science and managing natural resources is often confusing or mysterious for the average person. What is it about the work you do that you’d most like us to know that will take away the mystery?

This is a really tough question. The education, training and experience that wildlife professionals acquire allow them to work from a perspective of profound expertise, which isn’t accessible to the average person. This is what creates the “mystery.” I think the most impactful way of getting people to understand our work is being done on television, e.g., on PBS and National Geographic specials.

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

Yes – the whole ivory tower thing. There are indeed scientists who are locked away in their own world of basic research. The ones I call friends and colleagues are personable and humorous, with a heightened awareness of the political framework within which we operate. They’re passionate about seeing their work having a positive impact on the “real” world.

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

Get as much insight as you can about the career you seek – from internships, volunteering and talking to people who do the job you want to do. What we do is often presented as overly glamorous or exciting on TV. Find out what it’s like down in the trenches.

Colleen Young is an Environmental Scientist for CDFW’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz. Her primary job duties include oil spill contingency planning for sea otters and other marine wildlife, maintaining response equipment and working as part of the Wildlife Recovery team during spills.

During non-spill times, Colleen’s responsibilities shift to sea otter research and conservation projects. This work includes ground and aerial sea otter census surveys, sea otter stranding response, performing postmortem examinations on sea otters and occasionally other species, tagging and monitoring wild sea otters and working on sea otter disturbance issues. She is on the CDFW SCUBA diving team and is one of two CDFW divers trained to use re-breathers to capture sea otters. These projects are done in close collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, UC Santa Cruz, Sea Otter Savvy and other partner organizations.

Colleen earned a B.S. in Animal Biology from UC Davis in 2006 and an M.S. in Marine Science with an emphasis in Vertebrate Ecology from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories/San Jose State University in 2009. She began working as a scientific aide for CDFW in 2010 and was hired for her current position in 2011. Colleen is grateful to have a job that involves working with such an ecologically important, threatened species, and that allows her to work outside and live along California’s beautiful Central Coast.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I had some really amazing science teachers in high school that showed me that science was really fun and interesting. When I started volunteering to help with research projects when I was an undergraduate in college, I knew that doing scientific research was something that I wanted to pursue further. When I got certified to SCUBA dive and started doing research in and around the ocean, I knew I wanted to do that for a career.

What got you interested in working with wildlife?

Growing up we had lots of pets, so I’ve always had a deep connection with and respect for animals. I considered pursuing a career involving companion animals, but I really enjoy working outside, in nature, and wild animals absolutely fascinate and amaze me. I was hooked on wildlife after doing an internship studying wild bottlenose dolphins.

Who or what brought you to CDFW? What inspires you to stay?

Just after finishing graduate school I was hired to work at the CDFW office in Santa Cruz to work on some grant-funded seabird projects. I really enjoyed the work that I was doing and saw great value in the sea otter work that my CDFW colleagues were doing, so when a permanent job became available, applying was a no-brainer. I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon, since I love my job and I get to live in this beautiful place.

What is a typical day like for you at work?

There is no such thing as a typical day for me, which is just the way I like it. It is very unusual for me to spend a whole day working at my desk. You can usually find me working in our necropsy lab, on the beach responding to a stranded sea otter call, working on oil spill preparedness (testing equipment, working on protocols, etc.) or doing a proficiency dive with my dive buddy so we’re ready for our next round of sea otter captures. At the end of the day, I always try to read and respond to emails, but I often get interrupted by a stranding call, so I can’t always answer emails as quickly as I’d like.

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

I think probably the Santa Barbara oil spill near Refugio State Beach in 2015. This was my first major spill since starting at the Department and I worked as part of the Wildlife Recovery team. It was really rewarding to collect all those oiled animals, which likely would’ve died without our help.

Over the course of your career, was there a discovery or an incident that surprised you?

I am surprised all the time! A big part of my job is performing necropsies (animal autopsies) on sea otters, and sometimes other species as well. Often it looks like the cause of death will be obvious, but when we get inside we see all sorts of weird, unexpected things. That’s one of the things that keeps my job fun and interesting … we never know what we’re going to find!

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

I would love to work more on one of my ongoing projects, which is looking into the mechanism by which some sea otters acquire purple staining on their teeth and bones. This phenomenon, known as echinochrome staining, has been documented for decades, and is extremely common in sea otters. It almost certainly occurs when sea otters consume copious amounts of echinochrome-containing prey items like sea urchins and other echinoderms, but the mechanism and physiology of the process has not been described. I would love to have time (and funding) to really understand how and when staining occurs, and whether there are any individual health implications, or broader ecological implications, of this process. Until I have unlimited time and funding though, I’ll just keep working on this project a little at a time.

What is the best thing about being a wildlife scientist?

I get to spend so much time outside being active. I spend a lot of time on the beach, on the ocean and in the ocean (diving), and most of it is pretty physical, so I get to exercise and spend time in nature as part of my job. Oh, and working with animals is pretty cool too. Doesn’t get any better than that!

The world of science and managing natural resources is often confusing or mysterious for the average person. What is it about the work you do that you’d most like us to know that will take away the mystery?

Effective management of natural resources should be based on good scientific data. It takes time to develop protocols, to collect and analyze data, and to summarize and disseminate findings. So sometimes when it looks like no action is being taken on an issue there are probably people working hard behind the scenes on it. Furthermore, it can be difficult for one program or even one agency to collect all the adequate scientific data that is needed to make good management decisions. Therefore, collaboration is key. Agencies and organizations often work together to collect data and implement management decisions. In the case of sea otters, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has management authority, but CDFW and other agencies and organizations work collaboratively with USFWS to collect and share data that help inform management decisions. Having multiple partners can sometimes slow things down, but in the end usually yields better results.

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

I can speak most to marine biologists. When most people think of marine biologists, they picture someone training and hugging dolphins, or getting up close and personal with cute, charismatic animals all the time. In reality though, marine biology is not very glamorous or easy work. It often requires working long hours, sometimes very early or late, depending on the tides. You are often wet, cold, dirty and stinky. Many biologists never even lay hands on the animals they are studying … they collect and/or study scat (poop), tracks and photographs, and make observations from afar. Some biologists, like me, mainly study their species by examining dead animals, which can be stinky and gross, but also extremely interesting and informative.

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

Get as much hands-on field experience as possible. Not only does that allow you to figure out what types of work you do and do not like, but having field experience is a huge advantage when applying for jobs. Also, attend conferences and events that will allow you to network with people who have careers you are interested in. Ask them questions about what they do and don’t like about their jobs, and what kind of experience and education you need to get that type of job.