Featured Scientist

Benjamin Francis Lewis (AKA “Big Ben”), who works out of Fresno, has been the CDFW Central Region’s Upland Game Bird Coordinator position since 2008. Over the past decade, Lewis has had the opportunity to work with several game and non-game species in a wide variety of projects, but his primary focus during his career with CDFW has been upland game birds. He has had the opportunity to work on projects such as banding doves, conducting quail brood counts, planting pheasants, capturing turkeys and staffing upland game check stations. Ben says that every day, he observes and learns something new about upland bird species.

Ben earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology, with an emphasis in ecology and anatomy/physiology and a minor in chemistry, from California State University, Fresno.

Who or what inspired you to become a wildlife biologist?

As a child, I was the curious sort, always trying to take something apart or figure out how something worked. I also fell in love with the outdoors at a very young age. My mother often reminded me that my first word was “outside” and that I would stand by a door and say it repeatedly until I was let out.

One of my earliest memories is of a small spider, no bigger than a pea, perched atop a piece of canvas. It was a very nice day out, cool with a slight breeze, and for some reason this spider caught my eye. The way it moved with the breeze, rocking and ebbing in perfect sync, mesmerized me. I was trying to understand what it was doing; I thought perhaps it was injured and was moving with the wind due to an inability to resist it? Then in a flash, the spider sprang forth with amazing speed and accuracy and in an instant I realized what it was doing. In its grasp was a fly, one of many that were stationed upon the canvas as well. In that moment in my mind was the feeling of profound understanding, and from that day forward I was hooked.

The desire to understand the world around me is what ultimately led me to the sciences. Of course, some amazing teachers also helped point me in the right direction along the way. A special thank you to Ms. Lawrence, Mr. Slothower, Mr. Scott, Mr. Rouse, Ms. Niboli, Ms. Charnels, Dr. Blumenshine and, of course, my mother, Catherine Lewis.

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

I may be one of the luckiest people on the planet. After graduation I had still not secured a job in the wildlife field, and believe you me it was not for a lack of trying. Up until that point, the only jobs I had were manual labor positions I took to pay for school. My first real opportunity came in the form of an interview with Fresno Wildlife Management Supervisor Kevin O’Connor. At the end of the interview he offered me the scientific aid position and asked me when I could start. I was soon introduced to the rest of the team, and I had never met a more positive and supportive group of people. Soon the group felt less like coworkers and more like family. I enjoyed the work so much that when my seasonal hours were up, I came back as a volunteer until I was hired on again as a seasonal employee and, eventually, as an environmental scientist (wildlife biologist).

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

This is a tough one because I draw a great deal of satisfaction from many of the projects that I have had the opportunity to work on over the years, from running special hunts that get our next generation into the field, to working on habitat improvement projects.

If I have to pick one project, I would have to say it is providing hunting opportunities to the public through habitat work and putting on special upland game bird hunts. Getting people outside into the field creates a connection with wildlife and a vested interest in conservation and proper management. Working with the public and seeing those connections form has been the most rewarding part of the job.

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

It would have to involve two of my favorite things: California quail and gallinaceous guzzlers (artificial water sources for wildlife). Starting in the 1950s, gallinaceous guzzlers were built in arid regions of California to provide water for upland game birds. Many of these original guzzlers have withstood the test of time and still serve wildlife today. They are comprised of four main parts: an apron, a water tank, an exclusion fence and brush piles. The apron is a flat surface that is sloped to collect rainwater and drain into the guzzler tank. The water storage tank serves as both a water storage vessel and an access point for wildlife. The exclusion fence keeps cattle from accessing the guzzler area and causing damage, and brush piles create habitat and are essential for providing cover from predators while they are drinking from the guzzler. These oases of life provide stable water sources in a harsh environment and are important to game and non-game species alike, particularly during periods of prolonged drought.

Specific to the California quail, I would love to look at home range, fecundity (the ability to produce an abundance of offspring) survivorship and find a way quantify the importance of the guzzlers in relationship to productivity. To be honest, there is a lot of work I would like to do with upland game birds that range from food studies to reintroductions. However, you know what they say: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, and instead be afraid of standing still.”

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

That would have to be the paperwork -- well, OK, paperwork is a close second. The major challenge is working with the public on human-wildlife conflict. In most cases, the solution to these problems can be summed up with one simple phase: “Leave it alone.” Here in CDFW’s Central Region, we have created a kind of mascot called “Leave It Alone Larry the Lion.” We often talk about creating a public service announcement where kids are walking through the park and find a fledgling of some kind on the ground next to a tree. One child asks the other, “What should we do?” And then Leave it Alone Larry would pop in and say, “Leave it alone!”

More often than not, the best thing we can do when we come across wildlife is to not engage or interact at all.

What is the best thing about being a wildlife scientist?

The fact that it constantly reminds me that life is an adventure -- and an unpredictable one at that. The work can be challenging and many things do not necessarily make sense, but that is what I love about it. If we did not have questions to answer, we would not be able to call ourselves scientists.

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

We are not all huge nerds with glasses and lab coats … though I am a huge nerd, and I have glasses and more than one lab coat in my closet. What I mean to say is that there is no set mold for a scientist. We are a diverse and unique bunch with a common interest in finding answers to questions that baffle us. Oftentimes, we find new questions in the process.

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

The work I do, I do for you and the resource. We share common goals, no matter who we are or where we come from.

Richard Brody is a Southern California native who grew up “a stone’s throw” from the CDFW project he now manages, the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve. Like many CDFW scientists, he took a circuitous route to working for the department, dabbling in early punk rock, owning an employment agency, home building and delivering large sailboats on the open ocean. Eventually he married, settled back into school and began a career in environmental science. Richard did his undergraduate work in water policy at Cal, and then went to graduate school at UCLA, studying Fluvial Geomorphology and Wetland Restoration. Today, he and his wife are raising two daughters in the open space of Topanga Canyon.

How did you come to CDFW?

After graduate school, I worked in the world of environmental consulting for over a decade. I was a wetland delineator and restoration specialist, and I got to know and highly respect the work CDFW was doing. In my mind, the holy grail of private restoration work was to one day manage a wetland reserve and have the time to concentrate on making a solid difference at one important location. Through my relationships at CDFW, I learned of the Ballona Land Manager position and was told that I would be an asset to CDFW. I was fortunate enough to be offered the position after a very competitive process.

What does the Region 5 lands program encompass?

The South Coast Region’s lands program manages coastal and inland properties from Santa Barbara County to the border of Mexico. These properties include maritime chaparral and sage-scrub communities, oak woodlands, grasslands, coastal bays, lagoons and estuaries. We manage these threatened habitats to protect them, but there are some passive recreation and educational uses allowed also. These vary from reserve to reserve.

What is Ballona and why is it important?

The Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve is the largest and last remaining opportunity for major coastal habitat restoration in Los Angeles County. It is located on the edge of one of the largest concrete jungles on the planet and also along the Pacific Flyway. Historically, this area provided a much larger stopover, resting and foraging area for migratory birds than is available today. There are corners of the Reserve that provide some estuarine and aquatic function, but only after years of coordination with our federal and local partners to restore some tidal flow. These areas are now a case study of what is possible and the immense potential this degraded Reserve offers. In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, the world’s largest man-made small craft harbor was dredged out right next to where the Reserve now sits. Dredging of this harbor, channelizing Ballona Creek and building the surrounding community all contributed to the reduction of the once approximately 2,000-acre wetland to less than 600 acres today. Very little of the remaining wetland has any describable function anymore. In fact, the Howard Hughes Corporation accepted more than 3 million cubic yards of fill from the marina dredging to be dumped in the former wetlands.

This is the biggest challenge ahead of us – getting the Reserve back down to sea level and reconnecting Ballona Creek with its floodplain so the land can function as a coastal wetlands again. Restoring Ballona will offer hundreds of now-unavailable acres to wetland-dependent species that have been displaced all along our coastline and are now clinging to existence in the Los Angeles area. I tell my kids that the Once-ler came through Ballona and left a mess and that it is my job to help make the pond wet again and bring back the Swomee-Swans and the Humming-Fish. (The Once-ler is the narrator and a character in The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.)

If you had unlimited money for Ballona what would you do?

I would fast-track the restoration, acquire all other nearby available land for more open space and build a world-class visitor and research center at the Reserve.

What is your vision for Ballona?

Aside from the obvious restoration effort, Ballona has always been a politically charged place of many factions and competing interests. One of my top priorities is bringing people closer together here. The overwhelming majority of us have the same goal in mind – to make this a special place along the California coast. We don’t see eye-to-eye on every issue, but we have already made progress in communication. That’s the best place to start.

What species are documented at Ballona and what do we think will come there (or return) when the restoration is complete?

We currently have three species that are listed as threatened and/or endangered, as well as 11 species of special concern. This is compared to 18 threatened and endangered species and nearly 100 species of special concern that are documented to have once existed at Ballona, or are still in the area but have insufficient habitat to return. I am the eternal optimist who feels that if we get this restoration off the ground, we have the potential for most, if not all, of these species to be documented here again.

The El Segundo blue butterfly (Euphilotes battoides allyni) is federally endangered and listed by the state as critically imperiled. It’s the cutest little butterfly on the planet. It used to be primarily restricted to the LAX dunes about five miles away, but the Friends of Ballona worked tirelessly over the last decade clearing iceplant and planting seacliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium). This is the only host plant for this species that it uses in all of its life stages. Once it was planted, the butterflies came. The highest count we have seen recently was more than 500 butterflies. This is a huge success story and testament to how successful restoration can be at Ballona. Every summer, the Friends hold a butterfly festival in honor of all their hard and successful work.

In addition to the El Segundo Blue Butterfly, other threatened and endangered species breeding or overwintering at Ballona now include the Belding’s savannah sparrow and the least Bell’s Vireo. Our species of special concern include the legless lizard, burrowing owl and Orcutt’s pincushion, among others. We would like to someday reintroduce Ventura marsh milkvetch, a plant species formally thought to be extinct.

What would you tell a high school student who wants to study environmental science?

Choose a field that suits your lifestyle. I once had a biology instructor tell me that if you’re planning your field of research, why not study the thoracic region of tropical lobster? You’ll have to dive all day in the Maldives and bring home lobster tails every day. That’s a metaphor, but you get my meaning. Now you know why I specialize in coastal wetlands. Surfing and shorebirds, what more could a guy ask for?

Any final thoughts?

What I love most about Ballona is people’s passion and Ballona’s potential. To have this tiny little bit of tidal wetlands available to us, and the wildlife species that are here is an incredible opportunity.

Many people have told me that they can feel their blood pressure actually go down when they leave the concrete jungle, get off the 90 freeway, head down Culver Boulevard and see the open space of Ballona. That simple example shows how important open space is here in Los Angeles County. I often use the functions and values test here. Functions are measurable – we can measure water quality, biodiversity or habitat. But values are not as tangible. Ballona has an intrinsic value, and it brings a sense of well-being that is almost lost in coastal Los Angeles.

Krysta Rogers is a senior environmental scientist at CDFW’s Wildlife Investigations Laboratory. She is the statewide lead for avian mortality investigations. Her professional experience has been focused almost exclusively on birds, including bird identification, biology, ecology and behavior. She has led and participated in numerous field projects including bird surveys, trapping, banding and sample collection.

Krysta earned both her Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in Wildlife from Humboldt State University. She came to CDFW in 2007 as a wildlife biologist, starting out as the avian influenza surveillance coordinator. She subsequently worked on developing the lab’s Avian Investigations program, which includes mortality investigations, disease research and health surveillance for the many different bird species in California.

Who or what inspired you to become a scientist?

I had an interest in animals from a very young age and pursued this initially in the field of veterinary medicine. Although I enjoyed the animal health aspect, I learned I did not want to become a veterinarian in a small animal practice. I was unaware of other career possibilities until I took an elective course on endangered species at my local community college. The class introduced me to the career of wildlife biologist which subsequently informed my decision to attend Humboldt State University to obtain a degree in Wildlife. Later, while working toward my Master’s degree, my thesis advisor, Dr. Rick Botzler, taught me how to incorporate my interest in animal health into the study of wildlife biology.

What is a typical day like for you at work?

As the lead for avian mortality investigations, I spend most of my time responding to reports of dead birds from CDFW staff, other agencies, wildlife rehabilitation centers and the public. Given that most birds are active during the day and are thus highly visible to the public, these reports come in almost constantly. For investigations, I obtain carcasses for post-mortem exam to determine the cause of death, which may inform management actions. I either will perform the gross necropsy myself and submit various tissues for testing, or I will coordinate with another lab for the post-mortem exam and testing. Then I interpret the results and determine the next course of action. These investigations are varied – for instance, house finches and mourning doves dying from diseases at backyard bird feeders, juvenile California scrub jays and Cooper’s hawks dying of West Nile virus, Western and Clark’s grebes dying from starvation along the coast and at inland reservoirs, or bald and golden eagles dying of toxicosis or electrocution.

What is your favorite species to interact with or study?

It’s impossible to pick a single species; I’m interested in birds in general. There are more than 600 species of birds in California that live in a diversity of habitats. Different diseases or conditions can affect different species. This great diversity means always having the opportunity to learn something new in terms of species biology, a pathogen or environmental impacts.

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

Investigating causes of mortality is almost like being a detective. You need to gather lots of detail and determine what factors are relevant to the cause of death for a particular animal. Sometimes this may be relatively easy with a pathogen or condition you routinely investigate, but sometimes it’s something entirely new. This aspect keeps the investigations interesting.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

One challenge is communicating the importance of incorporating animal health into resource management and conservation plans. For many avian species, we don’t have even a basic understanding of the impacts of diseases or contaminants that may influence population growth or decline. The lack of this information may limit our ability to manage species over the long-term, especially in the face of climate change. Climate change will almost certainly favor certain pathogens or host species that can aid in disease transmission.

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

So far, it’s been collaborating with researchers at the University of California, Davis to investigate avian trichomonosis in our native band-tailed pigeons. Avian trichomonosis is a disease caused by a protozoan parasite that in band-tailed pigeons causes near annual large-scale mortality events. This project enabled us to genetically characterize the parasites infecting band-tailed pigeons, including naming a new species of parasite, and evaluate the ecological drivers and the population impacts of these disease events on band-tailed pigeons, a migratory game species.

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

I’d like to work towards an improved understanding of the impacts certain pathogens have on different avian species. This would include genetically characterizing the pathogens, identifying host range, and learning how avian species interact with their environment and the means by which they are exposed to certain pathogens.

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

Because there are so many career options in the field of science and natural resources, I’d recommend trying to get exposed to a diversity of people and projects as early as possible (e.g. junior high, high school). This can be accomplished through interviewing professionals, volunteering, internships and paid jobs. Learning about the different career options enables you to determine your interests and will help guide your educational path and eventually your career goals.