CDFW - Eureka Field Office

Placement Site Address: 619 Second Street

Eureka, California 95501 - City Data Information Link

Mentors: James Ray, Senior Environmental Scientist Specialist

Field Leaders: Kelsey McDonald - Plant Ecologist, Johnathan Hollis - Fisheries Biologist, Katie Rian - Wildlife Biologist, Nick Val Vleet - Fisheries Biologist

Number of Corpsmembers at Site: 2

Number of Years Site has Hosted WSP Corpsmembers: 18

Service Hours:

8-hour days: 94%

10-hour days: 4%  

>10%: 2%        

Housing Offered: No

Work Vehicle Provided: Yes

Corpsmember Time Spent in Field/Office:

In the field: 60%

In the office: 40%

Corpsmember Activities:

Post-Restoration Monitoring/Maintenance: 20%   

Invasive Plant Removal: 20%

Pre-restoration baseline monitoring: 10%

Seining: 10%

Commuting To/From Field Sites: 10%

Marijuana Grow Site Reclamation: 5%

Habitat Surveys: 5%    

GIS Mapping: 5%

Data Entry: 5%

Herpetofauna Surveys: 2%

Avifauna Surveys: 2%

Site Specific Volunteer Management: 2%

Site Specific Education & Outreach: 2%    

H2O Monitoring: 2%

Placement Site Objectives:

The Mission of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is to manage California's diverse fish, wildlife, and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and for their use and enjoyment by the public. At the Eureka Field Office Placement Site, Corpsmembers will be hosted by the Humboldt-Del Norte Coastal Conservation Team, which is part of CDFW's Habitat Conservation Program. The Coastal Conservation Team delivers CDFW's Mission through two main pathways: 1) Lead and partner on landscape conservation planning and implementation efforts including strategies to protect, restore, and enhance target species, key watersheds, priority habitats, and ecosystem processes; 2) Administer CDFW's authority in regulatory processes to ensure the conservation of fish, wildlife, and plant resources by developing avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures. Corpsmembers will primarily be involved with projects that fall under pathway number one above. The Coastal Conservation team is made up of a multidisciplinary group of scientists with expertise in fisheries biology, plant ecology, wildlife biology, and aquatic ecology. The team is currently involved in the implementation and planning of several large-scale restoration projects including estuary, coastal dune, riparian and upland forest, and bluff scrub habitats. The emphasis of this team is the protection and restoration of watershed ecological processes that support a variety of species and communities, including salmonids. In support of this goal, this Placement Site's organizational needs include additional entry level field focused technician support to increase team capacity in the field. Corpsmembers will be directly involved with restoration activities, such as the removal of invasive species and planting native plant communities. In addition, Corpsmembers will participate in pre-restoration baseline monitoring to help guide new restoration projects as well as post-restoration monitoring to determine restoration effectiveness. Monitoring includes fisheries and aquatic habitat monitoring, native plant community monitoring, and wildlife monitoring

Mentorship Style:

The mentorship style at the Eureka Field Office will be focused on the development of a collaborative, reciprocal relationship with Corpsmembers. Corpsmembers will be empowered to learn new technical skills through hands-on guidance in the field and be supported in their development of professional conduct skills. The foundation of the relationship will be based on understanding the Corpsmembers personal goals for their WSP experience and the requirements of the WSP program paired with clear expectations for the mentor-mentee relationship and work priorities of the Placement Site.

Unique Characteristics of Placement Site:

As noted earlier, the Coastal Conservation team is made up of a multidisciplinary group of scientists with expertise in fisheries biology, plant ecology, wildlife biology, and aquatic ecology. Corpsmembers placed at this site will experience a wide range of ecological concepts, restoration strategies, and monitoring methods to restore watershed ecological functions and processes that support salmonids and other listed fish through a variety of pathways. We work in close coordination with other CDFW Programs, such as the Fisheries and Lands & Wildlife Programs. Corpsmembers will have opportunities with work with these Programs, further diversifying their experience. In addition, we work with a wide range of outside partners, including other state agencies, federal agencies, local governments, California Native Tribes, nongovernmental organizations, private consulting companies, and private landowners. Therefore, Corpsmembers will get valuable experience seeing collaborations and partnerships at work. The Supervisor at the Eureka Field Office Placement Site has several years of previous experience mentoring Corpsmembers and one Field Lead is a previous Corpsmember (2008/09), thereby enhancing our understanding of WSP and Corpsmember needs.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Desired in Corpsmembers:

Enthusiastic about learning

Team oriented

Flexible

Have a strong desire to leave watersheds in a better condition than they found them

Field experience in biological or other natural sciences