Environmental Science Associates

Environmental professionals in Southern California—want to freshen up your understanding of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)? Southern California Regional Director Ruta K. Thomas will be instructing at the AEP 2024 CEQA Essentials Workshop on Friday, November 8 in downtown Los Angeles. The workshop will be hosted at ESA’s new LA office in the US Bank building from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. The course, which will benefit new to mid-level environmental professionals, will cover CEQA fundamentals, environmental review process pointers, and explore case studies. Find more details at https://lnkd.in/gBn26CKT

Archaeological Field Technician Maile Pahoa began her archaeology career four years ago with a specialty in the study of lithics—artifacts made of stone such as flakes, arrowheads, and tools. Based in Southern California, Maile has worked on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona, the Eastern Sierras/Mojave Desert, and the Sonoran Desert which Maile says is aptly named “the land of scrapers and choppers” because stone-flaked tools are abundant. One of the greatest finds she encountered was while surveying more than 55 acres of shoreline at a prehistoric lake. “At first, we were finding just a few scattered flakes and tested cobbles that were atypical of the area, but the density of artifacts quickly grew,” she says. “Ultimately, we recorded multiple hearths, thousands of flakes, hundreds of stone tools, including manos, scrapers, choppers, and a sandstone hand saw.” As a member of ESA’s archaeology team, Maile says she values the opportunity to work on different environments and time periods with fellow archaeologists who specialize in a variety of fields, and the chance to interact with the public. “I enjoy when non-archaeologists ask questions about the cultural resources on any given project because I believe that when given the opportunity, most people have more appreciation and care when they have the opportunity to learn about what resources we’re trying to preserve.” Take a look at some of the lithic artifacts she has recovered throughout her career, including a small poison bottle; Carter’s Master Ink stoneware bottle; scissors; rock art; and a brownware sherd with incising on the rim.

ESA was an enthusiastic sponsor and participant at the 2024 Future Green Leaders Summit last week! This annual event is hosted by the Southern California Regional Energy Network and with the sole purpose of exposing 12-to-14-year-old students from underrepresented communities in Southern California to green career pathways. Our booth was a hit, with students coming by to learn more about careers in environmental science with interactive experiments and artifacts to share. Having snacks and ESA gifts didn’t hurt, either. 😉 Looking at the photos, it’s hard to determine who was having more fun - the students, or our ESA team of volunteers Ruta K. Thomas, Ana Rodriguez Lomeli, MCP, Claudia Camacho-Trejo, and Michelle Gonzalez. Thank you @SoCalREN for this wonderful event and opportunity to inspire the future generation of professionals in STEAM careers! #futuregreenleaders

You never know what might leave an impression on you. When archaeologist Brian Durkin was a child, he visited his grandfather in Switzerland and fondly remembers exploring the ruins of 12th and 13th century Swiss castles. It wasn’t until years later—long after he became an archaeologist—when he learned that these visits were part of his grandfather’s work excavating castle ruins and the foundation he established to protect these sites. “It’s only now that I understand that visiting those ruins as a kid had a big impact on me as I distinctly remember them,” Brian shares. For the past 15 years, Brian has been working as an archaeologist based in Seattle, specializing in the policies and laws that protect cultural resources, and analyzing how these laws protect and strengthen our connection to the past. His other lesser-known talent? “I would also say I specialize in digging round holes, of which I’ve dug thousands of!” Pictured: Brian demonstrating his skills on-site and the castles at Alt-Wartburg and Neu-Wartburg.

🎉 We are thrilled to announce the addition of four exceptional experts to our Northwest team! Please join us in welcoming Maya Hunnewell, Chad McKinney, Vanessa Rogers, and Colin Worsley. These talented individuals will enhance our scientific and regulatory expertise, strengthen our client partnerships, and drive strategic business development. Maya Hunnewell joins ESA as Northwest Environmental Planning Business Group Director, bringing 20+ years of experience in environmental analysis and compliance for large-scale transit and transportation projects. Chad McKinney, PE, CFM is a Senior River Engineer with 16+ years of expertise in hydraulic/hydrologic analysis and design, with an impressive resume of work on complex river restoration projects. Vanessa Rogers joins us as Regional Business Development Leader with 15+ years of experience in NEPA compliance, environmental policy, and strategic planning across various sectors. Colin Worsley is a Principal Wetland Ecologist with 20+ years of experience in wetland delineation, classification, and management, as well as project management and environmental lead roles. We are excited about the future and the new opportunities they bring to ESA! Read more at: Exciting Growth in the Northwest: https://lnkd.in/gVsfUtej

As Senior Archaeologist Emily Scott experienced early in her career, being an archaeologist involves working in all kinds of weather and diverse and challenging site locations. She has dealt with rain, horse flies, and sweater-stealing foxes while camping in Alaska, and scorching temperatures, rattlesnakes, and scorpions during a cave excavation in Idaho. In the Pacific Northwest, where she has spent much of her career, she says, “my enthusiasm and joy at playing in the dirt is now matched by a series of blackberry scars, weird bruises, and even weirder stories,” she says. An archaeologist for more than 17 years, Emily has worked in precontact and historic sites, ranging from large village sites on river terraces, historic prohibition-era dump sites, and Japanese lumber mill work camps along the Salish Sea. One of the biggest influences which inspired this love for adventure was her grandfather, a World War II parachuter who lost the use of his legs after contracting polio, and led his children on trips to explore the history of the Columbia River, Washington’s Ape Cave, and Mt. Rainier. “He created a library in his home that traveled the world and through time,” recalls Emily. “I grew up surrounded by books on dinosaurs, pyramids, castles, mummies, stonehenges, geology, gems…Honestly, when I was a much smaller version of myself I wanted to be a dinosaur. Alas, that life plan was quickly shown to be impossible, and so I settled on playing in the dirt.”

🍁🍂 Fall into fun-filled celebrations! Employee-owners and their families from our Northern California offices had a wonderful time coming together at our Fall Picnic in Walnut Creek. It was a great day filled with lively games of cornhole, delicious BBQ, a scavenger hunt, pumpkin decorating, and lots of games and activities for the kids—the design-your-own tote bag was definitely a crowd favorite! It was so great to see everyone and their loved ones. A heartfelt thanks to all who made it such a special and delightfully engaging event! #GoodTimes #ESACulture

From a young age, Eleni Carwin knew she wanted to be an archaeologist when she used to bury and hide her toys in her backyard as a kid “so I could discover them later.”  Later in high school, she applied this enduring interest and curiosity and volunteered with the Presidio Trust to help wet screen materials and process artifacts, and says she never looked back. As an archaeological field technician, Eleni spends a great amount of her time working with fellow crew members and tribal monitors across California on project sites conducting archaeological testing and surveys, construction monitoring, recovering data of known resources, reporting, and artifact processing. She particularly loves working on long forest surveys, such as Claremont Resiliency Project in the Plumas National Forest, where the team walked through more than 12,000 acres and recovered over 50 resources and 100 isolates (surface artifacts separate from other archaeological remains) dating back to the California Gold Rush and prehistoric era. “I love the variety in the type of projects I work on and parts of the state I get to experience,” she says. “There is always something new and exciting to learn or discover. I relish working outdoors and feel lucky that most of my time is spent on site experiencing all this field has to offer.” #ArchaeologyMonth #Archaeologist #CulturalResources #Artifacts #ArchaeologicalSurvey

It’s been a persistent and concerning health and environmental issue in the Sacramento-San Joaquin for decades. Recurring cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs), often activated by increased drought, temperatures, and decreases in freshwater flows—produce toxins which can be harmful to human health and wildlife, impact water quality and disrupt aquatic ecosystems—and these effects are only expected become more frequent and severe with climate change. To confront these increasing concerns, the Delta Stewardship Council, in coordination with the California Department of Water Resources, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and ESA, developed a comprehensive monitoring strategy. The strategy, co-authored by Senior Principal Environmental Scientist Gry Mine Berg, was released this week, after more than two years of collaboration with federal, state, local governments, Tribal governments, community organizations, and nonprofits. It details a comprehensive, community-centered monitoring framework to address CHABs in the Delta—outlining regional management strategies, data collection and data-sharing requirements, and mitigation techniques to implement over the next three-to-five years. Learn more about the proposed methods to address cyanobacterial bloom risks in the Delta, and find the full strategy at the following link: https://lnkd.in/gZkpC3Gy 📷's: algal bloom pic by Josh Baar / California Department of Water Resources, map of frequency of occurrence of Microcystis Visual Index levels for summer season, diagram of the phased approached to HAB monitoring. #AlgalBlooms #Cyanobacteria #WaterQuality #Algae #CaliforniaDelta #WaterManagement #EnvironmentalMonitoring

👷 When you’re an archaeologist, every day can look a little different. One day you could be excavating precontact artifacts. The next, finding traces of mining operations dating back to the Gold Rush ⛏️ or processing historic prohibition-era objects in the laboratory. 🔬 In celebration of Archaeology Month this October, we reached out to ESA’s archaeologists to tell us how they got started in this fascinating profession and recount some of their most memorable finds. Starting us off is Caleb Riley. Based in Sacramento, Caleb has been working as an archaeologist for more than four years and is currently pursuing a master’s in science in cultural heritage and resource management at Sonoma State University. His interest in archaeology stemmed from its combination of cultural and scientific study. He’s a bio archaeologist by training, “meaning I focus on the biological side of archaeology which stems in osteological (bone) identification and analysis.” Check out some photos of Caleb in his element on site, and stay tuned as we introduce more members of the team, which we’ll be sharing over the next few days. #ArchaeologyMonth #Archaeologist #Archaeology #CulturalResources #MeetAnArchaeologist #History