Introduction

Hello, all!

For any who don't know, I'm Pablo. I have a Bachelors in Applied Ecology from UC Irvine, and a Graduate Certificate in Fisheries Management from Oregon State University. I have worked for consulting firms and governmental agencies, as an ecologist and a hazardous waste technician, in California and in Oregon. I am a husband to one brilliant woman, father of two wacky kids, and housemate to many interesting people.

I don't know if this site will be anything more than a diary of sorts, or if, you know, people will actually read what I put up here, but I'm writing because I feel like it. I know there's no shortage of environmentalist blogs out there, and no shortage of outdoorsy blogs, and there is far better science writing out there than I could ever hope to match, but I think I may have something worthwhile to contribute to each of those sub-genres. I expect to occasionally use this space to record random thoughts that occur to me in the course of my work and my outdoor excursions, and occasionally to write about scientific publications that catch my eye. If I'm lucky, I may actually get to interview a few people about their work.

I am currently working for the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission on the Columbia Habitat Monitoring Program (happily known as CHaMP), which seeks to implement a standardized monitoring protocol across 26 watersheds of the Columbia River Basin in order to evaluate the quantity and quality of tributary fish habitat available to salmonids across the Columbia River basin, not to mention changes over time. It goes without saying that this is an incredibly cool project with long-term implications, and I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of it. Here's a little video the CHaMP folks put together:


My whole upcoming summer is gonna be wading in gorgeous streams in eastern Oregon, measuring every possible parameter of fish habitat, and hanging out with my crew. After that, I get to spend another season and a half post-processing all that data. I hope to coherently explain the how and why of some of what I do, the hands-on aspect of it, and the bigger picture of the effort. I may even talk a little about my time at the field house with coworkers, tell you a bit about their interests and pursuits.

This space will be under construction as things change and grow, so come back often. The more visits I get, the more I'll be encouraged, tempted, cajoled, enticed to write. Please do let me know what you think as things progress.