David H. Levinson, PhD

National Stream & Aquatic Ecology Center Program Leader

Email: david.levinson@usda.gov

Mobile Ph: (970) 296-5876

 

ResearchGate

Summary

 

Dr. David Levinson (Dave) has worked as a Physical Scientist and Meteorologist for the USDA (Forest Service; Agricultural Research Service), US Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management), and the US Department of Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in a variety of different scientific and program management positions.

 

Dave currently serves as a National Program Lead with the US Forest Service Washington Office, where he manages the program and staff at the National Stream and Aquatic Ecology Center, the Washington Office’s technical watershed unit headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado. In this position he oversees a staff of ten scientists that provide expertise, technical support and trainings to Forest Service field unit staff. He also oversees the Center’s development of new tools and science applications for improving the management and conservation of watersheds, streams, and riparian and aquatic ecosystems on National Forests and Grasslands.

Professional Expertise

 

• Climate Change impacts to storm events, precipitation, streamflow, and water resources
• Meteorology and climatology of mountainous environments
• Development and implementation of climate datasets and tools for natural resource applications

David M. Merritt, M.S., PhD

Riparian Ecologist

Email: david.m.merritt@usda.gov

Phone: (970) 631-2477

 

ResearchGate

Google Scholar

Summary

 

David Merritt is the riparian plant ecologist with the US Forest Service Washington Office Biological and Physical Resources Staff. The focus of his work is to understand the role of streamflow regimes in structuring riparian plant communities, maintaining habitat diversity, and supporting the beneficial functions of riparian ecosystems.  Management, conservation and maintaining, prescribing and restoring instream flow are among the subjects of his work.  David has published more than 50 peer reviewed articles, technical reports, and book chapters on riparian plant ecology, river restoration and environmental flows.

Professional Expertise

 

• Riparian ecology
• Plant-hydrology-geomorphology relations
• Environmental flows

Erica Borum, PE, PH

Project Engineer

Email: erica.borum@usda.gov

Phone: (970) 945-3277

Summary

 

Erica Borum works on building technical capacity at road-stream crossings using the Forest Service’s Stream Simulation Design methodology. Gaining experience as the Transportation & Development Engineer for the Rocky Mountain Region, and as a Civil Engineer on White River National Forest in western Colorado, Erica’s focus is infrastructure resilience and aquatic connectivity. She loves the idea of spreading knowledge and has travel to Ukraine and Nepal assisting with a Low Volume Roads training course with International Programs.

Professional Expertise

 

• Design
• Construction
• Project Management

Matt Fairchild, M.S.

Fish Biologist / Aquatic Ecologist

Email: matthew.fairchild@usda.gov

Phone: (970) 295-5644

 

LinkedIn

ORCiD

Stream Tracker

Summary

 

Matt Fairchild is a fish biologist and aquatic ecologist, who has worked on fisheries conservation and aquatic habitat management on public lands since 2002. The focus of his work involves conserving aquatic species at broad scales resilient to the pervasive effect of climate change, developing genetic tools for aquatic conservation, reconstructing resilient transportation infrastructure that benefit aquatic species, and building capacity through citizen science. Matt received his B.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Science at the University of Tennessee and M.S. in Aquatic Ecology at The Ohio State University. He seeks evidence-based solutions to conservation challenges for native aquatic species on public lands and is eager to advance the reach and impact of NSAEC on the aquatic fauna managed throughout the National Forest System.

Professional Expertise

 

• Aquatic ecology
• Aquatic species conservation
• Fish movement and aquatic organism passage

Robert Gubernick

Engineering Geologist

Email: robert.gubernick@usda.gov

Phone: (218) 491-4476

 

LinkedIn

ResearchGate

Summary

 

Bob Gubernick is an Engineering Geologist with 40 years of field experience working for USDA Forest Service and private consulting. Bob serves as the Watershed Restoration Geologist providing national technical support to NFS, state and federal agencies and NGO partners. He is the National AOP team leader. His work focuses on Aquatic Organism Passage and watershed restoration. Support is on AOP and complex restoration, and dam removal project.

Bob is a principal author on the USFS stream simulation methodologies and teaches classes in AOP design classes (assessment, design, and construction), fish passage assessment, and large wood restoration. He has 15 peer reviewed publication on AOP design and assessment, LIDAR applications, fish movement, and geomorphic problems. He is a national instructor for AOP assessment and design, and large wood restoration classes. Bob has received numerous awards for his innovative work throughout his career, most notably, Career achievement award for distinguished service in fish passage from the international conference of River Connectivity 2014, Rise to the Future Award for Friends of the Fish/Watershed from the USFS 2023, and National Engineer of the Year (engineering application division) USFS 2004

Professional Expertise

 

• Geomorphic & Hydrologic Assessment
• AOP, Large wood and watershed restoration assessment, design, and construction
• Hydraulic Modeling

Heidi Klingel, M.S.

Hydrologic Technician

Email: heidi.klingel@usda.gov

Phone: (530) 924-3240 (cell)

Summary

 

Heidi Klingel has spent her career working in streams across public lands since 2005.  As an Americorps intern, a graduate student researcher (RMRS), Geologist (Six Rivers National Forest- R5), and Hydrologist (Enterprise Program- WO), Heidi has focused on physical processes as they affect aquatic habitats. Heidi holds a B.S. in earth science from the University of CA, Santa Cruz and an M.S. in geoscience from Colorado State University. She is motivated in her career by a strong belief in public lands and a fascination with nature.

Professional Expertise

 

• Fluvial Geomorphology
• Hydrology and Environmental Flows
• Geospatial Analyses

Joel Murray

Spatial Hydrologist, MSc, CMS, GISP, PH

Email: joel.murray@usda.gov

Phone: (720) 418-0744

 

LinkedIn

Summary

 

Joel was born and raised in Northeast Pennsylvania and attended Penn State University for a BSc in Earth Sciences. He also holds a MSc in Environmental Science from the University of Idaho and MNRS in Natural Resources Stewardship (Watershed Science) from Colorado State University. Joel has spent his professional career working in GIS and hydrology and has a keen interest in how GIScience can be used to promote the effective management and conservation of watersheds, streams and riparian ecosystems.

Professional Expertise

 

• Geographic Information Science
• Hydrology
• Environmental Science

Mark Weinhold

Hydrologist

Email: mark.weinhold@usda.gov

Phone: (970) 948-4906

 

LinkedIn

TFRain.org (Terra Firma Rainwater Collective)

Summary

 

Mark has spent most of his career working at the Forest and District level of the agency, developing a clear understanding of the needs of those managing water resources on the ground. He has focused much of his effort evaluating the effects of management actions on aquatic resources, including the interaction of water resources with built infrastructure. He is a co-developer of the agency’s methodology for designing, building, and monitoring aquatic organism passage and flood resilience structures at road-stream crossings.

 

In addition to providing national-level technical assistance on all things water related, he has also worked extensively on water resource issues in Asia and Central Africa. In his spare time, Mark also founded and serves as President of Terra Firma Rainwater Collective, a nonprofit working on water supply and urban erosion issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo.

Professional Expertise

 

• Watershed-scale aquatic and geomorphic assessments
• Hydraulic modeling
• Hydrologic analyses and flood prediction

Steven Yochum, PhD, PE

Hydrologist

Email: steven.yochum@usda.gov

Phone: (970) 413-0489

 

ResearchGate

LinkedIn

Summary

 

Steven is a hydrologist and professional engineer who has consulted on stream-related issues across the United States since 1993. He has worked as a practitioner and researcher for the Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and private consulting. Steven was granted a doctorate in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University in 2010.

Professional Expertise

 

• Flood Hydrology
• Stream mechanics & restoration, and fluvial geomorphology
• Hydrologic modeling