ECOFISH RESEARCH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Leader
- President / Fisheries Biologist
Adam founded Ecofish with a vision of delivering effective, scientifically defensible environmental services to clients in government and industry. Seeing the need to build and operate more environmentally sustainable projects, he began with the hydroelectric sector, helping this industry fulfill the promise of clean energy in the province of BC by developing guidelines and innovative investigative techniques. Using his 30 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry, beginning as a fisheries technician on the remote rivers of BC, to his current role as president of an international team, Adam helps clients build and operate better projects.
Adam is a leader in the hydroelectric sector in BC. In a worldwide survey on behalf of the Canadian Electrical Association, he published an assessment of the effectiveness of flow releases from hydroelectric projects. He led a BC Hydro effort to evaluate the instream flow issue across its entire 12,000 MW system and he developed the guidelines on instream flow assessment in BC. Working with Ecofish partner Todd Hatfield, Adam created the standard approach to flow setting, assessment, and monitoring for the province that has gained international recognition. These guidelines have been applied to dozens of new hydroelectric facilities in BC to avoid impacts to fish habitat. A decade of monitoring has confirmed their effectiveness.
More recently, Adam led the development of the national protocols for monitoring the effects of hydroelectric projects on aquatic habitats on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This now serves as the national protocol for monitoring the effects of new and upgraded hydroelectric projects. He currently consults on fish passage and flow management, providing strategic, assessment, and expert advice for major utilities such as BC Hydro, Brookfield Renewable Energy, and Innergex Renewable Energy, as well as on projects in Peru, Brazil, and China.
Job Titles:
- Fisheries Scientist / Project Manager
Andrew has 16 years of experience as a researcher and consultant. His expertise in fish ecology and aquatic ecosystem health has taken him all over the world-from the tropics to the Arctic Circle-to work on stream, wetland, and lake ecosystems. He has international experience in the hydropower, mining, and oil and gas sectors in environmental impact assessment, baseline, compliance, operational monitoring, and designing fish habitat restoration projects.
In addition, Andrew has contributed to a number of impact assessments evaluating the consequences of water withdrawal, and has published in the primary science literature on fish ecology. He was also lead author in developing long-term monitoring guidelines for new and upgraded hydropower projects for Fisheries and Oceans Canada published in 2013. Most recently, he led two projects with the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to evaluate how jurisdictions around the world approach the determination and setting of environmental flows.
Job Titles:
- Project Analyst and Risk Assessment Manager
Job Titles:
- Hydrologist / Water Resources Engineer
David has eight years of experience in a broad range of physical aquatic habitat disciplines including geomorphology, stream temperature modelling, hydraulics, and hydrology. David has combined these disciplines to complete multiple aquatic effects assessments for proposed run-of-river hydroelectric projects. His career focus has been on aquatic habitat protection through the protection and enhancement of natural fluvial processes. He has experience in multiple project stages, including historical and field data collection, analysis and interpretation, modelling, conceptual and detailed design, report preparation, agency permitting, and construction supervision. David's experience in the field and modelling allow him to characterize natural processes in a form that allows effective management decisions.
David recently completed a Master of Science in Hydrology at UBC, where his thesis project involved developing a deterministic stream temperature model to assess the warming mitigation potential of management interventions. Since joining Ecofish in 2014, his projects have involved modelling of geomorphology and stream temperature in support of proposed run-of-river hydroelectric projects, hydrometric monitoring, hydrological modelling, habitat restoration designs to offset project impacts, and advancement of UAV based hydraulic modelling.
Job Titles:
- Wildlife Biologist / Project Director
Job Titles:
- Manager of Field Services
Jason holds a bachelor's degree in Geography from the University of British Columbia and is an accredited Project Management Professional. His academic training focused on the interplay of space and time on our physical and cultural environments; big picture critical thinking. He began work in the environmental industry with Cascade Environmental as a field technician in 2011 after a short career in the outdoor industry, and started with Ecofish in 2013. He has extensive and broad field experience in fisheries, hydrology, wildlife, and water quality sampling, with a specialization in field planning, safety, and logistics. Jason now specializes in project management, and serves Ecofish as the Manager of our Field Services Department. He delivers complex environmental support to Ecofish's clients by utilizing his interdisciplinary knowledge and experience to leverage the expertise of his skilled team mates.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager, Fisheries Biologist
Job Titles:
- Senior Analyst, Instream Flow Scientist
Katie has over a decade of experience as a senior analyst and modeller with Ecofish. She has extensive experience in programming applications for habitat assessment, including instream flow modelling, and has developed a number of tools to evaluate instream flow needs for streams. Her years of experience supporting instream flow permitting for run-of-river hydroelectric projects in BC has seen her conduct instream flow physical habitat modelling for numerous streams. This includes completing instream flow effects assessments that comply with provincial guidelines, supporting proponents in addressing regulatory concerns related to stream flow and flow ramping, and providing third-party technical reviews of instream flow work.
Extending existing instream flow methodologies from simple quantification of physical fish habitat, Katie has developed methods to assess the effects of flow on incubation, stranding likelihood, and migration patterns, and has programmed custom analytic tools to facilitate these analyses. She is the lead developer of an individually based GIS model application to simulate fish movement in the Madeira River in Brazil, and led the development of a desktop application for assessing winter flow needs in BC for the Ministry of Environment.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Manager With More Than 10 Years of HR
- Manager of Human Resources
Megan Lawrence is a Human Resources Manager with more than 10 years of HR experience in various industries and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English from the University of Victoria and a Certificate in Human Resource Management from SFU.
In her role, Megan is responsible for leading the HR team, aligning human resources functions and efforts with broader strategic objectives, resulting in a value-added relationship with business units. She has extensive experience in recruitment, policy development, training and development, leadership improvement and team dynamics, and combines innovative thinking, and strong interpersonal skills with a commitment to achieving corporate goals and supporting employees.
With strong analysis and research experience, as well as HRIS knowledge and change management skills, Megan plays an integral role in balancing business and employee needs, creating strategic human resource plans, as well as creating employee focused and culture driven initiatives for employee engagement and satisfaction.
Job Titles:
- Senior Environmental Scientist
Job Titles:
- Manager of Science Practices
Job Titles:
- Project Director, Environmental Assessment and Permitting
Job Titles:
- Fisheries Biologist / Project Manager
Seana began her career as a field biologist, working in the remote coastal waters of the Pacific Coast of North America and as far away as Western Australia. Her experiences in these ecosystems led her to her passion for applied biology: science that makes a measurable difference in the world. She relishes the opportunity to partner with industry and other stakeholders to develop and implement practical mitigations that reduce the impact of human activity on aquatic environments.
She brings a depth of knowledge in fish physiology, marine and freshwater ecology, and study design to her role as a fisheries biologist. Seana has over 10 years of experience in fisheries research and assessment in BC, working closely with First Nations communities, government regulators, and industry to support sustainable resource development. She has expertise in the various effects of water withdrawal on aquatic ecosystems, including habitat alteration, impacts on water temperature and water quality, rate of stage change, and the potential for fish entrainment.
Seana has authored multiple baseline reports, effects assessments (EA), entrainment risk assessments, and long term monitoring reports for hydropower projects in BC and the Northwest Territories. She is fully acquainted with the regulatory process for project authorization and approval, including the various Provincial and Federal guidelines and legislation that apply to water use in BC for various sectors. She is also experienced in supporting clients through all phases of project development and operation including early reconnaissance surveys and recommendations regarding planning and design, facilitation of a successful EA or Development Plan process, permitting, and long-term monitoring.
Steve has a B.Sc. in biology from the University of Victoria, and over 12 years of experience in fisheries monitoring and management in British Columbia. Steve joined Ecofish in 2010 and has had a key role in ramping monitoring at various hydroelectric projects with Ecofish including Upper Lillooet, North, Creek, Boulder Creek, Tzoonie River, Chickwat and Forrest Kerr. Steve has extensive experience in field data collection, and has lead hundreds of stranding searches on multiple streams. Steve also has extensive experience in assessment and interpretation of ramping events based on hydrometric data, including evaluation of alternative ramping rules and determination of stranding risk. Specifically, Steve assisted in the development of the Ramping Management Monitoring Plan for AltaGas's Forrest Kerr Hydroelectric Project, was responsible for the implementation of this Plan, and engaged with the proponent and Regulatory Agencies to discuss ramping test results and update the compliance criteria for the AltaGas.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Senior Ecologist