California Ecological Analytics

Robert K. Burton, PhD

MaTTHEW J. FORREST, PhD

Kristy is a wildlife and restoration ecologist with over 15 years of experience working with wildlife ranging from the California legless lizard to the giant kangaroo rat and southwestern willow flycatcher;  within habitats extending from coastal dunes to desert riparian corridors. Kristy’s passion for wildlife ecology originated right from the dirt itself, which she came to understand through her academic origins as a geologist. Her understanding of soil was the foundation of her understanding vegetation and its structure and from that stemmed an expertise in ecological restoration. Kristy’s interest in wildlife followed in the steps of her work as a restoration ecologist just as the birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals followed in succession among the native plant communities that she had successfully worked to heal.

Most recently, Kristy played a critical role in the construction of the 1700-acre California Valley Solar Ranch on the northern Carrizo Plain where she oversaw all aspects of the construction, maintenance, and monitoring of over 200 artificial burrows and enclosures used to relocate endangered giant kangaroo rats from impact areas within the project site to conservation lands; which is one of the most successful kangaroo rat relocations ever accomplished.

Matt is an ecologist and water chemist who specializes in biogeochemical studies. His work spans the marine and terrestrial realms, as he seeks to understand the complex interactions between ecology, geology and water chemistry. His strong background in multivariate statistical analyses and fluid geochemistry makes him uniquely qualified to elucidate the influences of habitat parameters on target species within aquatic environments. Matt earned his PhD at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his Masters in Marine Sciences from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. His thesis and dissertation research at these institutions involved ecological, geochemical, and geological aspects of hydrothermal systems. Matt also has a Bachelors degree in Marine Biology from UC Santa Cruz, and a Bachelors from UCLA in English Literature, so he is extremely comfortable and adept at research, writing and editing.

Her work on this project involved constant attention to the relocation areas, to the response of relocated giant kangaroo rats, and continuous fine tuning of many novel techniques that significantly enhanced the survivorship of relocated individuals. In addition, Kristy oversaw the installation of numerous artificial natal dens and escape dens for San Joaquin kit fox as well as numerous burrowing owl nest boxes. All of this also involved the practical challenges of overseeing a large crew of union craftsmen and heavy equipment operating within very close proximity of areas occupied by several endangered, threatened, and special-status species.

The California Valley Solar Ranch project also involved the preservation of over 12,000 acres of conservation lands and Kristy played a central role in characterizing the wildlife throughout this large area. This involved full coverage surveys resulting in the identification and mapping of over 35,000 giant kangaroo rat burrow precincts, countless detections of San Joaquin kit fox, American badgers, San Joaquin antelope squirrels, and blunt-nosed leopard lizards. Kristy has conducted well over 100 hours of spotlight surveys, along with camera station surveys, protocol blunt-nosed leopard lizard surveys, and giant kangaroo rat trapping surveys. In addition to an in depth understanding of the ecology of these species and landscapes, one of the most important skills that Kristy brings to the table is her ability to coordinate large and complex projects with ease and her ability to just get the job done, and get it done right, period.

Rob is a wildlife ecologist with over 25 years of experience working with a broad range of species including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fish. The one common element is that Rob seems to gravitate to the most difficult issues, the ones where a solution desperately needs to be found and yet there just seem to be no answers. He has a track record to prove it too. He started and developed a management program at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area that now protects and supports one of the most successful colonies of California Least Terns and Western Snowy Plovers in the State of California; all while maintaining the recreational opportunities at one of the most popular California State Parks. For his dissertation he demonstrated that the ecology of the widely studied arctic breeding northern fur seal was actually the ecology of a marginalized species that 2,000 years ago bred all along the California coast but was hunted to regional extinction 1,000 years ago.  

Matt has a strong track record of designing and executing experiments and monitoring efforts in extremely challenging environments. He has successfully organized and led teams of researchers from many disciplines and backgrounds for sampling endeavors in diverse settings, and has written proposals and reports covering a myriad of topics. Matt has developed models for pollutant and water transport processes, managed large datasets and performed complex multivariate statistical analyses of water chemistry and biota. He also has extensive experience with amphibian population sampling, habitat assessments, and testing for diseases and pathogens. He has training and certification in handling and sampling California red-legged frogs, Chiricahua leopard frogs, and other listed and vulnerable amphibian species in the western United States. Additionally, he has experience in removal of non-native vegetation, fish, invertebrates and amphibians—particularly American bullfrogs. Matt’s work on vulnerable frog and toad populations in Nevada and Arizona has contributed to management and sampling strategies to help protect native species from the amphibian chytrid fungus, which can cause chytridiomycosis--an infectious disease that has resulted in amphibian species declines and extinctions worldwide.

Invariably issues arise during field monitoring and research, and Matt has a history of resolving problems quickly and effectively, often salvaging projects that others had simply given up on. He has also demonstrated the ability to accurately and concisely communicate results to other scientists, policy-makers and the general public. He has authored or coauthored over 10 publications concerning a myriad of complex scientific topics and has presented several talks and posters at numerous universities and conferences. He has written agency reports for USGS and for the California Fish and Game Invasive Species Survey. He has also produced press releases, articles and web content discussing the results of scientific work geared toward diverse audiences. Matt has extensive experience in California fauna and flora, and is familiar with local, state, and federal regulations and guidance, having worked on projects involving pollution, contamination and invasive species. He has also developed an extensive network and maintains strong connections with prominent scientists throughout California, as well as with and state and federal governmental agencies, officials, and researchers in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Mexico.

More recently, Rob played a pivitol role in the development and construction of the large-scale California Valley Solar Ranch on the Carrizo Plain in Central California, a project that concerned virtually every national and local environmental group focused on endangered wildlife. For that project Rob delivered detailed scientific analyses of the distributions of endangered and other special-status wildlife species and worked extensively with project engineers to develop a highly successful redesign of this 250-megawatt photovoltaic solar power plant that ultimately enabled the proponent to successfully permit the project. Still there were many who thought what was proposed was infeasible and few really believed this project could be built without severally impacting a number of sensitive species. Rob played a critical role during the construction phase of this facility and managed every detail of the relocation of 221 giant kangaroo rats pioneering new techniques that significantly enhanced their survival. Rob also tirelessly ensured that giant kangaroo rats, San Joaquin kit fox, American badgers, and San Joaquin antelope squirrels that were avoided during the design phase were not impacted during the construction phase; even though the animals occurred immediately adjacent to areas where large-scale construction activities took place.

Rob has worked throughout California and the southwest including everything from his role as Chief Scientist monitoring marine mammals 80 miles offshore in the presence of a 600-foot cable ship, to conducting live-trapping surveys of giant kangaroo rats on the southern Carrizo Plain. He is skilled in the identification of mammals from the most subtle sign, he has documented tens of thousands of birds from the beach to the deserts. He has published papers on reptiles and amphibians and is skilled at their identification and knowledgeable of their ecology. Most of all Rob seems to have this uncanny ability to find solutions to problems that many people simply see as unsolvable and he does this through rigorous science and in the end the data always prevails, the projects get done, and the wildlife thrives.