Carl Thelander
President/CEO
Senior Ecologist
Mr. Thelander has over 35 years of experience with natural resource consulting on interdisciplinary projects. His technical specialties include wildlife ecology, natural resources management, endangered species conservation, and ornithology. He is recognized as an expert on wildlife interactions with energy related facilities, including large-scale wind/solar/hydroelectric energy developments, transmission and distribution lines, pipelines, and other large infrastructure.
Priscilla Watson-Wynn
Biological Technician
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Priscila Watson-Wynn is a graduate of California State University- East Bay, Hayward, CA with a Bachelor of Science: Biological Sciences: Ecology and Conservation. She has Performed California Spotted Owl and Northern Goshawk nest and reproductive success surveys in various project areas. She has assisted in outdoor education programs working with kids to inspire appropriate care of our forest and natural resources. She has created and led interpretive programming for all ages of the public covering the natural and cultural resources.
Priscila Watson-Wynn is a graduate of California State University- East Bay, Hayward, CA with a Bachelor of Science: Biological Sciences: Ecology and Conservation. She has Performed California Spotted Owl and Northern Goshawk nest and reproductive success surveys in various project areas. She has assisted in outdoor education programs working with kids to inspire appropriate care of our forest and natural resources. She has created and led interpretive programming for all ages of the public covering the natural and cultural resources.
Travis Byler
Staff Biologist
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Mr. Byler is a Wildlife Biologist residing in Bakersfield, CA, who has several years experience working with Endangered & Special Status Species in California and Nevada. This includes radio tracking, translocating, health assessment (under assistance), surveying and monitoring for Desert Tortoise. His experience extends into work with Mojave Ground Squirrel, Burrowing Owl, Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard, Nesting birds, Woodpeckers and other species in the Central Valley, Sierras, Mojave Desert and Southern Nevada.
Rachel Lanphear
Biological Technician
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Rachel has previously served as a biological Technician in the Jarbridge, ID office of the BLM performing a variety of duties. She is currently supporting the Cedar City, UT BLM field office working closely with team members on a variety of habitat and wildlife related tasks. She is working closely with the efforts to support issues related to prairie dogs and the management challenges that they pose to the regional field office.
Russel Kokx
Senior Biologist
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Russel Kokx is an agency approved biologist who has implemented and performed surveys for many listed species including: blunt-nosed leopard lizards, San Joaquin kit fox, Tipton and giant kangaroo rats. He has conducted avian point counts, desert tortoise, and desert kit fox surveys and performed biological assessment and inventory with an emphasis on special status species surveys, especially desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, burrow deer, and American badger and special status plant species. Additionally, he has performed wetland delineations at riparian and stream crossings, vernal pools and swales, he has directed transect surveys for all listed species including: red-legged frogs, tiger salamanders, and fairy shrimp and collected and identified Vernal Pool Target Species.
Mike Yates
Biologist/Project Manager
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Mr. Yates has conducted studies in various U.S. states, Canada, Greenland, and Russia. Species involved have included the peregrine falcon, gyrfalcon, golden eagle, ferruginous hawk, Swainson’s hawk, and various other hawk and falcon species, greater sage-grouse, common loon, American white pelican, brown pelican, white-faced ibis, and desert bighorn sheep. He has served as Principal Investigator or Co-investigator in many of these studies, and authored or co-authored many peer-reviewed publications.
Leison Bernstein
Staff Biologist
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Mr. Bernstein is a Staff Biologist with experience conducting field surveys and construction monitoring activities involving endangered, threatened, and sensitive animal species. He is an active team member working with a variety of disciplines. He has diverse experience ranging from working with motion detector cameras performing habitat quality assessments, to water quality and storm water sampling for lab analysis and annual reporting.
Seth Sutherland
GeoSpatial Applications Director
GIS Specialist
Mr. Sutherland has extensive knowledge and experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including ESRI’s ArcGIS suites and extensions, as well as mobile data collection technologies and reporting applications. He is a GIS program leader and senior consultant responsible for ensuring timely, organized, predictable delivery of multiple, overlapping projects. He is expert at deriving spatial information from widely varied resource material.
Matt Schaap
Senior Biologist
Mr. Schaap has over 13 years of professional consulting experience as a natural resource planner and a field biologist. HIs skills include ecological surveys, GIS mapping, soil sampling, water quality monitoring, and wildlife surveys. Through his work, he has made connections with local, state, and federal agencies. Additionally, Mr. Schaap has conducted many species focused biological studies on a wide array of California flora and fauna using his state scientific collecting permit and his federal recovery permit.
Chris Polinski
Staff Biologist
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Chris Polinski is a wildlife biologist and rangeland specialist with experience working with various biological resources throughout the United States. He has experience conducting special status wildlife surveys, vegetation surveys, vegetation mapping, native fish surveys, nesting bird surveys, and mitigation monitoring. He holds a bachelor’s degrees in conservation and restoration ecology from Utah State University where he studied forest plant ecology, wildland plants and ecosystems, vegetation and habitat management, plant and animal populations, conservation biology, soil science, restoration ecology, mammalogy, fish habitats, and aquatic ecosystem restorations. He has experience conducting general and focused wildlife surveys and plants surveys in southern California.
R. Chance Davis
Biological Technician
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Chance Davis has experience with assessment of habitat, utilization, monitoring, and management as well as experience using radio telemetry to locate mule deer in rugged terrain, and catching fawn mule deer to collect data and attaching radio collars on Monroe mountain. He has worked alongside biologists implementing habitat restoration and improvement projects on state owned land and with cooperative federal agencies to improve habitat on federal lands including working with the UDWR employees in a classroom setting,
Thomas Jackson
Staff Biologist
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Mr. Jackson is a Staff Biologist with experience conducting field surveys and construction monitoring activities involving endangered, threatened, and sensitive animal species. Mr. Jackson has performed environmental compliance monitoring and managed contractor implementation of environmental conditions and mitigation measure as set forth in the Client's Plans and Procedures, and all other permits, clearances, or authorizing documents.
Katie Grube
Staff Biologist
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Steven Neumann
Staff Biologist
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Marshall Paymard
Senior Biologist
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William Neel
Staff Biologist
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Olivia Ortlieb
Staff Biologist
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Elizabeth Thelander
Word Processing/Accounting
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Anita Thompson
Office Manager
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Roxanne Clarke
Environmental Analyst
Ms. Clark has a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara. She is a skilled biological survey team member ceritified in waters monitoring while performing a variety of other field related tasks. Ms. Clark serves as an effective program manager coordinating staff for multi-disciplinary biological field surveys throughout southern California.
Stephen Jones
Senior Botanist
Wetland Specialist
Stephen Jones has over 30 years of experience as a botanist, primarily conducting and managing floristic surveys Southern California. Mr. Jones has conducted rare plant surveys in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, and the southeast coastal plain of the U.S. In California he has conducted rare plant surveys of several species. Mr. Jones is a Clean Water Act permitting specialist and a water quality specialist, having conducted over 1000 jurisdictional delineations.
Jaryd Block
GeoSpatial Applications Specialist
GIS Specialist
Mr. Block is a GIS program specialist supporting multiple, overlapping projects. His work experience includes environmental resource mapping, jurisdictional delineations and impact quantification, alliance level vegetation mapping, mobile solutions using ArcGIS Online, geodatabase organization and management, environmental compliance monitoring, technical report writing, riparian habitat restoration, Python tool scripting, and real-time post processing of biological field data.
Megan Whetzel
Biological Technician
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Megan has previously served as a biological Technician in the Ukiah, CA BLM Field Office performing a variety of duties. She is currently supporting the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA, BLM field office working closely with team members on a variety of habitat and wildlife related tasks. She is working closely with the BLM field office staff on a variety of wildlife and habitat related studies and data management issues.
Andrew Sandahl
Staff Biologist
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Andrew Sandahl has an M.S. in Ecology and Evolution from University of Amsterdam, B.S. in Biology w/ minor in Conservation Biology from UCLA. Mr. Sandahl is a BRC team member with experience identifying native dune plants, eradicating invasive plants, and identifying both snowy plovers and least terns. He is also experienced with herpetological species and has performed surveys and capture of amphibians (plethodontid salamanders, CA tiger salamander, red-legged frog) and reptiles (desert iguana, whiptail, Mojave fringe-toed lizard, chuckwalla, horned lizard, collared lizard, zebra-tailed lizard, desert night lizard, western skink, desert tortoise, rattlesnake, king snake, ring-necked snake, gopher snake). Mr. Sandahl has surveyed for least bell’s vireo and a variety of other species and has experience with raptor identification, in addition to identification of common birds.
Chance Ronemus
GIS Technician/Python Specialist
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Chance has been an excellent staff member with the GIS department assisting in large scale data processing tasks, tabular data adjudication, and data reporting. He has proven to be skilled with Microsoft Access databases and Python scripting tasks for ArcGIS.
Danielle Cordani
Biological Technician
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Danielle Cordani is serving as a biological technician for BRC in Elko, NV. Danielle designed and co-founded a society to promote bat conservation through scientific research, educational outreach, and field work experience, reaching over 1,300 people within first year. She has developed collaborative systems, delegated projects, and overseen operations of society cabinet. Danielle has organized and led educational workshops, field trips, lectures, and research opportunities as well as coordinated all events and maintained professional relationships with diverse groups.
Jacob Rogers
Biological Technician
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Jacob Rogers is a recent graduate from Texas State University where he completed his Master of Science in Wildlife Ecology, with a thesis on bat ecology. Jacob also holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from Eastern Michigan University. Jacob is an experienced instructor serving as a Teaching Assistant for Natural History of Vertebrates lab for four consecutive semesters, training students to capture and identify over 200 species of bats, fish, small mammals, mesocarnivores, birds, and herpetofauna in the state of Texas. Jacob is supporting BRC working as a Biological Technician in Elko, NV.