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Wetland & Watershed Assessment Group

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WHO WE ARE

   

Earth Design Consultants, Inc. is a small corporation with an office in Corvallis, Oregon that performs contract ecological research. We assemble teams of specialists uniquely suited to solve real-world problems in wetland & watershed assessment and management. We find solutions by combining the latest remote sensing and GIS technology with responsible science.

Ralph J. Garono, Ph.D. Dr. Ralph Garono is President of Earth Design Consultants, Inc. (Corvallis, OR) where he heads up the Wetland & Watershed Assessment Group. In addition, Dr. Garono holds a faculty (courtesy) appointment in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University and advises graduate students in the Marine Resource Management Program. He is trained in biochemical limnology (e.g., the role that phosphorus limitation plays in structuring planktonic communities) and in aquatic entomology. His current research interests focus on assessments, at multiple spatial and temporal scales, of aquatic and marine ecosystems. His recent research projects include: the use of aquatic insects as a wetland assessment tool; GIS-based watershed assessments; the use of GIS-based models to evaluate alternative land use scenarios; and, the use of hyperspectral imagery to map landscape patterns in estuarine vegetation.
Aquatic Ecologist
Biochemical Limnology
Wetland Ecology
Aquatic Entomology
Statistics
Remote Sensing & Spatial Modeling
Contact Information:
Elise Ferrarese, M.S. Elise has a master's degree in Environmental Science from Oregon State University. Her master's project involved coordinating a creek and wet prairie restoration feasibility study for The Nature Conservancy in the West Eugene Wetlands. Elise has worked on a variety of ecological research projects in the academic sector including a study investigating biogeochemical interactions in a northeast forest for Boston University, and projects researching burrowing owl breeding dispersal behavior and northern spotted owl demographics for Oregon State University. Her experience in the private sector includes conducting surveys for rare and listed species: marbled murrelets, coho salmon, amphibians, fungi, and cavity nesting birds. She also participated as a contractor in lab and greenhouse studies at the EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Lab in Corvallis. She recently conducted a natural resource assessment of Channel Islands National Park for the National Park Conservation Association. Elise has experience in field crew supervision, GIS, wetland delineations, technical writing, and various field research methods. Her areas of interest and expertise include wetland and stream ecology and restoration, soils, geomorphology, and avian biology.
Restoration Ecologist
Avian Taxonomy/ Ecology
Riparian and Wetland Restoration
Wetland Biogeochemical Cycles
Geomorphology
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contact Information:
Teresa Bay Teresa Bay is a laboratory assistant with Earth Design Consultants. She is a senior at Oregon State University majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. After graduation she is planning to attend graduate school to pursue her interests in marine conservation. She has previously volunteered for the PISCO marine research laboratory at OSU, and has also participated in a project tagging and using GPS to locate woody debris along the Neawanna estuary to create an inventory of important salmon habitat. Her duties at Earth Design include processing algal and invertebrate samples
Laboratory Assistant
Invertebrate Taxonomy
Algal Taxonomy
 
Contact Information:
Jacob Hendrickson

 

GIS Analyst
 
 
 
 
Contact Information:
 
Email Jacob
 
 
 
Student Interns
Present
 
   
   
Past
  2008 Carson Wille
  2008 Lynda Moore
2004 Christine Buhl
2003 Elizabeth Allen
  2003 Christina Skellenger
  2003 Denise Baumann
  2002 Dr. Nancy Baumeister
  2002 Ashley Wille
2001 Ben Rooper (West Eugene Wetlands)
2000 Aimee David (Wetland Vegetation Analysis)
1999-2000 Shon Schooler (Catchment Classification/ Monitoring Framework)
1999 Maggie Sommer(MidCoast 6th Field Analysis)
1998-1999 Anu Gupta (Rock Creek Watershed Analysis)
1996-1997 Katie Busse (Tillamook Bay WQ Study)
Student Volunteers
Aquatic Insect Work
Collaborators & Associates
Dr. Paul Adamus, Adamus Resource Assessment, Inc
David Bradsby, Texas Parks & Wildlife
Laura Brophy, Green Point Consulting
Jen Burke, NMFS
  Pam Frost, Conservation Biology Inst.
Dr. Ayesha Gray, South Slough NERR
  Dr. Fritzi Grevstad, Uinv. of Washington
Dr. Richard Kiesling, USGS
James Kooser, URS Consultants
  Dr. Peter McEnvoy, Oregon State Univ
Rob Robinson, Image Arts
  Donna Robbins
Dr. Shon Schooler, Oregon State Univ.
Si Simenstad, WET, Univ. of WA
  James Strittholt, Conservation Biology Inst.
  Dr. Christine L. Weilhoefer
Stan Van de Wetering, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
Dana Woodruff, Battelle Marine Sciences Laboratory