Ben Leonard

Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), Gulf of Mexico, U.S. — Working in conjunction with the NRDA team responding to the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on behalf of BP Exploration & Production Inc. Provided support to the data management team in quality assurance review, and data completeness.

Big River Superfund Site, Feasibility Study Field Investigation, Missouri — Used Google Earth to edit positional data for the Big River area visual survey. Helped to create the field sampling plan and health and safety plan. Participated in the geomorphology survey and the sediment sample collection efforts as part of the Big River field investigation.

USFWS WRIA 8 Salmon Habitat Conservation, Lake Washington Watershed, Washington — Surveyed streams and lakes in the Lake Washington watershed basin. Collected tissue samples and identified salmon and sculpin species using electroshock fishing. Surgically implanted fine-scale acoustic telemetry tags in smallmouth bass and northern pike minnow in Lake Washington to track predator distribution and Chinook salmon smolt consumption. Performed full-scale habitat assessments and measured hydrological features of streams

USFWS Hatchery Monitoring and Evaluation, Olympic Peninsula, Washington — As a biological technician intern for USFWS, installed screw traps at several sites including the Quilcene, Makah, and Quinault National Fish Hatcheries. Other hatchery projects and duties included fish identification, coded wire tagging, electroshock fishing, snorkel surveys, habitat assessment and data entry QA/QC.

USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station, Olympia, Washington — Studied the effects of knotweed restoration on riparian vegetation and knotweed leaf litter. Participated on the USFS Aquatic Ecology and Management Team as an intern. Assisted in the placement and collection of leaf litter bags at several sites. Analyzed leaf litter samples and identified macroinvertebrate species present. Utilized various stream monitoring tools (HOBO data logger, YSI meter, and turbidity meter). Performed data entry and data QA/QC in addition to data analysis. Data analysis involved statistical analysis using JMP, R, and PC ORD. Developed introduction and methods sections of research paper and presented results.

Field Equipment Inventory, Distribution, and Maintenance, Olympia, Washington — Developed a web-based equipment sign-out interface for Integral’s equipment rentals. Created a full inventory of items and an equipment log to track items. Maintained organization of equipment stock.