Shannon Still, Ph.D.

Senior Ecologist

Bio
Relevant Experience
Education & Credentials

Bio

Dr. Shannon Still is a senior ecologist in Integral’s Sacramento Valley office. His background combines rigorous academic training in plant science with botanical research, conservation work, and ecological consulting experience. Dr. Still has in-depth knowledge of taxonomic keys and molecular methods to identify rare and endangered plants in Northern California. During his research career, he has identified and named two new species of California poppy and has published more than two dozen scientific papers. He has served as a manuscript and textbook reviewer for the American Journal of Botany, Ecology and Evolution, Ecological Applications, and Nature Publishing, among others. Dr. Still served on an expert panel selected by the Office of the Governor of the State of California which developed a charter and action steps for plant conservation in California which was presented at the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit.

Dr. Still brings deep botanical expertise and strong team leadership and communication skills to client projects.

Prior to joining Integral Consulting, Dr. Still was a senior plant ecologist and project manager at H. T. Harvey & Associates.

Relevant Experience

Land Management

Biological Monitoring of Los Vaqueros Reservoir Watershed and Conservation Lands, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, and Alameda Counties, California — Serves as task leader for grasslands monitoring and invasive plant mapping at the for the Contra Costa Water District. H. T. Harvey’s work has included biological monitoring and surveys, completing wetland delineations, preparing regulatory agency permit application packages, overseeing regulatory agency coordination, providing for construction monitoring and oversight, and implementation of various adaptive management actions to maintain and enhance sensitive habitat and species on more than 23,000 acres of conservation and mitigation lands.

Wetland Delineation

Lacey Meadows Watershed Assessment, CEQA, Wetland Delineation, and Biological Resources Support, Sierra County, California — Serves as project manager leading field work. The team led the ecological aspects of a watershed assessment including characterizing vegetation communities, assessing species habitat for the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, and identifying forest management and livestock grazing options to improve the ecological functions and values of the watershed.

Solar

Janus Solar Crotch Bumble Bee Protocol Surveys, Colusa County, California — Field lead for floral resource mapping, protocol-level surveys, and construction monitoring for Crotch’s bumble bee in support of a solar project in Colusa County. The surveys consisted of mapping potential food floral sources in the project area, identifying potential nest sites, walking transects in search of Crotch’s bumble bee individuals, gynes, and floral foraging resources, and leading mowing and construction efforts to prevent take.

Biological Services, Merced County, California — Project manager for a constraints analysis for the review of a wetland delineation and special-status species report in support of a solar project in Merced County. The project consists of field surveys to review the accuracy of a wetland delineation and plant and wildlife records in the project area.

Wildflower Solar Farm Biological Services, Sacramento County, California — Serves as the project manager for infiltration basin inspections, pollinator garden and shrub screen restoration and site maintenance. The team worked with the project developer to design the project to minimize impacts, which resulted in the timely issuance of a nationwide permit and a Concurrence Letter from the USFWS.

Wetland Habitat Restoration Management, Tehama County, California — Served as project manager for riparian and wetland habitat restoration and monitoring for a PG&E gas pipeline replacement project.

Biological Surveying and Monitoring

Biological Monitoring of Los Vaqueros Reservoir Watershed and Conservation Lands, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, and Alameda Counties, California — Project manager for oak woodland monitoring at the Los Vaqueros watershed in Contra Costa County.

California High-speed Rail Environmental Services (Fresno-Bakersfield Section), Fresno, Kern, Tulare, and Kings Counties, California — Assisted with protocol-level Crotch’s bumble bee surveys in support of the project. The survey involved walking transects in search of Crotch’s bumble bee individuals, gynes, and floral foraging resources. No individuals were detected.

Open Space Preserve Management, Lincoln, California — Serves as the project manager for monitoring habitat conditions and progress toward performance criteria across more than 2,000 acres of open space preserves in the City of Lincoln, California. Documents riparian, wetland, oak woodland, and grassland habitat conditions, including livestock grazing, erosion, sedimentation, fire hazards, fencing, signage, trash, and unauthorized activities. Oversees nesting bird surveys prior to mowing firebreaks. Prepares annual reports with observations and recommendations for ecosystem management.

Plant Ecology

Rare Plant Conservation Prioritization, San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, California — As a consultant at another organization, served as project manager to develop a protocol to prioritize conservation priorities for California rare plant 3 and 4 species in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Vegetation Mapping, Santa Cruz County, California — As a consultant at another organization, assisted drone surveys to develop vegetation maps for a botanical preserve in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rare Plant Surveys, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma Counties, California — As a consultant at another organization, served as project manager on multiple projects to survey for special-status plant species in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Plant Conservation Research, California and Western and Continental United States — At U.C. Davis, designed and oversaw research projects on rare plant conservation, adaptiveness of natural land management, the effectiveness of post-fire reforestation efforts, and ecosystem threat modeling.

Post-Fire Restoration Research, Western United States — Collaborated with the Bureau of Land Management in California to study the efficacy of reseeding native versus non-native plants to improve post-fire restoration practices in the Great Basin, examine the potential change in species range for rare plants in the west, and study the relationships of species of the flannel bush.

Education & Credentials

Highlights

More than 10 years of experience

Plant ecology and taxonomy

Project management

Biological resources reports

Statistical analysis with R and Python

Education & Credentials

Ph.D., Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, 2011

M.S., Public Horticulture, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 2002

B.S., Horticulture, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1997

Professional Experience

Senior ecologist 2, H. T. Harvey & Associates, 2024–July 2026

Senior botanist, Nomad Ecology, LLC, 2022–2024

Research associate, University of California Davis Center for Plant Diversity, 2022–July 2026

Director of science and conservation, 2019–2022; Director of plant conservation and curator, 2015–2019 University of California, Davis Arboretum and Public Garden

Conservation scientist, Chicago Botanical Garden, 2014–2015

Adjunct lecturer, Northwestern University, 2013–2014

Professional Affiliations

Global Consortium for the Conservation of Oaks 2020–present

Vallarta Botanical Gardens, Science Advisory Board, 2016–present

California Native Plant Society, 2010–present

California Plant Rescue, 2015–present, founding member

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