Mark Bowen, Ph.D.

Dr. Bowen is a senior associate scientist with extensive expertise in study design and quantitative methods.  He has 25 years of experience with water delivery and recovery projects, the preservation of aquatic ecosystems, conservation of listed species, habitat assessment and restoration, and support for governments to accomplish these same goals.  Dr. Bowen’s career history includes 16 years with the US Bureau of Reclamation and 9 years in the private sector as a project manager and technical team leader. He has led interdisciplinary teams that researched and solved biological problems and provided the best available scientific information. Dr. Bowen has also contributed to products for environmental review and analysis including NEPA and CEQA.Dr. Bowen has acted as a science liaison for the DWR. He has also conducted many projects for the DWR to meet Biological Opinion (BO) requirements, create and implement adaptive management plans, and determine water project operations’ effects on economically important and listed species and their habitats.

Dr. Isidro Bosch, Associate Scientist

Dr. Bosch is a marine invertebrate biologist and Lake Ecologist with considerable experience working in the marine environment as well as lakes and streams and SCUBA diving in Antarctica, California, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.  He has published 25 papers in peer-reviewed journals and completed more than a dozen technical reports on various aspects of lake ecology and watershed management.  At SUNY Geneseo, Dr. Bosch teaches courses in Invertebrate Zoology, Marine and Freshwater Community/Ecosystem Ecology, Principles of Ecology, General Biology and more. He has received various awards for teaching, mentoring and research and obtained competitive grants from the NSF to study the effects of ozone depletion on marine invertebrate larvae in Antarctica and from the USDA and other funding agencies to study the effects of watershed management on growth of algae, macrophytes and cyanobacteria in temperate lakes.  His current research is on the cyanobacteria microbiome that occurs in association with sea star larvae in the open ocean, and on the effects of partial mixing of the lake water column in triggering the onset of cyanobacterial blooms in shallow lakes.

Dr. Isidro Bosch obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Aquatic Biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1981 and his Ph.D. in Biology from U.C. Santa Cruz in 1989.  In 1992 Dr. Bosch joined the biology faculty at the State University of New York College at Geneseo, where he is currently a full Professor.

Savanna Samuelson, B.S., Wildlife Biologist 

​Ms. Samuelson is a wildlife biologist with extensive field, lab, and academic experience within environmental science. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Freshwater and Terrestrial Ecology from Western Washington University. Her work experience includes collaboration with state and federal agencies, nonprofits, and tribes across the west coast.  She has expertise with wetland delineations, wetland ratings, as well as vegetation classification and protection. She is also experienced monitoring for special status birds in California, identifying nests observing nesting behaviors for a variety of bird species.  As a Sierra Restoration and Monitoring Field Technician with Trout Unlimited, Ms. Samuelson gained specialized experience in hydrology work, water quality analysis, stream condition inventories, vegetation analysis along riparian zones, and process-based restoration. With Trout Unlimited she has experience monitoring for frog species and consulting with contractors to be aware of sensitive habitats while construction was in progress. She is well versed with handling anadromous species, electrofishing, habitat classification and stream ecology through research projects within the Lake Whatcom Watershed. Through the Institute for Watershed Studies, she, she gained critical skills with water quality and nutrient analysis, limnology protocols and zooplankton sample collection. This research also included toad identification within the Mount Saint Helens Volcanic Monument. ​

Thomas Gast, Principal Scientist

Mr. Gast formed Thomas Gast & Associates Environmental Consultants (TGAEC) after working for four years at Normandeau Associates as a Senior Scientist and 14 years at Thomas R. Payne and Associates.  Mr. Gast received a B.A. in Marine Resource Management from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1988 and has worked on and led numerous freshwater fisheries and marine biology field crews in rigorous environments such as Antarctica, the Bering Sea, Yukon Territory, the High Sierras, and Sacramento San Joaquin Delta over the last 27 years.  Mr. Gast is particularly adept at implementing complex studies that require intricate logistics to provide innovative solutions.  Mr. Gast has had training in IFIM implementation; PHABSIM, SEFA, and RHABSIM analysis, and has been involved with all aspects of instream flow studies including study design, stakeholder meetings, field data collection, data analysis, interpretation, report writing, time series analysis, impact analysis, and results presentation.  Mr. Gast has worked extensively with the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) collecting flow measurements and PHABSIM data, as well as developing several methods of deployments in challenging habitat types including shallow turbulent transects.  Mr. Gast has collected ADCP data for numerous instream flow projects and has traveled to the eastern U.S and northern Canada with the ADCP.  Mr. Gast is a licensed captain through the USCG, utilizing that capacity to implement instream flow, fish tracking, and monitoring studies on both large and small rivers.  Mr. Gast has also implemented fisheries and water quality monitoring studies utilizing multiple detection techniques such as direct observation, electrofishing, netting, and trapping as well as installing and maintaining data loggers and transmitters.

​Gavin Bandy, M.S., Fisheries Biologist
Gavin Bandy is an experienced fisheries biologist with a demonstrated history of working with consulting companies in the private sector and collaborating with state and federal agencies as well as non-profit organizations. He is skilled in scientific research, collaboration with stakeholders, aquatic species population and habitat monitoring, state and federal permitting processes, employing creative problem-solving strategies, preparing detailed technical reports and has specialized expertise in the collection and analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples. Mr. Bandy has expertise in working with anadromous salmonids, conducting environmental compliance studies, and applying a wide range of fisheries fieldwork techniques. He has significant experience working with special status species, including Coho and Chinook Salmon, Tidewater Goby, Pacific Lamprey, Steelhead, and Coastal Cutthroat Trout, across all life history stages. He earned his B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Humboldt State University and a Master of Natural Resources in Fisheries Biology from Cal Poly Humboldt. For his graduate research, he evaluated the utility of tracers to characterize environmental DNA transport and inform detection of Coho Salmon and Steelhead in small streams. Mr. Bandy collects, analyzes, and reports high quality data through rigorous methodology, attention to details, and professionalism.

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