We have six new members on our team roster!  They are Suyar Akturan, Darin Strege, Steve Beukelman, Kirk Vodopals, Rygg Larsen, and Mike Malone.  Suyar Akturan is our new CAD technician, who has recently moved to Klamath Falls from Austin, Texas.  He grew up in Turkey, enjoys the outdoors, and is building his own house.  Darin Strege is a licensed civil engineer who will also be part of our construction management team.  As subcontractors to a prime consultant, Darin and other SHN staff worked closely together on a large powerplant decommissioning project, so we already have a great working relationship.  Steve Beukelman is a chemical engineer with expertise in water treatment systems, water quality, and WDR permit compliance; he and his family moved from the Bay Area to enjoy the North State rural lifestyle.  Kirk Vodopals has 15 years of experience in natural resource management and restoration, gained during employment in the forest products industry.  Having passed the FE exam, Kirk plans to take the PE exam as soon as he can.  Rygg Larsen is a long-time resident of Willits and comes to us from the County of Mendocino Department of Transportation.  Rygg will be working in our materials lab, out in the field with our survey crews, and in front of screens expanding his CAD skills.  Mike Malone is our Eureka office summer intern, who is studying engineering at Humboldt State University.  Mike is working part-time until finals are over, and then full-time during the summer, which will allow him to see a wide variety of municipal, site development, and environmental engineering projects.

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We are pleased to be meeting students at UC Davis (1/30/19), Chico State and Humboldt State (2/14/19), and Sac State and Oregon Tech at Klamath Falls (2/27/19).  Intern opportunities include one for an engineering student in our Eureka office and one for a planning intern in our Arcata office.  Please come see us at the job fairs!  We can discuss the pros and cons of working for public agencies and private firms, and for large vs. small firms.  We love to share our project stories and you will understand a little more about how your hard work pays off in improving our communities and environment.  The link for the Eureka internship is here, and the link for the Arcata planning internship is here.

A Local Assistance Center for Redding residents affected by the Carr Fire is open Aug. 2 to 8 at Shasta High School, 2500 Eureka Way, Redding from 9 am to 7 pm.  The LAC is a "one stop shop" for recover assistance.  Representatives from local, state, and federal agencies will provide counseling support, resource and housing assistance, and information on rebuliding, permitting, hazardous materials clean up, loss of business or employment, and other topics.  For more information, here is a link to the KRCR news report and more information is at www.211norcal.org/shasta.  The Shasta County Emergency Operations press release details what documents you should bring, if you have them.

We are happy to announce that Gretchen O'Brien and Sean Rowe have joined our Biological Sciences group in our Arcata office.  Gretchen is a Senior Biologist and Sean is a botanist.  Gretchen comes to us with a B.S. in Wildlife Management and is skilled in wildlife survey techniques. She has managed her own biological consulting firm and has 19 years of experience in wildlife surveys, habitat assessments, and mitigation strategies. Gretchen was part of the team of biologists that performed nesting bird surveys on the Willits Bypass construction. She most recently worked for the City of Arcata in the Environmental Services Department overseeing bird monitoring during construction activities, providing vegetation management protocols, and spent time at the City at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center where she identified, designed, and facilitated programs.  Sean's expertise is in plant identification, wetland delineation and riparian restoration. He knows his agrostoles and angiosperms! He recently worked as Project Coordinator for the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District in completing restoration work on the Salt River project near Ferndale. This included sediment management oversight, wetland planting, and fish relocation. Prior to this he worked with Hanford Applied Restoration on the Willits Bypass, overseeing much of the plantings for that project. He has also worked with the Mattole Restoration Council on a variety of restoration projects. And he has his own native grass seed farm!