Faculty Name

Ph.D., U.S. History, University of California, Davis, 2006
M.S., Ecology, University of California, Davis, 2000
M.A., Medieval Studies, The Catholic University of America, 1989
B.A., History, Georgetown University, 1985

Fields of Interest:

Environmental History and Ecology
California History
U.S. Since the Civil War
History of the U.S. West

Courses Taught:

Course	Course Title/Link to Syllabus
HIST 2600	Problems in U.S. History
HIST 3630	U.S. from Reconstruction to World War II
HIST 3640	Contemporary U.S., 1945 to the Present
HIST 4590	U.S. Environmental History
HIST 4670	California History
HIST 4760	Environmental History of the Central Valley

Current Research:

My present work explores the history and ecology of the Central Valley from its geologic origins to the present, with an emphasis on the profound changes that have taken place in its landscape since California statehood in 1850. This project focuses on the social, economic, political, and cultural reasons that account for the transformation of the Central Valley from a region defined by millions of acres of wetlands, riparian habitat, and grasslands to one defined primarily by agriculture and urban growth. It also analyzes more recent trends, over the past several generations, toward protecting and restoring natural habitat in the Valley, particularly in response to the importance of the Valley’s wetlands for migratory waterfowl of the Pacific Flyway and for threatened and endangered species.

Publications:

The Fall and Rise of the Wetlands of California’s Great Central Valley, University of California Press, forthcoming.

“Rethinking Reclamation: How an Alliance of Duck Hunters and Cattle Ranchers Brought Wetland Conservation to California’s Central Valley Project,” in Natural Protest: Essays on the History of American Environmentalism, edited by Jeff Crane and Michael Egan, Routledge, forthcoming.

"The Tragedy at Kesterson Reservoir: A Case Study in Environmental History and a Lesson in Ecological Complexity." Environs: Environmental Law and Policy Journal 22, no. 2 (1999): 107-144.

Book review: Green Versus Gold: Sources in California's Environmental History, Carolyn Merchant, ed. Human Ecology Review 6, no. 1 (1999): 59-62.

Conference Paper Presentations:

“Ducks, Rice Growers, and Hunters: An Environmental History of Wetland Protection and Restoration in California’s Sacramento Valley.” Society of Wetland Scientists International Conference. Sacramento, California. June 2007.

“Subsidence and Rising Sea Levels: Dual Flood Risks to California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the State’s Hydraulic Regime.” American Society for Environmental History. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. February 2007.

Roundtable: “Translational History: How Historians Can Engage the Practice of Science and Science Policy.” American Society for Environmental History. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. February 2007.

“Protecting and Restoring Wetlands in California’s Sacramento Valley: From Economics to Ecology.” American Society for Environmental History. St. Paul, Minnesota. March 2006.

“An Environmental History of the Wetlands of California’s Great Central Valley.” Invited presentation at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency STAR (Science to Achieve Results) Fellows Conference. Washington, D.C. October 2004.

“Twentieth-Century Water Wars for the Protection of Wetlands in California’s Great Central Valley: The Struggle for the Grassland Wetlands.” American Society for Environmental History. Providence, Rhode Island. March 2003.

"The Tragedy at Kesterson Reservoir: A Lesson in Ecological Complexity.” American Society for Environmental History. Tacoma, Washington. March 2000.

Grants and Awards:

Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowship, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2003-2006)

Graduate Student Travel Grant, American Society for Environmental History (2003)

Challenges to California’s Natural Resources Grant, University of California at Davis (2002-2003)

Wilbur R. Jacobs Research Fellowship, Huntington Library (2002)

Graduate Student Research Grant, Society of Wetland Scientists (2002)

Reed-Smith Dissertation Year Fellowship, University of California at Davis (2001-2002)

Agricultural History Center Dissertation Research Grant, University of California at Davis (2001)

President’s Predoctoral Fellowship, University of California at Davis (1996-2000)

Fellowship for Outstanding Secondary School Teachers, National Endowment for the Humanities (1991)

Professional Associations:

American Historical Association

Organization of American Historians

Western History Association

American Society for Environmental History

Ecological Society of America

Society of Wetland Scientists

Society for the History of Technology

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California State University, Stanislaus
One University Circle
Turlock, California 95382

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