Scott Heffernan's Curriculum Vitae

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Scott Heffernan, MS

Professional Summary

I am an experienced Conservation Forester and Remote Sensing Scientist with 5+ years experience in future-minded conservation planning and 10+ years experience in boots-on-the-ground ecological field work. I am versed in all stages of landscape-scale, cross-boundary forest plan development, as well as the administrative and diplomatic tasks that happen behind the scenes. I have a deep knowledge of remote sensing and how to creatively leverage novel spatial data tools to streamline landscape scale conservation.

I have a strong sense of urgency to prepare for and adapt our planetary ecosystems to the Anthropocene shift that will occur over my lifetime. My life's work has focused on this in one form or another, and I intend to continue so long as I am able.

A Few of My Skills

Experience

Forest Program Manager - Boulder Watershed Collective

September 2023 - present

Oversee the growing Forest Restoration Program for a watershed-scale (~300k acres), agile non-profit organization.

Project management at all phases, including public outreach and engagement, data analysis and mapping, and securing funds and contractors. Project sizes are typically 50-100+ acres and >$500k operating budgets.

Cross-boundary coordination and cooperation between local, state, and federal entities to develop restoration projects at a landscape-scale.

GIS analysis and map creation for the organization and partners.

Plan and participate in meetings and navigate the complex nature and diplomacy of conducting cross-jurisdictional ecological projects.

Conservation Forester - Boulder Valley and Longmont Conservation Districts

March 2021 - September 2023

Forest Restoration project management at all phases from initial outreach to final NRCS certification.

Data acquisition in the field and data analysis using FVS and GIS.

Represent the District at all public and collaborative meetings.

Project cost analysis and securing multiple overlapping $100k+ grants.

Assistant Vegetation Management Crew Lead, City of Boulder Parks and Open Space

March 2019 - March 2021

Lead team of 4-12 people (technicians and volunteers) in the field.

Map invasive hotspots and potential avenues of invasion using ArcGIS and field-based GIS and knowledge of local flora.

Oversight of the daily tactical planning for field operations.

Graduate Research Associate - Oregon State University

August 2016 - December 2018

Remote Sensing and GIS analysis of optical, radar, multispectral, and hyperspectral imagery for forest unit planning and advancing the field of Radar Remote Sensing.

Creatively balance specialised GIS and Remote Sensing software (ArcGIS, ENVI, SNAP, RGIS, QGIS, and GEE), object-oriented programming (R, python), and statistical programming languages (SAS) for data processing and analysis.

Synthesize and present findings to a wide audience from the general public to scientists.

Maintain flight-ready status of a fleet of experimental small Unmanned Aerial Systems and serve as Pilot-in-Command under COA.

Innovation in the field of UAS in Forestry, including in-house Lidar integration into a hexacopter.

Spotted Owl Monitoring Tech - Kingfisher Ecological Inc.

March 2016 - August 2016

Field-based monitoring of Spotted Owl populations in the Northern Coastal Range of Oregon.

Independent field work covering hundreds of square miles, often in inclement conditions.

Knowledge and ability to identify plants and forest successional stages.

Navigation with GPS and traditional map/compass.

Navigation of rough roads in 4WD vehicles.

Team-based coordination and communication.

Animal Husbandry SCUBA Diver - Texas State Aquarium

March 2014 - March 2015

Care and maintenance of underwater animal enclosures and overseeing the volunteer dive program.

Prepare equipment for daily activities, including tank filling and QA.

Feed animals in-situ using SCUBA or surface-supplied air.

Maintain a positive interactive experience with public both in and out of the water.

Supervise volunteer dive activities.

Urban Forestry Technician - City of Boulder Parks and Recreation

March 2013 - November 2013

Planting and caring for municipal trees. Planted 300+ trees ahead of schedule and assisted with the early stages of Emerald Ash Borer invasion.

Plant new trees in right-of-ways and parks and care for existing municipal trees.

Remove dead/dying trees through contract supervision and direct removal.

Lumber yard maintenance and tool upkeep.

Assist with the city-wide tree health assessment.

Emergency flood assessment and damage control (September 2013 flood, 500-year level).

Assist with preparation for first stage mitigation of Emerald Ash Borer.

Snow removal when needed.

Use of city vehicles (trucks and trailers, tractor) and tools (shovels, rakes, stake-pounder, chainsaw, leaf-blower, ax, shrub-trimmer).

Education

MS Forest Remote Sensing, Oregon State University 2018

Graduate-level GIS Certificate, Oregon State University 2018

Magna Cum Laude, Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Colorado 2012

Minor in Planetary Science

Affiliations

Boulder County Fireshed

MARCH 2021 - Present

Forest Operations and Steering Committee

Northern Colorado Fireshed

JUNE 2021 - Present

Member

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

MARCH 2021 - SEPTEMBER 2023

Affiliate Forester

St. Vrain Forest Health Partnership

APRIL 2021 - Present

Science Committee and Operations Committee

Colorado Forest Collaborative Network

August 2023 - Present

Member

Boulder County Biomass Committee

December 2023 - Present

Member

Gilpin County CWPP Core Team

September 2023 - Present

Private-lands Forester Representative

Selected Publications

Additional Research Experience

Primatology Research Fellow - Tropical Research in Ecology and Ethology (TREE)

Summer 2012

Field-based research course on Primatology, based out of a remote station in the jungle of Costa Rica.

Semi-independent field work covering dozens of square miles, often in inclement conditions such as rain and biting insects.

Knowledge and ability to identify forest successional stages and track monkeys throughout the day while avoiding jungle hazards.

Navigation with traditional map/compass.

Team-based coordination, communication, and cohabitation.

Undergraduate Thesis - University of Colorado

2010 - 2012

Independent research on stingray hybridization, culminating in Magna cum Laude.

Developed (under advisor supervision) independent research project.

Identified genetic markers through research.

Collected field samples in La Paz, Baja California Sur with the collaboration of students at Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur and researchers at CICIMAR.

Laboratory sequencing of genetic markers using PCR and analysis of results culminating in a thesis paper.

Although there was not sufficient samples to publish a paper, I did find evidence of hybridization in Urobatis species in the Sea of Cortez. Specifically, U. maculatus shared genes from U. concentricus and U. halleri, although neither species shared genes with the other.

Volunteer Work

SCUBA Volunteer - Aquarena Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center

2008-2009

In situ ecological maintenance of sensitive underwater natural areas, helping with the aquarium upkeep and husbandry, and cleaning glass-bottom boats.

Independent Vegetation Steward - Oso Bay and Corpus Christi Environs

2014 - 2015

Removal of invasive species in the Oso Bay wetland and surrounding environs of Corpus Christi and Padre Island. Most notably, a complete eradication of Brazilian Pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolia) from several islands in the Padre Island littoral.