Delta Independent Science Board Member Affiliations and Disclosures

The purpose of disclosure is to alert public officials to personal interests that might be affected while they are performing their official duties, i.e., making governmental decisions. Disclosure also helps inform the public about potential conflicts of interest. If a public official has a conflict of interest, the official may be required to disqualify himself or herself from making or participating in a governmental decision, or using his or her official position to influence or attempt to influence a governmental decision.

October 19, 2021 Meeting

Heikkila: Invited by the Delta Science Program to help with the planning of the salinity management workshop in 2022. At this time, there are no plans for the Delta ISB to review any of the products coming out of the workshop. Does not foresee any conflicts at this time, but subject to change.

Prior to the meeting, the Delta ISB was provided a copy of the Delta Science Governance Survey that was released to the Delta community. Prior to joining the Delta ISB, Heikkila was involved with the survey design. She is not involved with the instrumentation of the survey that was released. There is potential for her to conduct some analysis of science governance between the Delta and Colorado River Basin in the future. If this were to occur, she will provide an update on this disclosure.

September 16, 2021 Meeting

Holzer: Will serve on a review panel on the earthquake reconnaissance plan, developed by the Applied Technology Council (ATC), for the Federal agencies that administer the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program who may coordinate in the Delta for the future.

November 14, 2019 Meeting

Norgaard: Disclosed that his daughter has applied for a position as a Delta ISB member whose term would begin in September 2020. He will recuse himself from all discussions and related processes/activities related to the recruitment of new Delta ISB members.

Lund: Disclosed that he has a conflict of interest and will recuse himself from participating in any discussion, deliberation, or action of the Delta ISB related to the recruitment for the Delta Lead Scientist whose term would begin in fall 2020.

July 11, 2019 Meeting

Canuel: Participated in a meeting at the San Francisco Estuary Institute on July 10, 2019, to discuss a project that is looking at changes in primary production in the historical and contemporary Delta.

Resh: Has been asked to design a monitoring program for an anti-malaria drug distribution program in West Africa. This was disclosed since the Delta ISB is working on a review of the Delta monitoring enterprise.

January 11, 2019 Meeting

Canuel: Participating in Phase II of San Francisco Estuary Institute’s Delta Primary Productivity Project. Several years ago, Canuel was part of a working group that did primary production calculations in the historical and modern Delta. The project is now moving into the next phase and Canuel has been participating in meetings associated with this effort.

December 6, 2018 Meeting

Lund: UC Davis signed a contract with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), where Lund is a Principal Investigator, to provide the SWRCB with technical guidance on implementing new environmental flow proposals for the Delta and the tributaries.

May 3, 2018 Meeting

Collier: Has a faculty appointment at the Western Washington University and foresees no conflicts of interest.

Lund: May need to recluse himself from the Delta ISB on topics, such as integrated modeling, since the UC Davis Center for Watershed Science, where Lund is Director, has been very active on Delta issues and research.

December 11, 2017 Meeting

Resh: Received a two-year grant to develop new monitoring techniques in the Philippines. In addition, he received a request from the Mekong River Commission to develop a monitoring program for hydrodynamic development that is going on in Laos.

August 17, 2017 Meeting

Lund: Reiterated some of his disclosures and announced some incremental changes in his status since his term as Delta ISB Chair ended in June 2017:

  • He is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis, and is also an unpaid adjunct fellow at PPIC (Public Policy Institute of California).
  • As a Professor, he is responsible for a variety of technical and policy studies. Many of his students are working on California water issues, which includes the Delta.
  • As Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, he leads in the administration of a diverse group of academics from across the state, which includes PPIC.
    • He also interacts with many different state agencies, which includes the Delta Stewardship Council (the Council), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
  • The Center for Watershed Sciences is involved with many Delta studies, such as an evapotranspiration study and a drought retrospective study.
    • He does not lead these studies, but he helps ensure they are effective, useful, and well done. He does not get paid for these studies and does not see his responsibility as being incompatible with the Delta ISB.
    • There are no direct financial conflicts of interest, but the State of California pays his salary as Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences and Past Chair of the Delta ISB.
  • When he was the Delta ISB Chair, he held off on some of his organizational and outreach responsibilities at the Center for Watershed Sciences. He is less inhibited now to pursue these duties.
  • UC Davis has a series of initiatives, which includes the development of a World Water Center/Institute in which he is involved. One element of this idea is to develop joint science and technical centers with State agencies and other researchers.
  • He is cited in a lot of references that are used in the documents that are reviewed by the Delta ISB. This is not a financial conflict of interest, but his biggest worry is that his deep involvement may affect his perspective on these reviews. He has held back on some of the reviews and has let other Delta ISB members take the lead on reviews where his work is widely cited.

August 13, 2015 Meeting

Canuel: Disclosed that she has been invited to participate in a workshop about primary production in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta sponsored by the San Francisco Estuary Institute in October 2015.

March 5, 2015 Meeting

Collier: Disclosed that he has been asked to serve on a panel about sediment management in the Delta.

Wiens: Disclosed that he has been asked to contribute as an author to The State of Bay Delta Science.

February 24-25, 2014 Meeting

Collier: Disclosed that he finished his work on the biomarker report (see September 12-13, 2013 disclosure below).

September 12-13, 2013 Meeting

Collier: Disclosed that he will be the Chair of an Interagency Ecological Program panel on the use of biomarkers and contaminant exposure in the Delta. He discussed the appointment with the Delta Stewardship Council attorney. The attorney determined that this activity does not constitute a conflict of interest.

November 29-30, 2012 Meeting

Lund: Disclosed that he is the Primary Investigator (PI) for a project funded by the Delta Science Program: Integrating Ecosystem, Flood Control, Agricultural, and Water Supply Benefits: An Application to the Yolo Bypass. He also is the Director of the UC Davis Watershed Science Center which has some similarly funded projects; however, Lund is not the PI on any of these.

July 30, 2012 Teleconference

One Delta ISB member made a new disclosure:

Collier: Disclosed that he was appointed to the position of Science Director for the Puget Sound Partnership, but the appointment does not pose any conflict.

May 3-4, 2012 Teleconference

The following disclosures were made:

Atwater, Mount, and Wiens: Disclosed that they are participating in a review of a draft monograph on the Delta’s historical ecology. They are not officially part of the group that’s working on the review, but are invited to attend and listen.

Atwater: Disclosed that the organization he works for, the U.S. Geological Survey, has a postdoctoral program that sponsors competitions on a variety of topics every year, including a topic on Delta geology. Atwater contributes to the competition, but is not officially an advisor.

March 8-9, 2012 Meeting

One Delta ISB member made a new disclosure:

Mount: Disclosed that he has started a small conservation planning company in partnership with Anthony Saracino. He plans to consult with an attorney to find out if this is a conflict of interest as an ISB member.

December 1-2, 2011 Meeting

One Delta ISB member made a new disclosure:

Collier: Disclosed that he was appointed to the Puget Sound Partnership Science Panel, but the appointment does not pose any conflict.

September 13, 2011 Teleconference

One Delta ISB member made a new disclosure:

Atwater: Disclosed that he had been asked to assist with subsurface mapping in the Delta for the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) possibly associated with the identification of new water conveyance options. Atwater agreed only to allow access to his files as reference materials and provided referrals to other geologists who might be able to do the actual work.

April 7-8, 2011 Meeting

One Delta ISB member made a new disclosure:

Mount: Serving as Acting Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis until the Director's return, January 1st, 2012.

March 3-4, 2011 Meeting

Two Delta ISB members made the following new disclosure:

Atwater & Wiens: Both members had the same potential conflict of interest which involved being listed as key advisors on a grant proposal being prepared by the San Francisco Estuary Institute in response to a grant solicitation made by the California Department of Fish and Game. Both will excuse themselves from the proposal if it is determined that a potential conflict exists.

Note: After the March 3-4 meeting, both Atwater and Wiens removed themselves as key advisors to prevent any conflicts of interest.

September 30-October 1, 2010 Meeting

The following Delta ISB members made the following disclosures:

Atwater: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) carries out research on Delta geology, water, and biology that the Delta Independent Science Board may need to review. Atwater is a USGS employee who studied the Delta's tidal-wetland geology and vegetation 30-35 years ago. He has not participated in any Delta research since that time, aside from reviewing a few journal manuscripts.

Houde: Houde served on the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for the Interagency Ecological Program (IEP) since the mid 1990s. He participated in reviews of ecological research on Bay-Delta fisheries and estuarine resources conducted or supported by California State and Federal agencies (the IEP). Dr. Houde has resigned from the IEP's SAG after accepting appointment to the Delta Stewardship Council's Independent Science Board (DISB) to avoid any potential conflict should the Delta ISB be requested to review or evaluate IEP science programs.

Meyer: Currently a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, American Rivers.

Mount: Member of the Board of Directors for American Rivers, with only fiduciary responsibilities and no programmatic authority; Founding Director of the Center for Watershed Science at the University of California at Davis, but has stepped down from that role; wife is Deputy Director for Water Rights at the State Water Resources Control Board; and daughter is an employee of the US Army Corps of Engineers and works in the Delta on risk reduction issues.

Resh: Resh is on an advisory board for a pulse flow study on the North Fork of the Feather River funded by Pacific Gas & Electric.

Wiens: Affiliated with Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) and works with others who work in the Delta, but has no known conflicts.

The following Delta ISB members had no activities or affiliations to disclose: Canuel, Collier, Healey, and Norgaard