Christopher Hart Email & Phone Number

Flagstaff, Arizona, United States

Certified Conservation Planner – Level 3 (In progress)Communicated NRCS conservation programs and conservation activities to promote district priorities and agency programs to new producers. Provided technical assistance to determine the need and feasibility of Farm Bill financial assistance and state cost share programs and determined the potential for NRCS to provide financial assistance via environmental quality incentives program (EQIP), conservation stewardship program (CSP) and regional conservation partnerships program (RCPP). Helped producer’s find the right cost assistance program that addresses their natural resource concerns and meeting their production goals. When financial assistance was not requested, provided technical assistance in support of the producer’s objectives and addressing resource concerns. Met with producers to go over conservation practices on active EQIP contracts and maintained aa point of contact for producers implementing conservation practices. Certified completion of conservation practices to ensure compliance with NRCS standards and specifications on practices 314; brush management, 382; fence, as well as worked with engineers to certify 516; livestock pipelines, and 614; livestock water storage tanks and livestock watering facilities. Assist producers with the application of planned resource management systems in compliance with agency standards and specifications on the above conservation practices and provided contract guidance to producers implementing practice 666 – forest stand improvement.Coordinated meetings between USFS, and NRCS to discuss potential project requirements for ranchers implementing conservation projects on their land and the requirements that they would have from the allotment holder and the NRCS. Meetings discussed archaeological clearance requirements, timelines for project implementation, and project goals of the joint chief initiative.

Dickinson, North Dakota, United States

Certified Conservation Planner – Level 1Monitored Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) eligible fields. Assessed floristic vegetation cover, resource concerns present, and if vegetation met CRP requirements. Made recommendations to producers who did not meet CRP requirements on how to improve field for next year. Enrolled producers into the Environmental Qualities Initiative Program (EQIP) contracts. Met with producers to determine their management objectives, completed a rangeland, cropland, and pasture health assessment to identify resource concerns. Communicated with producers identified resource concerns and the conservation practices that could improve their operations. Began planning their conservation plan for the contract with the practices the producer would like to implement and obtaining engineer designs, cost share availability and cultural resource impacts for the conservation practices the producer would like to implement. Provide technical guidance and recommendations in the planning and application of natural resource management when working with producers with conservation plans. Assisted producers on conservation practices that we could cost share to improve natural resource management of their land and helped them develop conservation practices that would improve their operation and meet their management goal. Planned conservation practices include fence, tank, pipeline, prescribed grazing, wind/shelter belt, cover crops, annual forage planting and range and pasture planting.Conducted status reviews on Environmental Quality Initiative Program Contracts. Evaluated implemented conservation practices and ensured conservation practices met NRCS standards and specifications. Conservation Practices included cover crops, fences, pipelines, water tanks, range and pasture plantings, and brush removal. All status reviews involved a field visit to the farm, and ensuring that implemented practice meet set NRCS standards and specifications.

Lakewood, Colorado, United States

Worked with COL to establish new qualitative monitoring protocols to better document resource concerns during monitoring visit. Trained staff members at the start of monitoring season of how to use the Dobinmeyer Classification method, plant structural functional groups, and how to identify invasive species, erosion concerns, and assess grazing allotment health. Field monitored 60+ conservation easements. Communicated with land owners to schedule site visits in advance of monitoring. During field visits, assessed vegetation structure, rangeland conditions, forest health, stream and riparian health and documented invasive species populations using Dobinmeyer Classification. Documented erosion issues, new mineral or oil and gas development, unauthorized dumping or trespass issues from neighboring land. Recorded new building developments, trail/road development, utility work, and any management changes of the property. Recorded each monitoring visit in a paper monitoring form. Answered questions from landowners about their conservation easement and referred them with proper resources for grazing management, invasive species management or forestry management as requested by landowners or needed post monitoring visit. Responded development and land management requests that impact a held conservation easement. Worked with COL staff, land owners and our partners to interpret easement language, determine which development projects are consisted with a conservation easement, assess the resource impact of new management or development, and provided feedback on land management and resource management plans. Writing 13 baseline reports for properties transferred to Colorado Open Lands in Archuleta County based on Land Trust Alliance Baseline Report Standards.

Canon City, Colorado, United States

Navigated to remote locations with steep and uneven terrain to assess the health of grazing allotments based on predetermined points using a GPS unit. Made daily plan of what areas to monitor based on weather, area accessibility, allotment priority. Organized logistics of each day so that points were efficiently sampled and completed safety tailgate sessions with other interns before departing. Prioritized safety during fieldwork and mitigated hazards as needed. Used 4WD vehicle with trailer, and UTV to navigate to points as needed.Monitored the health of grazing allotments by conducting line point intercept (LPI) floristic surveys and species richness (SR) on allotment vegetation and entered data using Collector for ArcGIS and Survey123. Identified native plants using dichotomous plant key and knowledge of plant taxa.Participated in an interdisciplinary team to determine conformance with Standards for Public Land Health using Technical Reference 1734-6; Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health on grazing allotments whose permits were up for renewals. Provided floral cover data and diversity data as needed, and provided biological opinion on invasive species, erosion concerns, and structural functional groups of rangelands during field visits.Assisted rangeland specialists with NEPA documents by writing categorical exclusion, and decision document on grazing allotments for renewal in 2022. Conducted allotment compliance checks by visiting each grazing allotment on a set schedule, checking for presence of cattle or horses, checking for noxious weeds, trash or erosion issues that may be present. Established analysis template in excel and R to process BLM AIM data and rangeland line point intercept and species richness data. Reported monitoring results in a final year-end report based on the findings on field data, explaining the different floristic functional groups found on each allotment and the health of the landscape cattle are grazing on.

Marina, Ca

Started partnership with CSU Monterey Bay to mentor undergraduate students and provide practical work experience via 30-90 hour volunteer internships at the BLM. Supervised and instructed all student interns on different ecological restoration technics across several various projects in oak woodland, grassland, and maritime chaparral habitat. Promoted volunteer safety, coordinated volunteers on a set schedule, and created an itinerary of planned work to ensure the completion of priority projects.Worked with volunteer crews to identify native plants/non-native plants, best techniques for exotic species removal, recreation trail development, rare plant monitoring, plant diversity surveys of vascular plants, restoration site monitoring, spreading seed and straw mulch, planting and watering native plants on set schedule across 20+ restoration sites. Communicated with the public at restoration events and explained the importance of our restoration program to monument visitors during volunteer projects.Instructed BLM staff and volunteers on the use of ArcGIS. Provided multiple training sessions covering map creation, maximum entropy modeling, krigging modeling, GPS data collection protocol and data management, spatial analysis on grasslands, and remote sensing methods. Designed a new monitoring study that determined mechanical mowing and goat grazing effectiveness to improve floral diversity and reduce fire risk on grasslands. Collaborated with BLM botanist to develop a technique for ocularly surveying bunchgrass in grasslands and conducted yearly grassland biodiversity surveys of vascular plants for grazing projects. Supervised volunteers during data collection and instructed volunteers on the identification of grassland species at various growth stages. Entered data into an electronic database, analyzed collected plant diversity data using bootstrapping statistical techniques in R, and informed BLM managers of results to refine goat grazing program.

Salinas, California Area

Instructed 4-7-year old’s in a science education camp located in local parks in the Monterey and Salinas area, covering different life science and environmental topics.Provided life science educational activities with games, walks, and art activities to students and fostered enthusiasm for nature and awareness for the environment. Ensured all participants' safety each day and responded to emergencies as needed using Ventana Wildlife Society protocol and CPR/First Aid Training.

Carmel, California

Assisted in monitoring and restoration projects, including oak woodland restoration, vegetation surveys, EDNA sampling, bird surveys, ground squirrel monitoring, and pond surveys. Created habitat association models from spatial logistic regression analysis using ArcGIS and the statistical software R to determine suitable habitat of key mammal species on the Santa Lucia Preserve based on wildlife camera data.

Marina, California

Developed weekly session plans to assist students with complicated material from lecture and help them become proficient with material. Developed activities to engage students with complicated ideas in an approachable manner, that also developed course study strategies which facilitated student success outside of the tutoring session. Collaborated with instructor of course, and coworkers at the Cooperative Learning Center to plan exam reviews and joint study sessions outside of the course.

Carmel, California

Provided horseback riding lessons to children and adults on horseman ship, safe horse practices, and effective ridding techniques. Developed activities to increase horsemanship and facilitate a bond between the horse and the ridder, as well their peers in a youth horseback riding camp. Ensured the safety of the children from an 8AM-3PM camp day and provided snacks, water and breaks as needed for the children. Provided 1-2-hour horseback rides through the Santa Lucia Preserve and educated guests on the natural history and local ecology of Carmel Valley and Santa Lucia Mountain Ranges.

Master'S Degree, Natural Resources

Evaluated the effectiveness of Fort Ord National Monument’s sheep and goat grazing program to reduce residual dry matter in grasslands.

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Environmental Science

Final project examined the extent to which supplemental instruction influences student success in lower-division chemistry courses.