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Students
Alex A. Gonyaw, PhD student
MS and PhD student
Resource Management and Administration
agonyaw@normandeau.com
Fisheries Biologist
Normandeau Associates, Inc.
Environmental Consulting
Personal Statement
My motivation in pursuing a doctoral program stems from a desire to reach a wider audience, and contribute on a larger scale to the environmental knowledge of the world. Environmental issues are expansive and interconnected within social structure. This requires a breadth and depth of influence to enact change on a scale similar to the issues. I see Antioch as an important route in developing my potential contributions to environmental studies.
First among my environmental values is the view that nature is inherently worth preserving. Not necessarily for human use, rather because it should exist regardless of its use to current or future generations. While a convenient form of motivating people, the anthropocentric idea of the worth of nature will only motivate people to save those things deemed worthy. In essence, I believe everything has an inherent right to exist unfettered by human involvement. While a lofty and admittedly an unreachable goal, this view provides the foundation of my philosophy of striving to live with natural systems rather than in them. My second value is that knowledge and education is the driver of environmental change. I consider it a life goal to impress upon as many people as possible the fragility and undying tenacity of life to weather the storm regardless of its intensity.
Education and Training
Doctoral Student, Environmental Studies
Antioch University New England
MS Student, Resource Management and Administration
Antioch University New England
BS Fisheries and Wildlife Science
Oregon State University
ASTM Phase I site assessment
Aquatic invertebrate identification
GIS/Arcview
Lotek radio telemetry
Statistical analysis software
Wetland assessment and delineation
Watershed and stream assessment
Selected Project Experience
Vermont Yankee Section 316 Phase II Impingement/Entrainment Sampling (2005)
Impingement/entrainment study at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station for compliance with phase II of section 316 of the Clean Water Act.
Yankee Rowe Geoprobe Sampling (2004)
Soil sampling at the decommissioned Yankee Rowe nuclear Power station for various contaminants.
Vermont Yankee Thermal Plume Modeling (2004)
Assisted in the assessment and modeling effort of Vermont Yankee thermal discharge plume. Field Operations Supervisor.
Moore and McIndoes Fish Passage Study (2004)
Assessment of fish passage efficiencies using radio and ribbon tagged Atlantic salmon to determine passage routes through two hydroelectric facilities. Field Operations Supervisor.
Nuclear Power Plant Environmental Program Management (2002-2004)
Schedule and conduct sampling for the Yankee Rowe and Vermont Yankee nuclear power plants. Interpretation and fulfillment of permit requirements, communication with laboratory personnel, clients and management of field crews. Included collection of a wide variety of sample media as well as reporting.
Deerfield River/PGE Fish Passage Study (2002)
Assisted in fish passage study for PGE's hydroelectric facilities in Massachusetts.
Tualatin River Biological Assessment (2001)
Conducted a basin wide assessment of biological integrity using instream habitat parameter and benthic invertebrate data. Technician II.
Fish Use Surveys for Willamette Industries (2001)
Led survey crews during assessments of fish populations in rough terrain and arduous conditions in accordance with agency protocols. Technician II.
Ecological Requirements Life History of the Columbia Torrent Salamander (2001)
Aquatic ecological study on a Pacific Northwest salamander. Discovered and published a peer reviewed paper on three of the five nests found for this species. Technician II.
Green Sturgeon Biology in the Rouge River (2000)
Study of the basic biological, morphometric and meristic characteristics of the Green sturgeon. Technician I.
Professional Experience
Normandeau Associates, Inc
2002—Present
ABR, Inc. Environmental Research
2001—2002
Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
2000—2001
Landau Associates Environmental Consulting
1999—2000
Oregon State University
1996—1999
Selected Publications and Presentations
Radio Frequency Identification Technology in Conservation Biology.
Presentation to the Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation. Fall 2004
316(a) Demonstration in support of Vermont Yankees proposed uprate
2004
Ecological Studies of the Connecticut River. Annual Report.
Normandeau Associates, 2003
Evaluation of Macroinvertebrate Populations Using Artificial Multiplate Samplers in Vernon Pool During 2002.
Energy Vermont Yankee. Normandeau Associates Analytical Bulletin 80.
Russel, K., Gonyaw, A., Strom, J., Murk, K. 2002. Three new nests of the Columbia torrent salamander (Rhyacotriton kezeri columbiana). Northwest Naturalist.
In press.
Adamus, P., Danielson, T.J. and Gonyaw, A. 2001. Indicators for monitoring biological integrity of inland freshwater wetlands: A Survey of North American Literature (1990-2000).
EPA843-R-01.
Shields, B., Groves, K. and Gonyaw, A. 1998, 1999, 2000. Rainbow trout (redband) life history study: Annual Reports to the Bonneville Power Administration.
Gonyaw, A. and Leader, K. 2001. Fish distribution in the Tualatin River Basin. Poster presentation at the 2001 American Fisheries Society Meeting (Oregon Chapter).
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