Chemine Jackels is a Marine Habitat Specialist based in Seattle, Washington, contracting for Earth Resources Technology, Inc. She works to support the habitat restoration work of the Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center.
What is your key responsibility?
I’m a technical monitor for community-based restoration projects in the Pacific Northwest.
Where did you grow up?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
What is your educational background?
I have a Masters of Science in Biological Science from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with an emphasis on fisheries and aquatic habitat. I also worked as a research scientist at the University of Washington School of Fisheries.
Can you tell us about a project related to habitat that you’re currently working on or that you enjoyed?
I am currently covering for a colleague on a project that involves re-meandering a river channel through its historic floodplain. It will provide critical spawning and rearing habitat for Hood Canal summer chum salmon and Puget Sound steelhead, both of which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The construction is complicated, requiring multi-agency collaboration and careful consideration of methods, sequencing, and timing to minimize the temporary impacts to salmon. I have 14 years of experience implementing large restoration projects during my time at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, so I'm up for and enjoy the challenge. I'm also excited to be involved in implementing upcoming Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act restoration projects.
Can you describe a time when you were surprised by fish and/or habitat?
Thirteen years ago, I was working on a restoration project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Seattle area that relocated a stream from a channelized road-side ditch to a meandered channel through a forested wetland. The stream was not considered a Chinook salmon stream by the natural resource agencies—but when it came time to open up the new channel, Chinook were waiting at the entrance and ready to spawn! It was a great example of "if you build it, they will come" for habitat restoration.
