Bret Callaway

Bret Callaway graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2009 with a BS in Environmental Studies. Since graduation, he has worked with the National Park Service, private environmental consulting firms, and non-profit organizations where he gained valuable exposure to state and federal regulation, biological resources monitoring, habitat restoration, and volunteer outreach. Currently he is pursuing a master’s degree from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management while continuing to work as a Wildlife Biologist for a local biological consulting firm. Bret has a strong interest in developing solutions for California's increasingly scarce water resources, and how groundwater banking and market forces can alter patterns of waste and overconsumption. His current research endeavors include an assessment of the ecological, economic, and political drivers affecting Bureau of Reclamation dam site selection throughout the western United States. For his master’s thesis, he is investigating the potential impacts of beaver reintroduction on the flow characteristics of the Jemez River in New Mexico. An ideal career for Mr. Callaway would involve working to efficiently match consumptive use of water resources with competitive market prices using groundwater banks as an intermediary.