About Daniel's Work
Daniel is currently responsible for the management of three program areas at Sustainable Conservation: (1) Development of Statewide Programmatic Permitting for small scale restoration projects, (2) testing and evaluation of Ecosystem Services pilot projects and (3) development of integrated water management pilot projects. All programs at Sustainable Conservation seek environmental solutions that make economic sense. Daniel uses his Human Ecology training to identify and forge new partnerships between public and private individuals and organizations that can collectively solve natural resource problems.
Prior to joining Sustainable Conservation in March of 2012, Daniel worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service for 17 years and provided leadership for the county-based field offices in 16 counties around the San Francisco Bay and Delta and Central Coast. He supported NRCS and Resource Conservation Districts to develop watershed planning groups that promoted voluntary solutions to natural resource issues. He also developed outreach strategies for providing technical information to Hispanic farmers to conserve their soil and water resources. Daniel also played a central role in a multi-county public-private partnership to protect the Water Quality of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The Agriculture Water Quality Alliance (www.awqa.org) brings the agricultural industry together with technical agencies and the Sanctuary to find affordable farm management solutions that reduce runoff and protect ground and surface water quality. He collaborated with UC Cooperative Extension to develop a 15 hour Farm Water Quality Planning Short Course that more than 2000 Central Coast farmers attended. He also was the co-developer of Permit Coordination, a one-stop approach to obtaining regulatory agency permits for restoration and conservation projects. This approach began in Monterey County but has now spread to multiple counties in California with the support of Sustainable Conservation, a non-profit organization where Daniel now works.
Daniel has also worked for the California Department of Conservation and the California Association of Conservation Districts.