Peter Vorster

Peter Vorster has 40 years of experience as a hydrogeographer, much of it focused on California's water resources and the landmark water conflicts in the Eastern Sierra (Mono Lake and the Owens Valley) and the San Francisco Bay-Delta watershed. He was a principal researcher on the California Water Atlas and a key player in the successful effort to restore Mono Lake and its streams. Peter has been at The Bay Institute since 1996, where he heads up the San Joaquin River Restoration Initiative and is a principal for the Ecological Scorecard project. Currently he is a senior advisor to the California Water Foundation on their Sustainable Water Management Profile project.

Peter is a 1990 Switzer Fellow and recipient of multiple Switzer Environmental Leadership Grants. He currently is on the steering committee of the California Water and Environmental Modeling Forum and on the board of directors of the California Urban Water Conservation Council.

Peter taught environmental studies, resource management, and California geography for four years in the Dept of Geography and Environmental Studies at California State University of the East Bay. He also worked with the Oakland Museum for many years on their urban creek and watershed map series for the San Francisco Bay Area. Peter is also a consultant to groups working on stream restoration and environmental flow management, primarily in the Eastern Sierra. He has an A.B. in geography and geology from UC Berkeley, an M.A, in geography from California State University East Bay, and completed Phd. coursework in environmental planning at UC Berkeley.