We’re excited to announce the addition of Tom Keegan to HELIX’s Sacramento County office. Mr. Keegan has over 35 years of experience as a fisheries scientist/ecologist relative to water resources and environmental compliance. Also currently a Fellow and the President of the prestigious American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists (AIFRB), Mr. Keegan brings our clients and business partners a wealth of knowledge and experience related to fisheries and aquatic resource services.
Mr. Keegan’s technical expertise is focused on effects of altered flows to native fish species populations and their habitats, particularly special-status steelhead (all California distinct population segments [DPSs]), Chinook salmon (all California evolutionary significant units [ESUs]), green sturgeon, delta smelt, longfin smelt, and Sierran trout/native fish populations. He manages technologic investigations of migratory fish (anadromous and resident) fish population dynamics and passage, impingement/entrainment, aquatic habitat, benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) protocol bioassessments, predator/prey relationships, as well as effects assessments (e.g., altered flows and habitats, diversion/entrainment, contaminants).
Mr. Keegan has expertise in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydroelectric relicensing, and environmental compliance, especially relative to state and federal Endangered Species Acts. He routinely manages preparation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Biological Assessments/Section 7 for special-status fish and wildlife species. He is known for innovative design for entrainment assessments at hydroelectric powerhouses, including pump storage intake/outflow, cooling water intakes, power canals, and stream diversions, and is routinely approved by NMFS, USFWS, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for oversight of special-status fish relocation efforts throughout California.
Having conducted hundreds of fisheries assessments related to altered Delta outflow, dredging and dredge material placement, maritime outfall construction and effluent discharge, shoreline construction, tidal marsh habitat and restoration design, and research oriented investigations, Mr. Keegan has specialized expertise in the evaluation of impacts to estuarine fish species. He is a founding member of the California Fish Tagging Consortium and has conducted numerous telemetry (acoustic tag) studies of steelhead, Chinook salmon, and green and white sturgeon in the San Francisco Bay and Delta.
As a part of our comprehensive biology portfolio, HELIX offers a full range of fisheries and aquatic resource services throughout California. Visit our Fisheries and Aquatic Resources webpage for more information or contact Mr. Keegan at 916.365.8700, ext. 106 or tomk@helixepi.com.