Michael Tuma

About Michael Tuma

I am a Wildlife Biologist who assists clients with complying with environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act, California Environmental Quality Act, and National Environmental Policy Act, among others. I have diverse experience in technical biological work, including population and habitat assessments, rare plant and wildlife surveys and monitoring, vegetation community and wildlife habitat restoration, and population and habitat modeling, among other surveys, assessments, and studies. I have additional experience conducting anthropological, archaeological, and paleontological research. I am skilled in project management, staff management and mentoring, and client and agency engagement. I am a proponent of using science to develop smart environmental policies and to advance issues pertaining to biological conservation and biodiversity.I am an expert in implementing advanced field data collection techniques and methodologies during studies of tortoises and other chelonians, including translocation, headstarting, radio telemetry, protocol health assessments, collection of blood/tissue samples, morphometric measurements, and radiography. I have provided training to and directed teams of biologists who have carried out these activities on projects involving dozens of tortoise study subjects. I have been authorized to conduct these activities by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kenya Wildlife Service, and several state agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. My research interests include population biology, evolutionary ecology, herpetology, and applied conservation, particularly of turtles and tortoises. My most recent work involves use of aerial drones and AI to conduct surveys for the Critically Endangered bolsón tortoise in Mexico and the Mojave Desert tortoise in California and Nevada. I am currently employed as Principal Biologist at FirstCarbon Solutions. I serve on the Desert Tortoise Council Board of Directors and Assistant Editor for the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology.

Experience

1. Principal Biologist

   FCS

   Apr 2020 — Present · San Bernardino, CA, US

   In this role I am responsible for biological surveys and reporting pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance, preparing regulatory permitting packages and performing consultations in support of California Fish and Game Code Section 2081 Incidental Take Permit applications, and mentoring biologists.

Education

• Eastern Illinois University

  Master of Science (MS), Zoology

  1991 — 1993

• The University of Southern Mississippi

  Master of Science (MS), Anthropology

  1995 — 1998

• Truman State University

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Zoology

  1986 — 1991

• University of Southern California

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Integrative and Evolutionary Biology

  2010 — 2016

Skills

• Ornithology
• Wildlife Biology
• Environmental Policy
• Ethnoarchaeology
• Field Data Collection
• Population Modeling
• Gopher Tortoise
• Herpetology
• Field Work
• Marketing
• Endangered Species
• Renewable Energy
• Faunal Analysis
• Program Management
• Habitat Restoration
• Agency Consultation
• Gis
• Data Collection
• Cwa
• Natural Resources
• Environmental Consulting
• Project Management
• Technical Writing
• Environmental Compliance
• Nepa
• Natural Resource Management
• Biology
• Esa
• Endangered Species Act
• Scientific
• Environmental Permitting
• Ceqa
• Agency Coordination
• Mitigation
• Environmental Science
• Wildlife
• Staff Management
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Ecological Restoration
• Evolutionary Biology