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SARAH GUTZMANN

Sarah Gutzmann

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Sarah Gutzman’s projects bridge the gap between data and emotion. She combines her original scientific research with masterful photography and strategic communication to create impactful work that educates audiences and amplifies the urgency of conservation.

Project 1 – Climate Change, Salmon and Energy Storage

• Project title: Climate Change, Salmon, and Energy Storage Research
• Project role: NSERC USRA Research Assistant
• Project description: Summer research placement at Simon Fraser University examining how climate-driven shifts in flow and temperature regimes affect salmon populations and the reliability of hydropower and energy storage systems. The project combined ecological data on salmon energetics with scenario analysis to understand trade-offs between energy infrastructure, river ecosystems, and community needs.
• Project focus (comma-separated): Climate change adaptation, salmon ecology, river systems, energy storage, quantitative analysis

Project 2 – Lower Mackenzie Whitefish Project (methodology-focused)

• Project title: Advancing Harvest-Based Monitoring for Broad Whitefish
• Project role: Research Assistant – Lower Mackenzie Whitefish Project
• Project description: Contributed to a multi-year collaboration with northern partners to improve harvest-based monitoring of broad whitefish in the Gwich’in Settlement Area. Led development and testing of photographic image analysis methods to estimate fish weight from harvest photos, supporting community-led monitoring and informing co-management decisions in Arctic river systems.
• Project focus: Community-based monitoring, Arctic fisheries, image-based methods, quantitative ecology, Indigenous partnerships

Project 3 – Environmental Effects on Salmonids (consulting work)

• Project title: Cumulative Effects on Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Harmer Creek Salmonids
• Project role: Environmental Scientist – Evaluation of Cause Team (Azimuth Consulting Group Inc.)
• Project description: Supported Evaluation of Cause investigations into declines of Westslope cutthroat trout in the Upper Fording River and Harmer Creek systems for Teck Coal Limited. Tasks included synthesis of hydrological, chemical, and biological datasets, interpretation of mine-influenced stressors, and preparation of technical reporting used to guide mitigation and restoration planning in impacted watersheds.
• Project focus: Cumulative effects assessment, freshwater ecology, mining-impacted systems, technical reporting, regulatory support

Project 4 – Ecosystem Service Valuation (more detail than current card)

• Project title: Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services in Parque Nacional Revillagigedo
• Project role: Co-author and Marine Social-Ecological Researcher
• Project description: Participated in the valuation of ecosystem services provided by Mexico’s Revillagigedo National Park, integrating biophysical information, stakeholder values, and economic methods. The work supported federal decision-making on financing and governance of marine protected areas and contributed to both a peer-reviewed manuscript and a national synthesis volume on ecosystem service valuation in Mexican protected areas.
• Project focus: Ecosystem service valuation, marine protected areas, environmental economics, policy-relevant science, Latin American conservation

Project 5 – Community-Engaged Kelp Governance (thesis-focused)

• Project title: Just Blue Economy Decision-Making in Kelp Harvest and Mariculture
• Project role: Masters Thesis Researcher – Resource and Environmental Management
• Project description: Led a community-engaged research project with Kwakiutl Nation and coastal partners to understand how Indigenous governance principles, relational values, and community-defined objectives can guide decisions between wild kelp harvest and kelp mariculture. The project produced a decision space framework for a just blue economy and informed ongoing regional kelp governance conversations and policy processes.
• Project focus: Just blue economy, Indigenous governance, kelp mariculture, decision-support frameworks, community-engaged research

Project 6 – Environmental Monitoring Framework for Seaweed Farming (more narrative)

• Project title: Environmental Effects Monitoring Framework for Seaweed Farming in Alaska and British Columbia
• Project role: Seaweed Mariculture Specialist and Co-developer
• Project description: Co-developed a practical environmental effects monitoring framework for seaweed farming operations across Alaska and British Columbia with ESSA and collaborators. Work included synthesizing existing science, identifying priority indicators, and co-designing monitoring guidance with practitioners and managers to support responsible industry growth and regulatory decision-making.
• Project focus: Seaweed aquaculture, monitoring design, indicators development, policy tools, applied conservation science

Project 7 – Urban Salmon Habitat Restoration (more detail)

• Project title: Urban Stream Restoration for Pacific Salmon
• Project role: Riparian Enhancement Team Lead – Salmon Habitat Restoration Program (SHaRP)
• Project description: Led multi-person field crews restoring riparian and in-stream habitat in urban and suburban watersheds in support of Pacific salmon recovery. Work involved coordinating planting and invasive species removal, engaging with landowners and youth teams, and implementing restoration plans developed by municipal and consulting biologists.
• Project focus: Urban restoration, salmon conservation, riparian ecology, field team leadership, youth engagement

Project 8 – Marine Mammal Rescue and Public Engagement

• Project title: Marine Mammal Rescue and Coastal Public Education
• Project role: Marine Mammal Rescue Assistant and Marine Educator
• Project description: Volunteered and worked with Marine Mammal Rescue and the Vancouver Aquarium over more than a decade, supporting rescue and rehabilitation of marine mammals and designing and delivering public education programming. This experience grounded later research in lived practice of marine stewardship, outreach, and communicating complex science to diverse audiences.
• Project focus: Marine animal rescue, public outreach, science communication, coastal stewardship, long-term engagement

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