Austin is a Supervisory Fish Biologist from the Lodi US Fish and Wildlife Service Office. For the past five years, he has led investigations focused on Chinook salmon reproduction and spawning habitat assessments within the San Joaquin River Restoration Area. Currently, Austin’s work is focused on White Sturgeon population assessments, migration timing, and habitat use within the lower San Joaquin River. Prior to the SJRRP, he worked on fishery related issues in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers and San Francisco Estuary related to juvenile Chinook salmon emigration and Delta smelt population assessments. Originally from upstate New York, Austin obtained his bachelor’s degree (Aquatics and Fisheries Science) from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His prior experience includes researching the rapid speciation of endemic fishes of Palawan, Philippines, as well as sportfish population assessments with an emphasis on Northern Pike and Muskellunge recruitment, spawning habitat connectivity, and wetland restoration in the St. Lawrence River at the Thousand Islands Biological Station.