This summer we plan to highlight several of the participants in the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps (21CSC). Environment for the Americas is a 21CSC program operator. To view all Faces of the 21CSC stories, please click here.  

Daniel Gomez, BLM California and Elkhorn Slough

My name is Daniel Gomez, and I am 25 years old. As a child I was fortunate enough to have been raised close to the beach so I often found myself running in the sand and gazing out into the ocean, amazed by its vastness. When it was time to leave the nest and go college I decided I wanted to explore the country so I headed off to the University of Pennsylvania where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Earth Science.

While my initial interests in college were in petroleum geology I soon returned to my first passion, water. After graduating I returned home wanting to learn about the water issues that plague Central California. Living in a highly agricultural area I found a job with the City of Salinas doing environmental planning that was specifically directed toward agricultural issues, however, I quickly realized that I wanted to be out in the field getting messy and doing research. Having learned that watershed health is dependent on more than just the physical properties related to it, I was ecstatic to find an internship program with Environment for the Americas that focuses on the birds that live in shallow water and mudflats. Continue reading →