Salvador Contreras
Principal Biologist and GIS Specialist
Sal joined Streamscape in 2015, largely taking over day-to-day operations. With Sal’s leadership, Streamscape has been able to greatly expand both our GIS offerings and biological assessment services. Sal conducts and/or oversees biological surveys, habitat assessments, monitoring, reporting, and GIS mapping and analysis in support of large and small scale projects alike.
Sal’s biological experience covers a range of disciplines, including but not limited to ornithology (birds), mammalogy (mammals), herpetology (reptiles), and parasitology (fish and wildlife parasites). He is also highly skilled in botantical identification and stream and wetland assessment and delineation. Sal has extensive experience with nesting birds and bats and has specialized field experience and training with the following special status species:
Animal Species:
- Arroyo Chub
- Arroyo Toad
- Borrowing Owl
- California Gnatcatcher
- California Newt
- California Red-Legged Frog
- California Tiger Salamander
- California Tree Frog
- Desert Tortoise
- Foothill Yellow-legged Frog
- Least Bell’s Vireo
- Pacific Fisher
- Pacific Tree Frog
- Sierra Marten
- Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog
- Slender-Billed Nuthatch
- Southern California Steelhead
- Southern Willow Flycatcher
- Two-striped Gartersnake
- Unarmored Threespine Stickleback
- Western Pond Turtle
- Yosemite Toad
Plant Species:
- Braunton’s Milkvetch
- Conejo Buckwheat
- Conejo Dudleya
- Fragrant Pitcher Sage
- Lyon’s Pentachaeta
- Marcescent Dudleya
- San Fernando Valley Spineflower
- Santa Susana Tar Plant
- Short Joint Beavertail Cactus
In the GIS realm, Sal specializes in collecting, transforming, and analyzing data and making beautiful cartographic products. As both an expert cartographer and a seasoned biologist, Sal’s eye for incorporating ecological data into meaningful, aesthetically pleasing maps is unparalleled. Many of Sal’s maps appear in research articles in scientific journals.
Originally from central Mexico, Sal has worked in government, academic, and private sectors. He maintains a holistic vision and the ability to resolve complex situations for the conservation of ecosystems and their biodiversity.
Find Sal on LinkedIn