Estella joined B.U.G.S. Consulting in 2004 as an intern while she was a student at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fort Lewis in 2006 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. Estella’s background consists of extensive field and lab-based coursework including ecology, entomology, zoology, systematic botany, lichens and bryophytes, wetland and stream ecology and analytical chemistry. Estella was a recipient of the Mountain Studies Institute Mini-Grant Program for research in the San Juan Mountain region and awarded the Fort Lewis Biology Department award for her senior thesis, “Sulfate Concentrations in Usnea hirta along the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad”.   A member of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, since 2005, Estella’s professional research includes the development of nutrient water quality standards, and the effects of grazing and mining on riparian areas and wetlands. Estella participated in a macroinvertebrate training workshop in 2004 and a Chironomidae workshop in 2007 with Wendy Brown. In the summer of 2006, Estella participated in training with the Jicarilla Apache Indian Tribe on the development of a Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) model for wetlands. Estella’s background also includes macroinvertebrate identification and bioassessment using BMIs, periphyton and phytoplankton collection and analysis for chlorophyll-a and AFDM, wetlands assessments, nutrient and bacteria source identification, and development of technical documents such as Quality Assurance Project Plans, Sampling and Analysis Plans, and Standard Operating Procedures.

Estella has taken on management and implementation of field data collection projects and lab analysis projects while at BUGS Consulting. She has also formulated and implemented training for BUGS clients to execute benthic macroinvertebrate sampling in the field according to BUGS Standard Operating Procedures.