ALUMNI Q&A WITH FISHERIES BIOLOGIST PATRICK FERGUSON
Patrick Ferguson took classes at the Au Sable Pacific Rim campus in the summer of 2007, including Field Botany, Forest Ecology, Marine Invertebrates, and Marine Mammals. He graduated with a degree in biology from Azusa Pacific University in 2008 and works for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Senior Environmental Scientist Supervisor, managing the San Joaquin River Restoration Program.
What did you take away from your time Au Sable?
That summer I was going into my senior year and knew I wanted to have a background in biology. It was nice to have community and get mentorship from faculty. It was meaningful for me to see that there were professionals who were both scientists and Christians. It was an encouragement to have that as a roadmap of what I could do when I graduated. Au Sable was also my first real exposure to creation care.
What do you mean your first exposure to creation care?
Growing up, there weren’t many sermons on creation care. Au Sable was first time I was part of a group of Christians who felt we should be part of caring for the environment. Intuitively I felt that way because of my own interests. At Au Sable I realized this is something bigger than just, “Oh, I like nature.” I understood the biblical calling to it and realize maybe I have a purpose in doing some of this work.
How did Au Sable shape your sense of vocation and the rest of your career?
One of my passions is fly fishing. Growing up my dad would take me and my sister on backpacking trips in the Sierras. It dawned on me in a class at APU that I could be a fisheries biologist.
My experience at Au Sable kept me going in that direction. It was very positive. After graduating I worked at the Mission Springs Conference Center as an Outdoor Educator. I also did some volunteer work electrofishing in the Golden Trout Wilderness. I don’t know if it was the most direct route to becoming a biologist, but each progression fine-tuned my sense of vocation.
What is about fish that is so fascinating?
I grew up fishing. My dad and I went on a few fishing trips to visit family up in Washington when I was 8 and 10. It was just me and him, and a unique opportunity to bond with him. A lot of good feelings and fun memories came out of that.
We’re so used to being with terrestrial wildlife. Putting a mask on and jumping in a river, it’s a whole other underwater world.
You’ve been at California Department of Fish and Wildlife for over 12 years. What do you do currently?
I supervise a unit of four permanent environmental scientists or biologists and a number of seasonal scientific aides restoring the San Joaquin River and reintroducing Spring-run Chinook salmon.
In the 1940s and prior the Friant Dam and a series of other low head dams went up. Those prevented passage of Spring-run to their historic spawning grounds. Now we’re trying to provide passage around those structure and also doing research and monitoring associated with Spring-run and their habitat.
How do the salmon know to go back to these historic spawning grounds if they haven’t been there for over 50 years?
They do not have complete passage to their spawning grounds, yet. We are working on that with two large passage projects around two low head dams that when completed around 2028, should allow passage for them and other native fishes such as sturgeon species.
Our conservation hatchery is sourcing donor stock from multiple sources of Spring-run from the tributaries of the Sacramento River system. We take a portion of these eggs and rear them to adulthood and maturation. Once mature we spawn the broodstock in our facility and rear their offspring until smolt or yearling life stages and release those to our river to outmigrate to the ocean.
Prior to outmigrating, those offspring have imprinted to our river. This is now officially their natal water, which salmon are famously known for returning using olfactory clues. Since they have imprinted on our water chemistry, they return to our system, and with the current help from us hitch a ride to spawn naturally in the river around passage barriers. As these fish locally adapt to our system, and spawn naturally in the river, our conservation hatchery will source fish from our own river for broodstock until we hit program targets for natural returns.
The goal is to eventually phase out the conservation hatchery and only have natural spawning in the river. This is likely decades out but that’s the plan.
With climate change, there must be a lot to adapt to in your work.
The San Joaquin River is the southern extreme of Spring-run Chinook salmon range. This system is going to see the worst effects of climate change. If you read the paper at times in California, there’s seemingly a challenge between water, agriculture, and fish. There’s a lot of competition for resources. Some folks think there shouldn’t be fish in the stream or they don’t care. They think that the water should be used only for human consumption and for agriculture.
But when I was at work as a field biologist, we were trapping salmon and getting permission from some of these landowners that were farmers. One farmer was so excited, he wanted to get on his waders and come and help us. So here’s this farmer helping with fish species and conservation. The issues are not as black and white as they might seem.
Working with cold water fish, climate change is a big issue I’m concerned about. One of the leading fish scientists, former UC Davis professor Peter Moyle, has said that in the next 100 years with climate change, if we don’t change the ways we live, we’re likely to lose a lot of our salmon and trout species in the state.
I’m an optimist. We’re doing great things and making progress on this restoration project. We’ve returned a population of salmon that was extirpated from this river 60 years ago. But I do wonder, in 20 years when I retire, is this whole thing going to be a flop? Is this a waste of time or not?
Where I really find hope is that while we’re doing our best, our hope is in Jesus. At some time, there’s going to be a restored earth. If it’s not my hand helping in that, it’s at least helpful to know that’s the end goal, even if that doesn’t seem very promising at times.
It sounds there’s a level of faith that other factors are at play, including God.
I don’t know how other people do it who aren’t believers. I don’t know where they find their hope.
We’re doing our best and that’s all we can do. Some of it’s in our control but most of its out of our control. That’s not a cop out to say we shouldn’t be trying stuff because we are. When you really think about it, we’re up against some really difficult things. The motivation for me to keep on going is that maybe I’m doing some of God’s work here.
How do you explain the value of your work to someone who doesn’t understand?
In general, there’s intrinsic value of having salmon in the system. They’re an important cultural resource for indigenous tribes in the area. They’re a keystone species that drive marine nutrients up from the ocean to the Central Valley. A lot of the tension that I feel is with some of the permanent crops—nut crops like almonds—and the amount of water they need. They’re certainly a big economic producer. But here’s also a whole other industry on the fisheries side who are reliant on these fish for their jobs.
On the Christian side, the creator of the universe put Spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River. Who am I to question whether there should be fish in there?
How do you go about sharing a resource like water? You need water for food and drinking. People need it for their lives and industries. But if you’re producing almonds using a shared resource in the state, and each year you’re shipping the produce off to other countries and making more and more profit, in my head, there’s something wrong with that.
I don’t think it’s ever a waste to let water go to the ocean. You’re letting a river function as a river with its own ecosystem function and services. It pushes saltwater out from the delta, where farmers are also pulling water for their crops. There’s tons of value to having that river holding water, even if it’s not going into anyone’s pockets.
On the Christian side, the creator of the universe put Spring-run Chinook salmon in the San Joaquin River. Who am I to question whether there should be fish in there? I don’t think he would have created something that didn’t serve a purpose or have value. Just because of that I should be trying to take care of it.
As stewards of creation, it’s important at some level to maintain the biodiversity of the earth, and salmon are a part of that. We have a role in trying to keep our wildlife and fish alive and healthy.
Are there spiritual practices or habits that sustain you in your work?
I’ve always felt closer to God while in creation. While I’m on the river doing my work, I look up and think, “This is amazing. This river is not only beautiful but God created it.” Slowing down enough while I’m out in creation, even though I have job to do, fills my soul. Things may seem dire at times but we have an all-knowing God who loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. He made all of this and is going to make it all good. Even if something seems like a big hurdle, you always have that hope.
Anything else you would like to share?
We have a unique perspective as Christians and a place in caring for creation, maybe the most important place. We need to be courageous enough to step into that. Are we moving in a direction that is sustainable and taking care of the earth? If not, we should reevaluate. As Christians, we should be at the forefront of asking these questions, not just leaving it secular groups, nonprofits, or certain parties. We all have a place, independent of our political views, to take care of God’s earth.
