Robert is a premier field biologist with 27 years of experience in the Tulare Basin. He served as a field biologist and regional land steward for The Nature Conservancy of California for nine years (1981 to 1990), is a biology instructor at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA, and is principal of Hansen's Biological Consulting. Through his company, he conducted bird surveys and nest monitoring at agricultural drainwater evaporation basins for private drainage districts in Kings, Kern and Tulare counties from 1994 to 2004. He managed field surveys and document preparation for Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP), including the Pleasant Valley HCP in Fresno County, the Kern Fan HCP in Kern County, and others in Tulare County. Widely respected as a professional biologist and conservation leader throughout California, Mr. Hansen serves as an advisor on a variety of regional projects. During 2003, he participated as a member of the science advisory committee to Merced County during an analysis of habitat and special status species impacts related to the establishment of the new UC Merced campus. In 2005, he worked on the science advisory committee that reviewed the Yuba/Sutter County natural communities conservation plan (NCCP) and HCP. He serves as a director of Sequoia Riverlands Trust and was co-founder of that organization. Mr. Hansen received a B.S. and an M.A. in biology from California State University at Fresno.