Melissa Riedel Lehrke
Staff Biologist/Restoration Ecologist
Riedel-Lehrke is a Staff Scientist/Restoration Ecologist. She has nine years of experience assessing plant communities in Southern California and designing restoration and revegetation projects. She specializes in use of digital field mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis in support of restoration and land management. Melissa has conducted research for effective methods to remove exotic species and vegetation monitoring of exotic species to determine the most effective method of removal. She has participated in weed eradication research and removal in wetlands, coastal sage scrub, grasslands, and oak woodlands habitats. Additionally, Melissa has experience with revegetation and restoration of various habitats and a background in aquatic ecosystems. She has experience in revegetation of coastal sage scrub, upland forest, wetland, oak savannah, prairie, and grassland habitats. She has conducted stream surveys, classifying streams using the Rosgen Stream Classification system, and has performed wetland delineation and evaluations of wetlands and ephemeral streams using the Hydrogeomorphic Method. Some of her project work has included coordinating the field assessment of over 4,000 acres for the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation, vegetation and irrigation monitoring for the 2,260 acre Managed Vegetation Owens Lake Dust Control Mitigation Program for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and field coordination for the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Habitat Restoration Assessment where she was responsible for mapping exotic species infestations and native habitats on over 11,500 acres.