Adrian C. Gallo

Adrian C. Gallo

Ph.D.
Clean Energy Consultant

Bio

Hello! I’m a climate nerd who spent too much time doom scrolling IPCC reports and decided to be part of the renewable energy transition. I am an Idaho-based clean energy consultant currently focusing on energy policy at the county-scale, but remain active in regional energy discussions.

I started my career working for the Forest Service in Alaska and Oregon building long-term forest management plans. My curiosity of the natural world led me to purse a PhD researching how climate change is impacting ecosystems like deserts, grasslands, forests, and agricultural areas. My academic specialties include fire effects on ecosystems, permafrost, and nature based carbon markets. While at Oregon State, I co-produced the Inspiration Dissemination radio show, podcast, & blog where we translated graduate student research for the public’s understanding.

After my teaching and research days finished up, I was Idaho Conservation League’s Climate Program Manager where I co-developed a long-term campaign to accelerate Idaho’s path to decarbonization focused on buildings, transportation, agriculture issues, but focused on the energy grid. Although I started as an tree-hugging ecologist, clean energy-issues are now my life’s work.

I have a strong academic background making me a trusted messenger on climate issues, and I quickly learned how to advocate for clean energy policies. I am media trained and experienced in interviews, presentations, teaching, or panel settings. My ecosystem ecology background helps me feel at home while in the big-picture planning arena. I’ve learned that sometimes you need a long-term strategic plan to fix a policy problem, but other times you need to have more coffee & windshield time with the locals.

When not working you can find me running in circles, mountain biking, playing soccer, rock climbing, or trying to learn how to ski. Learn more about me.


Download my CV

Interests
  • Renewable Energy Siting
  • Terrestrial Ecology
  • Science Communication
  • Energy Policy
  • Coalition Building
  • Learning
Education

  • PhD in Soil Science, 2022

    Oregon State University

  • MS in Sustainable Forest Management, 2016

    Oregon State University

  • BS in Soil Science & Geology Minor, 2013

    California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Skills

Policy Analysis
Project Management
Data Interpretation
Environmental Chemistry
Interviewing & Communication
Disturbance Effects on Ecosystems

Projects

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All Energy LTSP NEON HJ-Andrews SciComm
How to plan the least risky places for solar development on public lands in the West
Utility scale solar PV projects need large continuous acres, in sunny places, ideally on public lands. But how do you decide where they go while minimizing conflicts?
Adrian C. Gallo
How to plan the least risky places for solar development on public lands in the West
The most contentious wind project in the country arrives—then falters—in Idaho
A short saga of Idaho’s Lava Ridge wind project, a gigawatt scale project that stumbled, succeeded, then got killed. But it might still be resurrected in the future.
Adrian C. Gallo
The most contentious wind project in the country arrives—then falters—in Idaho
The Road to a Clean Energy Future
My telling of a 50-year environmental policy history and our many possible clean energy futures
Adrian C. Gallo
PDF Video
The Road to a Clean Energy Future
Environmental Impacts of [Clean] Energy Projects
Our ecosystems are under broad threats from climate change, so how should we deal with the acute physical impacts of new energy projects on the landscape?
Adrian C. Gallo
Environmental Impacts of [Clean] Energy Projects
Environmental Justice on the Radio
If this is the first time you’ve seen the phrase ‘environmental justice’ I can promise you it won’t be the last. Although my academic career narrowly focuses on soil science, once I learned a bit of political ecology and place-based history I found myself obsessed with the concept of environmental justice. This is an obsession that will hopefully be intertwined in my future career, so here’s my very basic understanding of what I’ve learned thus far.
Adrian C. Gallo
Environmental Justice on the Radio
A decade of environmental research
I successfully defended my PhD, and had a lot of [type II] fun in the process. You can watch my presentation, look through my slides, and access my draft dissertation that still requires more edits before it’s finalized. Enjoy.
Adrian C. Gallo
A decade of environmental research
My love of Mountain Biking Meets Soils
I was riding bikes before I was digging holes, but the more holes I dug the more I liked mountain biking. I was interviewed by a science journalist who like mountain biking and wanted to learn a bit about soil. Especially that sweet sweet loam.
Adrian C. Gallo, David Shultz
My love of Mountain Biking Meets Soils
My Roots
I grew up along California’s San Juaquin Delta within sight of plenty of windmills, cornfields, a Chevron oil refinery, and a gas power plant. Luckily, I had parents who thought it was cool to hike miles into the Sierra Nevada mountains, poop in holes you frantically dug, and sleep on the ground for fun!
Adrian C. Gallo
My Roots
Memorable Episodes from Inspiration Dissemination
I’ve been a co-host of this radio show & podcast show in 2015. Each on-air interview is preceded with a written blog post advertising my fellow graduate students. This is a brief overview of some of them.
Adrian C. Gallo
Memorable Episodes from Inspiration Dissemination
Big Data for Big Problems - The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
The NEON project was at its infancy when I began my dissertation. They were literally building and installing the ~30 sites around North America at the same time they were sampling soils for my project. Although my PhD focuses on the soils aspect, there is a wealth of publicly available data being generated that any scientist should be aware of.
Adrian C. Gallo
Big Data for Big Problems - The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
How to dig a perfectly square hole at the HJ Andrews experimental forest
Ever wanted to see how perfectly square a 1x1x1 meter cube you could dig? Well neither have I! But it turns out, ecosystem-level carbon accounting require very precise partitioning of biomass pools to be effective.
Adrian C. Gallo
How to dig a perfectly square hole at the HJ Andrews experimental forest
Intensive Biomass Harvesting in the Oregon Cascades for Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP)
Forest management has strong effects on the landscapes, but what happens to soil carbon - and therefore site productivity - following intensive biomass harvesting?
Adrian C. Gallo
Intensive Biomass Harvesting in the Oregon Cascades for Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP)
Inspiration Dissemination - Radio show, podcast, and blog
Doing the research is never as fun as talking about it. This radio show & podcast is for and by graduate students at OSU so we can all stay curious about the world around us.
Adrian C. Gallo
Inspiration Dissemination - Radio show, podcast, and blog

Publications & Talks

Looking for a specific conference talk or pub? Try filtering publications

Quantifying impacts of forest fire on soil carbon in a young, intensively managed tree farm in the western Oregon Cascades
The Oregon Labor Day fires of 2020 collectively burned over 1,000,000 acres. That year, more than 10,000,000 acres burned across the western US that caused nearly $20 billion dollars in damages. This study is focused on the post-fire effects on a young industrial timber plantation that we were monitoring very carefully for years prior as part of another project, but it burned up in the Holiday Farm Fire.
PDF Google Scholar
Quantifying impacts of forest fire on soil carbon in a young, intensively managed tree farm in the western Oregon Cascades
Moisture-driven divergence in mineral-associated soil carbon persistence
Soil carbon “sequestration” is all the rage now a days, but very rarely does anyone define the time-frame of “sequester”. Usually folks are only looking at changes to soil carbon content, and assuming those changes are permanent. They are not. Here we show that soil carbon content is de-coupled from how long that soil carbon stays in soil (i.e. having more carbon in soils does not necessary mean that carbon sticks around for longer periods of time).
PDF Google Scholar
Moisture-driven divergence in mineral-associated soil carbon persistence
Lignin and fungal abundance modify manganese effects on soil organic carbon persistence at the continental scale
Too many people focus on surface soils, and too many people ignore Manganese (Mn)! If you don’t know about Mn’s role in ecosystems processes, the introduction is expertly written by Dr. Angela Possinger (also the primary author) and is worth reading over. We show that Mn abundance at the continental scale is highly variable, but that it can be predictive of certain soil carbon metrics (especially lignin abundance). But, the effects of Mn is pretty unique on location, and at each horizon in the soil illustrating the old addage “it’s all about site specificity!”
PDF Google Scholar
Lignin and fungal abundance modify manganese effects on soil organic carbon persistence at the continental scale
The Impact of freeze-thaw history on soil carbon response to experimental freeze-thaw cycles
Permafrost soils are some of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and the primary author, Dr. Erin Rooney, is showing us all her chemistry skills from the second chapter of her dissertation. If you want to see her first chapter, see her other permafrost paper above that describes some of the physical changes to permafrost when it undergoes freeze thaw cycles. But this paper is about the chemical changes that occur, and what that could mean for arctic-permafrost nutrient cycling.
PDF Google Scholar
The Impact of freeze-thaw history on soil carbon response to experimental freeze-thaw cycles
Soil pore network response to freeze-thaw cycles in permafrost aggregates
Permafrost soils are finally getting the attention they deserve. Unfortunately, they may not be around much longer because of how quickly they are thawing. Here we explore what happens during freeze-thaw cycles that may alter their future behavior
PDF Google Scholar
Soil pore network response to freeze-thaw cycles in permafrost aggregates
See all publications

Formal Experience

 
 
 
 
 
Idaho Conservation league
Climate Program Manager
Idaho Conservation league
Aug 2023 – Present Boise, Idaho

Responsibilities include:

  • Analyzing NEPA reports, County land use policies, and State regulations to enable the development of renewable energy projects
  • Developing and implementing climate campaign strategies that include scientific, legal, regulatory and grassroots tactics to make Idaho carbon neutral
  • Building an understanding and consensus on climate smart policies
  • Advocating for clean energy, electrified transportation, and social policies that ensure people are not left behind in this energy transition
  • Establishing and building relationships with Tribes, agencies, elected officials, the business community, media and the public in order to build broad consensus for our overarching climate goals
 
 
 
 
 
Oregon State University - Cascades Campus
Instructor of Record - SOIL 205/206
Oregon State University - Cascades Campus
Oct 2021 – Dec 2021 Bend, OR

Responsibilities include:

  • Teaching Introduction to Soil Science Lecture & Laboratory Classes
  • Preparing Lectures, Quizzes, Exams, and Field Activities
  • Responding to Student Questions & Concerns
  • Adapting Class & Lab to a Remote Instruction Format
 
 
 
 
 
Oregon State University - Extension Services
Extension Science Writer
Oregon State University - Extension Services
Apr 2020 – Jul 2020 Corvallis, OR

Responsibilities include:

  • Contacting & Interviewing Extension Scientists
  • Writing for Extension Publications
  • Connecting Academic Research to On-Site Practices
 
 
 
 
 
Oregon State University
Graduate Research Assistant (Ph.D. Program)
Oregon State University
Jun 2016 – Dec 2022 Corvallis, OR

Responsibilities include:

  • Field Collection of Soil Samples
  • Tracking Soil Analysis Across Labs
  • Performing Wet Chemistry on Soils
  • Ecosystem-level Data Analysis
  • Presenting Research at & Organizing Academic Conferences
  • Writing for Academic Journals
 
 
 
 
 
Oregon State University
Graduate Research Assistant (M.Sci. Program)
Oregon State University
Jun 2013 – May 2016 Corvallis, OR

Responsibilities include:

  • Field Installation of Soil Sensors
  • Performing Wet Chemistry on Soils
  • Data Analysis of Experimental Treatments
  • Writing for Academic Journals
 
 
 
 
 
USDA Forest Service - Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest
Biological Science Technician (Soils)
USDA Forest Service - Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest
Jun 2012 – Aug 2012 Cave Junction, OR

Responsibilities include:

  • Watershed management synthesis plans for achieving multiple objectives
  • Incorporating GIS & field verification techniques for project implementation
  • Report writing for actionable treatment areas
  • Identifying watershed level projects where tree harvests and/or thinnings may coincide with potential fire brakes and other natural resource objectives.
 
 
 
 
 
USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest
Biological Science Technician (Soils)
USDA Forest Service - Tongass National Forest
Jun 2011 – May 2012 Craig, AK

Responsibilities include:

  • The coolest job I’ll ever have
  • Jumpin' outta helicopters to dig holes on steep hillsides to see how stable the soils actually were
  • Navigating in a dense temperate rain forest with old school maps and an even older school GPS unit
  • Driving on forest roads with loggers that drive like they’re in a car derby
  • Detailing our field observations and providiing justifications for limitations to harvest prescriptions

Popular Topics

Aggregates Continental Cutin Deep Soils Density Fraction Ecosystems Energy Forests Freeze Thaw Incubations Long-term LTSP NEON Presentation Radiocarbon SciComm SOC Soil SOM Wildfire

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