Meet EPA Ecologist Christopher Nietch, Ph.D.
Dr. Chris Nietch is a research ecologist with a Ph.D. in biological and marine sciences from the University of South Carolina. Over his 20 years with EPA, his research has focused on harmful algal bloom ecology and risk characterization and how to best apply nutrient pollution reduction programs and practices in watersheds. He also directs research at the U.S. EPA’s Experimental Stream Facility (ESF), where he leads process-based mesoscale ecotoxicology studies focusing on how stressors impact the aquatic life and functioning of small stream ecosystems.
Tell us about your background.
I have a B.A. in liberal arts from Kalamazoo College, MI and a Ph.D. in biological science from the University of South Carolina. My Ph.D. dissertation was on carbon biogeochemistry in South Carolina tidal marshes. I started at EPA as an ORISE fellow in Edison, NJ studying ecological engineering of stormwater management practices. I then did my post-doctoral work at EPA- RTP, NC in the Regional Vulnerability Assessment Program. I’ve been an ecologist with EPA working in Cincinnati, OH in water quality management since 2003.
What are you working on right now?
I currently lead a multi-state effort researching ways to characterize the risk from harmful benthic cyanobacteria in streams and rivers. I also work with watershed modelers, economists, and engineers to develop and demonstrate innovative approaches to reducing nutrient pollution from non-point sources.
Along with the benthic cyanobacteria and watershed work, last year at the ESF I co-designed and led a study with colleagues to simulate what happens when a small stream ecosystem is impacted by an oil spill. In 2025, the ESF study will focus on assessing the effects of PFAS-free fire-fighting foams on stream aquatic life.
When did you first know you wanted to work in environmental science?
I became interested in nature at a very early age, and I spent most of my childhood in the woods and marshes of southwestern Michigan. I could access a large variety of natural systems just with my bike. I can remember the first class I really got excited about was Michigan Wildlife, in the 7th grade. The class was part wildlife biology and part hunter’s safety. In high school, I had a great biology teacher who offered me independent study options in zoology that I took full advantage of.. I had several amateur naturalists in my extended family, but no scientists. I didn’t realize I could make a career out of studying and trying to protect nature until my internship as a wildlife technician with the Forest Service, during which I was paid to call spotted owls. The spotted owl, listed as a threatened species, was at the center of a conflict between logging industries advocating for timber jobs and economic growth and environmentalists and the Endangered Species Act seeking to protect the northern spotted owl’s old-growth forest habitat.
What do you like most about your job?
Knowing that my research directly influences decisions about environmental protection processes and procedures, not just at a national level, but even more so at state and local levels.
How does your science matter?
My research is geared toward understanding the important ecological processes that impact water quality in streams, rivers, and lakes and determining cost effective ways to manage those impacts. I work with partners, including states and local groups, to help them make decisions about how to spend limited resources to better assess and manage aquatic systems. For example, my research has helped the Ohio EPA write total maximum daily loads to address nutrient pollution; the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission monitor and respond to risks from harmful algal blooms on the Ohio River; partners in the California Water Boards assess and manage risk from toxic benthic cyanobacteria in their North Coast streams and rivers; and a stream facility study that helped a major personal care products manufacturer decide to change its formulation for a popular hand soap.
If you weren’t a scientist, what would you be doing?
I guess I would be a medical doctor or wellness practitioner of some sort. Before I realized what a career in science was really all about, I was very interested in sports medicine.
What advice would you give a student interested in a career in science?
Actively seek out internships with organizations doing science, even if you have minimal understanding of what goes on there. Volunteer, if that’s what it takes, and you can afford to. Science comes in all shapes and sizes, but a hands-on approach to learning has always been most valuable for me. I can remember sometimes anxiously thinking to myself “what in Nature’s name gave me the idea that I would be able to do….?”. In retrospect, it was those instances that really shaped my path forward.
If you could have any superpower, what would you choose?
I like the whole shape-shifting idea. Imagine shifting into a small stream insect and really feeling the difference between life in a polluted vs. a pristine stream.
What do you think the coolest scientific discovery was and why?
I don’t have a single answer for this one. More specific to my career though, after I learned about ecosystem metabolism, which is the total amount of energy (from photosynthesis and respiration) that plants and animals use in an ecosystem, I’ve been calling myself a systems ecologist ever since. The general concept was developed by H.T. Odum in the 1950s in a creek in North Carolina.
If you could have dinner with any scientist, past or present, who would you choose and what would you talk about?
H.T. Odum would be high on the list. He along with his brother Eugene Odum are considered the fathers of modern ecology. I would be interested in chatting with H.T. about more practical ways (than those that have been tried in the past) that system ecology principles could be integrated within EPA’s missions related to clean air and water.
You are stranded on a desert island; how do you use science to survive?
I’d say as an ecologist that specializes in water quality science, I’d be in good position to use several tools of my trade to survive, including water capture and filtration, foraging, and recognizing patterns and processes used by animals and plants to thrive.
What do you think is our biggest scientific challenge in the next 20/50/100 years?
I think one thing that is not getting enough attention is how hugely stressful our current food system is on the environment and human health. The system ecologies and socioeconomics are intertwined in so many complex ways that it makes changing it a wicked problem.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the researcher alone. EPA does not endorse the opinions or positions expressed.