Kira Puntenney-Desmond

Stream Tracker Project Manager/Research Associate

Ecosystem Science and Sustainability


Fields of Expertise

Education and Outreach, Engagement, Snow Hydrology, Watershed Science

Areas of Interest

Streamflow intermittence in Rocky Mountain headwater catchments, Community engagement in watershed stewardship


Biography

Kira is the project manager for Stream Tracker, a community science network crowdsourcing observations of the location and flow condition of intermittent stream channels. She focuses on program outreach, recruitment, and retention, as well as developing and adapting the project as it has grown from its roots in the Cache la Poudre watershed to become nationwide. In addition to the community network, she assists in maintaining a streamflow sensor monitoring network within the Cache la Poudre basin on smaller tributaries spanning high to low elevations. She provides additional field support for the continued development of instrumentation efforts for long-term weather and streamflow monitoring at the CSU Mountain Campus. Kira earned her B.S in Watershed Science from Colorado State University and her M.S. in Water Resources Science from Oregon State University. A Colorado native, she has always been drawn to the headwater narrative and is passionate about connecting communities to their watershed.