Federal embezzlement charges were filed this week against biologist Ron LeValley, who was arrested last year following investigation into a nearly million-dollar grift involving the Yurok Tribe and Levalley’s Mad River Biologists. The Times-Standard‘s Thadeus Greenson reported today that LeValley is expected to appear in court for the first time this month. He and biologist Sean McAllister were arrested in 2012 on suspicion of forging invoices to embezzle the money, along with former Yurok forestry director Roland Raymond, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to embezzle and has cooperated with the investigation.
Here’s Ryan Burns’ story from shortly after the three men were arrested.
This article appears in Ruins.
Ron Lavalley started a non profit called Mad River Biologist Research to funnel money into his for profit company called Mad River Biologists. Professor Mark Coldwell is president of the non profit Mad River Biologist Research. Together the work they did on the snowy plover initiated and influenced many of our questionable beach policies.
For instance while roping off large areas of beach grass covered dunes for plover to rear their young they also strongly advocated for massive beach grass removal. Maybe even still do.
Also we have had dozens of unbanded plovers showing up on our coastline over the summer. But we don’t know where they are coming from. That is significant in determining actual breeding success and potential delisting as a threatened species. Quite likely these birds are breeding in areas we are not looking. The coastal population consists of birds within 50 miles of the coast.
While being repeatedly refused information relating to where monitoring is being done and previous nesting and hatch sites from both Professor Coldwell and Fish and Wildlife Service one wonders why transparency is so elusive. I had always thought science welcomed questions and transparency. Maybe it is just agenda-ised science.
Embezzlement, lack of transparency, conflicting policies, and dozens of birds of unknown origin. Time to take a closer look.
Innocent until till proven guilty. Ron LeValley is respected by many of us here on the coast.