Crystal Raymond
Overview and Professional Qualifications
Dr. Crystal Raymond leads the climate change research and adaptation program at Seattle City Light. City Light has been concerned about the effects of climate change in the Skagit Basin for over a decade. In 2013, the utility expanded its efforts to address climate change with a new 3‑year initiative that includes research and the development of an adaptation plan with strategies to reduce adverse impacts and increase resilience. A focus of this research and planning is the Skagit basin and City Light’s Skagit hydroelectric project.
Dr. Raymond supports research projects and collaborates with scientists to assess the effects of climate change on streamflow, flooding, hydropower production, instream flows for fish protection, and reservoir levels for recreation. In addition to an improved understanding of the impacts, a goal of these research projects is to inform strategies for adapting reservoir operations and habitat management for a changing climate.
Before working at City Light, Dr. Raymond worked at the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station where she led the North Cascadia Adaptation Partnership (NCAP). The NCAP developed a climate change vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan for two national parks and two national forests in the north Cascades region of Washington. The project assessed climate change impacts to vegetation, fish and aquatic habitat, wildlife, and hydrologic regimes.
Research Interests
- Adaptation strategies for reducing climate change impacts to multiple sectors including fisheries, forests, recreation and access, hydropower production, and infrastructure.
- Methods for implementing adaptation and measuring and defining success.
- Climate change impacts on glaciers, snowpack and streamflow.
- Climate change impacts on forest ecosystems including wildfire and carbon storage.
Education and Credentials
- Ph.D., ecosystem analysis, University of Washington, 2010
- M.S., forest ecology, University of Washington, 2005
- B.S., natural resource management, University of California, Berkeley 1999
Contact information
Dr. Crystal Raymond
Strategic Advisor – Climate Change Adaptation
Seattle City Light
700 Fifth Ave., Suite 3300
P.O. Box 34023
Seattle, WA 98124–4023
Tel: 206–386-1620
Email: Crystal.Raymond@Seattle.gov