Our History

Founded by San Jose State Professors

In 1970, the Sierra Club engaged four San Jose State University (SJSU) ecology professors, including Dr. H. Thomas Harvey, to assess the impact of Sierra Club wilderness excursions on the habitats of California’s High Sierra and parts of Yosemite National Park. It was one of the first studies of its kind in the United States. These ecologists went on to found H. T. Harvey & Associates as an outlet to conduct this and other research, as well as to provide consulting services.

With the passage of a series of environmental laws in the early 1970s, demand for ecological consulting services grew considerably, as did our services and expertise. Comprising nearly 20 associates who were professors in their fields, plus field biologists, our firm completed hundreds of projects for government agencies, private companies, and nonprofit organizations, and opened an office in the San Joaquin Valley. Our company’s scientific expertise informed California’s approach to impact assessment, mitigation planning, and conservation, an influence that continues today. In 1981, Ron Duke began his ecological career as a consultant for Tom Harvey. Working with Tom Harvey, Howard Shellhammer, and others, Ron became an expert on the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and the ecology and restoration of the marsh habitat on which it depends.

1970—1989 Standard-Setting Projects 

During this era, concurrent with the growth of the environmental movement, H. T. Harvey & Associates worked on standard setting projects in California and on the West coast of the United States:

• Preparing some of the first biological sections of environmental impact reports under the California Environmental Quality Act
• Conducting early wetland delineations under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Act Section 404 program
• Helping develop the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships program for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Describing the wetlands of the Pacific Coast for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Designing the first tidal restoration projects in San Francisco Bay, leading to more than five decades of such projects

1989—2024 Ron Duke’s Leadership

In 1989 the firm opened its second office in Fresno, and in 1990, Ron Duke took over as president from the late Dr. Harvey. During that time, he deepened our expertise by adding senior experts in restoration ecology, ornithology, botany, wetlands ecology, mammalogy, herpetology, aquatic ecology, and landscape architecture.

Ron opened an office in the Sacramento Valley (1998), hired now CEO, Karin Hunsicker (2004), and opened other offices in the Redwood Coast (2008), and Hawai‘i (2013). When he retired as president in 2022, he formally passed the reins to his sons Dan Duke (president) and Jon Duke (COO), to work alongside Karin. Ron continued to serve as chairman of the board until his passing in 2024.

H. T. Harvey & Associates Today

We continue to operate with the values and deep commitment to excellence and the unbiased application of ecological science to address complicated challenges that Ron instilled during his 43 years at the company. Today we’re eleven principals and more than 70 ecologists, landscape architects, GIS specialists, and other professionals in five offices in California and Hawai‘i, covering an extensive range of biological subdisciplines relevant to ecological consulting. We continue to be engaged in a wide array of projects which demonstrate our team’s dedication to excellence and the innovative roots of our founding.

Our Mission

We create ecologically sound solutions to our clients’ complex natural resource challenges.