Researcher

 

Father, Data Scientist, Plant Ecologist, Linguist, Rancher, Writer, and Artist. Cleve is kind of a jack-of-all-trades and can provide both front-end and back-end support for web map development. He is also highly experienced with using Python, R or SQL to conduct various data science tasks. As a former botanist and forest manager, Cleve has helped INL biofuel researchers with modeling forest inventory data to characterize forest health, stand conditions, and to evaluate how fuel treatments may impact fire behavior. However, Cleve's real passion is hydrologic modeling. For example, he has helped the Nuclear Regulatory Commission identify flood risk potential to nuclear facilities and has developed geoprocessing tools for the Department of Energy (DOE) that can predict the water purification potential of wetlands or that quantify how much water is lost through evapotranspiration. Currently, he is the lead contact for the Fort Hall Irrigation Modernization Case Study and was recently awarded funding through DOE on a project entitled “Social Impacts and Opportunities for Hydropower in Partnership with Tribes". Cleve also creates custom high impact and visually pleasing 2D and 3D static maps for internal and external clients.

Dr. Davis is from the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and is a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (Tribes). Cleve has overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where he is today. He attended schools that treated Native Americans poorly and did not encourage Native students to utilize their heritage languages or celebrate their unique cultures. After high school, he went to work for the Tribes' Resident Fisheries and Solid Waste Programs. While working as solid waste technician, he pursued a degree in biological sciences at Idaho State University (ISU). After completing the bachelor's degree, he gained employment with the Bureau of Land Management as a Botanist. After working with BLM for 10 years he decided to help his tribe preserve the Bannock language and pursued a master's degree. While working on his master's degree, he became interested in geographical information systems (GIS). Ultimately, he completed enough classes to earn a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Geotechnology. After completing the master's degree, he became interested in statistical science, computer programming, and remote sensing. So, he enrolled in a PhD program at the University Idaho to focus on remote sensing, landscape ecology, and statistics. To support himself while in graduate school, he founded an environmental consulting business called Bannock Ecological LLC and received a fellowship and scholarship through the National Science Foundation's (NSF), the Native Voices Endowment, and the Sven and Astrid Liljeblad Endowment fund. After Cleve finished his PhD, he worked for the Tribes as an Environmental Coordinator and worked part-time as an adjunct professor at ISU.

He and his wife manage and operate Chokecherry Ranch on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and he is also experienced with installing residential solar/wind hybrid systems. For fun, Cleve likes to hunt, paint, restore classic 4x4 Toyotas, and ride horses. Dr. Davis is currently writing a book about his family's history in Fort Hall and the Tribes.