The U.S. Geological Survey has named James Darwin "Dar" Crammond as director of the USGS Oregon Water Science Center in Portland, Oregon.

Crammond will oversee 82 employees and a statewide network of stream-flow, groundwater-level, and water-quality monitoring stations, as well as Oregon field offices in Central Point and Klamath Falls.

He earned his undergraduate degree in hydrology from the University of Arizona College of Engineering, and his juris doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law. He is a member of the Arizona and Oregon state bar associations.

"Water has been a central theme of Dar's life and career," said Leslie A. Dierauf of the USGS northwest area regional executive in Seattle. "Dar has brought dynamic, strategic thinking to water resources, whether in judge's chambers or on the end of a long-handled shovel."

Crammond comes to his new position from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he was chief of the Water Resources Branch and provided customer service to 150 national wildlife refuges and more than a dozen fish hatcheries in six western states. He began is career in the Bureau of Reclamation in 1997, where he was a water rights expert and project manager.

Crammond has published several articles focused on water issues and is a leader in the field of water resources negotiation and collaboration with state agencies, Indian tribes, environmental groups and private interests. He begins his new position May 24.