Oral History Interview of Cindy Loeffler

Title: Oral History Interview of Cindy Loeffler
Description: Cindy Loeffler worked as a hydrologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for over thirty years. In this oral history, she talks about her background and early life, including the influence of the first Earth Day on her career trajectory. She eventually earned a degree from Colorado State University and started her career with the Instream Flow Group at the US Fish and Wildlife Service. She moved to TPWD in 1987 and stayed there until her retirement in 2021. In the interview, she discusses the agency's charge to determine freshwater inflow needs for Texas bays and estuaries in the 1980s and the later changes to science and methodologies to make these recommendations. She describes her role in providing technical input to regional water planning meetings after Senate Bill 1 (1997); offering technical input after Senate Bill 2 (2001); and the changes that occurred after Senate Bill 3 (2007). The interview also covers her mentors in the agency as well as the challenge of climate change.
Creator: Cindy Loeffler
Contributor: Jen Brown
Date: March 27, 2022
Location of Interview: San Marcos, Texas
Format: mp3
Extent: 01:52:04
Subject: Earth Day
hydrology
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Texas water legislation
freshwater inflow
bays and estuaries
water modeling