NAWM Webinars/Conference Schedule

How to Receive a Certificate of Attendance for the June 5, 2024, NAWM Beaver-related Restoration Webinar: Beaver Restoration by Federal Agencies

Using the ClassMarker online system, NAWM will ask you to certify that you attended the entire live NAWM Beaver-related Restoration webinar: “Beaver Restoration by Federal Agencies” on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, from 3:00-4:30pm Eastern.

Please do the following:

• Choose one of the options from the box below. (NAWM Member or Non-Member). To receive a free certificate, you must be a current member on the date the webinar is held.
• Once you are in ClassMarker, click on Start and enter your email address and create a password.
• Do not click on Log in and Resume. The Resume button is there in case you misplace this specific certificate and need to retrieve it again. It won’t work for future webinar certificates.
• You will need to create a new password for each webinar certificate you wish to obtain.
• Then follow the prompts and enter your name as you wish it to appear on your certificate and answer the 2 questions about membership and attending the live webinar.

Answering “yes” to the question about your attendance will automatically qualify you to receive a certificate for your attendance. Answering “no” will result in no certificate being issued.

You will be prompted to download your Certificate of Attendance from ClassMarker after you complete the quiz.

Once you download your certificate, you can then submit the certificate to the accrediting organization of your choice to potentially receive continuing education units/credits. 

All Certificates must be claimed no later than 60 days from the live presentation. 

How to Receive a Certificate of Attendance for the May 29, 2024, NAWM Members’ Webinar: One Year Since Sackett v. EPA: Strategies for Moving Forward with Wetland Protections

Using the ClassMarker online system, NAWM will ask you to certify that you attended the entire live NAWM Members' webinar: One Year Since Sackett v. EPA: Strategies for Moving Forward with Wetland Protections on Wednesday, May 29, 2024 from 3:00-4:30 pm Eastern.

Please do the following:

• Choose "NAWM Member Free Certificate" in the box below.
• Once you are in ClassMarker, click on Start and enter your email address and create a password.
• Do not click on Log in and Resume. The Resume button is there in case you misplace this specific certificate and need to retrieve it again. It won’t work for future webinar certificates.
• You will need to create a new password for each webinar certificate you wish to obtain.
• Then follow the prompts and enter your name as you wish it to appear on your certificate and answer the 2 questions about membership and attending the live webinar.

Answering “yes” to the question about your attendance will automatically qualify you to receive a certificate for your attendance. Answering “no” will result in no certificate being issued.

You will be prompted to download your Certificate of Attendance from ClassMarker after you complete the questions.

Once you download your certificate, you can then submit it to the accrediting organization of your choice to potentially receive continuing education units/credits. 

All Certificates must be claimed no later than 60 days from the live presentation.

How to Receive a Certificate of Attendance for the May 22, 2024 NAWM Hot Topics Webinar: MAWWG-NEBAWWG Webinar Series: Wetland Classificaitons

Using the ClassMarker online system, NAWM will ask you to certify that you attended the entire live NAWM Hot Topics webinar: “MAWWG-MEBAWWG Webinar Series: Wetland Classifications” on Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 3:00-4:30pm Eastern.

Please do the following:

• Choose one of the options from the box below. (NAWM Member or Non-Member). To receive a free certificate, you must be a current member on the date the webinar is held.
• Once you are in ClassMarker, click on Start and enter your email address and create a password.
• Do not click on Log in and Resume. The Resume button is there in case you misplace this specific certificate and need to retrieve it again. It won’t work for future webinar certificates.
• You will need to create a new password for each webinar certificate you wish to obtain.
• Then follow the prompts and enter your name as you wish it to appear on your certificate and answer the 2 questions about membership and attending the live webinar.

Answering “yes” to the question about your attendance will automatically qualify you to receive a certificate for your attendance. Answering “no” will result in no certificate being issued.

You will be prompted to download your Certificate of Attendance from ClassMarker after you complete the quiz.

Once you download your certificate, you can then submit the certificate to the accrediting organization of your choice to potentially receive continuing education units/credits. 

All Certificates must be claimed no later than 60 days from the live presentation. 

How to Receive a Certificate of Attendance for the April 24, 2024, NAWM Members’ Webinar: The Value of Long-Term Field Experiments: What Top Predators and First Principles Can Teach Us About How to Manage Coastal Wetlands

Using the ClassMarker online system, NAWM will ask you to certify that you attended the entire live NAWM Members' webinar: The Value of Long-Term Field Experiments: What Top Predators and First Principles Can Teach Us About How to Manage Coastal Wetlands on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 from 3:00-4:30 pm Eastern.

Please do the following:

• Choose "NAWM Member Free Certificate" in the box below.
• Once you are in ClassMarker, click on Start and enter your email address and create a password.
• Do not click on Log in and Resume. The Resume button is there in case you misplace this specific certificate and need to retrieve it again. It won’t work for future webinar certificates.
• You will need to create a new password for each webinar certificate you wish to obtain.
• Then follow the prompts and enter your name as you wish it to appear on your certificate and answer the 2 questions about membership and attending the live webinar.

Answering “yes” to the question about your attendance will automatically qualify you to receive a certificate for your attendance. Answering “no” will result in no certificate being issued.

You will be prompted to download your Certificate of Attendance from ClassMarker after you complete the questions.

Once you download your certificate, you can then submit it to the accrediting organization of your choice to potentially receive continuing education units/credits. 

All Certificates must be claimed no later than 60 days from the live presentation.

How to Receive a Certificate of Attendance for the April 18, 2024 NAWM Hot Topics Webinar: Status & Trends of Wetland in the Conterminous U.S. from 2009-2019

Using the ClassMarker online system, NAWM will ask you to certify that you attended the entire live NAWM Hot Topics webinar: “Status & Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous U.S. from 2009-2019” on Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 3:00-4:30pm Eastern.

Please do the following:

• Choose one of the options from the box below. (NAWM Member or Non-Member). To receive a free certificate, you must be a current member on the date the webinar is held.
• Once you are in ClassMarker, click on Start and enter your email address and create a password.
• Do not click on Log in and Resume. The Resume button is there in case you misplace this specific certificate and need to retrieve it again. It won’t work for future webinar certificates.
• You will need to create a new password for each webinar certificate you wish to obtain.
• Then follow the prompts and enter your name as you wish it to appear on your certificate and answer the 2 questions about membership and attending the live webinar.

Answering “yes” to the question about your attendance will automatically qualify you to receive a certificate for your attendance. Answering “no” will result in no certificate being issued.

You will be prompted to download your Certificate of Attendance from ClassMarker after you complete the quiz.

Once you download your certificate, you can then submit the certificate to the accrediting organization of your choice to potentially receive continuing education units/credits. 

All Certificates must be claimed no later than 60 days from the live presentation. 

How to Receive a Certificate of Attendance for the March 27, 2024, NAWM Members’ Webinar: The "Everglades Stormwater Treatment Areas: The World’s Largest Constructed Treatment Wetland Project

Using the ClassMarker online system, NAWM will ask you to certify that you attended the entire live NAWM Members' webinar: The "Everglades Stormwater Treatment Areas: The World’s Largest Constructed Treatment Wetland Project on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 from 3:00-4:30 pm Eastern.

Please do the following:

• Choose "NAWM Member Free Certificate" in the box below.
• Once you are in ClassMarker, click on Start and enter your email address and create a password.
• Do not click on Log in and Resume. The Resume button is there in case you misplace this specific certificate and need to retrieve it again. It won’t work for future webinar certificates.
• You will need to create a new password for each webinar certificate you wish to obtain.
• Then follow the prompts and enter your name as you wish it to appear on your certificate and answer the 2 questions about membership and attending the live webinar.

Answering “yes” to the question about your attendance will automatically qualify you to receive a certificate for your attendance. Answering “no” will result in no certificate being issued.

You will be prompted to download your Certificate of Attendance from ClassMarker after you complete the questions.

Once you download your certificate, you can then submit it to the accrediting organization of your choice to potentially receive continuing education units/credits. 

All Certificates must be claimed no later than 60 days from the live presentation.

Beaver Restoration and Management on Tribal Land

Wednesday, August 21, 2024 - 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. EDT 

View Recorded Webinar

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation - PDF]

PRESENTERS

• Skip Lisle, Beaver Deceivers International [Presentation - PDF]
• Allison Warner, The Tulalip Tribes [Presentation - PDF]

BIOS

Skip Lisle is a Wildlife and Beaver Biologist, inventor, and entrepreneur who received a BS in Geography from Plymouth State (NH) and a MS in Wildlife Management from UMaine. His broad specialty is the history of beaver-created wetlands, their significance from a landscape perspective, and improving wildlife habitats. He began his professional Wildlife career working for the Penobscot Indian Nation in Maine inventing numerous beaver co-existence devices. These unique products, which are the sole intellectual property of the Penobscot Nation, allowed them to likely become the first large landowners (ca. 330,000 acres) in the world to beaver-proof all their roads (334 miles). Skip started his own business, Beaver Deceivers, LLC, in 2001, to continue advancing beaver coexistence devices.  

Allison Warner has served as the Wetland Program Coordinator, at Quil Ceda Village, in Tulalip, WA since 2008. A wetland and wildland ecologist, she maps, rates, and delineates wetlands, plans restoration and mitigation projects, as well as implements and maintains those projects. Allison assists Quil Ceda Village with strategic planning, federal and tribal permitting; and she developed the first tribal In-Lieu Fee program in the US for the Tulalip Tribes, which was signed by the Army Corps, EPA and Tulalip Tribes in 2013. Allison graduated from University of California Berkeley in 1993, with a Masters in Wildland Ecology from the UCB Forestry Department. She began her career in flood restoration and logging road decommissioning; conducting watershed analysis and ecological assessments for the US Forest Service in Washington State. Allison served on diversity committee for the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and also for Snohomish County, WA when employed there as a wetland biologist. Allison is non-tribal but has been a life-long supporter of tribal sovereignty.

Please click only once on each video recording to view in this window.

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers;
Presenter: Skip Lisle, Beaver Deceivers International

Part 2: Presenter: Allison Warner, The Tulalip Tribes

Part 2: Presenter: Allison Warner, The Tulalip Tribes
Questions & Answers

Beaver Restoration by Federal Agencies

Held Wednesday, June 5, 2024 - 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. ET

View Recorded Webinar

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation - PDF]

PRESENTERS

• Brian Bangs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Presentation - PDF]
• Ashley Hom, U.S. Forest Service [Presentation - PDF]
• Ethan Ellsworth, Bureau of Land Management [Presentation - PDF]

BIOS

Ashley Hom is a Tribal and Indigenous Integrator with the U.S. Forest Service. She bridges Indigenous knowledge and environmental stewardship and ensures tribal perspectives are integrated into national partnerships while facilitating connections between federal agencies and tribal nations. Ashley recently aided in establishing the Indian Youth Service Corps (IYSC) to empower Indigenous youth and preserve traditional knowledge. Before her current role, Ashley spent over a decade as a Forest Service hydrologist, implementing large-scale restoration projects like the beaver-based efforts in Colorado’s Trail Creek. With this background in ecological restoration and scientific expertise combined with deep respect for Indigenous wisdom, her mission is to create an inclusive, holistic approach to land stewardship that honors the interconnectedness of all life and amplifies the invaluable insights of Indigenous communities.   

Ethan Ellsworth is the Program Lead for BLM Idaho's Aquatic Resources and Threatened and Endangered Species Programs. Stream restoration is a major focus of Ethan's job, and working with partners to reintroduce beaver to degraded watersheds is particularly rewarding. Ethan grew up in Wisconsin where he spent as much time as possible on the water. He has a B.S. in Biology Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a M.S. in Raptor Biology from Boise State, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Resources from University of Idaho.


 

Please click only once on each video recording to view in this window.

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers;
Presenter: Brian Bangs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Part 2: Presenter: Ashley Hom, U.S. Forest Service

Part 2: Part 2: Presenter: Ashley Hom, U.S. Forest Service

Part 2: Presenter: Ethan Ellsworth, Bureau of Land Management Questions & Answers

Part 3: Presenter; Ethan Ellsworth, Bureau of Land Management
Questions & Answers

Navigating the Permitting and Regulatory Environment of Beaver-Related Projects: A Panel Discussion

Held Wednesday, March 13, 2024 - 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT 

View Recorded Webinar

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation - PDF]

PANELISTS:

• Adam Burnett, The Beaver Institute
• Alexa Whipple, Methow Beaver Project
• Rob Walton, The Beaver Institute
• Mike Callahan, The Beaver Institute

BIOS

Adam Burnett serves as the executive director of the Beaver Institute after a career of building and running non-profits in the performing arts and environmental conservation. He received his BA from the University of Kansas in Theatre and spent a dozen years as the co-founder and artistic director of Buran Theatre. Stewarding intentional communities, reaching consensus, and manifesting opportunities for plurality are traits he relies upon in leading Beaver Institute. 

Alexa Whipple is a restoration ecologist, a collaborator, and the Project Director for the Methow Beaver Project. She works for sustainability in all practices and effective, process-based solutions to challenging environmental conditions. She has called the Methow and Okanogan River watersheds of WA State home for the last 23 years but has worked across the western US studying songbirds, carnivores, plant communities, agricultural practices that sustain habitat and wildlife, and post-wildfire recovery of western riverscapes. Alexa completed her BS in Wildlife Biology at Virginia Tech and MS in Restoration Ecology at Eastern Washington University where she focused on beaver ecology and beaver mediated restoration of legacy degraded and wildfire impacted streams across western NA.

Rob Walton currently serves as the co-chair of the Beaver Institute’s Policy/ Legal National Working Group. He is retired from NOAA’s fisheries service where he focused on salmon recovery. Rob continues to work on the recovery of ESA-listed salmon species through restoration and protection of habitat- especially beaver modified habitat. 



 
Mike Callahan began his beaver management work in 1998, started his Massachusetts-based business Beaver Solutions LLC in 2000 and has personally resolved over 2,000 beaver-related flooding problems using innovative water control devices. To share his vast experience and train others across North America and beyond he founded the nonprofit Beaver Institute in 2017 and developed its BeaverCorps Program that trains and certifies Beaver Wetland Professionals.

Mike shared his wealth of knowledge on various beaver management techniques, some examples of effective permitting processes, as well as examples of the often confusing, conflicting and counter-productive permitting processes that he and others across North America encounter on a regular basis.

Please click only once on each video recording to view in this window.

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers; Panelists: Adam Burnett, The Beaver Institute; Mike Callahan, The Beaver Institute; Rob Walton, The Beaver Institute; and Alexa Whipple, Methow Beaver Project;

Part 2: Panelists: Mike Callahan, The Beaver Institute; Rob Walton, The Beaver Institute; and Adam Burnett, The Beaver Institute

Part 2: Panelists: Mike Callahan, The Beaver Institute; Rob Walton, The Beaver Institute; and Adam Burnett, The Beaver Institute

Part 2: Panelists: Mike Callahan, The Beaver Institute; Rob Walton, The Beaver Institute; and Adam Burnett, The Beaver Institute; and Alexa Whipple, Methow Beaver Project Questions & Answers

Part 3: Panelists: Mike Callahan, The Beaver Institute; Rob Walton, The Beaver Institute; and Adam Burnett, The Beaver Institute; and Alexa Whipple, Methow Beaver Project
Questions & Answers

See the NAWM-BLM Beaver-Related Restoration Training Series

The second of five Advancing the Integration of Clean Water Act and Natural Hazard Mitigation Planning and Implementation project workshops has been rescheduled to January 2026 (prior date was November 2024) and will welcome states and communities in the Southeast. The workshop program can be reviewed here.

Dates: Rescheduled to January 21-23, 2026 (from November 13-15, 2024).

Location: Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Who should attend: The focus of the training is on integrating programs to improve interagency planning and implementation of co-beneficial projects that reduce flood risk and improve water quality, among other benefits. To embed this focus on program integration, states, local community, and Tribal participants will be asked to attend in pairs. Each pair should consist of one individual who works on programs related to Clean Water Act requirements and one individual who works on programs related to natural hazard mitigation. States will participate in the training to deepen their relationship with any communities or Tribes in attendance from their state. Following the two-day workshop, NAWM and ASFPM will continue to work with each cohort to facilitate integration efforts via quarterly calls and webinars.  

If you are interested in having your community participate in an upcoming training, please see sign-up information!

Photo: Guana Peninsula, Guana Lake and Guana River with the Guana dam separating the two waterbodies. Credit: Allix North, FL Department of Environmental Protection

Return to Integrated Watershed Management

MAWWG-NEBAWWG Webinar Series: Developing Wetland Conditional and Functional Assessments

Held Tuesday, December 10, 2024 - 3:00-4:30 p.m. EST

PRESENTERS

• Lydia Sweeney, New York Natural Heritage Program
• Beth Connors, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
• Doug Suitor, Maine Department of Environmental Protection

ABSTRACTS

Lydia Sweeney
NYS lacks well-established onsite wetland condition and functional assessment methodology that has been tested in floodplain systems. Having a suite of standardized science-based assessment tools can increase the effectiveness of wetland permitting, conservation, and management, ultimately helping us increase wetland quantity and quality in NYS. In response to this research need, we are conducting a baseline assessment of floodplain forest ecological condition and ecosystem functions along an urban to rural gradient. Our sampling effort will support two main objectives: 1) Refinement our wetland condition and functional assessment protocols for floodplain forests, a palustrine wetland type that may have different responses to disturbance than other more classic palustrine wetlands. 2) Floodplain forest classification review to identify dominant species assemblages in New York for improved community inventory.

Beth Connors and Doug Suitor
The Maine DEP Biological Monitoring Program assesses the health of freshwater wetlands, rivers and streams by sampling aquatic macroinvertebrates and algae. Current wetland monitoring and assessment focuses on shallow emergent and aquatic bed wetland habitat associated with marshes, slow-moving rivers and streams, lakes and ponds. Maine's Water Classification Law establishes management goals and corresponding standards and criteria for all waters of the State. The Biological Monitoring Program developed statistical models to help determine if wetlands meet narrative aquatic life criteria for their legislatively-assigned water quality class under the state’s water quality standards. To improve wetland condition assessments and advance our ability to determine water quality class attainment we are developing Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) metrics based on Coefficients of Conservatism (CoCs) developed for Maine and the Northeast Omernik III Ecoregions. We are identifying plant metrics useful in diagnosing impairment from specific stressors such as nutrient enrichment, sedimentation, water level changes and toxic chemicals, and determine condition thresholds relative to reference wetlands.

BIOS

Lydia Sweeney is an ecologist with the New York Natural Heritage Program. Since joining the ecology team in 2019, her work has primarily been in wetlands on projects documenting wetland condition and functional value across New York State. Her previous field experience includes ecological restoration and invasive species management. Lydia has a Bachelor of Technology in Plant Science from SUNY Cobleskill and a Master of Science in Environmental Science and Ecology from SUNY Brockport where her thesis research focused on developing a rapid, inexpensive, and fully remote method for mapping floodplain forests in New York.

Beth Connors has worked with the Maine DEP’s Biological Monitoring Program in various capacities since 2002. Starting as a field technician and working up to lead the program’s wetland monitoring and assessment activities, she’s had a hand (or foot or paddle) in all types of freshwater biological monitoring done by the program. She has been instrumental in developing new biological criteria for macroinvertebrate and algal assemblages that will be incorporated into Maine’s water quality standards. Beth enjoys traveling across the state to explore rivers, streams and wetlands that others don’t generally see. Her current favorite pastime is discussing books, music and the mysteries of middle school with her 13-year-old son.

Doug Suitor is an aquatic biologist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Biomonitoring Unit. His work is focused on the assessment of wetland water quality and habitat. Research interests include incorporating aquatic plant and bird communities into wetland health evaluations. He joined the DEP after spending 15 years in FL working in marine habitat and endangered species management.

 

Recording will be available soon. 

MAWWG-NEBAWWG Webinar Series: Salt Marsh Projects and Programs

Held Wednesday, December 4, 2024 - 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF]

PRESENTERS

• Mihaela Enache, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection [Presentation PDF]
• Tom Kutcher, Rhode Island Natural History Survey [Presentation PDF]

ABSTRACTS

Mihaela Enache
Diatom-based applications for assessment and monitoring of New Jersey coastal wetlands condition

Due to high sensitivity to environmental conditions, diatoms are one of the most used aquatic indicators in environmental assessment, mitigation, and monitoring. NJDEP started investigations based on coastal diatoms in collaboration with external partners in 2012 . These investigations revealed an inventory of more than 800 species, with about one third being new to science. Numerical analyses revealed strong relationships between diatoms and salinity, nutrients, and tidal exposure. Weighted-averaging partial least square transfer functions were developed for Tidal Exposure Index (TEI; R2boot = 0.87; RMSEPboot = 15.6%) and Standardized Water-Level Index (SWLI; R2boot = 0.56; RMSEPboot = 0.18) to assess the sea level rise (SLR) impacts, in addition to sediment total nitrogen concentration (TN; R2boot = 0.58; RMSEPboot = 0.29% dry weight). Investigations were conducted based on sediment diatoms on a high number of NJ wetland sites to reveal regional trends in tidal flooding and nutrient pollution. Overall, sites with highest nitrogen pollution and sites that are receiving highest impacts from tidal exposure did not reveal a specific regional trend but were scattered across the NJ coast suggesting that conditions can vary locally. Results from these investigations are providing wetland stakeholders with an additional tool to establish restoration goals and ensure best management practices to address nutrient pollution, climate change, and SLR.

Tom Kutcher
Rhode Island’s Salt Marsh Restoration, Assessment, and Monitoring Program (RAMP)

Rhode Island salt marshes are in critical danger of degradation and loss from pervasive anthropogenic disturbances, including inundation stress associated with sea-level rise. In recent decades, salt marsh platform elevations have lagged behind the rising tide frame concurrent with a loss of nearly 12% of vegetated area from edge and platform dieoff. Managers and scientists have responded by developing and implementing plans to organize salt-marsh monitoring, assessment, and intervention efforts while leveraging collective knowledge across state, federal, academic, and NGO agencies. The multi-agency collaboration we call the Salt Marsh RAMP (Restoration, Assessment, and Monitoring Program) has made steady progress in actuating these plans by standardizing management tools and methods across agencies, collecting condition and disturbance data across numerous marshes, expanding long-term monitoring sites and methods, prioritizing marshes for restoration and migration facilitation, testing and implementing innovative restoration and conservation methods, documenting and assessing restoration outcomes, applying adaptive management, and increasing the state’s capacity to initiate and carry out restoration and conservation actions. This presentation outlined our past, current, and upcoming work.

BIOS 

Mihaela Enache first connections to the microscopic world started in eastern Europe, at the beautiful and old University Al. I. Cuza with the study of microscopic fossils and their applications in biostratigraphy. There, she focused on foraminifera found in the mid-Miocene from the Carpathians and the Cheliff Basin in N Africa. At that time, she totally fell in love with the study of microfossils and their potential in telling the fascinating past of the earth. Then, she had the opportunity to work with diatoms as part of a national –scale project meant to protect Canadian forests. That was love at first sight! Then she pursued to look deeper into how diatoms can be used to reconstruct past climate conditions and forest fire relationships in lakes from British Columbia. Her experience with diatoms encompasses a quarter century and since 2012 at New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection she is working on diatom-based applications in freshwater and coastal systems. These applications are encompassing reconstruction of reference conditions, direction of change under anthropogenic stressors, and present-day condition assessment. Mihaela has a Doctorate in micropaleontology from the University Al.I Cuza (Romania) and a PhD in paleolimnology from Queens University (Canada)

Tom Kutcher is a Wetland Scientist for the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, where he works to develop wetland monitoring, assessment, and restoration programming for Rhode Island’s state environmental agencies. He is a co-author of the Rhode Island Salt Marsh Monitoring and Assessment Strategy and principal author of the Rhode Island Coastal Wetland Restoration Strategy. Tom has developed and implemented wetland monitoring and assessment methods across Rhode Island, including for recent large-scale salt marsh restoration projects. Tom formerly worked as Stewardship Coordinator at the Narragansett Bay Estuarine Research Reserve, served as the Narragansett Baykeeper with Save The Bay and the Waterkeeper Alliance, and has worked as an adjunct instructor in the Landscape Architecture Program at the Rhode Island School of Design. Tom lives and recreates along the shores of Narragansett Bay with his marine-biologist wife and two salty kids.

 MAWWG-NEBAWWG Webinar Series: Updating the National Wetlands Inventory in US Territories

Held Wednesday, September 4, 2024 - 3:00-4:00 p.m. EDT

View Recorded Webinar

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF]

PRESENTERS

• Jes Skillman, Ducks Unlimited [Presentation - PDF]
• William Hernández, Environmental Mapping Consultants, LLC. [Presentation - PDF]

BIOS

Ms. Skillman has over 12 years' experience in Conservation GIS at Ducks Unlimited. She currently manages and coordinates the Geospatial Department of Duck’s Unlimited’s Great Lakes / Atlantic office. In this role, Ms. Skillman works closely with stakeholders, the DU Conservation Team, and the DU GIS team to develop baseline data, priority area mapping tools, and web applications that align with conservation goals. She has experience mapping wetlands, landcover, and protected lands. She has also built several decision support tools and online web mapping applications for planning, decision support, and collaboration. Ms. Skillman has a BA in Ecology from the University of Toronto and a Masters in Conservation Biology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Hernández is the Founder and Executive Director of Environmental Mapping Consultants LLC. He has more than 18 years of experience in the development and implementation of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) applications to in coastal and marine ecosystems and a wide range of industries. He has led research projects studying the impacts of Sargassum and coastal water quality using satellite remote sensing technology and field monitoring. Dr. Hernández holds a PhD in marine sciences with a specialty in biological oceanography from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, and postdoctoral studies in satellite remote sensing and coastal water quality from City College, City University of New York.  

Part 1: Introduction: Portia Osborne, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt. National Association of Wetland Managers; Presenters: Jes Skillman, Ducks Unlimited and William Hernández, Environmental Mapping Consultants, LLC

Part 2: Presenter: William Hernández, Environmental Mapping Consultants, LLC

Part 2: Presenter: William Hernández, Environmental Mapping Consultants, LLC
Question & Answers

American Wetlands Month Webinar:
One Year Since Sackett v. EPA: Strategies for Moving Forward with Wetland Protections

Held Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT

In celebration of American Wetlands Month in May, this Members' Webinar was open to all. 

View Recorded Webinar

ABSTRACT

Wetlands and streams are at risk more than ever at the global and national level. The most recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Status and Trends Report finds that more than half of wetlands in the lower 48 states are gone, and loss rates have increased by 50 percent since 2009. Additionally, the 2023 Supreme Court decision on Sackett v Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled back federal protections of wetlands and other water bodies. Some estimates anticipate a loss of protections on 63% of our nation's wetlands as a consequence of the Sackett decision. The result is that state and Tribally led clean water protections are more important now than ever. Without additional conservation actions to protect these ecosystems, wetland loss will likely continue, reducing ecosystem benefits for people and habitat for fish and wildlife.

How do we move forward? While there is no one right or best way to approach this dilemma, one thing is clear – partnerships will be critical for success. In this webinar, you learned about approaches that two organizations, the National Association of Wetland Managers and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, are taking to increase public awareness about the value of wetlands as well as gain support in Congress to increase funding and flexibility for federal, state and Tribal wetland programs. 

INTRODUCTION

• Portia Osborne, Project Managers, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF]

PRESENTERS

• Marla Stelk, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF]
• Alexander Funk, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership [Presentation PDF]

BIO 

Marla Stelk is the Executive Director at the National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM) where she has worked on wetland policy and management issues since 2013. Marla has over 25 years of experience working on wetland, water, and wildlife issues, climate change, environmental policy and research, land use planning, communications and organizational leadership. Marla has led research at NAWM on topics such as ecosystem service valuation for wetland restoration, the role of wetlands in floodplain and natural hazard management, wetlands and watershed health, wetland mapping and communications. Prior to coming to NAWM, Marla worked for a variety of environmental and social nonprofit organizations helping to build organizational capacity, manage projects and improve internal processes. Marla earned her MA in Community Planning and Development with a focus on Land Use and the Environment at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service and her BA in Environmental Issues from Colorado College.  

Alex Funk is the Director of Water Resources and Senior Counsel for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, which works to guarantee all Americans a quality place to hunt and fish. Alex has over a decade of experience working on Colorado River and western water challenges. In his role with the TRCP, Alex leads the organization’s national freshwater policy efforts focusing on issues ranging from the Clean Water Act to securing federal funding to increase the pace and scale of watershed conservation and restoration projects benefiting fish and wildlife. Alex previously served as the Agricultural and Rural Resiliency Policy Specialist at the Colorado Water Conservation Board, where he acted as the agency’s liaison to agricultural stakeholders on federal and state water policy issues, including such topics as demand management and voluntary water sharing agreements. Prior to CWCB, Alex served as the Western Policy Director for the National Young Farmers Coalition, focusing on Farm Bill policy, and a legal fellow with American Rivers.

Alex earned his Juris Doctorate from Vermont Law School and his bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and planning from Virginia Tech. Alex is a graduate of the Colorado Water Leaders Program with Water Education Colorado and is currently a member of the 2024 Colorado River Leaders cohort with the Water Education Foundation. Alex lives in Denver, Colo., with his family and can frequently be found mountain biking, backpacking, climbing fourteeners, and paddling his kayak around the West.

Part 1: Introduction: Portia Osborne, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Portia Osborne, National Association of Wetland Managers; Presenter: Alexander Funk, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

Part 2: Presenter: Marla Stelk, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 2: Presenter: Marla Stelk, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 3: Questions & Answers

Part 3: Questions & Answers

MAWWG-NEBAWWG Webinar Series: Wetland Classifications

Held Wednesday, May 22, 2024 - 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET

View Recorded Webinar

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF]

PRESENTERS

• Bill Nichols, New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau [Presentation PDF]
• Mary Ann Furedi, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program [Presentation PDF]

ABSTRACTS

Bill Nichols

NH Natural Heritage Bureau’s (NHB) ecological system classification provides a practical scale to inform the coarse filter approach to biodiversity conservation, whereby conserving an adequate number of viable examples of each system type, we can protect the majority of NH’s species. NHB gives special attention to exemplary ecological systems – ranging from all examples of rare types to high quality examples of common types – because they are among the best remaining examples of biological diversity in the state. This presentation identified the steps that collectively provide the science-based results used to inform conservation, wetland permit review, and mitigation in New Hampshire.

An examination of seepage wetlands in Pennsylvania
Mary Ann Furedi

Seepage wetlands represent a unique group of wetlands in Pennsylvania. They form in localized areas of groundwater discharge and play important biological and ecological roles. Given their small size, seepage wetlands are often poorly mapped and may be easily overlooked from a land management perspective. This presentation focused on how plant communities can be used to identify and better understand the distribution of these important aquatic resources.   

BIOS

Bill Nichols is the Senior Ecologist and State Botanist with the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau, where he has worked since 1996. Prior to this position, he worked for six years with the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. Bill has a Master of Science Degree in Botany from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Biology from the University of New England. Bill has authored/coauthored 25 journal articles on ecological integrity assessment methods and NH’s flora and natural communities. 

Mary Ann Furedi is the Ecological Assessment Manager with the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Mary Ann earned a Ph.D. in Biology from West Virginia University studying the impacts of deer browsing on the demography of American ginseng. Her work now primarily focuses on characterizing the current conditions of plant communities and plant populations and monitoring how they change over time. 

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers;
Presenter: Bill Nichols, New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau

Part 2: Presenter: Mary Ann Furedi, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program

Part 2: Presenter: Mary Ann Furedi, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
Questions & Answers

Status & Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous U.S. from 2009-2019

Held Thursday, April 18, 2024 - 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET

View Recorded Webinar

INTRODUCTION

• Marla Stelk, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF] 

PRESENTERS [Presentation PDF]

• Megan Lang, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
• Jeff Ingebritsen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

ABSTRACT

On March 22, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its sixth edition of the “Wetlands Status and Trends” report to Congress. The report, Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous United States 2009-2019, reveals that wetlands – 95 percent of which are freshwater — covered less than 6 percent of the lower 48 states as of 2019 – which is half the area they covered in the 1780s. The report also identifies that loss rates have increased by 50 percent since 2009 and that without additional conservation actions taken to protect these ecosystems, wetland loss will likely continue, reducing ecosystem benefits for people and habitat for fish, wildlife and plants. Report authors shared highlights from the report, including the methods used to collect and interpret wetland data, drivers of change, and the report’s conclusions and Storymap.

BIOS

Megan Lang is Chief Scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory Program and Project Lead for the Wetlands Status and Trends study. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland Department of Geographical Sciences and serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Wetlands. Dr. Lang has been working to improve the assessment of aquatic ecosystems through field and remote sensing studies for over two decades. Before working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she led the U.S. Department of Agricultural Mid-Atlantic Regional Wetland Conservation Effects Assessment Project. 

Jeff Ingebritsen is a GIS Specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands Inventory since 2013. He serves as the data manager for the Wetlands Status and Trends study. In addition to Status and Trends, Jeff works on various cartography, spatial analysis, and scripting projects for NWI. Jeff lives with his family in southern Wisconsin, where he enjoys gardening, cooking, and making music. 

 

Please click only once on each video recording to view in this window.

Part 1: Introduction: Marla Stelk, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction: Marla Stelk, National Association of Wetland Managers;
Presenter: Megan Lang, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Part 2: Presenter: Megan Lang, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Jeff Ingebritsen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Part 2: Presenters: Megan Lang, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Jeff Ingebritsen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Part 3: Questions & Answers

Part 3: Questions & Answers

Integrated Watershed Management Planning: Southeast Workshop Introduction and Green Infrastructure for Coastal Resiliency

Held Tuesday, January 23, 2024 - 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET

View Recorded Webinar

NAWM, in partnership with the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) through a cooperative agreement with the US EPA, is engaged in a training program to advance the integration of Clean Water act Programs with natural hazard mitigation planning and implementation. The focus of the training is on integrating programs to improve interagency planning and implementation of co-beneficial projects that reduce flood risk and improve water quality, among other benefits. Through this webinar, we recapped the first workshop held in Cincinnati in 2023, introduced information for our next workshop to focus on the Southeast in 2024, and highlighted a coastal green infrastructure project from Florida Sea Grant. See information on the 2024 Integrated Watershed Management Planning Workshop.

INTRODUCTION

• Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers [Presentation PDF]

PRESENTER

• Haley Cox, Florida Sea Grant [Presentation PDF]

ABSTRACT

Nature-based Solutions to Coastal Hazards in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico

Coastal areas in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico region experience disproportionate exposure to climate risks such as sea level rise (SLR) and intensifying storms. The City of Cedar Key, Florida is a small municipality (population < 750) in this region with particularly high exposure to climate hazards. In 2020, the NOAA tide gauge in Cedar Key recorded the 4th highest rate of SLR acceleration in the nation, and local sea level has risen nearly six inches since 1992 (Malmquist, 2021; VIMS 2022). The low-lying topography, deteriorating stormwater infrastructure, high exposure of Gulf hazards, and the accelerating rate of SLR combine to create extensive vulnerabilities to flooding and shoreline erosion.

Since 2014, the City of Cedar Key and its residents have collaborated with multidisciplinary project teams to develop nature-based solutions to erosion and coastal flooding. From 2016-2021, several living shorelines were constructed around Cedar Key’s Daughtry Bayou to address erosion impacts through restoration of shoreline habitat. Current projects such as Cedar Key ShOREs (Shoreline Options for Resilience and Equity), funded by the National Academy of Sciences Gulf Research Program, focus on achieving equitable shoreline and stormwater management solutions through community-supported green infrastructure installations. This presentation highlighted the role of these projects in natural hazard mitigation, water quality protection, and habitat enhancement.

BIO

Haley Cox is a Coastal Resilience Program Coordinator for Florida Sea Grant responsible for expanding extension and education programs related to climate and resilience along Florida’s Nature Coast and other vulnerable areas of the state. Haley previously worked as an Environmental Specialist in the Water Resources Division of the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department, where her responsibilities included implementing educational programs focused on reducing nonpoint source pollution in urban watersheds, coordinating community outreach events, and conducting water quality monitoring. Prior to this, Haley worked in the Wetlands and Water Quality Laboratory at University of Florida, where she was involved in a variety of environmental studies across Florida, including the construction and monitoring of living shorelines in Cedar Key and other coastal communities. She has a B.A. in Sustainability Studies with minors in Soil and Water Science and Environmental Science from the University of Florida. 

Please click only once on each video recording to view in this window.

Part 1: Introduction: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 1: Introduction and Presenter: Ian Grosfelt, National Association of Wetland Managers

Part 2: Presenter: Haley Cox, Florida Sea Grant

Part 2: Presenter: Haley Cox, Florida Sea Grant

Part 2: Questions & Answers

Part 2: Questions & Answers

View Past Hot Topics Webinars

PDF List of Past Hot Topics Webinar Recordings Here

View Upcoming Hot Topics Webinars

Wetland Water Quality Standards Webinars  

Water quality standards for wetlands have proven a challenging topic over the years.  Under a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NAWM undertook a project to identify best practices that can be used in the development of water quality standards for wetlands. The goal of the project was to help the states prepare and adopt water quality standards for wetlands. A webinar series was also held from June 2011 through January 2012 and the various presentations can be accessed from the list below:

2012

May 31, 2012 from 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT
Wetland Water Quality Standards Webinar

April 19, 2012 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EDT
Overview of State Water Quality Standards for Wetlands Report Revisions and Next Steps for States and EPA

March 22, 2012 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EDT
Pilot States' One-Day Meeting Reports

February 16, 2012 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EDT
Review and Discussion on Draft Model Regulation
To view Jon Kusler, National Association of Wetland Managers presentation, click here.

January 26, 2012 from 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT
Impaired Waters and Wetland Water Quality Standards
To view Mark Gernes, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency presentation, click here.
To view Kevin Molloy, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency presentation, click here.

2011

December 15, 2011 from 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT
Impaired Waters
To view Jon Kusler, National Association of Wetland Managers presentation, click here.

November 17, 2011 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EDT
Narrative and Numeric Criteria
To view John Bender, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality slide, click here. 
To view Jon Kusler, National Association of Wetland Managers presentation, click here.

October 13, 2011 from 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT
Anti-degradation
To view Eric Shaw and Doug Fry, Florida Department of Environmental Protection presentation, click here.
To view Randall Phillips, Tennessee Department of  Environment presentation, click here.

September 22, 2011 from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT
Aligning Sources of Pollution, Designated Uses and Wetland Functions
To view presentation, click here.

August 18 from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. EDT
To view John Dorney, NCDENR, presentation, click here.
To view Mark Gernes presentation, click here.

July 14, 2011 from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT

June 22, 2011 from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. EDT
To view presentation, click here.