The National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM) holds eight webinars per year for members. NAWM Member webinars cover a variety of topics encompassing wetland science, policy, program implementation, and legal issues. These webinars, including recordings for past webinars are available to NAWM members.
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Invasive Plant Management at Restoration Sites
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 3:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. EDT 
PRESENTERS
- Steve Hovick, Ohio State University
- Doug DeBarry, William & Mary
ABSTRACTS
Suppression of reed canarygrass by assisted succession: A sixteen-year restoration experiment
Abstract: Assisted succession could enable long-term restoration where successional trajectories stall due to competition from invasive plants. Many invasives are shade-intolerant; therefore, interventions reducing light availability should suppress invasion and re-establish successional processes. However, given how ubiquitous nonlinearities are in ecology, restoration success also depends on identifying critical system thresholds, for example invader abundances below which regeneration of desired species is possible. This presentation will report the successful use of assisted succession to restore a swamp forest invaded by Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass), initiated by a high-density planting of woody species to outcompete Phalaris by reducing light availability. This study highlights a restoration strategy for forests invaded by shade-intolerant invaders that is both effective and economical, as only a simple site preparation and single planting effort is required. Establishing a dense canopy of woody species in this way can break the feedbacks maintaining invader dominance and re-introduce feedbacks enabling long-term ecosystem recovery. It also illustrates the value of identifying critical thresholds influencing the abundance and impact of key invasive species.
Drivers of Plant Invasions in Wetland and Stream Mitigation: Improved Performance Standards, Proactive Management, and Alternatives to Herbicide
This presentation will review the major findings from an 8-year research program targeting the environmental drivers of plant invasions in wetland and stream mitigation. Through field research conducted on several different invasive species and several dozen mitigation sites in the Mid-Atlantic region, we isolated key factors that "tip the scale" in favor of invaders and developed results-based recommendations for invasive performance standards. Our findings were used to provide recommendations for best practices that could be implemented during the construction phase of a mitigation site to attenuate invasion. We then tested these practices in a 2-year, large-scale field experiment conducted in both wetland and stream mitigation settings, and our results point to specific "cultural" methods for invasive species management as potentially effective alternatives to herbicides.
BIOS
Dr. Steve Hovick is a plant evolutionary ecologist whose research is focused on key drivers of invasiveness and weediness in plants. He is an Associate Professor in OSU’s Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology and a board member with the Ohio Invasive Plants Council. He earned his PhD in Plant Biology at the University of Georgia, MS at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and BA/BS degrees at the University of Iowa. Before coming to Ohio State, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Rice University. His current research program encompasses a diversity of focal species, including the model species Arabidopsis thaliana; the agricultural pest giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida); and “true” wetland invasives such as Phragmites australis, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), and lesser celandine (Ficaria verna).
Doug DeBerry is a Research Assistant Professor of Environment & Sustainability at William & Mary. He teaches courses in restoration ecology, applied ecological methods, and contemporary issues in environmental science, and he conducts research on ecosystem dynamics in compensatory mitigation, biological invasion, ecological integrity, and floristics/conservation. He is also a Senior Environmental Scientist and Associate at VHB where he works on projects in similar disciplines.
Uncovering the Past and Planning for the Future: Washington, D.C.’s Underground & Piped Stream Mapping Project
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 - 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. EDT
PRESENTERS
- Josh Burch, Environmental Protection Specialist, D.C. Department of Energy & Environment
- Joe Arrowsmith, Director of Ecosystem Restoration, Straughan Environmental
ABSTRACT
Over the last 200 years the land area where Washington, D.C. is located has been transformed from a sparsely populated area filled with forests, streams, and farmlands to a thriving city-state with over 700,000 people living and working within its borders. While much is known about the farmlands and forest giving way to housing, buildings, and roadways, very little was known about what happened to the hundreds of miles of streams that meandered through the area. This presentation will cover the origins of the Underground & Piped Stream Mapping Project which created a database of historically mapped streams dating back to 1791, a history of lost streams in D.C., a priority list of streams for daylighting, and concept designs for potential daylighting projects. The Underground & Piped Stream Mapping project was not only a historical research project; rather it was also a planning project for what lies ahead and presenters will share stories about the project and lessons learned from it.
BIOS
Josh Burch manages stream restoration projects for the District Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE). Josh has held this position since 2009, and has managed the construction of over 15,000ft of urban stream and has over 40,000ft of projects currently under designs. When not at DOEE Josh is usually taking his children to soccer or basketball games, biking, fishing, gardening, or rambling on to anyone who will listen about why D.C. should be a state. Josh holds a bachelor's degree in Public and Urban Affairs from Virginia Tech and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, working on water & sanitation issues.
Joe Arrowsmith is an award-winning ecosystem restoration designer passionate about the role of natural resources in the lands that we share. He seeks to re-imagine urban landscapes to feature nature-based approaches that will improve resilience, reduce flood risk, and support restoration of environmental resources. His mission is to pursue and support generational investments towards a more resilient future. Joe is the Director of Ecosystem Restoration at Straughan Environmental, in Columbia, Maryland. He oversees a team of engineers, scientists, and planners supporting stream, wetland, shoreline, and urban daylighting projects. He holds a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech, and a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Science from Johns Hopkins University.
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