WETLAND REPLICATION IN MASSACHUSETTS

Transcription

1 MACC FALL CONFERENCE 2015 Wetland Replication and Restoration: Let s Get it Right! CONFERENCE AGENDA and SPEAKER BIOS 8:30 A.M. Registration opens and continental breakfast 9:00 A.M. Welcome and Introductions Eugene B. Benson, MACC Executive Director WETLAND REPLICATION IN MASSACHUSETTS 9:15 A.M. Assessment of Wetland Mitigation Success in Massachusetts: Findings and Observations Scott Jackson, Extension Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and MACC Officer Lisa Rhodes, MA DEP Wetlands Monitoring and Assessment Program Manager The December 2001 Brown and Veneman Report found that the majority of wetland replacement projects undertaken in MA did not comply with the Wetland Protection Act (WPA) regulations. From 2011 to 2015, MA DEP and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst conducted a comprehensive study of wetland mitigation/replacement success to follow up on the Brown and Veneman Report. Scott Jackson will present the results of the study, which reveal that there has been relatively little improvement since the Brown and Veneman Report. Measures of success that will be discussed include the number of replacement areas that: 1) were actually built, 2) successfully created wetlands, and 3) created wetlands that met regulatory requirements, and how similar the replacement areas were to the reference wetlands. Scott will also share results of analyses of factors that had the potential to affect mitigation success. Lisa Rhodes will present observations that were made during the file reviews and field assessments that may further explain the results. Issues that will be discussed include recommendations for replacement area design, why reliance on wetland vegetation alone to determine success can be problematic, inadequacies in the construction and post-construction monitoring process, considerations for regulatory revisions, and other steps that can be taken to improve success. 10:15 A.M. Morning Break 10:30 A.M. How to Get it Right Using the Wetland Protection Act Regulations: Requirements and Realities Michael Howard, Principal and Manager of Ecological Sciences, Epsilon Associates, and MACC Board Member Marc Bergeron, PWS, CWS, Senior Project Manager/Wetland Scientist, VHB, Inc.; MACC Board Member

2 Building on the findings of the MA DEP/UMass replication assessment report discussed during the previous session, the speakers will describe techniques and steps that conservation commissioners and applicants can take now within the framework of existing regulations to mitigate many of the concerns identified by the report. The focus will be on mitigation site selection, replication design, construction, monitoring, and permit conditioning of replication areas. They will also discuss how applying those techniques and recommendations during the Notice of Intent review process will increase the long term effectiveness of replication mitigation while meeting regulatory performance standards and replacing lost functions. 12:15 P.M. Lunch WETLAND RESTORATION 1:00 P.M. Wetland Restoration: Findings at the National Level Jeanne Christie, Executive Director, Association of State Wetland Managers Studies have documented shortcomings of wetland mitigation and voluntary restoration projects and an inability to achieve stated goals. In 2014, the Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) organized a Work Group of wetland restoration experts to identify the underlying causes and identify actions to improve outcomes. Jeanne Christie will discuss the nine primary challenges to restoration success identified by the Work Group, along with challenges associated with the three phases of individual voluntary restoration and mitigation projects. She will also discuss actions the Work Group identified to improve outcomes and the national strategy for implementation it is developing. 1:45 P.M. Ecological Restoration: Let s Get it Right Chris Polatin, Principal, Polatin Ecological Services; Society of Ecological Restoration- New England Michael Toohill, PWS, CE; Senior Project Manager, BSC Group, Inc.; Co-Founder and Treasurer, Society for Ecological Restoration, New England Chapter Amber Carr, Field Ecologist, Mass Audubon, and Coordinator, SuAsCo CISMA (Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area) The speakers will deliver a primer on ecological restoration, describing the definitions of ecological restoration and the differences between projects whose primary intent is to restore ecological functions and mitigation or replication projects required by regulation. Conservation commissioners and practitioners will learn the nuts and bolts of how to plan, review, implement, and monitor restoration projects. A case study that incorporated community collaboration will apply the practices discussed. 3:00 P.M. Afternoon Break PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER 3:15 P.M. Panel and Open Group Discussion Matt Schweisberg, Wetland Strategies & Solutions, and MACC Board Member

3 This session will begin with a brief summary of the key take-home points from the presentations and of challenges for conservation commissions and agents in reviewing and approving wetland replication and restoration projects. Then, Matthew Schweisberg will moderate a panel of the day s presenters answering questions, and lead a discussion about replication and restoration projects and permitting that addresses the fundamental question: How do we do better than we ve done to date?" 4:00 Closing Remarks and End of Conference SPEAKERS Marc Bergeron, PWS, CWS, Senior Project Manager/Wetland Scientist, VHB, Inc.; MACC Board Member. Marc is a senior project manager/wetland scientist at VHB, Inc., an environmental consulting and engineering firm based out of Watertown, MA. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in providing environmental consulting services; specializing in wetland delineation, assessment, mitigation construction monitoring, ecological inventories, wildlife habitat assessment, vernal pool ecology, and regulatory analysis and permitting. Marc is certified as a Professional Wetland Scientist by the Society of Wetland Scientists and as a Certified Wetland Scientist by the state of New Hampshire. Amber Carr, Field Ecologist, Mass Audubon; Coordinator, SuAsCo CISMA. Amber is an ecologist specializing in land management for targeted wildlife species. She has gained experience working for federal, state, and non- profit agencies throughout New England. Her background in wildlife biology encompasses observation and management for a wide variety of coastal and inland species including birds, herps, and mammals. She also has a strong background in management of plant ecosystems with an emphasis on invasive species. Among other EES projects, Amber currently serves as the Coordinator for an invasive plant management group in Eastern Massachusetts with over 40 participating members. Jeanne Christie, Executive Director, Association of State Wetland Managers. Jeanne has been with the Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM) since 1999 and Executive Director since From 1995 to 1999 she was a Resource Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service where she was national program leader for the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program. She worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wetlands Division ( ) moving from the staff level to Section Chief and Acting Branch Chief. As an environmental planner at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources ( ) her responsibilities included the Green Bay Remedial Action Plan and the 208 Watershed Plan for Southeastern Wisconsin. She has a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Environmental Science, both from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Jeanne is a 2007 winner of the National Wetlands Award for Education and Outreach. In her spare time she volunteers as a Maine master naturalist, master gardener and the chair of the youth program for the Maine Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. She lives in an 1860 farmhouse in Windham, ME with her husband Larry and their rescued animal companions Navia, Tux, and Gabby. Michael Howard, PWS, CWS, Principal and Manager of Ecological Sciences Group, Epsilon Associates, Inc.; MACC Board Member. Mike is a Principal and Manager of the Ecological Sciences group at Epsilon Associates, Inc. and has nearly 22 years experience in wetland ecology, wetland replication and restoration, wildlife biology, natural resource inventories, impact statement preparation, and environmental regulatory analysis. He has extensive experience in wetland delineation and functional assessments utilizing federal and state

4 methodologies. Mike is registered as a Professional Wetland Scientist and a Certified Wetland Scientist in the State of New Hampshire. He presently sits on the Board of Directors for the MACC and is Vice President of the Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientists. Mike served as Vice Chairman of the Princeton Conservation Commission and was previously the Conservation Agent for five years in the Town of North Andover. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Scott Jackson, Extension Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Department of Environmental Conservation; MACC Officer. Scott has provided leadership in the creation of an integrated research and extension program that builds on the research base of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His program creates new tools and approaches for natural resources conservation and has strong credibility both locally and regionally, with most of its work conducted in collaboration with conservation organizations and state and federal agencies. Scott is a principal (along with Kevin McGarigal and Brad Compton) in the development of the Conservation Assessment and Prioritization System (CAPS) and the Critical Linkages project. He serves on the Whately Conservation Commission, MACC Board of Directors, and Board of Trustees for the Kestrel Land Trust. Chris Polatin, Principal, Polatin Ecological Services; Director, Society of Ecological Restoration - New England Chapter. Chris works as a Habitat Restoration Specialist through his company Polatin Ecological Services, which dedicates itself to habitat restoration and natural areas management. He and his crew regularly perform various stewardship and land management tasks on conservation lands throughout central and southern New England. The company also specializes in all aspects of invasive plant management including planning, mapping, monitoring and implementing various control activities. Chris has a master s of science degree in conservation biology and has worked as an environmental professional for the last 15 years. He is a rotating chair of the Gill Conservation Commission and previously served four years on the Montague Conservation Commission. He is on Gill Town Forest Steering Committee. Chris also serves on the Boards of the Society of Ecological Restoration-New England Chapter and The Fannie Stebbins Memorial Wildlife Refuge (Longmeadow). Lisa Rhodes, Project Manager for MassDEP s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program. Lisa has been an Environmental Analyst with MassDEP s Wetlands Program for nearly 14 years. Lisa is the recipient of the 2013 MACC Environmental Service Award for Outstanding Public Service. At MassDEP, Lisa has served as Project Manager for MassDEP s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (since 2006); led the Wetland Mitigation Study and Stream Continuity effort; was co-business lead on the Wetland Information Resource (WIRe) project; and developed wetland program guidance documents including primary author of Massachusetts Inland Wetland Replication Guidelines, March 2002 and Dam Removal and the Wetland Regulations, December Lisa is also the primary reviewer of major projects considered for Variances of the Wetlands Protection Act. Lisa s experience prior to joining MassDEP includes Supervisor of MassDOT Highway Division s Environmental Compliance Section, environmental consultant, and Conservation Administrator for the Town of Weymouth. Lisa has a B.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Rhode Island, and has completed graduate level courses in hydrogeology at Boston University s Geology Department. Lisa also recently completed the Commonwealth s Supervisor Certificate Program (June 2015). Matt Schweisberg, Principal of Wetland Strategies and Solutions, LLC; MACC Board Member. Matt is a wildlife biologist and Professional Wetland Scientist under the Certification Program of the Society of Wetland Scientists. He is a retired federal wetlands ecologist who spent more than 32 years

5 with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. and the New England Region office in Boston. Matt served as Chief of the New England Region s Wetlands Protection Program and on national work groups developing guidance and regulations on the Clean Water Act. He has over three decades of experience in wetland ecology, wetland restoration, wildlife biology, environmental impact evaluation, and regulatory permitting and enforcement at all levels of government. He has extensive experience in wetland identification and delineation, and ecological function assessments utilizing federal and state approaches. Matt teaches courses in wetland regulation, restoration and creation, wetland ecology, and wetland identification and delineation for federal and state agencies, academic organizations, and environmental consultants. Michael Toohill, PWS, CE; Senior Project Manager, BSC Group, Inc.; Co-Founder and Treasurer, Society for Ecological Restoration, New England Chapter Mike is an environmental scientist with over thirty years of experience in environmental impact evaluation and mitigation. Mike assumes primary responsibility as the leader of interdisciplinary teams on complicated infrastructure and land development projects for both public and private sector clients. He has a broad background in many facets of environmental impact assessment including terrestrial and aquatic ecology, ecological restoration, impact assessment, wetland delineation and mitigation design, and habitat evaluation. Mike has served as a peer reviewer for several journals, has presented papers on restoration ecology at regional and international conferences, served as an adjunct faculty member at Tufts University, and is currently serving as the Treasurer of the New England Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). Mike has a BS in Biology from Bradley University and a MS in Fisheries and Wildlife (Aquatic Ecology and Geochemistry) from Michigan State University. CONFERENCE SPONSORS Biodiversity Protectors Epsilon Associates Horsley Witten Group VHB Wilkinson Ecological Design Dam Removers DeRosa Environmental Consulting MA Department of Fish & Game, Division of Ecological Restoration New England Environmental Society of Ecological Restoration, New England Chapter Wetland Strategies and Solutions EXHIBITORS Antioch University New England Mass Audubon New England Environmental Polatin Ecological Services