New England Chapter
The New England Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to fostering conservation and understanding of wetland issues in ME, NH, VT, MA, CT and RI. The objectives of the New England Chapter of the SWS are:
- To operate solely and exclusively as a non-profit and educational organization to foster conservation and understanding of wetland issues of particular interest to New England.
- Advance public education and enlightenment concerning New England's wetland resources.
- Provide an independent forum for interchange of ideas and data focusing on wetland science in New England.
- Develop and encourage wetland science as a distinct discipline by supporting student education, curriculum development, and research in New England.
- Encourage and evaluate the educational, scientific, and technological development and advancement of all branches of wetland science and practice with a focus on New England wetlands and issues.
- Encourage the knowledgeable management of wetland resources of New England.
Please contact us for further information about the SWS NE Chapter.
Consider joining our LinkedIn page for current information and discussions.
Follow us on Twitter @SWSNewEngland and Like us on Facebook!
Christopher Allan
Professional Soil Scientist, Environmental Consultant
A.Z. Arietta
Taylor Blackman
Kenneth Deshais
April Doroski
Gary Flaherty
Jenna Grauer-Gray
Micaela Leandro
Christian Marks Ph.D.
Paul Martin
I have been delineating wetlands, assessing impacts to wetlands, developing restoration, and permitting projects under federal and many state regulatory processes around the U.S.
Jeffrey Mason
A Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) and Certified Environmental Restoration Practitioner (CERP) with over 25 years of experience.
James McKown
Restoration ecologist & botanist deeply interested in incremental improvements to restoration methods and outcomes in coastal and freshwater systems.
Heidi Ricci
E. Heidi Ricci is the Director of Policy at Mass Audubon, with decades of experience in environmental policy and community engagement. She created the Shaping Climate Resilient Communities program, which assists communities in building climate resilience through nature-based solutions and low-impact development. Ms. Ricci holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Tufts and an M.S. degree from Antioch University New England. She serves on the Nashua River Wild & Scenic Stewardship Council and on the Boards of the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative, Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions, and the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance. She has also served on numerous state advisory committees and working groups. She has received several awards including an Environmental Merit Award from EPA Region I.
Matthew Schweisberg
Matt is a retired federal wetlands ecologist and wildlife biologist. He is the Principal at his firm, Wetland Strategies and Solutions, LLC (WSS), where he provides policy, regulatory and technical advice and assistance for clients seeking to navigate a wide range of regulatory and non-regulatory issues related to wetlands and other aquatic resources. He works throughout the U.S.
He spent nearly 33 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at both its Headquarters office and New England Region office in Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to retiring from federal service, he served concurrently as Chief of the New England Region’s Wetlands Protection Program, as Senior Mediator with the Region’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Program, and as the Agency’s representative on the International Joint Commission’s International St. Croix River Watershed Board. During his entire tenure with the New England Region, Matt also served as the Region's Senior Wetlands Ecologist.
He is a nationally recognized expert in the federal Clean Water Act’s Section 404 Program. Matt served on national work groups developing federal guidance and regulations on Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and agriculture and enforcement issues. He also testified before federal grand juries and served several times as an expert witness on wetland regulatory and technical matters at both federal and state levels.
Matt has extensive experience with coastal and inland wetlands and other aquatic resource issues for major projects involving transportation, energy, agriculture, commercial and port development, and hazardous waste cleanup. He has taught courses in wetland regulation, restoration, wetland ecology, and wetland identification and delineation for EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the New England states, Northeastern University, and many other organizations.
Michael Sheehan
Happily Retired
BS Biology, MS Entomology, New England Regional Soil Science Certificate. Professional Wetland Scientist (Emeritus). Formerly, I was active as an applied biologist, wetland scientist, & practicing soil scientist.
Jason Smith
Jason Smith is a Senior Scientist and Project Manager for Hanover Engineering. He is also certified as a Professional Wetland Scientist. Jason specializes in surface water resource management, including wetlands, lake and watershed management, stream restoration, land preservation, environmental planning, and stormwater management. Jason received his BS degree in Environmental Resource Management from the Pennsylvania State University, focusing on water resource management.
Jason is a Township Supervisor and Chairman of the Environmental Advisory Council in Bushkill Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He has served terms with the Pennsylvania Lake Management Society, Education Committee for the North American Lake Management Society, Northeast Aquatic Plant Management Society, and the Society of Wetland Scientists (currently on the Wetlands of Distinction Committee).
Scott Smyers
Jessica Townsend
Society of Wetland Scientists New England Chapter
2021 Student Research Grant Award Announcement
Objective: To encourage and support graduate and undergraduate research in wetland science, policy, and management within the SWS New England Chapter area.
Grant Award: One award of up to $2,000 will be given to an undergraduate or graduate student submitting the best proposal for wetland related research to be conducted in 2022. The grant will be awarded within 30 days of selection and formal acceptance by the awardee.
Requirements: All research projects must be conducted in New England. Papers and/or presentations based on the funded research must acknowledge the support of SWS-New England. SWS-New England strongly encourages presentation of the results of this research at its Annual Chapter Meeting in the fall of 2022. In lieu of presentation, a report of the research results must be submitted by August 31, 2022. If this research is part of a larger project, partial results are acceptable.
Students must submit their application by email in a single, consolidated document—pdf format—to the contacts listed below. Go to Application Form for the required information.
Applications must be received no later than April 30, 2021.
Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Process/Schedule: The proposals will be reviewed by the Student Awards Committee of SWS-NE for relevance, clarity of hypotheses, suitability of methods, feasibility, and qualifications of the applicant. All applicants will be notified of the decision no later than June 30, 2021.
Contacts: All applications should be emailed to:
Meredith Avery mavery@vhb.com 781-308-5317
Matt Schweisberg matt@wetlandsns.com 508-783-6026
April Doroski adoroski@tighebond.com 215-620-9689
Contact Meredith, April or Matt for more information.
Support Student Research
February 5, 2018
Our New England Chapter of SWS will hold a raffle at the upcoming Connecticut Association of Wetland Scientists Annual Meeting (March 8, 2018) to benefit our student research grant fund. We are requesting donated items to offer in the raffle. Last year we had a number of great books. This year we currently have two $50 gift certificates (Cabela's and REI). One was donated by our New England Chapter. Donated items can be sent to Tony who will be staffing a table at this event:
Tony Federici
c/o Kleinschmidt
35 Pratt Street
Suite 201
Essex, CT 06426
Phone: (860) 718-0295
New version released of Field Indicators for Identifying Hydric Soils in New England
The New England Hydric Soil Technical Committee (NEHSTC) has completed Version 4 of the Field Indicators for Identifying Hydric Soils in New England. This version supersedes older versions of the Indicators and is approved for use in New England (Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island). This version is a working copy for wetland and soil scientists to use in the field for wetland ID and delineation. A copy will be published through the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission in the fall of 2017. Learn more on the NEHSTC website.
2017 Student Research Grant Award
To stimulate and support graduate and undergraduate research in wetland science, policy and management within the New England Chapter area.
Grant Award:
One award of up to $1,000 will be given to an undergraduate or graduate student submitting the best proposal for wetland-related research to be conducted in 2017. The grant will be awarded within 30 days of selection and formal acceptance by the awardee.
Requirements:
All research projects must be conducted in New England. Papers based on the funded research must acknowledge the support of SWS-New England. SWS-New England strongly encourages the presentation of the results of this research at its Annual Chapter Meeting in the spring of 2018. In lieu of presentation, a report of the research results must be submitted by February 28, 2018. If this research is part of a larger project, partial results are acceptable.
Process/Schedule:
The proposals will be reviewed by the Student Awards Committee of SWS-NE for relevance, clarity of hypotheses, the suitability of methods, feasibility and qualifications of the applicant. All applicants will be notified of the decision no later than March 24, 2017. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
Fall Newsletter - Oct 2015
The newly elected SWS New England Executive Board is hard at work organizing our chapter conference meeting for the spring, looking into informative and exciting workshops and field trips and finding ways to build the chapter membership through social media, student chapters and our new quarterly newsletter.
Check out our Fall chapter newsletter introducing the Board. You will also find articles from our student members as well as information on upcoming field trips.
SWS 2015 Annual Meeting hosted by the New England Chapter
The SWS New England Chapter was a proud host of the 2015 SWS Annual Meeting. This ground-breaking conference was held in Providence, Rhode Island and examined the role that wetlands play in the global carbon cycle, how wetlands provide climate adaptation services and how wetlands are being impacted by our changing climate. This meeting was very well attended - over 650 attendees gathered to share their research and love of wetlands.
New England Chapter 2014 Technical Conference and Annual Meeting
The SWS New England Chapter was reinvigorated with its 2014 Technical Conference and Annual Meeting held at Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA on May 1. This meeting was well attended, with chapter members from a wide range of backgrounds, including government, academia and consulting. Click here to access meeting abstracts.
2020 New England Virtual Annual Chapter Meeting
October 30, 2020 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (ET)
Keynote Speakers
Gillian Davies, PWS, BSC Group, Inc.
SCHEDULE
10:00am – 10:30am SWS New England Annual Meeting
10:30am – 12:00pm WOTUS Definition
12:00pm Adjourn
May 2018: Coastal Restoration in the Face of Climate Change - Rhode Island
On Friday, May 4, there was a field trip to examine salt marsh restoration through thin layer deposition projects at two National Wildlife Refuges. The program started at 10:00 am with a presentation followed by a restoration site visit to the John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge for lunch (provided), followed by restoration viewing and discussion.
On Saturday, May 5 was a full day of conference talks and networking opportunities at Save the Bay Conference Center. The day included presentations on the previous day’s field trip, living shoreline design, IPCC update on salt marsh response to climate change, salt marsh restoration at Plum Island Ecosystems LTER and more. Additionally, we had an update from our 2017 student grant winner on the impacts of road salt on the function and structure of forested wetlands. We also gave an update on current SWS activities, at the international and chapter level, and announce the 2018 student grant recipients.
May 2017: Wetland/Aquatic Restoration Success and Failures - Maine
On Friday, May 5, there was a field trip to look at the good, bad, and ugly of wetland mitigation. First, the attendees visited a mitigation site in Sanford that failed and learned about the site that replaced itt. Later they headed to Westbrook and Scarborough to see other sites and discussed how they are better - or not? - than the morning site.
On Saturday, May 6, the full-day meeting featured talks focused on wetland restoration sites, the Connecticut In-Lieu Fee program, Vernal Pool conservation and land use, wetland restoration in a changing climate and more. The meeting featured posters and a chance to learn about activities and opportunities within the SWS NE Chapter. The day ended with an optional field trip on the University of New England campus to see a constructed wetland. Learn more about the full meeting program.
September 2016: Hydrologic Considerations in Wetland Restoration –Vermont
The New England Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists hosted a trip, led by USDA Wetland Specialist, James Eikenberry. We visited several excellent sites that are closely located to one another in Brandon, Sudbury, and Leicester, VT. Eikenberry highlighted a wide range of wetland areas; some had been restored for several years and we're doing well, others had been restored for several years, but needed invasive plant control (possibly with some restoration planned for this summer), and lastly some sites that were new and in need of full planning and future funding. Interestingly, this is the only site with active hydrology manipulation used for waterfowl management.
July 2016: River Floodplains - Vermont
The New England Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists visited Northern Vermont floodplain forest communities and learned of the efforts by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to restore floodplain forests. Led by Christian O. Marks, Floodplain Ecologist with TNC, we visited two locations (Maidstone and Lemmington, VT) and spent the day studying floodplain forest patches, point bars and oxbow wetlands. We learned of the ecological relationships between species distribution and flooding, sediment deposition and floodplain forest succession.
We then visited floodplain forest restoration areas, reviewing stream buffer plantings and comparing natural regeneration in old hay and cornfields. The plantings included field trials of American elm-crosses that were part of a collaboration between TNC and the USDA FS to develop new cultivars of the American elm that would have greater disease tolerance and other desirable traits.
State Wetland Scientists Organizations
- Connecticut Association of Wetland Scientists
- Maine Association of Wetland Scientists
- Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientist
- New Hampshire Association of Natural Resource Scientists
- Society of Soil Scientists of Southern New England
- Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions
- Society of Soil Scientists of Northern New England
Wetland Related Links
- Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program
- Invasive Plant Atlas of New England
- Go Botany, New England Wildflower Society
- NEIWPCC Hydric Soil Indicators
- FWS NE Wetland Inventory
- Assoc. of State Wetland Managers
- New England District USACE
- National Wetland Plant List
- EPA Wetlands
- Environmental Law Institute
- USDA NRCS Wetlands
- USGS National Wetland Research Center
