This past November, more than 60 wetland professionals from across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast traveled to Northampton, Massachusetts for the biennial meeting of two wetlands workgroups – the New England Biological Assessment of Wetlands Workgroup (NEBAWWG) and the Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Workgroup (MAWWG). During this joint meeting, representatives from municipal, state, federal, and tribal governments, as well as non-profit and academic institutions, came together to build connections, share knowledge, and strengthen collaboration. NEIWPCC staff manage the NEBAWWG and helped organize the two-day event.
Portia Osborne, assistant director of the National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM), Mark Biddle, wetland scientist at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and chair of the NAWM board of directors, and NEIWPCC Environmental Analyst Alex DuMont provided opening remarks. They highlighted NAWM’s and NEIWPCC’s role in advancing regional wetland collaboration by supporting state and tribal wetland programs.
This year’s meeting theme, “Assessing Resources, Planning for Change,” signified the importance of restoring and protecting wetlands as the landscape and climate change. Presentations focused on five core themes: climate change and wetlands; innovative uses of technology in wetland monitoring and assessment; cumulative and secondary impacts to wetlands; functional assessments and restoration techniques; and applications of wetland monitoring data.
Specific topics included assessment tools and Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS). Assessment tools establish methods for evaluating the biological and functional integrity of a wetland or stream, and UAS refers to unmanned drones and sensors that are used to remotely collect data. Simone Whitecloud, acting program manager of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetlands Regulatory Assistance Program, presented on new technical guidelines for developing, reviewing, and revising assessment methods. Scott Jackson, extension associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, discussed the application of UAS for assessing the biological condition of salt marsh wetlands. In addition to the presentations, each state or tribal representative provided an update to the group, highlighting successes, challenges, and areas for collaboration.
Attendees arriving early also had the opportunity to participate in a two-part field trip. Participants first visited the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge in Hadley, Massachusetts. Here, staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discussed the history and management of the refuge before visitors explored an accessible one-mile loop trail. From there, attendees traveled to the Pine Grove restoration site in Northampton to meet with Sarah Lavalley from the city of Northampton’s Office of Planning and Sustainability. Lavalley spoke about the municipal-led restoration project to rewild the former public golf course site and presented to the group on the successes and challenges of planning for resilience and sustainability in the city.
The NEBAWWG – MAWWG Joint Meeting was hosted by NEIWPCC in partnership with the National Association of Wetland Managers. For more information about NEIWPCC’s involvement with wetlands, please contact Alex DuMont at adumont@neiwpcc.org.