We are the SWS Western Chapter! We’re members from the national chapter of SWS grouped together from Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada. We are comprised of consulting scientists, local, state and federal agency members/researchers and higher education academics. Together, we define the future of wetlands and represent a unique region of wetlands in the arid west.
Western Chapter States
Less than one percent of Arizona’s landscape is comprised of wetlands. Since the late 1800s, streams and wetlands throughout Arizona have been modified or drained, resulting in the loss of more than one-third of the State’s original wetlands.
The most extensive Arizona wetlands are in riparian zones and include oxbow lakes, marshes, cienegas, and bosques. Nonriparian wetlands include tinajas, playas, and caldera lakes. Extreme aridity and seasonally varying precipitation are the climatic characteristics that most significantly influence wetland formation and distribution in Arizona. Recreational use of wetlands provides economic benefits to the State.
Arizona List of Threatened and Endangered Species
- USACE Sacramento Regulatory
- Regional Supplements to Corps Delineation Manual
- Association of State Wetland Managers – Protecting the Nation’s Wetlands – Federal Links
- State Wetland Managers
- State of Arizona – Water Quality
Riparian Restoration in Action: Over the past 5 years, private landowner Jim Crosswhite has implemented an extensive conservation plan for his 300-acre ranch in Arizona’s White Mountains. This web site documents his efforts to restore the degraded riparian areas along Nutrioso Creek. This web site would be useful for anyone seeking a comprehensive pictorial history of a restoration project or for anyone looking for an example of how federal agencies can assist with a restoration project.
Riparian Ecosystem Creation and Restoration: Lower Colorado River: Provides three case studies as information about riparian restoration efforts. Includes a table of techniques, successes, and sources. This site provides a good bit of information, though there are no additional contacts provided.
Southwest Center for Education and the Natural Environment (SCENE): Native Habitat Restoration: Briefly discusses this effort to restore native vegetation to urban land. This group may be able to help with additional resources, or may have a project you can get involved in.
California’s wetlands have significant economic and environmental value, providing benefits such as water-quality maintenance, flood and erosion attenuation, prevention of saltwater intrusion, and wildlife habitat.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta regularly harbors as much as 15 percent of the waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway. California has lost as much as 91 percent of its original wetlands, primarily because of conversion to agriculture. Flooded rice fields, which are converted wetlands, covered about 658,600 acres in the mid-1980′s. Rice farmers, State and university researchers, and private organizations are cooperatively studying the feasibility of managing rice fields for migratory waterfowl habitat. Wetland protection is identified as a goal of The California Environmental Quality Act of 1970.
California Threatened and Endangered Species
RAMSAR:
The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) — called the “Ramsar Convention” — is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the “wise use”, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. The Convention on Wetlands came into force for the USA on 18 April 1987. The USA presently has 35 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of 1,827,196 hectares.
Bolinas Lagoon. 01/09/98; California; 445 ha; 37º55’N 122º41’W. Located in California, less than 20 kilometers up the coast from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal embayment of open water, mudflat, and marsh which provides productive and diverse habitats for marine fishes, waterbirds, and marine mammals, and it is also part of a much larger protected natural habitat complex in the region. The site is located on the Pacific Flyway, which makes the Lagoon an ideal staging ground and stopover site for migratory birds, and the temperate climate provides wintering habitat for a wide array of ducks, geese, and shorebirds. The area supports a number of recreational uses, including the use of manually-powered watercraft. Ramsar site no. 960. Most recent RIS information: 2007.
Grassland Ecological Area. 02/02/05; California; 65,000 ha; 37º10′N 120º50′W. National Wildlife Refuge, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve. Located in the Central Valley in the San Joaquin River Basin, the site is the largest remaining contiguous block of freshwater wetlands in California. It consists of semipermanent and permanent marshes, riparian corridors, vernal pool complexes, wet meadows, native uplands and grasslands, featuring Alkali Sacaton grassland Sporobolus airoides and the endemic Delta button celery, Eryngium racemosum. The site is renowned for its wintering waterbirds which reach several hundred thousand every winter. These include Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis), 19 duck species (Northern pintail Anas acuta; Green-winged teal Anas crecca; Northern shoveler Anas clypeata; Canvasbacks Aythya valisineria and others), 6 species of geese, tens of thousands of shorebirds (most abundantly Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri, Dunlin Calidris alpina and Long-billed dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus). The site is home to four endangered shrimps as well the threatened Giant garter snake Thamnophis gigas. Due to flood-control and irrigation projects, the entire hydrology of the valley had been dramatically altered, but water quality and allocation issues have been successfully addressed with the Central Valley Project Improvement Act in 1992. Most of the wetlands are managed by the controlled application of water using a series of canals and control structures, mimicking historical flood patterns with pulses of high water flow during winter and spring. The largest potential threat to the site is urban development. Ramsar site no. 1451. Most recent RIS information: 2005.
Laguna de Santa Rosa Wetland Complex. 16/04/2010; California; 1576 ha; 38°24´N 122°47´W. The Laguna de Santa Rosa Wetland Complex is composed of seasonal and perennial freshwater wetlands such as creeks, ponds, marshes, vernal pools, swales, floodplains, riparian forest, and grassland located in the Laguna de Santa Rosa Watershed. The complex includes an array of public and privately owned units with a variety of conservation status that ranges from Wildlife areas to Mitigation banks. The Ramsar Site is considered a biological hotspot due to its various types of rare and unique wetlands like vernal pools and their associated rare and endemic plant like the Sonoma sunshine (Blennosperma bakeri) and animal species such as the California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Californians). Besides its high biological value, the site provides flood control, scenic beauty, and recreation services to the majority of Sonoma County’s human population. The Laguna de Santa Rosa Complex main threats are associated to recent land-use changes in the area such as wetland drainage for farming and expansion of urban areas, pollution due to excessive use of fertilizers in the Santa Rosa Plain, and hydrological changes due to the construction of drainage and flood control channels. Currently, the Ramsar Site managers are using a restoration and management plan published in 2006 to implement the conservation goals in the Laguna de Santa Rosa Wetland Complex. Ramsar Site no. 1930. Most recent RIS information: 2010. [See photos | Español]
San Francisco Bay/Estuary (SFBE). 02/02/13; California; 158,711 ha; 37°52′N 122°23′W. UNESCO Biosphere Reserve; includes National Wildlife Refuges and other protected areas. San Francisco Bay is the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of the US, encompassing approximately 160,000 hectares. SFBE is widely recognized as one of North America’s most ecologically important estuaries, accounting for 77 percent of California’s remaining perennial estuarine wetlands and providing key habitat for a broad suite of flora and fauna and a range of ecological services such as flood protection, water quality maintenance, nutrient filtration and cycling, and carbon sequestration. The site is home to many plant species and over 1,000 species of animals, including endemic and conservation status species. It is noted for hosting more wintering shorebirds than any other estuary along the US Pacific Coast south of Alaska and is recognized as a site of Hemispheric Importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. It is also important for over 130 species of resident and migratory marine, estuarine and anadromous fish species. Development pressures on remaining wetlands and adjacent uplands continue to threaten habitats not owned or managed for conservation. The site is a renowned international tourism destination. Parts of the site are within the UNESCO Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve (1988). Ramsar site no. 2097. Most recent RIS information: 2013.
Wetlands constitute less than three percent of the State, but they have had a major economic effect on Hawaiian society both before and after European contact. Wetlands are habitats for several species of birds and plants endemic to the Hawaiian Islands.
Wetlands are habitats for several species of birds and plants endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Wetland formation in Hawaii is influenced by climate, topography, and geology; wetlands form where local hydrologic conditions favor water retention near the land surface. Although rainfall is high in many areas of the islands, steep topography and the high permeability of the volcanic rock that forms the islands result in the rapid discharge of storm runoff to the ocean as surface-water and ground-water flow. Coastal wetland losses have been greatest on Oahu, where wetlands have been drained and filled for the resort, industrial, and residential development.
Hawaii List of Threatened and Endangered Species
RAMSAR:
The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) — called the “Ramsar Convention” — is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the “wise use”, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. The Convention on Wetlands came into force for the USA on 18 April 1987. The USA presently has 35 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of 1,827,196 hectares.
Kawainui and Hamakua Marsh Complex. 02/02/05; Hawaii; 414 ha; 21°24′N 157°45′W. State Wildlife Sanctuary. Sacred to Hawaiians, Kawainui Marsh, the largest remaining emergent wetland in Hawaii and Hawaii’s largest ancient freshwater fishpond, is located in what was once the center of a caldera of the Koolau shield volcano. The marsh provides the primary habitat for four of Hawaii’s endemic and endangered waterbirds, including Laysan Duck and Hawaiian Goose or Nene, and contains archaeological and cultural resources, including ancient walled taro water gardens (lo’i) where fish were also cultivated. Kawainui Marsh stores surface water, providing flood protection for adjacent Kailua town, one of the largest towns on the windward side of O’ahu. Hamakua Marsh is a smaller wetland historically connected to and immediately downstream of Kawainui Marsh, which also provides significant habitat for several of Hawaii’s endemic and endangered waterbirds. Ramsar site no. 1460. Most recent RIS information: 2005.
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. 01/04/11; Hawaii; 204,127 ha; 05°52′N 162°06′W. Coral reefs, permanent shallow marine waters, and intertidal forested wetlands of the atoll and submerged lands and associated waters out to 12 nautical miles from it, in the equatorial Pacific 960 miles south of Honolulu. A National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) since 2001, the site supports a variety of species with different conservation status under the National Endangered Species Act and IUCN Red List, such as the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi), Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas). It is also an important feeding and nesting ground for seabirds like the Red-footed Booby (Sula sula), with the third-largest colony in the world, and it sustains approximately 5% of the total population of the Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis). As a National Wildlife Refuge, the site is closed to public use without a permit issued by the manager, but scientific research and CEPA activities are coordinated between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy along with the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium. Threats include the presence of invasive species like the scale (Pulvinaria urbicola), which is responsible for the recent decline in the Pisonia grandis forest coverage. A conservation plan is under development and expected to be completed in 2012. Ramsar Site no. 1971. Most recent RIS information: 2011. [français | español]
Wetlands cover less than one percent of Nevada but are some of the most economically and ecologically valuable lands in the State. Benefits of wetlands include flood attenuation, bank stabilization, water-quality improvement, and fish and wildlife habitat.
Benefits of wetlands include flood attenuation, bank stabilization, water-quality improvement, and fish and wildlife habitat. Desert wetlands include marshes in playa lakes, non-vegetated playas, and riparian wetlands; mountain wetlands include fens and other wetlands that form in small glacial lakes. More than one-half of Nevada’s original wetlands have been lost, primarily due to the conversion of wetlands to cropland and the diversion of water for agricultural and urban use; many others have been seriously degraded by human activities. Some wetlands have been created by mine dewatering and sewage treatment.
Nevada List of Threatened and Endangered Species
RAMSAR:
The Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) — called the “Ramsar Convention” — is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the “wise use”, or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories. The Convention on Wetlands came into force for the USA on 18 April 1987. The USA presently has 35 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of 1,827,196 hectares.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. 18/12/86; Nevada; 9,509 ha; 36º25’N 116º20’W. National Wildlife Refuge. A unique oasis ecosystem of streams, pools, and wet meadows, formed around springs supplying a tributary of the Amargosa River. The site lies within an area exhibiting the greatest biological endemism in the USA. Four species of endangered endemic fish and an endemic aquatic insect are present, and several of the region’s plants are listed as threatened or endangered endemic species. Other endemics include several mollusks and one mammal. The water table is close to the surface and soils are mostly saline, often with a well-developed salt crust. Human activities have consisted of agriculture, irrigation, peat and clay mining, and off-road vehicle use. Ramsar site no. 347. Most recent RIS information: 1992.
About
Western Chapter
Lauren Healey
Lauren attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she received a degree in natural resource conservation. Upon graduating she worked for the Parker River NWR controlling invasive species and assisting with pilot marsh restoration work. Her love of backpacking then led her out to Oregon where she worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and later the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) leading wetland restoration projects. Today, she is a regional coordinator for the National Wetland Inventory Team and helps ensure high quality wetland data across the US.
Brianna Hines
Brianna serves as an Environmental Planner at The Watershed Company with over 10 years of experience performing and managing environmental compliance projects, site investigations and technical field activities. A graduate of the University of Washington’s Wetland Science and Management Professional Certification program, Brianna is a certified Wetland Scientist and Wetland Professional in Training (WPIT) with the Society of Wetland Scientists. She has experience with Federal, State, and local compliance through diverse projects, performing riparian restoration design documentation, biological assessments, and critical areas assessments. In addition, she has performed field data collection, including conducting vegetation surveys, amphibian surveys, habitat assessments, wetland characterizations, mitigation site monitoring (vegetation and hydrology against performance standards) and water quality monitoring for habitat enhancement projects. Brianna is known for maintaining excellent professionalism and interactions with partners while delivering high-quality efficient work. She has experience working all over Washington, and currently resides in Thurston County.
Russell Huddleston
Annmarie Lucchesi
Specialties: horticultural suitability consulting for new landscape installation and existing landscape troubleshooting and maintenance. Soil Management Reports for MWELO compliance. Laboratory soils and vegetation testing for particle size, carbon and nitrogen content, and other chemical concentrations. Field research under adverse conditions including extensive travel and soil, water and vegetation sampling.
Alvin Medina
+ Wildlife Biologist, BLM Phoenix, AZ
+ Private Consultant, Rangeland Inventory - Remote Sensing, University of Wyoming, Wy
+ Range Conservationist, Gila National Forest. Wilderness District. NM
+ Recreation Specialist - Gila Cliff Dwellings, Gila National Forest. Wilderness District. NM
+ Research Rangeland Scientist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Tempe, AZ
+ Research Ecologist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, AZ
+ Private Consultant in Range and Wildlife/Fisheries Management, Flagstaff, AZ {A. L. Medina Consulting. LLC}
Hank Raizen
Botanist/Wetland Scientist working in consulting in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Joseph Schubauer-Berigan Ph.D.
Justin Semion
Justin focuses his work on guiding clients to outcomes that benefit organizational goals and contribute to environmental sustainability. His brings a unique set of skills, experience and perspective to assist with integrating the needs of the environment and society into the decisions of private and public organizations. Justin has worked at WRA since 2001 and during his time he has managed hundreds of diverse projects involving the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), regulatory permitting, restoration and habitat management, habitat mitigation planning and monitoring, and essential fish habitat evaluation.
Justin is an expert in wetland ecology, management and environmental permitting with particular expertise in the complex interactions between humans and the environment in San Francisco Bay. He has managed the completion of more than 1,000 CEQA, NEPA, and permitting projects for federal, state, and local organizations.
Mo Wise
I am a wetland scientist with 7+ years of experience working with public agencies, research groups and environmental advocates using hands-on approaches and creative solutions to mitigate the effects of freshwater runoff along California’s coastal ecosystems. I use my analytical skills along with ecosystem knowledge and understanding to impact watershed health. I utilize my passion for the coastal environment along with wetland restoration to serve my community. Approaching my work through a lens of “thinking globally and acting locally”, I work to provide long term, effective strategies and solutions for improving and protecting both freshwater and saltwater resources.
President – Richard Beck, PWS, CPEC, CEP: Richard has extensive experience in the regulatory and environmental disciplines. He successfully leads federal, state, local and private sector clients through the Clean Water Act, California Porter-Cologne Act, California Fish and Game Code, Endangered Species Act and the California Coastal Act. As a Professional Wetland Scientist, Richard has conducted hundreds of jurisdictional delineations throughout the southwest. He excels in the restoration of riparian ecosystems, both as standalone projects and mitigation for jurisdictional impacts. In 2008, he co-authored RBF Consulting's Watershed Management: Integrating People, Land and Water, a resource manual to the watershed approach. He is also an instructor of the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) and enjoys writing and presenting on wetland-related topics. He has also served on the Chapter’s Executive/Special Topics Committee Member as well as the Editorial Board for the Society’s International Wetland Practice Magazine.
President-Elect – Susan Burr: Susan is an environmental scientist and is vice president at AECOS, Inc., a small environmental consulting firm headquartered in Hawaii. Susan has managed over 200 marine and freshwater biological surveys and ecological assessments and wetland delineation, restoration, and mitigation projects. Susan’s responsibilities also include conducting water quality studies and botanical and avian surveys and preparing permit applications. Susan has extensive knowledge of Pacific perennial and intermittent streams, coastal wetlands, and nearshore environments and is passionate about protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems to have a global impact while meeting the needs of local communities. Susan has a BA in biology from Pomona College in California and a MS in marine resources management from Oregon State University.
Secretary – Lauren Mack, PWS: Lauren is an environmental specialist at RBF Consulting, a Michael Baker International Company. She has 10 years of experience with wetland delineations, state and federal waters permitting, restoration and monitoring throughout California.
Treasurer – Kevin Fisher, PWS: Kevin is an ecologist and certified Professional Wetlands Scientist with 20 years of experience working on wetland conservation, restoration, and mitigation projects in the western United States. He has participated in the planning, design, implementation, and monitoring of dozens of stream and wetland restoration projects that span habitats from coastal marshes to high altitude riparian meadows. Kevin is currently a Principal Biologist/Wetland Scientist at Jacobs (formerly CH2M Hill) in Oakland, California. He has also served as a wetland scientist at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and a volunteer docent for the Watsonville Wetlands Watch.
Arizona Representative – James Allen,PhD: Dr. Allen is a Professor and the Executive Director of the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. He works primarily in an administrative capacity nowadays, but he also teaches a graduate course called Wetland Ecology and Management and advises graduate students on wetland-related projects. He has a diverse research background that includes fieldwork in bottomland hardwood forests and coastal baldcypress swamps of the Lower Mississippi Valley, mangrove swamps of Hawaii and Micronesia, and upland forests of the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York. He also has conducted forestry research in southern Africa (Swaziland).
Nevada Representative – Jerry Qualls,PhD: Jerry Qualls is an Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, teaching courses in Wetland Ecology and Management and Microbial Ecology. His research centers around biogeochemistry and plant ecophysiology. http://about.me/qualls
N. Ca. Representative – Shannon Lindquist, PWS: Shannon Lindquist is a Senior Scientist for Arcadis out of San Francisco. She has 12 years of professional experience in wetland science and management. She is a Project Manager for programs and projects relating to environmental compliance, state and federal wetlands/waters permitting, and biological resource assessment and management.
S. Ca. Representative – Open
Hawaii/Pacific Islands Representative – Kim Falinski, PhD: Kim works for The Nature Conservancy’s Marine Program in Honolulu, Hawaii, managing a portfolio of projects related to wetlands and water quality. A water resource engineer and soil scientist specializing in sediment and nutrient transport to the coastal zone, Dr. Falinski’s work focuses on best management practices to improve water quality and coastal resilience. Kim has ten years of experience in sampling sediment, soil and water for contaminants of concern. As lead scientist for a 200-acre restoration project at He’eia wetlands draining into Kāne‘ohe Bay on O‘ahu, she manages a team that is documenting best practices for removal of invasive species and designing hydraulic systems for natural flood control. The site was recently adopted as the 29th National Estuarine Research Reserve, for which she is the first monitoring coordinator. In addition to her PhD (University of Hawaii at Mānoa), she is a licensed Professional Engineer (Civil, Water Resources) and has a Master’s degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering (Cornell). She was recently elected to the Clean Water and Natural Lands Commission for the City and County of Honolulu. In her spare time, she is a beekeeper and sailor, splitting her time between farm and sea.
Past President – Russell Huddleston, PWS: Russell Huddleston is a Certified Professional Wetland Scientist with over 18 years of professional experience in wetland science, plant community classification, habitat assessment, and special-status species surveys. He has worked in a variety of wetland types throughout the western United States including Coastal and tundra wetlands in Alaska; vernal pools and seasonal wetlands in California and southern Oregon; mountain streams and seeps in Utah; and desert playas and washes in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. Russell is a senior wetland ecologist at Applied Technology & Science in San Francisco, California. He has also has been a volunteer docent at the Jepson Prairie vernal pool preserve in Solano County for over 17 years.
The SWS Western chapter includes the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada. SWS Western members are comprised of consulting scientists, local, state and federal agency members and researchers and higher education academics. We have one of the most diverse regions in US with wetland types that range from coastal California to the high mountains in the Sierras, to the great basin deserts and central valley. The Arizona desert wetlands are different from the Nevada arid wetlands and then onto Hawaiian island wetland ecosystems.
Membership in the Western Chapter links you with other wetland professionals who are working in the region on similar wetland types and issues. Chapter membership includes updates on regional events and activities.
Membership in SWS includes:
- Full access to the Wetlands journal
- Electronic access to quarterly issues of Wetland Science and Practice (WSP)
- Electronic access to Wetlands Ecology and Management and Estuaries and Coasts
- SWS monthly e-newsletter
- Access to members-only discussion forum sections of the SWS website
- Member rates for Wetland Professional in Training (WPIT) and Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) certification
- Participation in regional chapter and section activities and benefits
- Ability to apply or be nominated for SWS “members only” awards and grants
- Discounted registration at the SWS Annual Meeting
Become an SWS member today to receive these benefits!
Process
The following process shall be followed in developing draft position statements:
- Any member of the Chapter in good standing may nominate an issue that falls within the purview of the Society and the Chapter for the consideration of the Special Issues Committee. The nomination shall include a description of the scientific, management, and/or other considerations that supports the nomination.
- The Special Issues Committee shall consider the nomination and shall determine whether a statement regarding the issue should be issued by the Chapter, weighing the submitted evidence and any other evidence deemed relevant by Committee members. If the Committee deems the issue to warrant a statement, the Committee shall prepare a draft statement for consideration by the Chapter’s Executive Committee.
- A description of the issue for which a statement is being considered shall be circulated to the Executive Committee, together with a draft of the actual text of the proposed statement, a minimum of seven days prior to its distribution to the Chapter membership..
- Upon agreement from the Executive Committee, the draft statement shall be distributed to the chapter membership for a 30-day comment period. Following review by the membership, the Special Issues Committee shall revise the statement as the Committee deems appropriate. The “final” statement shall be resubmitted to the Executive Committee for their review and approval.
- The statement shall be considered “approved” by the Chapter’s Executive Committee if at least half of the Executive Committee members concur with the proposed statement. The proposed statement may be modified to address objections or issues raised by the Executive Committee. If more than half of the members of the Executive Committee decline to concur with the final proposed statement, the statement shall not be made on the Chapter’s behalf.
- The proposed statement shall be limited to addressing technical or scientific issues (or the interpretation of technical and scientific issues in other contexts) and shall not include opinions regarding regulatory or legal policies as such.
- Once approved, the final statement shall be posted on the Chapter website.
April 2003:
SWS Western Chapter Comments on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking EPA Docket # OW-2002-0050; January 15, 2003
March 2006:
SWS Western Chapter Comments to the State Water Resources Control Board on the Proposed General WDRs for “Isolated” Wetlands (agenda item 12, 30 March 2004 meeting)
March 2008:
SWS Western Chapter provided a letter of support for the State Water Resources Control Board’s application for a USEPA Section 104(b) grant that would help fund the development and implementation of the State’s proposed Wetland and Riparian Protection Policy
USACE Regulatory Links
Federal Partners
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Office of Water – Wetlands Division - US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
Endangered Species Program - National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
- United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
- Wild and Scenic Rivers
California State Partners
- EPA Region IX
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento Office
- California Department of Fish and Game
- California Department of Water Resources
- California State Water Resources Control Board
- California Historic Resources Information System
- California State Lands Commission
- Interagency Ecological Program
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
Colorado State Partners
- EPA Region VIII
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 6
- Colorado Division of Wildlife
- Colorado State Historic Preservation Office
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- CDPHE, Water Quality Control Division
- 401 Water Quality Certification info
Nevada State Partners
- EPA Region IX
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Nevada State Historic Preservation Office
- Nevada Division of Wildlife
- Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
- NDEP, Bureau of Water Quality Planning
- Tahoe Regional Planning Agency
- Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee
- Bureau of Reclamation
Utah State Partners
- EPA Region VIII
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 6
- Utah Department of Natural Resources
- Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
- Utah Division of Water Rights
- Utah Division of Water Resources
- Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands
- Utah Department of Environmental Quality
- Utah Division of Water Quality
- State Historic Preservation Office
Regulatory Offices in other Districts
Regulatory Offices in other Districts
To find a Professional Wetland Scientist in your area, click here.
Western Chapter Events
The Western Chapter encourages active participation so our members can connect, learn and have fun! Below is a list of wetland-related events; however, not all events are sponsored by SWS. This listing is provided as a courtesy to SWS Western Chapter members and those interested in western wetlands. Where possible, we try to highlight when Western Chapter members are sponsoring or presenting.
If you are a Western Chapter member and would like to have an event posted here, or are presenting at an event, please contact LMack@mbakerintl.com.
Webinar: Long Term Restoration Success in Coastal Wetlands: Lessons Learned from Gavelston Bay, TX
February 6, 2025
4:00-4:50pm CST
Meeting ID: 817 8028 2041
Passcode: N/A
Speaker: Anna Armitage, PhD, Department Head and Professor, Department of Marine Biology
Texas A&M University Gavelston
Please click this link for information on how to register: 02-06-25_Armitage_ONLINE
CRAM Training Courses (Location and Date Varies)
The California Rapid Assessment Method for wetlands and riparian areas (CRAM) has been developed as a tool for standardized and cost-effective assessment of wetland condition. This training session will provide the skills necessary to consistently conduct accurate assessments of wetlands using CRAM, and will provide guidance on the use of CRAM for ambient and project assessment and monitoring. The session involves both classroom and field instruction, with an emphasis on the field component. http://www.cramwetlands.org/training
Click here to let us know if you will be attending this event.
Wonder of Wetlands Project
The Western Chapter’s past President, Dr. Michelle Stevens, has been actively working with PG&E through a grant for wetlands education. The Wonder of Wetlands project includes wetland educational opportunities for local students at the Bay Point Regional Seashore located in Bay Point, CA. The project has brought together students from California State University Sacramento, along with local high school and middle school students. The students engage in activities that include exploring and sketching their observations, participating in interactive games, contributing to shoreline cleanup, and a poster board presentation on related wetland topics. See the attached document for additional information on this great community involvement project!
News Coverage – Oakland Tribune
Final Student Brochures
Contact
Although we’re volunteers, we want to hear from you and will make changes as fast as and as best we can. For questions or comments, please email Lauren Mack at: lmack@mbakerintl.com.