I serve on a local conservation commission and always have this thought when hearing about a proposed project and the wetlands delineation: if two or more professional wetlands experts delineated a wetland independently, what would the margin of error be between them? For example, if I told a group of let's say 10 wetland scientists with equivalent background and experience to delineate a wetland, how close together would they be? Are we talking yards, feet, inches?

Looking to hire an experienced wetland scientist/specialist that’s familiar with the Alabama Gulf Coast and Baldwin County permitting processes.

Looking to hire an experienced wetland scientist/specialist that’s familiar with the Alabama Gulf Coast and Baldwin County permitting processes. All job inquires accepted. Benefits and salary provided via messaging.

I have been scouring the internet for a good couple of months, and read all the regs, but I can't find answers to 2 questions I have about wetlands use.

Context: I own 18 acres in upstate NY, about 15 acres of it is class 2 state protected freshwater wetlands. The other 3 acres is house, barn, grassy lawn and pond, and has been since way before I owned the property, more than 40 years at least. I am zoned agricultural.

Q1. I am going to do permaculture food foresting on 1/4 acre (outside the protected area and buffer zone) and raise free-range chickens on the 3 acres, and I want to put a perimeter fence around the 3 acre lawn part (not down into the wild wetlands). Part of that fence needs to be in the 100' buffer zone because of the location of my pond. I am thinking 8' high steel 3" x 3" welded hogwire mounted to 4" round wood posts, as this would introduce the least potential chemical leeching and interfere least with movement of small animals in and out of the wetlands, but keep deer, dogs and larger predators off my garden and chickens. Nothing in the regulations talks about fencing. Is fencing to keep livestock in and predators out one of the excluded activities, or not?

Q2. It appears from reading the rules that I can use the wetlands for some agriculture if I don't disturb water flow change or the land configuration? Is that actually correct? What about introducing species in there? Like, could I inoculate fallen logs in the wetland area and grow some culinary mushrooms? I'd be very grateful if anyone could just flesh out the DEP ideology I need to be working from about protecting the species living in the wetlands. The regs on moving earth and building are clear, but the regs about how to protect the wetlands ecological web seem contradictory to me and I'm so confused.

Im currently an environmental technician in training to become wetland certified in NH through the company I work for. I can't seem to find any study guides online and I've heard it's fairly challenging. Anybody have any advice or have taken the exam for NH?

Thanks!

I'll keep this simple; I am a junior under Environmental Science at UMass Lowell there is no certification programs, or anything offered at my school however there is a certificate program available at University of New Hampshire: ( Wetlands Certificate | Professional Development & Training (unh.edu) ) (There's also another cert for soil science I'd like to take) From what I gather there is no government-approved program for certifying, but this is probably my only option to gather real experience.

I would have to assume even after I complete this program, no company will even consider me until I complete my BA, but I could probably get an internship for delineation and my status as a student about to graduate.

Luckily during all this my current employer (not in my preferred career field) is willing to work with whatever hours I need to go out and get experience.

Does this seem like a good move?

Im happy there's a subreddit for this! I have been thinking to study environmental science and have been looking at online colleges for a bachelors degree (as well as talking to some by phone) because I live in the middle of nowhere and cannot physically attend a college everyday. I have been farming poultry as my own business since I graduated highschool and I also substitute teach for the last year, and I'm 30 now and ready for a life change. I love subbing for the science classes and it's environmental science where I really shine in and now I want to actually pursue it.

Anyways what I'm getting to is, I came across Wetland Institute and Swamp School in my online researches and I want to ask, could I take this route without a bachelors degree? Or would I need to obtain a bachelors first in order to take these studies?

Does anyone know what that black buildup is? It’s settling throughout the creek which is typically clear.

Natural? Non-natural?

What do you use for data collection? Paper or digital? Do you use a particular program? If so, I’d love to hear your experiences.

I am trying to determine if a property that resides next to me is a possible wetland. I believe it has what seems to be water pennyworth & watermeal. Plus, this particular lot has constant water for most of the year. We seem to keep 1,000s of frogs in that property and I’m not sure what else. I am not sure of the detailed specifications of wetlands, but I would like to find out. It is also possible that where our house stands currently, use to be a possible wetland as well (the lots are side by side). There are the same type of vegetation/plants as mentioned above that stay in our ditch/ flowerbeds/ and yard. We did not build this home… we are trying to figure out if it was built in 2020 on a possible “wetland.”

So how can I find out for certain? I did reach out and email USCorps Engineer out of Galveston.

Mike Rolband, Director of The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, is pioneering the Permit Enhancement and Evaluation Program (PEEP), launched earlier this year. After 40 years in the environmental industry, Rolband's priority is boosting the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the environmental permitting process. Learn more about his work by following the link below:

Watch episode #3 of Ecobite now!

There is a Wetland Scientist position open for Stantec, no salary posted. About how much does a Wetland Scientist make? I'm working for government now, and I can see that the Stantec benefits aren't as good. Is the money better?

But I’m scared?? What are some roadblocks people generally come across with this? School credits, PWS backing, ext? Is it difficult to apply for? I’ve read the outline on the website but never dug any deeper due to extreme anxiety over it.

Essentially, some reassurance that it’s worth it is needed lol

We had a large area of phragmites in the salt marsh on our land. After getting the proper permits we had it professionally removed. Now there is a large muddy area that fills w seawater at the highest tides but is otherwise bare. We have salt hay growing naturally in other areas of the marsh. Is it possible to plant salt hay in this area ? If so, where would one order the seeds or seedlings ?

Hello,

Part of my property is wetlands. Around the edge of my back yard, there are multiple sections where an invasive species (Rose Multiflora) has taken root and grown quite large. These have rather large thorns and I have torn my arms up just doing yard work by getting too close. I do not want to expand my back yard further out, but I wanted to know if its legal to remove invasive species from wetlands on property you own?

I know I cannot build within 100ft of the delineation, and I do not plan to. This is just a removal of invasive species and allow local plants to take back the space.

What are you fine people using in the field?

Can anyone in the CO area share any resources on the most common plants typically encountered in wetland and adjacent upland areas? I’m looking for common species wetland delineators encounter in the Great Plains and front range foothills regions.

Hi. I have a degree in env science and have worked in urban forestry and then taught APES for 3 years. I recently got a job in Florida working for a government agency doing complaint investigations in wetlands. So like if a wetland is filled or cleared or whatever I go and check it out. Some of us do wetland delineations too.

I am learning a lot here but I realize I know like nothing about wetlands when it comes down to it. I can tell you the function of wetlands and that other stuff you get in early college environmental classes but idk all the soil indicators or or how to determine an exact wetland line. That’s not something they teach you in college.

My job is really good about training, but I want to learn more on my own. I’ve found a lot of documents and stuff and textbook articles but I need more visual learning with like a teacher or a video. I’m honestly a bit overwhelmed with everything I need to learn and idk where to start. The colleges near me don’t offer any classes that are super helpful. They are all just broad environmental classes. Any recommendations?

For those of you who have been in consulting but moved on to other industries, what job are you doing now?