SWS Mid-Atlantic Chapter

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia

Chapter Newsletter

August, 2001

Mid-Atlantic Chapter Members -

You may have noticed that some time has passed since the last Chapter newsletter. My apologies - but let me reassure you that I have been working hard on behalf of the Chapter to make sure the 2002 conference to be held in Lake Placid is a success.

And I apologize right up front for this newsletter because it is a long one.

I will catch you all up on what is happening with the conference in a moment, but first some Chapter news -

A Chapter meeting was held at the 2001 SWS Conference in Chicago back in May. About 30 people attended - it was great to see everyone there and even better to hear how many wanted to volunteer their services for the 2002 Conference. Items that were discussed included a summary of past Chapter events, a break-down of where we stand financially, and a discussion of what would be occurring over the upcoming year.

Some of the upcoming events include -

Chapter meeting in Atlantic City, NJ - Thursday, November 1, 2001 at the Holiday Inn on the Boardwalk, at 5 pm. This meeting will occur during the course of the EPA’s Wetland Regulatory Workshop. We are currently working on providing a speaker on a topic relevant to Mid-Atlantic Chapter members. When we have pinned someone down, we will let you know. In the meantime, plan on attending both the Chapter meeting as well as the Workshop.

Dinner Lecture - Albert McCullough is currently working on providing another dinner lecture in DC. We apologize for the communication breakdown that occurred for the last one - many Chapter members and others were not informed about the lecture until too late. We will work hard to make sure this does not happen next time. I don’t know yet what Albert is planning, but will let you know....

Phragmites Technical Forum & Workshop - The Chapter is a co-sponsor for this first annual technical forum and workshop on Phragmites australis: A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing? It will be held January 6 - 9, 2002 at Cumberland County College in Vineland, NJ. For more information, please contact mweinstein@njmsc.org.

News around the chapter—

In New York, EPA decided to move forward with a comprehensive PCB clean-up of the Hudson River. The decision calls for the removal of more than 100,000 pounds of PCBs from targeted hotspots in the Upper Hudson using environmental dredging. The draft decision will go to NY State for review and comment. It is likely that little will change during the 30-day review.

Also in NY, in July the New York Times had an interesting write-up on the loss of marsh occurring in Jamaica Bay. Thousands of acres of marsh are rapidly vanishing, and scientists who have met to study the problem have estimated that is a solution is not found the marshes may disappear in less than 20 years. The complete article can be found at www.nytimes.com/2001/07/06/nyregion/06MARS.html?pagewanted=print.  Ellen Hartig, a Chapter member, gave a very interesting lecture on the Jamaica Bay problem at the 2001 SWS Conference held in Chicago back in May.

Both Maryland and Delaware have set up cost share programs for landowners interested in controlling Phragmites. To find out more about Maryland’s program, go to

www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2001/071201a.html

For info on Delaware’s program, go to

www.dnrec.state.de.us/dnrec2000/Admin/Press/Story1.asp?PRID=198

In New Jersey, use of the existing freshwater wetland rules was extended to August 7 (which was yesterday) and DEP anticipated that by August 7, the proposed re-adoption of the freshwater rules with amendments would have been adopted. But I just checked their web page and did not see an update, but any day now... Check out for yourself at  www.state.nj.us/dep/landuse

Upcoming meetings & training occurring within the Chapter:

August 20-24 - Basic Wetland Delineation, in Atlantic City, NJ, sponsored by The Reilly Group. For more info -  www.thereillygroup.net/wetlandstraining.htm

September 6-7 - Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delineation, Kittatinny State Park, Andover, NJ. For more info - aesop.rutgers.edu/~ocpe/wetlandseries.htm. (Also listed at this site are other programs that will take place in New Jersey in October and November)

September 24-25 - Stream and Floodplain Restoration Workshop in Albany, NY. For more info, www.floods.org/conf.htm

September 26 - 29 - Basic Wetland Delineator Training in Mt Holly, NJ (near Philadelphia). For more info, IWEER@aol.com www.wetlanded.com

October 18 - Wetland Mitigation in the NY/NJ Hudson River Estuary in Carlstadt, NJ. For more info, contact tdoss@louisberger.com

October 30 - November 2 - Wetlands Regulatory Workshop in Atlantic City, NJ. For more info, contact Ralph Spagnolo, spagnolo.ralph@epa.gov

November 1 - Mid-Atlantic Chapter meeting in Atlantic City, NJ at 5 pm. For more info, contact tdoss@louisberger.com

 That’s it for around the Chapter. A small group is working on the 2002 Conference that will be held in Lake Placid, June 2 - June 7. In keeping with the natural setting of the region and its abundant waters, the theme for the conference is Wetland Linkages: A Watershed Approach. The focus of the program will be on how wetlands are being integrated into initiatives on managing watersheds, as well as how wetlands are inextricably linked to energy, economic and ecological issues.

Dr. Kelman Wieder from Villanova University has graciously agreed to serve as Program Chair. Potential Program Committee members will soon be contacted to ask for their help.

We have established three special symposia -

“Isolated” Wetlands, developed by Tracie Nadeau and Scott Leibowitz from EPA, featuring 12 distinguished speakers. A special issue of Wetlands will be developed from this symposium.

PLanning, Design and Construction Methods for Wetland Mitigation and Restoration, being developed by Mark Felton from URS Corp and Leslie Krueger from NPA.

And a follow-up to the Phragmites forum being held in January, that will include the presentation of the white paper to be developed from the January Forum.

A wide range of field trips are being developed to provide attendees and their families an opportunity to experience the natural resources of the region in a variety of ways (kayaking, hiking, birding...)

Special social events will include—

A reception in the glass-enclosed observation deck atop the 120-meter Olympic Ski Jump, with panoramic views of the Adirondack Peaks

And a family-style barbecue in the fashion of the old Adirondack camps, with a special “SWS Open Jam Session” where those SWS attendees talented and brave enough can join professional musicians on-stage.

And to think - all this in your back yard! We still have some room left for volunteers, so let me know if you want to join in on the fun. And mark your calendars and make plans to attend for the entire week.

People that have already been working hard include—

Jim Allen

Kel Wieder

Brett Berkley

Glenn Guntenspergen

Don Ferlow

Albert McCullough

Andy Cole

Jennifer Alleva

Kirk Barrett

Peg McBrien

Jane Rowan

Barry Warner

Dan Spada, Ray Curran and Richard H. Lefebvre from the Adirondack Park

Agency

Many others have offered, and I will be contacting them momentarily to enlist their help.

Also, keep in mind that while I have enjoyed serving as Mid-Atlantic Chair and no one has put a limit on my term, I feel it only fair that the Chair position be held for no more than 2 years. At the fall Chapter meeting, I will be recommending that elections be held in the spring, prior to the 2002 Lake Placid Conference, so that I can offically hand the reins over to someone new in Lake Placid.

Have a great time over the remainder of the summer and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments!

Terry Doss,
President, SWS Mid-Atlantic Chapter
http://www.sws.org/regional/midatlantic

e-mail: tdoss@louisberger.com
phone: (973) 678-1960, x470
fax: (973) 672-4284