SWS Mid-Atlantic Chapter

Greetings Chapter members -

It's that time of year when everyone is back from vacation, school starts, and life
is just a bit busier than usual. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter is also back from its
"vacation" and we are ready to go with a few new activities for our Chapter
members.

In July, elections for new Chapter leadership were held. As a result, I am pleased to be writing to you as the newly elected Chairperson for this Chapter. I work up in East Orange, New Jersey, with The Louis Berger Group. Also elected as Vice Chair were Albert McCullough, formerly with Environmental Concern, St.
Michaels Maryland and now with Sustainable Science in Denton, Maryland; and
as Secretary, Brett Berkley from Langan Engineering and Environmental Services
in Elmwood Park, New Jersey. Don Ferlow, from Stearns and Wheeler in
Cazenovia, New York, will continue to act as Treasurer. Contact information for
each of us will soon be provided on our Chapter's upcoming web page. In the
meantime, feel free to contact me anytime (my contact information is listed at
the end of this message).

In August, a Chapter meeting was held at the Millenium Wetland Event/2000
SWS annual meeting in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Quebec City was lovely
and the rains helped make the local bogs a bit boggier. We were happy to see
about 14 members attend the Chapter meeting. Topics discussed included:

- holding an annual two-day Chapter meeting with tours and workshops in early
Spring (before everyone gets too busy in the out-of-doors);
- sending out a survey to chapter members to update addresses;
- the possibility of hosting one of the annual SWS meetings in the Mid-Atlantic
region, although the meetings are already booked until 2005;
- forming Chapter workgroups or subcommittees, including a policy group which
could take advantage of our unique location and coordinate with the national group;
- developing a Chapter web page: Kirk Barrett with Rutgers University, Newark,
NJ, volunteered to be the Chapter Webmaster;
- forming a Chapter newsletter to be placed on the web page as well as
distributed electronically;
- update on Chapter finances - Don Ferlow reported that we
  currently have over $12,000 in our coffers, which primarily was
  raised from our national dues which provide $3/Chapter member
  each year;
- and lastly, holding a Chapter meeting in the fall within the Chapter area
  (more about this below).

The Chapter minutes will be provided on our web page, when it is fully developed.

Holding the Chapter meeting in Quebec was a good start towards revitalizing the
Chapter, but now its time to bring these ideas home to our members. We are
going to try to do this through an updated web page, more Chapter-sponsored
meetings and conferences, annual Chapter meetings, and in the near future, a
quarterly newsletter. The first step in accomplishing these goals is to find the
best way to reach Chapter members.

We currently have a list of members' e-mails (which is how you are receiving
this note), but unfortunately only for about half of the group. We will be posting a
survey to all Chapter members to update our contact information. Please take the
time to fill this survey when you receive it with your current information. And
pass the survey around to other wetland scientists in the are you may know, and if
they are not SWS members, tell them to join so that they too can be a part of the
exciting upcoming events.

And the first exciting upcoming Chapter event will take place on Thursday,
November 2, 2000, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The EPA is hosting their annual
Wetland Regulatory Workshop in Atlantic City throughout the week of October 30-
November 3. The EPA and the Holiday Inn have provided us with space to hold a
meeting/happy hour on Thursday from 5pm-7pm, after that day's conference
events (thanks to Ralph Spagnolo for all his help). The Chapter is providing free
food and drinks, and the purpose will be to get to know the newly elected Chapter
leaders, hear the latest in Chapter and national SWS news, fill out membership
surveys, and get to know your neighboring wetland scientists. The EPA's annual
workshop provides attendees with current, relevant wetland information and a
variety of speakers and wetland topics. On Tuesday, October 31, Janet Keough
and Virginia Carter will both be speaking on communicating information to the
regulated community, and on Friday, November 3, I will be speaking on wetland
mitigation. We hope to see you at both the conference and Chapter meeting! For
more information on the conference, visit
http://www.epa.gov/region03/hydricsoils/wet3prog.htm or
For more information on the Chapter meeting, please contact me (contact
information listed at end of message).

In the meantime, we are developing new Chapter bylaws (none currently exist).
These will be provided on the web page, once it is up and running. And we are
looking for opportunities to bring our Chapter members together - lectures,
conferences, tours... Let us know of activities in your area.

The Chapter Board is interested in your suggesstions, questions and proposals. I
have heard from a few of you and appreciate your input. The Mid-Atlantic
Chapter is one of the largest chapters within SWS. I hope we can make it one of
the most active chapters as well.

I look forward to meeting you in Atlantic City, those that are able to attend. And
I look forward to hearing from all of you. Stay tuned for details on our first
annual two-day Chapter meeting, planned for the New York/Adirondack area in
late March, 2001.

- Terry Doss
Principal Wetland Scientist
The Louis Berger Group, Inc.
100 Halsted Street
East Orange, NJ 07028
e-mail: tdoss@louisberger.com
phone: (973) 678-1960, x470
fax: (973) 672-4284