SWS Membership Benefits

The Pacific Northwest chapter serves the geographical area that includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

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Bylaws

Awards

Student Opportunities

McMillan Student Scholarship Awards

The McMillan Student Scholarship Awards are to encourage student participation at our regional and national meetings. The Awards are named in honor of Andy McMillan in recognition of his outstanding service and dedication in leading and promoting the functions and activities of SWS-PNW. Awards can be used for travel, hotel and conference registration costs.

Eligibility: Awards are open to currently registered graduate and undergraduate students, regardless of location. Preference is given to students living, performing research or attending a university within the SWS-PNW region (WA, OR, ID, and AK).

SWS Research Awards

The Pacific Northwest Chapter sponsors one to two annual research awards as a part of the Society’s larger research grant program. The call for awards is generally made alongside the national research grant programs and is due early each winter. Students from the Chapter’s region of WA, OR, ID, and AK are encouraged to apply. For more information, please see the SWS Awards and Grants page:http://www.sws.org/Awards-and-Grants/student-research-grants.html.

University of Washington Wetland Science and Management Certificate Program

In this rigorous, six-course certificate program, we’ll explore the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of wetlands and their many functions. You’ll get in-depth training in identifying, delineating, classifying, functionally assessing and rating wetlands using plant, soil, hydrologic and landscape data. We’ll also delve into the complex wetland regulatory environment that facilitates the protection, restoration and prudent management of wetlands. You'll apply what you've learned in the program-long practicum, where you'll undertake a student-designed investigation at a wetland site and synthesize your research findings into a scientific report and presentation. For more information, please visit: Certificate in Wetland Science & Management - UW Professional & Continuing Education

Clackamas Community College Wetland Program

If you're looking for a fun and convenient way to broaden your knowledge around environmental issues and earn continuing education units (CEUs), the Environmental Learning Center at Clackamas Community College is here to help. We offer a variety of short courses designed to give professionals hands-on experience while learning from experts in the field.

Short course topics will include areas related to stormwater management, wetland/river restoration and ecology, and more. Our rustic, yet comfortable, classrooms provide an excellent learning environment in the middle of a recently restored wetland.

Only minutes from downtown Oregon City
Free and open parking
Retreat-like feel close to the city
Conveniently located off Interstate-205

To get more information about professional development workshops, to join our email list, or to discuss your training needs, please contact Leanne Wells at leanne.wells@clackamas.edu or 503-594-3015.

Coastal Training Program, Washington

The Coastal Training Program provides practical, science-based training to professionals who make decisions about shoreline management in Western and Eastern Washington. For more information, please visit: Coastal Training Program Washington

PNW Chapter Lifetime Achievement & Leadership Awards

Past Award Winners

2002 – Andy McMillan, Washington State Department of Ecology (Lifetime Achievement)
2004 – Dyanne Sheldon, Sheldon & Associates and Suki Cupp, CH2MHill (Co-chairs of the 2004 25th Anniversary and International SWS meeting in Seattle) (Lifetime Achievement)
2010 - Yvonne Vallette, EPA Region 10 (Leadership)
2014 - Tom Hruby, Washington State Dept of Ecology (Lifetime Achievement)
2014 - Jim Wiggins, Aqua-Terr Systems, Inc. (Leadership)

Purpose of Awards – To honor individuals and/or groups that have performed outstanding service and dedication in leading and promoting the functions and activities of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of SWS.

Recipients – Chapter members who have made generous contributions of their time, skills and services in accomplishing the Chapter and SWS organization’s mission and objectives. Recipients should serve as a model to the Chapter’s membership in their demonstration of exceptional leadership abilities and perseverance in advancing the efforts of the Chapter. Their leadership abilities showcase the art of inspiring and motivating others to realize their personal/professional and collective best. Consistent with the objectives of the SWS organization, the recipient of this award has consistently demonstrated one or more of these qualities in their contributions to the field of wetland science and to the Chapter’s membership:

Commitment to the Organization
Ability to Translate the Organization’s Vision and Mission into Action
An Effective Communicator
A Relationship Builder
A Motivator
A Collaborator
A Problem Solver
Retiring (Lifetime Achievement Award only)

To submit a nomination for these awards, please contact any Pacific Northwest Chapter Board member to submit your nomination with a brief write-up that addresses the nominee’s qualities in addressing the above award standards. Submittal should include:

Your name, contact information (address, email and phone);
Name of the nominee, organization or affiliation; contact information (address, email and phone – they will not be contacted during the review process); years they have been a member of the PNW Chapter (estimate if you don’t know).
Brief description of the actions or attributes of the nominee and how you see that they fit the positive attributes above. Provide examples of leadership efforts, courses taught, actions taken, years of service, etc.
Names and contact information (address, email and phone) for at least two other PNW Chapter members who are knowledgeable of the nominee and their contributions. You must have permission to provide these names as supporters of this nomination.

SWS Multicultural Mentoring Program (SWaMMP)

The Pacific Northwest Chapter is proud to support the diversity and education initiatives of the SWS Multicultural Mentoring Program. These awards are offered for student researchers across the U.S. who come from historically underrepresented groups in wetland science. Students are selected by the SWAMMP selection committee and funds to support students are given directly to the program by the Chapter. For more information on SWAMMP, please visit http://www.sws.org/Awards-and-Grants/sws-undergraduate-mentoring-program-swammp.html.

If students, mentors, or Pacific Northwest Chapter members have any questions about any chapter awards or have an organization that would benefit from student scholarship support, please contact the SWS PNW board at pnwchapter.sws@gmail.com.

Current Events

SWS 2024 Annual Meeting – Taipei, Taiwan – November 11-16, 2024

Join your fellow SWS members at the annual international conference in Taipei, Taiwan in November 2024. Information and registration can be found here.

May is American Wetland Month

https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/may-american-wetlands-month
https://www.fws.gov/wetlands-month
https://nationaltoday.com/american-wetlands-month/

Past Events

PNW Chapter Mini-Conference – Dayton, OR – October 10-11, 2024

PRESENTATIONS:

Climate Smart Restoration Plant list for the PNW. Climate Smart Plants.
Presentation by: Mason Bowles
Presentation by: Sarah Cooke

Impacts of Beaver Habitat Creation on Water Temperature Dynamics in a Restored Urban Floodplain Wetland Upstream of North Creek's Confluence with the Sammamish River
Presentation by: Dash Paulson, Chaz Hastings and Phil Harris

Sphagnum-dominated Peatlands in the Puget Lowlands: Ecology and Response to Adjacent Land Use
Presentation by: Joe Rocchio

Installation of Pre-Planted Pallets via Helicopter to Restore Inaccessible Reed Canary Grass-Dominated Wetlands
Presentation by: Michelle Bahink and The Oxbow Wetland Pallet Project

Building Tribal wetland education and outreach programs for the Tulalip Tribes of Washington
Presentation by: Melissa Gobin

Forested wetlands and forest harvest - a successional framework for forested wetlands of the Olympic Peninsula
Presentation by: Dr. Tanner Williamson and Dr. Nate Hough-Snee

Prioritizing preservation mitigation concept in an urban environment
Presentation by: Maki Delzell and Jenny Husby

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Habitat Restoration in the Emerald Ash Borer Era
Presentation by: Kari Dupler

From Evidence to Action: Integrating Science in Water Policy & Management
Presentation by: Claire Ruffing

The Pacific Northwest Wetland Condition Assessment
Presentation by: Mary Anne Thiesing

Community Science and Coexistence with Beavers in Urban Wetlands
Presentation by: Shea Fuller

Wetland Impacts: How Temporary is Temporary?
Presentation by: Irina Lapina

Ecology Now! A brief account of the latest at the agency
Presentation by: Doug Gresham

Mini-Conference was held at the Palmer Creek Lodge Community Center with a catered lunch and hotel was Red Lion Inn & Suites in McMinnville, OR.

The Washington Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the Society of Northwestern Vertebrate Biology, and Northwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation are hosting a joint meeting in April 2023. You can learn more about the schedule and submit presentation, workshop, panel discussions, program cover art, and symposia proposals here.

The SWS Annual Meeting will be held in Spokane, WA from June 27-30, 2023. See the Annual Meetings webpage for more information.

2022 Conference (Lacey, WA)

On November 3, 2022 the PNW Chapter held an all day, in-person conference at the Lacey Community Center in Lacey, Washington. The hall was packed with enthusiastic wetland scientists with over 100 in attendance. A great lineup of speakers presented on scientific, management, and regulatory topics from all over our region. The schedule of events is included below. Also the conference attendees contact info and PDFs of the presentation slides are available to download below.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
8:45am Opening (kick off board elections) PNW board
9:00am Policy Wake-Up Session

Rick Mraz, WA Ecology. What's new at Ecology? Policy and Guidance Updates (30 min)
Melody Rudenko. Oregon Department of State Lands. Oregon’s Function-Based Mitigation Accounting for Wetlands (30 min)

10-10:10am Break
10-10:50am Current Research Updates

Zoe Rosenblum, OSU. Global perspective: new database for transboundary wetlands governance (10 min)
Joe Rudolph, Wolf Water Resources. Monitoring Large Scale Restoration with Applied Remote Sensing (10 min)
Lee Lynn Michel. Diet of Introduced American Bullfrog after Five Years of Control in a Temperate Forest Wetland System Southwestern Washington (20min)

10:50-11:00am Break
11:00am Speakers

Neil Molstad, WA Ecology. The Washington Tool for Online Ratings: Getting into the WATOR (45 min)
Nicole Jacobsen. WA Department of Natural Resources. The role of internal consultation and external outreach in managing wetlands on forest trust lands in Washington State (15 min)

12:00-1:15pm Lunch and Raffle
1:15-2:30pm Oregon Spotted Frog Session

F. Teal Waterstrat USFWS. Oregon Spotted Frog Introduction (10 min)
Stephen Nyman, Whatcom Land Trust (30min)
Habitat restoration for the threatened Oregon spotted frog in an emergent wetland dominated by reed canarygrass at the Samish river preserve, Whatcom County, Washington
Cassie Doll, Nick George, (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), Mara Healy (Thurston Conservation District), Melissa Habenicht, Sarah Hamman (EcoStudies Institute). Livestock Grazing as a Tool for Managing Oregon Spotted Frog Oviposition Habitat (30 min)

2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-3:30pm Data Analysis Session

Dana Hicks, Oregon Department of State Lands. Trend study of wetlands and land use in the Willamette Valley between 2005 and 2020(30 min)
Scott Luchessa, Seattle City Light. The results of a pilot wetland enhancement project at Boundary Dam. (20 min)

3:30pm Closing (PNW board)
4:00pm Networking

Conference attendee list

2020 SWS-PNW Meeting Leavenworth, WA

As many of you have heard, and given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Society of Wetland Scientists’ Pacific Northwest Chapter has canceled the upcoming fall meeting scheduled for this September in Leavenworth, WA.

We are currently working with the SWS national business office to find an online format and date for programming later this fall. We realize that keeping our membership connected and apprised of regional and national wetland science and policy developments are of the utmost importance. We look forward to providing these opportunities to connect later in 2020 and encourage you to keep an eye on your inbox for new web-based content.

Also, we are actively planning the SWS national meeting in Spokane next spring. While there is great uncertainty as to whether an in-person meeting will be possible, SWS and the planning committee members are actively working to create a stellar program for 2021. Please see the meeting website at http://www.swsannualmeeting.com. More information to come.

Nate Hough-Snee

SWS-PNW Program Vice President and Conference Chair

Questions: nhoughsnee@fourpeaksenv.com

2018 SWS-PNW and Society for Ecological Restoration Northwest Joint Meeting

SWS-PNW has paired with the Society for Ecological Restoration Northwest to present the 2018 joint meeting: Restoring Resilient Communities in Changing Landscapes, October 15-19, in Spokane, WA.

All conference information is available at: https://restoration2018.org

2017 SWS-PNW Chapter Mini-Meeting Archived

The 2017 Pacific Northwest Chapter meeting, Applied Wetland Science in a Changing Northwest World was held on September 26^th and 27^th, 2017 at the Red Lion Hotel in Kelso, WA. The meeting took a plenary format with day one comprised of a dozen plenary talks on emerging topics in wetland policy, mitigation planning, restoration, and carbon accounting for climate change. Day two consisted of workshops and field trips (with separate registration costs). The meeting was catered and includes an evening social on Tuesday, the 26^th.

View meeting roster

Tuesday, September 26^th, 2017

8:00 am – Registration opens

8:55 am – Opening Remarks
Yvonne Vallette, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

9:00 am – 10:30 am
Wetland classification and mapping in Washington State
Moderated by Nate Hough-Snee, Meadow Run Environmental

9:00 am
Improving Wetland Identification for Conservation and Regulatory Priorities
Dr. Amy Yahnke – Senior Wetland Ecologist, Washington Department of Ecology

9:30 am
Classification of Washington's Wetlands for Inventory, Mapping, and Conservation Prioritization. An Approach Based on the U.S. National Vegetation Classification
Joe Rocchio – Senior Vegetation Ecologist, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program

10:00 am
A semi-automated, remote sensing-based approach for updating the National Wetland Inventory in Washington State
Dr. Meghan Halabisky – Research Ecologist – the University of Washington, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences

10:30 am Break and refreshments

11:00 am – 12:15pm
Frontiers session: Emerging ideas in wetland restoration and management
Session 1 – Beaver, watershed, wetland, and stream restoration
Moderated by Nate Hough-Snee, Meadow Run Environmental

11:00 am
Wetland restoration planning using the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool
Dr. Nate Hough-Snee – Riparian and Wetland Ecologist, Meadow Run Environmental

11:15 am
Could beaver dams buffer a declining snowpack?
Konrad Hafen – Ph.D. Candidate, University of Idaho, Water Resources

11:45 am
The Methow Beaver Project
Dr. Torre Stockard – Project Coordinator – Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

12:15 pm Lunch and chapter business meeting

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Frontiers session: Emerging ideas in wetland restoration and management
Session 2 – Blue carbon science and applications
Moderated by Katrina Poppe, Northwest Ecological Services/Western Washington University

1:30 pm
Blue carbon science
Dr. Jude Apple – Research Coordinator Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve/Washington State Department of Ecology

2:00 pm
Blue carbon in practice
Stefanie Simpson – Blue Carbon Program Senior Manager, Restore America's Estuaries

2:30 pm Break and refreshments

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Wetland policy and regulatory issues
Moderated by Yvonne Vallette, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

3:00 pm
Comparison of mitigation banking to other mitigation options – A consulting perspective
Fiona McNair, Senior Biologist, GeoEngineers

3:30 pm
Aquatic resource mitigation framework in Oregon
Dana Hicks – Mitigation Policy Specialist, Oregon Department of State Lands

4:30 pm
The next national wetland status and trend effort
Bill Kirchner – National Wetland Inventory Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Social and ad hoc poster session.

Wednesday, September 27^th, 2017

Field Trips and Workshop

Cowlitz Indian Tribe Restoration Projects Tour - 9:00am-2:00pm
Cowlitz Indian Tribe staff

Registration - $35 (includes coffee service at Red Lion Hotel, and box lunch). Transportation to the restoration sites are on your own, but carpooling is encouraged. Sites are located near Kelso, WA.

Tour of the Abernathy Creek Restoration Projects- A series of restoration projects have been implemented by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe Natural Resources Department since 2014 in an effort to improve salmon habitat within Abernathy Creek in Cowlitz County, Washington. The Tribe first restored a 600-foot historical side channel of Abernathy Creek that had become filled with debris. The Tribe removed sand and rocks, restored access to the main channel of Abernathy Creek and strategically placed engineered log jams to create pools and resting areas. Other projects have included the installation of whole trees and wood accumulations in 1.3 miles of upper Abernathy Creek and Ordway Creek. These creeks are used by winter steelhead, coho and chinook. Abernathy Creek is part of the Intensively Monitored Watershed (IMW) project which is a joint effort of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology, NOAA Fisheries, the Environmental Protection Agency, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, and Weyerhaeuser Company. The Mill, Abernathy, Germany watershed is one of three IMWs in the state. The IMW cooperators collected water quantity, water quality, habitat, summer juvenile fish abundance, and smolt production data and are identifying specific restoration actions for each IMW treatment watershed. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe Biologist will lead the fieldtrip up Abernathy Creek, explaining their restoration design considerations and monitoring effort.

Coweeman Mitigation Bank Site Tour - 9:00am-11:30am
Victor and Zachary Woodward, Habitat Bank

Registration- $35 (includes morning coffee service at the Red Lion Hotel and box lunch). Transportation to the bank site is on your own, but carpooling is encouraged. Site is located less than 3 miles from the Red Lion Hotel in Kelso, WA.

This 312 acre site located along the Coweeman River was approved in 2016 as a joint wetland and habitat (endangered species) mitigation bank. The project includes approximately 100 acres within the tidally influenced portion of the Coweeman River floodplain and approximately 200 acres of old growth forest surrounding the river. A large palustrine forested/shrub/emergent/aquatic bed wetland complex locally known as “Hart’s Lake” and three smaller wetlands are located within the floodplain of the Bank site. The old growth forest includes wetlands and small tributaries that flow into the Coweeman River. The project restored wetlands and riparian areas within the floodplain and preserve critical wetland, upland and riparian habitat within the old growth forest areas. Historically these areas were grazed by cattle or hayed each summer which had significantly degraded and impaired their condition. The bank sponsor will lead the field trip explaining their restoration design and the process for getting approval for a joint wetland and habitat bank.

Wetland Restoration: What to plant and what NOT to plant - 8:30am-2:30pm
Dr. Sarah Cooke – Ecologist, Cooke Scientific

Registration- $125 (includes morning coffee service at the Red Lion Hotel and box lunch). Morning is in a class room setting at the Red Lion Hotel. Afternoon field session is at the Coweeman Mitigation Bank site. Transportation to the field site is on your own, but carpooling is encouraged. Field site is less than 3 miles from the Red Lion Hotel in Kelso, WA.

Sarah Cooke will provide a workshop on “what to plant and what not to plant” appropriate in many different types of aquatic environments including –stormwater ponds, small residential applications, wastewater treatment, bioswales, emergent meadows and forest wetlands. Learn from the master on what species work best in these different and often challenging locations and the importance of using native species in your plantings to avoid future problems.

Training

Workshops and Courses

The Pacific Northwest Chapter of SWS is sponsoring workshops that may be of interest to our members. Proposals should be on a topic of interest to our members and could include a wide variety of topics that are relevant to wetland function, management, ecology, or restoration. Workshops might include teaching our members or the greater scientific, regulatory, or consulting community the latest monitoring methods for measuring or estimating ecological functions provided by wetlands. While they are specifically intended for the continuing education and benefit of our members (at a discounted rate), it is up to the proposer to consider whether they may have broader appeal and open to non-members. Successful workshop ideas will likely include education on current gaps in our understanding on the function and ecology of wetlands, innovative solutions or monitoring techniques, and the like.

Please submit your request to any PNW Board member at least 6 weeks before the proposed workshop, to allow time for sponsorship decisions.

Upcoming Workshops and Trainings:

Law Seminars International

Northwest Environmental Training Center

Portland State University Environmental Professional Program.

Wetland Training Institute

Richard Chinn Environmental Training, Inc.

Coastal Training Program, Department of Ecology

The Seminar Group

University of Washington – Professional Development Program

Offers other Environmental and Sustainability Programs

Western Washington University

Portland State University, Department of Environmental Science and Management, Professional Certificate Programs

Research

Please contact the PNW board to add wetland and aquatic research communications to this page.

Reed Canarygrass Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography on the invasive reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) was completed in 2015 for Seattle City Light as part of ongoing habitat mitigation obligations at the Boundary Hydroelectric Project. The annotated bibliography reviews 44 of the most relevant articles, with an additional bibliography of articles not reviewed.

The Beaver Restoration Guidebook

Working with Beaver to Restore Streams, Wetlands, and Floodplains is available online. You can also connect to the guidebook directly here.

Fisheries Restoration-10 years of monitoring

Building Science and Accountability into Community-based Restoration: Can a New Funding Approach Facilitate Effective and Accountable Restoration? http://pnw.sws.org/fisheries_10yr_monitoring.pdf

Method for Rapidly Assessing Tidal Wetland Functions and Integrity

Based on field data collected from 120 wetlands on the Oregon Coast, this new HGM (hydrogeomorphic)-based method is intended for situations where limited time and budget don’t allow for direct measurement of functions. Users can assess conditions during a single site visit, then use a spreadsheet that assigns scores describing the relative levels of 11 wetland functions. Useful for regional profiling of estuarine and tidal wetlands, impact assessment, evaluating mitigation, and monitoring restored wetlands.

Best Available Science and Lit Reviews

Based on a review of over 200 articles, this synthesis addresses the most recent scientific findings related to buffer (setback) characteristics, as relevant to protecting wetland and riparian water quality and the habitat of wetland-dependent species. The review emphasizes literature published after 2004, providing an update to a review published then by Sheldon and Associates for the Washington Department of Ecology. This new review was used as a foundation for updating the local wetlands protection ordinance.
http://www.islandcounty.net/planning/criticalareas/documents/BestAvailableScience.pdf

Resources

Click here to view the PNW consultants list.

PNW Newsletters

Local Newsletters

Society of Ecological Restoration Northwest chapter: https://chapter.ser.org/northwest/
Washington State Lake Protection Association: https://www.walpa.org/
Oregon Lakes Association: https://www.oregonlakes.org/

Board Members

Chapter Members