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Vermont Association of Wetland Science Conference,

March 20, 2025

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Scott Smyers - - - oxbowassociates.com

The Value of Training and Continuing Education for Wetland Scientists

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Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientists (AMWS)

  • October 1991 was the first organizational meeting
  • First BOD:
    • President Mickey Marcus
    • Vice President Randy Chritensen
    • Secretary Paul Lelito
    • Treasurer Ruth Ladd
  • 70 Members
  • Newsletter

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AMWS: The Early Years

  • First Workshop
  • Federal Wetland Delineation Methods
    • Mike Sheehan from ACOE
    • Peter Fletcher SCS
  • Petitioned SWS to create a Northeast Chapter of SWS
  • Committees: Membership, Program, Education/Research, Publishing, Government Affairs

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Purpose/Mission

  • The purpose of AMWS shall be to promote the profession and understanding of wetland science in Massachusetts and to support the public interest by:

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1. Developing and maintaining high professional standards and a code of ethics and promoting their use by practicing wetland scientists;

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Purpose/Mission (cont.)

  • 2. Supporting and contributing to the expansion of wetland science research and encouraging the free exchange of scientific and technical information within the public and private communities;
  • 3. Designing and developing programs to educate the membership and the public in the study of wetlands and the profession of wetland science; and

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Purpose/Mission (cont.)

  • 4. Contributing to sound public policy based upon the scientific understanding of wetlands

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Topics for Training

Regulations and Policies (eg. in MA BVW, Riverfront, Floodplain, Coastal Bank, Coastal Dune, Guidelines for Certifying Vernal Pools, State-listed Rare Species - DFW)

Science - advances in hydric soil criteria, scientific names of plants, Indicator status revisions, tracking drought determinations

Legal - updates on appeals, policy and regulation changes

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Workshops, BioBlitzes & More

My Contributions:

  • Wildlife Biologists connect through various organizations to organize bioblitzes
  • Wachusett Mountain
  • Friends of Wachusett Mountain PLUS AMWS, Cambridge Entomological Club, Boston Mycological Club, New England Botanical Society, New England Herpetological Society, Boston Mycological Club, Brewster Conservation Trust

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“We have all known amateurs who could make an enthusiastic naturalist out of an indifferent lad in the course of an afternoon’s ramble, and, alas, professors who could destroy a dozen budding naturalists in the course of an hour’s lecture.”

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W. M. Wheeler

The Dry-Rot of Our Academic Biology at the Boston meeting of the American Society of Naturalists, 1922

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Connecticut River Floodplain

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Wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa

Sheffield, MA

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Specialized Training

  • Webinars on regulatory revisions, soils, ethics, etc.
  • Public presentations on wide variety of wetland topics
  • Collaborative Research Projects
  • Encourage amateurs and young people from all socio-economic groups (colleges, technical schools, criminals)
  • Field Excursions with Students/Public
  • Partnerships with overlapping organizations (BioBlitz, MSMCP)

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Concluding Remarks

  • Learn from the past, study the organizations history
  • Keep detailed records so future members can learn from ongoing activities
  • Embrace diversity of membership and encourage new members to contribute
    • Exploit personality niches of members
    • Identify individuals who are enthusiastic teachers
    • Teach your own class (larval amphibians, Wetlands, etc.)
  • Make it easy to volunteer
  • Acknowledge the ebbs and flows of individual availability to volunteer to minimize burnout

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Acknowledgements

  • All members and contributors to the AMWS since 1991
  • Scientists from the past who have provided inspiration

A. O’Brien, C. Wright, M. Stone, A. McMenemy, C. Duncan, D. Lowry, G. Hollands, K. Wagner, P. Lelito, B. Windmiller, D. Schall, P. Fletcher, B. Butler, A. Richmond. T. Tyning, R. Jaeger, J. Martinez

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Questions?

smyers@oxbowassociates.com