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Chris kicking off panelist discussion.

As a woman-owned business, and a science-driven organization, it is important to us to celebrate the accomplishments of our staff, as well as the accomplishments of other women. This year, in honor of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11), we hosted our first panel discussion at the Westerville Community Center. The event was organized and run by the “Women of MAD,”  and featured 11 AMAZING women from across the state in the fields of environmental and sustainability sciences. The event was held in-person and broadcast on Zoom. Recordings and transcripts will be made available to schools and educators across the state that want to share career options and help expose kids to the fact that there are women and minorities represented in this field. There’s a lot of work to do in changing perceptions of what a scientist looks like, so this a contribution we’re happy to put in annually. If you’re a woman (in Ohio) and work in the ecological, environmental, or sustainability sciences, and would like to participate in future events, contact Jenny Adkins.

We’d like to thank our 2023 panelists for sharing their career journeys and discussing what it means to be a woman in science to them. Y’all did a fantastic job and we hope you’ll make a difference in some girl’s life!

Thank You: Allison Boehler, Tya Darden, Laura Fay, Suzanne Gray, Ebony Hood, Lindsey Korfel, Hongmei Li-Byarlay, Meg Maloney, Cadine Navarro, and Liz Neroni!

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Julius Duncan, Water Resources Engineer and EIT, joined our team in 2021 and recently earned his Level 2 Stream Restoration certificate. His background in environmental engineering and water resource management suits him well on the restoration team at MAD. He and Robert Keast, Restoration Designer, hit the ground running this year and have been instrumental in tackling our wetland and stream restoration projects across Ohio.

Corbin Binkley, Conservation Technician, is quickly adding certifications to his resume and is a budding fish ecologist. He’s also an intern-turned-staffer, and we’re so fortunate to have him! This year he earned certifications in SCUBA (SDI open water), QHEI, and is on his way to earning his QDC Level 3 in Fish Community Biology and Habitat. He’s already made some notable finds as part of his survey work for this training effort, which include the state endangered tongue-tied minnow (Exoglossum laurae) and longhead darter (Percina macrocephala), species of concern, Tippecanoe darter (Etheostoma tippecanoe), and the not-so-rare, but unusual least brook lamprey (Lampetra aepyptera) and American brook lamprey (Lethenteron appendix). He’s also aided in mussel surveys and a hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) survey that yielded a novel hellbender sighting in eastern Ohio.

Keep an eye on our social media pages for other staff shoutouts expected in 2023.

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This site is open to the public. You can enjoy bird watching and general wetland appreciation from an observation tower and earthen pathways.

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Each of our staff on this team are certified pesticide applicators or trained service persons and they use meticulous care when mixing and applying herbicide, including choosing the most effective chemical that poses the least amount of environmental damage, precisely targeting invasive species and minimizing the use of chemicals when possible. We understand the fear of chemical use, but in order to restore a habitat, the first step is removing the problem. In some areas, invasive species are so dense, and often layered throughout vegetative strata, that mechanical removal is not only impractical, but impossible to effectively manage. Being aware of each plant’s physiology and understanding habitat phenology (seasonal changes), we can strike when our targeted species is most susceptible to chemical uptake and surrounding native plants are least active, avoiding unnecessary collateral damage.

When possible, we will manage some plants via pulling, hand-cutting, mowing, smothering, introducing shade, etc. These efforts are often paired with a follow up chemical treatment once plants are smaller (requiring less herbicide) and weaker, thus more susceptible to treatments. For instance, hand-cutting cattail 1-2 times during the growing season allows you to treat a much smaller (and shorter) amount of leaves with herbicide in the fall- which otherwise would be time-consuming, cost ineffective, require more chemical use, and pose a greater risk of exposure to herbicide by walking through leaves that can easily exceed average human height.

All that to say that we are proud of our staff and proud to help combat the spread of invasive species that decimate regional biodiversity, degrade soil, and generally throw ecosystem dynamics out of whack. It’s an uphill battle, but with minimal greenspace in urban settings and fragmented or otherwise disturbed rural areas, what we have left is worth protecting and enhancing.

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Working in and for communities has got to be one of the best things we get to do at MAD. We partner with municipalities to offer ecological programming, often focused on wetland, stream, and watershed education. This year, we were able to host, present at, and participate in over 20 programs! We are thrilled that families enjoy learning about the ecosystems we’re so passionate about, and are lucky to have the trust of our local communities to support this type of work. If you’re interested in having our staff work with your organization, please contact Jenny Adkins, our Education Specialist.

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The ORAM (Ohio Rapid Assessment Method for wetlands) and OMWAM (Ohio Mitigation Wetland Assessment Method) allow us to determine a wetland category (1-3) based on habitat characteristics. The ORAM was developed and calibrated for natural wetlands and therefore isn’t appropriate for restored or created sites. The OMWAM considers many of the same habitat features, but also includes measures of societal importance, impacts in preserving biodiversity, and water quality impacts.

The VIBI (Vegetative Index of Biological Integrity) is a data-heavy survey with a tedious plot setup, but it yields a lot of good information regarding the plant community composition. The Wet20 study had us perform a traditional VIBI and a rapid form that eliminated the complicated plot design and collection methods. Additionally, some of the metrics that go into the scoring equation were tested to see if their results yielded a similar score to the VIBI, which is a summation of 10 metrics.

We’re interested to see how this data is used and if it calls for a reform in how we assess wetland sites in the future.

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