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Identifying Wetlands of High Conservation Value Using Vegetation Classification and the Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA)

  • Wednesday, October 05, 2016
  • 9:00 AM
  • Thursday, October 06, 2016
  • 4:30 PM
  • Lacey Community Center, Lacey
  • 0

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This 2-day training provides detailed instruction on how to use the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program’s (WANHP) Ecological Classification of Native Wetland and Riparian Vegetation Types of Washington and Ecological Integrity Assessment method. These tools can assist with numerous wetland management, restoration, and conservation activities.

One of the most significant applications is how these tools are used to identify Wetlands of High Conservation Value (WHCV), which is one of the criteria for Category 1 Wetlands in the Washington Wetland Rating System. Identifying the location of Wetlands of High Conservation Value is integral to protecting the state’s most irreplaceable and significant wetland resource values.

Although WANHP has been working over 30 years to identify the locations of WHCV, the program does not have the capacity to visit all wetlands throughout the state. This training will empower consultants, agency staff, and other interested individuals with the skills needed to collect data critical for the designation of WHCV. Examples of how these tools can be used for other objectives such as ecological monitoring, vegetation and ecosystem mapping, setting conservation priorities, and identifying restoration benchmarks will also be discussed. (13 AICP CM Credits / CEP Points)

Lunch is provided.




Joe Rocchio is the Senior Vegetation Ecologist with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. His primary responsibilities are to classify Washington’s ecosystems and prioritize them for conservation action.  He has nearly 20 years of experience classifying vegetation, assessing ecological integrity, and identifying high-quality wetlands across the western United States. Joe recently completed a classification of Washington’s native wetland and riparian vegetation which will help guide wetland conservation actions in the State. He regularly provides peer review and guidance on regional vegetation types described in the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. Joe has developed a variety of ecological condition assessment tools for both regional and national-level application. Such tools included the Floristic Quality Assessment method, a vegetation index of biotic integrity, and Ecological Integrity Assessment method. He has participated on NatureServe’s Ecological Integrity Assessment workgroup since its inception in 2004 and was an active member of U.S. EPA’s National Wetland Monitoring and Assessment workgroup and assisted with identifying potential ecological indicators for the 2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment.


Tynan Ramm-Granberg is a Vegetation Ecologist with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. He has nearly 15 years combined experience in ecological monitoring, fire ecology, wildlife ecology, and exotic plant control. Before joining DNR, Tynan led a vegetation mapping crew for the National Park Service’s North Coast and Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network. He has a B.A. in American Studies from Yale and an M.S. in Geography from Texas A&M University, where he studied herbivore impacts on arctic alpine treeline dynamics and vegetation communities.

Washington State Department of Ecology 

 

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