I have a question for anyone who has a moment to answer. I am not a scientist, but a writer who's been doing some detailed research in the area of wetlands restoration (specifically pertaining to the Gulf Coast) because of a commission I received from the Sloan Foundation. Though I have learned a lot in the past few months, I still don't quite understand what a wetlands scientist does on a day-to-day basis.

Would anyone be willing to give me a rundown of your average day?

Warm thanks!

Kara,

Check the webpage for the Pacific Northwest chapter; they have a page there with contact information for some of their members, but all of them are consultants. Most day's, I'm a professor, but I'm taking today off and won't be in my office (leave time; use it or loose it). I'll be on the road most of the day. Feel free to call me on my cell 225.505.5219. I can't tell you what other wetland scientists do, but I can tell you what I do. I suggest that you also talk to other researchers/educators like myself, and some regulators.

andy

Hi Kara,

Not sure if you're still looking for this information but I'll play.

I'm a biological engineer by education and worked for 3 years for the state of Mississippi in wetlands regulatory issues, taught at a junior college one year, and have worked as a consulting engineer for the last 2.5 years. I am a PWS and work on wetlands projects when possible.

Average days are always an odd topic and I've been asked that by many students and people I was interviewing for jobs. When I worked for the state in wetlands regulatory, a day might involve reviewing a wetlands permit mitigation proposal for feasibility and requirements, visiting a project site and completing a habitat function assessment (WRAP, HGM, etc.) to determine an appropriate level of mitigation for the impact, and/or managing the funding grant for the project (paperwork like progress reports, etc.). I was also very active on the Mitigation Bank Review Team and reviewed the restoration plans proposed and commented on the feasibility of proposed plans based on the current science and research.

As a consultant, you're subject to the projects your company is working on at any one point in time rather than long term initiatives or goals you might have working in regulatory. As an engineer working for an engineering firm, I spend most of my time on nonwetland projects at this time however I have also worked on an extensive wetland delineation (thousands of acres) on a military base which was weeks of field effort with a team member. Currently I've been working on the wetland delineation and associated permitting for a municipal pipeline project. That involves completing all of the associated documentation, maps, and permits. A consulting average day will be focused on the completion of one or a small number of tasks towards whatever end goal resulting in much less of an "average" day.

Not sure this gives you any useful information. Feel free to contact me via email at cjhenderson at gmail dot com if you have questions.

Good luck!
Cindy