Conference program
Explore the full schedule for the 2019 Wetland Science Conference below. Click here for a printable PDF.
Read the full abstracts and biographies for presenters with our 2019 Abstracts & Bios book.
* denotes a student presentation competition participant.
Tuesday February 19th
6:00 – 9:00 Conference Kickoff Social and WWA Annual Meeting (Geneva)
Sponsored by Sterling
Catch up with your wetland colleagues and friends while enjoying light snacks and a cash bar to kick off our 50th Anniversary. This fun event will also kick off Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s 2019 Wetland Science Conference. Learn more about this event on our networking page.
Wednesday February 20th
9:00 – 10:10 Plenary Session (Michigan)
Sponsored by Stantec
9:00 Welcome and Opening Comments
9:20 Conference Keynote: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow in U.S. Wetland Policy: How Did We Get Here, Where Are We Headed, and Is It Enough? Jeanne Christie, Christie Consulting Services, LLC
10:10 – 10:40 Break (Superior)
Sponsored by Merjent
10:40 – 12:00 Concurrent Sessions
Watershed Approaches
Location: Wisconsin
Moderator: Kyle Magyera
Session Details
10:40 Grimm: Wetland restoration and protection decision support: Lower Fox/Green Bay wetlands & water quality
11:00 Miller: Wetlands for tomorrow: Maintaining resilient, connected, and functional landscapes as climate changes
11:20 Lent: The Floodplain Explorer: A decision tool to prioritize floodplain restoration in the Mississippi River Basin
11:40 Gaffield: The role of wetlands in a watershed approach to restoring the Little Plover River in Wisconsin
Invasive Species: The Big Picture
Location: Mendota
Moderator: Nicole Staskowski
Session Details
10:40 Angerhofer: Wetland first aid toolbox: Strategies to combat invasive species in challenging wetlands
11:00 Loftus: Lessons learned in the field: Short-term observations on managing invasive grasses in wetlands using herbicides
11:20 CANCELLED McGowan-Stinski: Evaluating the success of restoration and management techniques for prairie fen sites in Michigan
11:40 Bates: Invasive species early detection surveys and management recommendations in coastal wetlands of Lake Superior
Special Sessions
Locations: Geneva & Middleton
Session Details
10:40-11:40 (Geneva) Career Development & Continuing Education in Wetland Science Moderated by Susan Schumacher
10:40-11:40 (Middleton) Tribal Wetland Programs Working Group (by invitation only) Facilitated by Randy Poelma
11:40-12:00 (Geneva) Legislative/Policy Update Facilitated by WWA staff
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch (Michigan)
Sponsored by GEI Consultants, Inc.
1:30 – 3:10 Concurrent Sessions
Wetland Flora and Plant Communities: ID & Assessment
Location: Wisconsin
Moderator: Pat Trochlell
Session Details
1:30 O’Connor: Development of a key to wetland plant communities
1:50 Marti: Wetland floristic quality assessment benchmarks for WI Driftless Area & Southeastern WI Till Plains Ecoregions
2:10 Strojny: Assessing the effectiveness of vegetative restoration techniques using wetland floristic quality
2:30 Gibson: Applying FQA methodology to assess restored wetlands: Results from 32 restoration projects
2:50 Smith: The new wetland mapping initiative
Invasive Species:
Species-Specific Control
Location: Mendota
Moderator: Kelly Kearns
Session Details
1:30 Thompson: A cryptic invasion: Lessons learned attempting to control southern cattail (Typha domingensis) in a Midwest wetland system
1:50 Granberg: Mapping the invasive plant reed sweet mannagrass (Glyceria maxima) using aerial imagery, machine learning, and field reconnaissance
2:10 Abel: Retrofitting three wastewater treatment facilities to eradicate non-native Phragmites in the Chequamegon Bay region
2:30 Kron: Results of landscape-scale exotic Phragmites treatment in Wisconsin
2:50 Stanton: Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework: Managing Phragmites with science on your side
Communication Workshop
Location: Geneva
Instructor: Cindy Crosby
Session Details
1:30-2:50 (Location: Geneva) Don’t Talk Like A Scientist Workshop
*Pre-registration required. Register here.*
3:10 – 3:40 Break (Superior) (Grand Ballroom and Foyer)
Sponsored by NES Ecological Services
3:40 – 5:00 Concurrent Sessions
Wetland Flora and Plant Communities: Sites and Species
Location: Wisconsin
Moderator: Dan Collins
Session Details
3:40 Glenzinski: Wild rice restoration on the Green Bay west shore
4:00 Poole: Sod in motion: Moving wet prairie sod to preserve one-half acre of high-quality prairie remnant
4:20 Weissgerber*: Cypripedium candidum in the southeast glacial plains of Wisconsin: Distribution, ecology, and threats
4:40 Sutheimer*: Fire in forested peatlands of the Upper Great Lakes: Reconstructing the past to protect the future
* denotes presenter is participating in the student presentation competition
Wetlands and People
Location: Mendota
Moderator: Alison Peña
Session Details
3:40 Vosen*: A story is worth a thousand facts: Communicating wetlands issues to future conservationists
4:00 Highsmith: Wetland Connections between science and poetry
4:20 Beilfuss, K: New tools to promote wetland literacy across audiences
* denotes presenter is participating in the student presentation competition
Conservation Dog Workshop
Location: Geneva
Instructors: Cory Gritzmacher and Laura Holder
Session Details
3:40-5:00 (Geneva) Conservation Dogs: What’s the Sniff All About?
*Pre-registration is required. Register here.*
5:00 – 6:30 Poster Session and Cash Bar (Superior and Michigan)
Sponsored by ENCAP
Featured posters
Arneson, Jade * – Restoration of wild rice (Zizania palustris L.) at coastal wetlands in the Bay of Green Bay, Lake Michigan
Belleville, Lexi * – Typha × glauca and waterfowl food availability in Great Lakes coastal wetlands
Bergen, Erin * – Drivers of non-native fish species richness and distribution in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Clark, Olivia * – Battle of the Titans: Can aggressive natives hold their own against reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea)?
Hall, Anna * – Vegetation changes within the St. Louis River Estuary
Himmler, Kurtis – The effects of hybrid cattail invasion on wetland bird community composition and moist-soil seed production
Johnson, Rachel * – A watershed approach to Waubesa Wetlands: Today and tomorrow
Lewandowski, Eva – The Wisconsin Citizen-based Monitoring Network: 15 years of partnership
Manning, Nicholas – The effects of road salt on the growth and survival of freshwater snails (Helisoma sp.)
Mosca, Vince – Regional significance of the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge: Wisconsin and Illinois
Nichols, Al * – What’s under the surface: Ecosystem characteristics predict growth and shell morphology in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta)
Niosi, Olivia * – Spatial analysis of nutrients affecting Typha-invaded wetland
O’Brien, Maggie – How does the time since invasion by hybrid cattail affect the diversity of a wetland seed bank?
Pearce, Tom – Wisconsin Wetland Conservation Trust: 2019 updates for WDNR’s in-lieu fee mitigation program
Ray, Shelly * – Bathymetric mapping of lagoonal wetlands in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
Stern, Jessica * – Comparing vegetation metric robustness using a standardized protocol across four regions of the United States
Toczydlowski, Rachel* – Drift happens: The genetic structure of jewelweed reflects fragmentation of lowland forests and marshes
Turner, Jessica * – Contrasting responses in ecosystem carbon cycling for two Northern Wisconsin fens
Wilcox, Kayla * – A baseline assessment to develop an appropriate restoration regime for the management and restoration of wetlands
* denotes presenter is participating in the student poster presentation competition
6:30 – 9:30 Banquet and Presentation (Michigan)
Sponsored by We Energies
7:30 Banquet Presentation: The Dismal Swamp Revealed: A Pathway to Freedom Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexandra, Professor of History, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and Director of the Joseph Jenkins Roberts Center for African Diaspora Studies, Norfolk State University. This is a ticketed event. See our banquet page for more information and how to purchase tickets.
Thursday February 21st
8:30 – 9:20 Plenary Session (Michigan)
Sponsored by Cardno
8:30 Welcome
8:40 Plenary Address: The Power of Community: Advancing Wetland Conservation in Wisconsin Katie Beilfuss, Outreach Programs Director, Wisconsin Wetlands Association
9:30 – 10:30 Concurrent Sessions
Wetlands: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: The Big Picture
Location: Wisconsin
Moderator: Gail Epping Overholt
Session Details
9:30 Herbst*: Promoting long-term stewardship of the Waubesa Wetlands watershed
9:50 England: WWA’s wetland leadership extends to the Carolinas: The emergence of the Carolina Wetlands Association
10:10 Beilfuss, R: A risky climate for cranes, wetlands, and our world
* denotes presenter is participating in the student presentation competition
Wetland Restoration
Location: Mendota
Moderator: Aaron Feggestad
Session Details
9:30 Jarosz: In-lieu fee wetland mitigation in Wisconsin: Finding competitive restoration opportunities
9:50 Hjort: Riparian wetland restoration site investigation, then and now: Evolving site investigation methods and consideration of climate change
10:10 Loken*: Habitat heterogeneity and wetland-dependent bird use in Wisconsin’s Glacial Habitat Restoration Area
* denotes presenter is participating in the student presentation competition
Aquatic Plant Workshop
Location: Geneva
Instructor: Paul Skawinski
Session Details
9:30-10:30 (Location: Geneva) Biology and Identification of Aquatic Macrophytes
*Pre-registration required. Register here.*
10:30 – 11:00 Break (Michigan and Superior)
Sponsored by Fund for Lake Michigan
11:00 – 12:00 Concurrent Sessions
Wetlands: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Sites Over Time
Location: Wisconsin
Moderator: Travis Olson
Session Details
11:00 Martin: 50 years of wetland restoration and protection at Goose Pond Sanctuary
11:20 Eilertson: Dunn’s Marsh: A brief history of stormwater/wetland modifications from 1836 to present and what’s next
11:40 Steber: Middleton’s Pheasant Branch and trail system: Past, present, and future
Wetlands and Water Quality
Location: Mendota
Moderator: Nick Miller
Session Details
11:00 Prestby: Recovery of an AOC: Using vegetation and wildlife communities to evaluate the present and look to the future
11:20 Houghton: Wetlands and agriculture: Working together to improve water quality
11:40 Izadmehr*: Identifying limits to denitrification in constructed wetlands
* denotes presenter is participating in the student presentation competition
Aquatic Plant Workshop (cont’d)
Location: Geneva
Instructor: Paul Skawinski
Session Details
11:00-12:00 (Location: Geneva) Biology and Identification of Aquatic Macrophytes, continued.
*Pre-registration required. Register here.*
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch (Michigan)
Sponsored by J.F. Brennan Company
1:30 – 4:30 Field Trips, Working Groups, and Workshop
Workshop: Wetland Soils: An Introduction or Refresher Short Course
Location: Geneva
Instructors: Pat Trochlell and Neil Molstad Learn more.
*Pre-registration is required. Register here.
Field trip: A Bird Haven in Winter: Goose Pond Sanctuary
Field trip leaders: Mark Martin, Sue Foote-Martin, and Graham Steinhauer.
All field trips will meet at the Conference Center Entrance by 1:20 to depart by bus. Pre-registration is required. Register here.
Learn more about our field trips.
Thank you to Wisconsin Coastal Management Program for their generous sponsorship of this trip.
Working Group: Practitioners
Location: Wisconsin
Facilitated by Eric Parker Learn more.
Field trip: Explore Natural History Collections at UW-Madison
Field trip leaders: Laura Monahan, Mary Ann Feist, and Ken Cameron.
All field trips will meet at the Conference Center Entrance by 1:20 to depart by bus. Pre-registration is required. Register here.
Learn more about our field trips.
Thank you to Midwest Groundcovers for their generous sponsorship of this trip.
Working Group: Fire and Management in Wetland Ecosystems: Identifying Priorities for Information Sharing and Research
Location: Mendota
Facilitators: Craig Maier and Jack McGowan-Stinski Learn more.
Field Trip: The Devastating Flood of Pheasant Branch: A Tale of Two Ecosystems
Field trip leaders: Tom Bernthal and Herb Garn
All field trips will meet at the Conference Center Entrance by 1:20 to depart by bus. Pre-registration is required. Register here.
Learn more about our field trips.
Thank you to Midwest Natural Resources for their generous sponsorship of this trip.
Working Group: Wetlands and Water Quality in Wisconsin: Where Have We Been, and Where Do We Go From Here?
Location: Middleton
Facilitator: Aaron Marti Learn more.