It’s tough to imagine on these beautiful summer days, but fall is fast approaching, and now is the time to schedule necessary wetland delineations for your development project. Field work must be completed before mid-October, and while the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) strives to confirm all delineations on a rolling basis, it’s much harder to get approval once the growing season is complete. If you wait too long, it’s possible that confirmation from the WDNR will be delayed until next spring when a site visit can be conducted.
The good news? You can avoid the long WDNR approval process and get a head start on your project’s planning, design, and permitting by working with a Professionally Assured Wetland Delineator.
What is an Assured Wetland Delineator?
In the state of Wisconsin, wetland professionals who meet a rigorous set of requirements can apply to have their delineation work assured by the WDNR for state permits and state-mandated local programs. Wetland delineations completed by an assured professional do not require further concurrence review from the WDNR.
How Can an Assured Wetland Delineator Benefit my Project?
Avoid costly permitting delays
During the busy season, the WDNR wetland boundary verification process necessary to secure state permits can take as long as three months.
Because an assured wetland delineation results in immediate concurrence from the WDNR, you’ll avoid uncertain or long waiting periods, additional concurrence fees, and costly permit delays that can dramatically impact your project timeline and budget.
MITIGATE BOUNDARY-CHANGE RISK AND UNEXPECTED WETLAND IMPACTS
The WDNR’s Assured Wetland Delineation initiative aims to create more accurate wetland boundaries statewide. This means:
Assured professionals have undergone a thorough vetting process (there are only 35 Assured Wetland Delineators in the state of Wisconsin!) and proven their ability to complete authoritative, precise field delineations.
This high level of accuracy will enable your team to move forward with your project quickly and confidently.
You’ll greatly reduce the likelihood of unfortunate boundary errors and/or the high cost of an inadvertent wetland fill.
Meet R/M’s Assured Wetland Delineator
R/M is very excited to welcome Theran Stautz, PWS (Senior Ecologist/Project Manager) to our growing Environmental Services Team.
Theran is a Professional Wetland Scientist and a WDNR Assured Wetland Delineator (he was only the 6th individual to achieve this designation). He has more than 20 years of wetland and forest resource experience, including wetland and specific vegetation community boundary determination, permit applications, vegetation (herbaceous and woody) surveys and inventories, wetland mitigation monitoring, native habitat restoration, invasive species management, and habitat management.
Theran also specializes in preliminary wetland determinations, GPS/GIS data collection and management, hydric soil identification, hydrological monitoring, prescribed burning, functional values assessments, tree inventory, alternative impacts analysis, and vegetation community inventory, monitoring, and management.
Contact Theran to learn how his work as an Assured Wetland Delineator can help you keep your project on-time and on-budget.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about the benefits of working with a WDNR Professional Assured Wetland Delineator, please contact one of our environmental experts today.
