2020 was a challenging year, but through efforts undaunted, Wildlands continued to give back and volunteer in the community. We were proud to support these nonprofit organizations and look forward to working with them in 2021 through our One + One Initiative program! CLICK HERE to learn more about our corporate giving program.
We are thrilled to announce that our Reedy Creek Stream Restoration Project has been awarded NAFSMA’s Green Infrastructure First Place Award. Click here to view full list of awards »
Wildlands served as the prime consultant for this project, which was the first design-build project to generate stream and wetland mitigation units for the City of Charlotte Umbrella Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank.
In partnership with Blue Earth and other local firms, Wildlands recently completed a 9-element watershed study for the Central Asheville Watershed Restoration Plan for Riverlink. Wildlands provided a comprehensive and easily accessible ArcGIS online watershed plan application. The application is an interactive map designed to be active and adaptable to real-time, ongoing changes within the watershed.
Check out the interactive ArcGIS map below or visit: https://bit.ly/3i141jS
Read more about Asheville’s plan to restore the urban streams and community in this article by Citizen-Times, Asheville: https://bit.ly/365AMtF
Under Maryland State Highway Association’s first full-delivery contract for stream restoration services, Wildlands completed construction on the Marylea Farm Stream Restoration project in Harford County, MD in May 2020. The project restored 9,470 linear feet of stream on Thomas Run and three unnamed tributaries in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Thomas Run and its tributaries are classified as “recreational trout waters,” so the design of Thomas Run and the lower gradient tributary reaches consisted of riffles and pools that incorporate large woody debris, boulders, brush, and lunker structures to enhance aquatic habitat. The steeper tributary reaches incorporate boulder steps and cascades with deep pools to provide additional aquatic habitat.
The 32-acre conservation easement preserves four archaeological sites containing Native American artifacts as well as existing wetlands, some of which provide potential habitat for the northern bog turtle. The riparian buffer was planted along the stream channels with early successional native vegetation comprised of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous species. Small areas around the planting perimeter were seeded with native wildflowers to provide habitat for the monarch butterflies, which were prevalent at the site preconstruction. By closeout, the project will provide 9,885 credits towards the State Highway Administration’s program to comply with the Chesapeake Bay TMDL and their MS4 permit.
Wildlands takes a holistic approach to ecosystem restoration design and implementation, and we recognize the importance of thoughtful land stewardship throughout a project’s life cycle. During our recent growth, we added several new teammates to support an internal land stewardship initiative. These land stewards bring with them diverse expertise in ecology, permaculture, soil science, and conservation. Working with our managers and designers, they use their unique backgrounds to create design elements such as invasive species control plans, soil preparation specifications, and planting plans. Our land stewards also visit each site several times throughout the year and are equipped to provide timely land management solutions such as vegetation control, supplemental planting, and boundary marking repairs when appropriate. Back in the office, they share their field observations with the managers and designers, allowing for us to hone our designs through a positive feedback loop. We are excited to offer land stewardship services on our projects and welcome these newest members to Wildlands’ holistic ecosystem restoration team.
Our 2020 environmental restoration efforts have been in full force. Thus far this year, the Wildlands team has restored a total of 48,000 linear feet of stream across seven different project sites, all up along the east coast.
The Wildlands Team enjoyed partnering with Resource Institute to restore the stream that runs through the Veterans Healing Farm. This project is much more that improving a stream, it provides a serene opportunity for veterans to connect with nature and reflect on their mission to serve others and the environment. CLICK HERE » to learn more about this project.
Also, be sure to check out this video about the project that Veterans Healing Farm put together.
Through our One+One Initiative, Wildlands’ Raleigh team recently spent the day giving back with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. The team was excited to work on Habitat’s new multi-family town-home community where they helped to complete the framework. Nicole Millns, a senior water resources engineer, shares what the day meant to her, “We love partnering with Habitat! It’s a great opportunity to get our hands dirty and work together with other volunteers to build affordable housing for families in our local community. Often times, we get to meet the future homeowners and share in not only the sweat equity but the joy of building their home together.”
We are honored to announce that our Reedy Creek Stream Restoration Design-Build project was awarded the 2019 APWA-NC Stormwater Project of the Year in the category of Natural Systems! The selection committee was “impressed by the overall scope and success of the project.”
Wildlands served as the prime consultant for the Reedy Creek Stream Restoration Design-Build project, which was the first design-build project to generate stream and wetland mitigation units for the City of Charlotte Umbrella Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank.
(below image-collage courtesy of APWA-NC)
Early in 2019, the EPA began a process to rewrite the Clean Water Act definition of Waters of the US by publishing a draft rule for public comment. The proposed rule threatens to significantly curtail the protection afforded under the Act to our Nation’s streams, wetlands, and waterways. Wildlands worked with our state industry group, the NC Environmental Restoration Association, to develop a formal response letter representing our industry’s perspective on the proposed rule. The association’s letter pointed out a number of technical and scientific flaws with the proposed rule. For instance, one stated goal of the rule is to ‘create regulatory certainty for the regulated community’ however there are numerous terms that are introduced in the rule but are undefined and subject to interpretation. We also pointed out significant flaws with the financial impact analysis that is discussed in the proposed rule. As of September 2019, the EPA had announced plans to rescind the 2015 Waters of the US definition that was proposed under the Obama Administration. This is the first step in a stated three prong approach from the Trump Administration to permanently rollback water quality protections under the Clean Water Act. Wildlands is continuing to work with partners at the state and federal levels to limit the impact of such changes on our industry and the water resources we all work to restore and protect.
