Wildlands Engineering

March 27, 2023 In Industry Insights

A glimpse into working at Wildlands Engineering

Take an inside look at what it’s like to work at Wildlands Engineering! One of our environmental scientists, George R. DeCarvalho, shares the key aspects of his job that make each day more fulfilling and valuable.

Wildlands’ purpose is to make an impact on the environment. We do this by forming a team of driven, like-minded individuals who are passionate about restoring the environment – all while inspiring their teammates along the way.

Interested in joining our team? Check out our current job openings »

Working at Wildlands Engineering from Wildlands Engineering on Vimeo.

March 26, 2023 In Industry Insights

Wildlands Engineering Makes an Impact in the Neuse River Basin – Home of the River of the Year

American Rivers recently named the Neuse River the 2022 “River of the Year” because of “outstanding progress toward a cleaner, healthier Neuse River.” Momentum has been building to improve the ecological condition of the entire Neuse River basin and Wildlands is honored to be an ongoing part of it. Since 2007, Wildlands has restored over 164,600 LF of stream and 93 of wetlands, just in the Neuse River basin. Wildlands has also completed four large-scale watershed studies that total over 700 square miles. Additionally, Wildlands also owns, manages, and operates 22 private mitigation bank sites located in the Neuse River basin. Each mitigation bank was established by restoring and enhancing degraded streams, wetlands, and riparian buffers located on private property.

This experience has allowed our team to understand the challenges and opportunities that waterways present to the local communities. Furthermore, we understand the importance of healthy natural systems to these communities. We are constantly developing unique solutions for ecological restoration to improve the environment and preserve the natural corridors that make this area of the state unique.

Located in the heart of the Neuse River basin is Wildlands’ Raleigh office. This is our second largest office with a full-service staff of project managers, professional engineers, field-oriented environmental scientists, ecologists, construction managers, GIS analysts, CAD operators, and administrative staff. With approximately 30 staff members that call this river basin home, we are dedicated to further enhancing the ecological and civic value of this well-loved watershed.

Wildlands has partnered with organizations such as NC Division of Mitigation Services, City of Raleigh, City of Durham, and Johnston County to improve the health of the Neuse River basin. The following map shows Wildlands’ projects in the Neuse River basin.

March 21, 2023 In One + One Initiative

The Wildlands Engineering Team is making an impact in our communities

Since its inception in 2015, Wildlands’ corporate giving and volunteer program, One + One Initiative, has matured, yet its mission has remained the same — serving the under-served in local communities. Each year, the Wildlands team collectively selects the organizations to support through this initiative. Throughout the year, Wildlands makes monetary donations and gives each employee eight hours of paid time to spend volunteering at our partner organizations.

Our internal Committee on Equality (CoE) recently provided guidance to further shape the focus of the One+One initiative. Their guidance led Wildlands in selecting its company-wide partners, Boys and Girls Club and Letters to a Pre-Scientist. Additionally, in 2022, Wildlands added opportunities to support STEM education while building upon partnerships of years past. CLICK HERE to view the organizations we are currently supporting.

Our Charleston office recently spent the day working with Charleston Waterkeeper to build an oyster reef. Charleston Waterkeeper and volunteers partnered with South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ (SCDNR) South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) program to use recycled oyster shells to reestablish a suitable environment for new oyster growth. Oyster reefs improve water quality by filtering water, and provide habitat for coastal animals such as fish, crabs, shrimp, and birds.

March 8, 2023 In Our Projects

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: McClure’s Bog Preserve Project

McClure’s Bog, a candidate for inclusion in the Mountain Bogs National Wildlife Refuge, is a French Broad River Valley Bog subtype and host to a suite of unique plant species and wildlife habitat and characterized by low nutrient groundwater-driven hydrology. Similar areas once existed in an extensive patchwork throughout the upper French Broad River Valley bottoms. Land use conversion practices, as well as changes to fire and other natural disturbance regimes, have severely impacted these features and in many cases eliminated them from the landscape. McClures Bog is one of several remnant areas with sustained populations of the unique species representative of this bog subtype. In recognition of this, McClures Bog was purchased for protection years ago, along with an adjacent natural stream corridor, by The Nature Conservancy (Conservancy) and the Natural Heritage Program of North Carolina (NC NHP). The bog has been, and continues to be, extensively managed by The Conservancy to preserve, and improve the sustainability of the species and habitats present.

The restoration project was constructed in the winter of 2019-2020 by South Core Environmental with oversight by Wildlands. The tiered wetland basins treat more than 1.5” of rainfall from the watershed, reduce surface runoff and nutrient and other pollutants to the bog, increase infiltration and create a more natural hydrologic regime and route high flows around sensitive areas of the bog. The site was treated for non-native invasive species prior to construction and planted post-construction with a robust and diverse suite of herbaceous, shrub and tree species to mimic other similar natural landscapes in the area. Post-project hydrologic monitoring and thermal groundwater investigation by University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) has verified that the project successfully reduced stormwater inflows to sensitive plant areas and eliminated surface water runoff during most rainfall events.

The project was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The Conservancy and Wildlands lead a robust design and stakeholder team and process to execute the project. This team included Peak Hydrogeologic (groundwater testing), Joe Pye Ecological Consulting & Nursery (native plant and habitat restoration), KD Ecological (invasives plant management), US Fish & Wildlife Service, NC NHP, the US Army Corps of Engineers, NC Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Henderson County, Conserving Carolina, RiverLink, and UNCA Professor Jeff Wilcox and his students. Wildlands was the project manager and design-build lead, completing gage analysis, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, visualization graphics and stakeholder coordination, stormwater design, permitting and adaptive management components and assisting with planting plans, invasive species removal scoping, and grant reporting.

Plant photos were taken by Emily Israel, Stewardship Coordinator for Wildlands, who was involved in invasive species management at McClure’s Bog under a prior engagement. Emily is dedicated to protecting North Carolina’s natural resources and land stewardship by contributing invaluable work to the conservation sector.