News

Here at GreenVest we understand the importance of wetlands, and it’s why we work to protect and restore them every day. What is it that wetlands do? Wetlands are essential to our environment, but also provide recreational and educational opportunities to people of all ages.   The EPA has amazing comprehensive resources and guides about all of the benefits of wetlands, but we wanted to pull out the key information here to give you a better understanding of just how important wetlands are to our environment. These are just some of the countless ways wetlands are vital to our local…

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We are excited to share that Dana Cooper has joined our organization as General Counsel. Dana earned her BA in Geography and International Affairs at George Washington University in 2006 and was awarded her Juris Doctorate at Georgetown University in 2009.While at Georgetown Dana served as a law clerk within the Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resource Division. That position set the tone for advancing her interest in the environmental arena and for the last ten years she has specialized in environmental law and regulatory policy work. Most notably she has honed her contract and regulatory skills as inhouse…

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by Danielle St. Cyr | June 5, 2020 Forests in the United States provide a number of resources we use in our everyday lives. From timber and cultural resources to habitat for wildlife and countless recreational activities, it’s clear we must take caring for them seriously. With forests being subject to climate change (like changes in temperature, extreme weather events, and an increase in pests and disease), a plan to manage them and their health is imperative. So, what is forest management and what does it entail? Forest management is “a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and…

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April 14, 2020 GreenVest is dedicated to restoring stream and wetland ecosystems through designs focused on achieving targeted ecological lift and systemic function. One of the many ecosystem services of a wetland is a supportive habitat utilized by many different species of plants and animals, allowing for a highly diverse ecosystem. Among the most pressing issues, the destruction of wetlands in the United States and the loss of habitat for vulnerable wildlife are some of the top reasons restoration is so important! Many unique critters call GreenVest project sites home, including bog turtles and the Pine Barrens treefrog, and they…

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by Doug Lashley (GreenVest President & CEO) | March 16, 2020 The impacts of changing meteorological conditions and rising tides can no longer be talked about as a future challenge. Every day across the country communities are being ravaged at an alarming rate with the impacts of increasingly severe weather. 93% of these unrelenting conditions impact our water resources from damaging erosion and flooding to altered water flows and changing weather patterns. With the frequency and intensity of climate-related extreme weather events on the rise, there are significant cost implications to how we manage water resources and their associated infrastructure. We…

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by David Merkey | February 13, 2020 As a young wetland professional, I remember the excitement of my first wetland delineation. I got out in the field with my supervisor, learned new plants, explored the colors in the Munsell chart, learned to squint to see that slight difference in the shades of green where the sedges gave way to grasses indicating a change in soil/hydric conditions, and took soil probe after soil probe to narrow down just where that upland/wetland dividing line was that meant so much to our client. As the years went by, I began to lose count…

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by McKenzi Heger | January 21, 2020 Upland forests occur where drainage is sufficient and soils go for long periods without being saturated. According to the climate and soil moisture, we are able to accurately determine the classification of the upland forest lands in and what type of upland forest restoration technique is needed to correct any oversaturation problem. These classifications are: Xeric: When soil moisture is extremely dry.Mesic: When soil moisture is moderate.Wet-mesic: When the soil is wet but not flooded. In terms of upland forest restoration, there is no “one size fits all” solution or a singular reason…

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December 17, 2019 Circa 1608, as per the maps of Captain John Smith, Mattawoman Creek, or Mataughquamend in Algonquin, translates to “where one goes pleasantly.” Thanks to current restoration efforts, that statement holds true today. The Mattawoman Creek Mitigation Site (MCMS) is a stream and wetland mitigation bank site located in Pomfret, Charles County, Maryland. The MCMS includes approximately 80 acres of forested freshwater wetland and upland habitat that has been restored, created, enhanced or preserved. This land is highlighted by 4,000 linear feet of stream restoration. The importance of this watershed is well documented. According to the Maryland Division…

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by McKenzi Heger | November 26, 2019 Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and are often looked at in similar ways as rain forests and coral reefs. Their physical and chemical features (including climate, topology, and geology) are the deciding factors when it comes to which species inhabit the wetland. Not only do they provide habitat for these species, but they also provide a large amount of food that helps attract them. The dead plant leaves and stems break down and create organic matter for insects and aquatic animals to feed on which, in turn,…

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by McKenzi Heger | October 22, 2019 Forests are incredibly important systems that provide valuable ecological services to humans and wildlife alike. Unfortunately, these systems are often undervalued, and human activities such as tree clearing, introduction of invasive species, and increased impervious cover can cause serious degradation to forested lands. This degradation can lead to a loss of the ecological functions of an established forest, and can increase soil erosion, disrupt the water cycle, and contribute to climate change through the release of carbon stored in woody biomass. Forest restoration is the act of rebuilding and maintaining forests to support…

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