Welcome new wetland team members!

As we gear up for the 2011 field season, new employees are appearing at CNHP. The wetland ecology team already has a few new faces:

Gabrielle Smith is our newest wetland mapper. Gabrielle is originally from Florida, where she earned a BS in Wildlife Ecology and a MA in Urban Planning (GIS concentration), both from the University of Florida. Before coming to Fort Collins, she worked at the conservation organization Ducks Unlimited in Ann Arbor, Michigan – doing wetland mapping, similar to the wetland mapping work she is now doing here at CNHP.

Joelle Laing also joined the team this month to participate in the National Wetland Condition Assessment, a research initiative from the EPA to assess the condition of wetlands across the lower 48 states. She recently graduated with an M.S. in Restoration Ecology from North Carolina State University, where she researched Atlantic White Cedar restoration in the (perilous) Great Dismal Swamp after hurricane damage. Over the last eight years, she has had a grab bag of experiences across the US in restoration, fire ecology, plant identification, and soil science at Rocky Mountain Research Station, The Nature Conservancy, and a consulting firm. She’s excited to explore Colorado and Wyoming this season and do some intensive wetland botanizing.

 Joelle honing her plant ID skills.