BRODHEAD - Corrine Daniels describes the work she does as a mediation between nature and humans.
When the needs of nature and the needs of people conflict, "we're problem-solvers," she said.
Daniels is vice president and technical director of the Restoration Nurseries at the Brodhead-based ecological consulting firm Applied Ecological Services (AES).
Recently she added another method of mediation to her skills by getting certified as an Endangered Resources (ER) Reviewer by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
She is now qualified in a governmental capacity to advise clients - including landowners, businesses and communities - in the evaluation of their development's impact on endangered, threatened or watch-listed species, in accordance with state law.
Daniels is one of only 30 certified in the DNR program, which began in March 2011 and aims to make it easier for construction projects to move through the DNR's regulatory process. Among the 30 certified are some federal agents but most are like Daniels, employees of private companies in- and out-of-state.
Stacy Rowe, review specialist with the DNR in Madison, says the program so far is "going great."
Wisconsin is the only state to implement this kind of private-public partnership in their endangered resources review process, as far as state workers are able to determine, she said.
Seed geek
There are many noble arguments for protecting endangered resources. But on a basic level, a diversity of species is fun.
"I can get really geeked out about this stuff," Daniels said recently as she stood in AES's seed warehouse, surrounded by hundreds of plastic seed bins. The company keeps about 700 seeds on hand, sorted in bins by genetic origin.
Sorting by genetic origin means seeds from the same species may be divided into five or more bins by geographic origin, with seeds from plants in Iowa County separated from seeds from the Kenosha area, Green County, Winnebago County, Ill., and so on.
Daniels, who lives with her husband and kids in Juda, discusses seeds with the enthusiasm most people reserve for pets. One of her favorites is needlegrass. It has a long, needle-like seed that sows itself by screwing into the ground.
These seeds don't waste time. One time, she spilled some needlegrass by mistake in her car.
"By the time I got home, it had screwed itself into the floor of the car," she said.
At one time, Wisconsin was covered by thousands of native species, she said. "And now there's just little pockets here and there where they still have their habitat."
AES's work to save these pockets dovetails with the DNR's regulation of endangered species. Daniels spends her days working to restore and cultivate native and endangered plants on fields of experimental crops and in greenhouses.
The DNR certification has helped bring her back to her roots in ecology.
"My background is in ecology but I've been practicing horticulture for most of the past 18 years. In an effort for me to keep up some of my ecological skills, I really wanted to do this," she said.
Fast-tracked protection
Rowe said the impetus for the certification program came at the recommendation of stakeholders with a vested interest in the DNR's review process, such as energy and transportation companies.
It works well, she said, because these newly DNR-certified reviewers have better, hands-on knowledge of the project. All of their assessments must still get evaluated and signed off by a DNR employee, but these reviews get fast-tracked.
"They go into a separate line. We can usually get them out in a matter of days," Rowe said. Reviews that go through the traditional process typically take at least two to four weeks.
AES paid for Daniels to get certified, about a two-month process. It was expensive, she said, but worth it to be able to offer clients an "added bonus skill."
So far, about 200 reviews in the program have been completed statewide. Daniels finished her first endangered-resources review within the past month on a 200-acre project in central Wisconsin.
So why get a construction project reviewed by the DNR? If you don't, you're susceptible later to fines and delays if the project damages a waterway or encroaches on the habitat of an endangered plant or animal. A reviewer might recommend not building during the nesting period of the bald eagle to protect the local population, or recommend avoiding areas on a site that are habitat to a threatened species.
If a project moves forward without review and damages an endangered resource, Daniels said, "then you could be in big trouble: fines, and a complete halt to your project."
Even in an urban area, Rowe said "it's definitely highly encouraged. It's a good conservation measure."
She recommends a review "whenever there's any kind of ground disturbance" in a construction project.
When the needs of nature and the needs of people conflict, "we're problem-solvers," she said.
Daniels is vice president and technical director of the Restoration Nurseries at the Brodhead-based ecological consulting firm Applied Ecological Services (AES).
Recently she added another method of mediation to her skills by getting certified as an Endangered Resources (ER) Reviewer by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
She is now qualified in a governmental capacity to advise clients - including landowners, businesses and communities - in the evaluation of their development's impact on endangered, threatened or watch-listed species, in accordance with state law.
Daniels is one of only 30 certified in the DNR program, which began in March 2011 and aims to make it easier for construction projects to move through the DNR's regulatory process. Among the 30 certified are some federal agents but most are like Daniels, employees of private companies in- and out-of-state.
Stacy Rowe, review specialist with the DNR in Madison, says the program so far is "going great."
Wisconsin is the only state to implement this kind of private-public partnership in their endangered resources review process, as far as state workers are able to determine, she said.
Seed geek
There are many noble arguments for protecting endangered resources. But on a basic level, a diversity of species is fun.
"I can get really geeked out about this stuff," Daniels said recently as she stood in AES's seed warehouse, surrounded by hundreds of plastic seed bins. The company keeps about 700 seeds on hand, sorted in bins by genetic origin.
Sorting by genetic origin means seeds from the same species may be divided into five or more bins by geographic origin, with seeds from plants in Iowa County separated from seeds from the Kenosha area, Green County, Winnebago County, Ill., and so on.
Daniels, who lives with her husband and kids in Juda, discusses seeds with the enthusiasm most people reserve for pets. One of her favorites is needlegrass. It has a long, needle-like seed that sows itself by screwing into the ground.
These seeds don't waste time. One time, she spilled some needlegrass by mistake in her car.
"By the time I got home, it had screwed itself into the floor of the car," she said.
At one time, Wisconsin was covered by thousands of native species, she said. "And now there's just little pockets here and there where they still have their habitat."
AES's work to save these pockets dovetails with the DNR's regulation of endangered species. Daniels spends her days working to restore and cultivate native and endangered plants on fields of experimental crops and in greenhouses.
The DNR certification has helped bring her back to her roots in ecology.
"My background is in ecology but I've been practicing horticulture for most of the past 18 years. In an effort for me to keep up some of my ecological skills, I really wanted to do this," she said.
Fast-tracked protection
Rowe said the impetus for the certification program came at the recommendation of stakeholders with a vested interest in the DNR's review process, such as energy and transportation companies.
It works well, she said, because these newly DNR-certified reviewers have better, hands-on knowledge of the project. All of their assessments must still get evaluated and signed off by a DNR employee, but these reviews get fast-tracked.
"They go into a separate line. We can usually get them out in a matter of days," Rowe said. Reviews that go through the traditional process typically take at least two to four weeks.
AES paid for Daniels to get certified, about a two-month process. It was expensive, she said, but worth it to be able to offer clients an "added bonus skill."
So far, about 200 reviews in the program have been completed statewide. Daniels finished her first endangered-resources review within the past month on a 200-acre project in central Wisconsin.
So why get a construction project reviewed by the DNR? If you don't, you're susceptible later to fines and delays if the project damages a waterway or encroaches on the habitat of an endangered plant or animal. A reviewer might recommend not building during the nesting period of the bald eagle to protect the local population, or recommend avoiding areas on a site that are habitat to a threatened species.
If a project moves forward without review and damages an endangered resource, Daniels said, "then you could be in big trouble: fines, and a complete halt to your project."
Even in an urban area, Rowe said "it's definitely highly encouraged. It's a good conservation measure."
She recommends a review "whenever there's any kind of ground disturbance" in a construction project.