Wetland Delineation Workshop

A page within Wetland delineation workshop series

Wetland Delineation Workshop: May 25–June 15, 2023

Cattails along a road.

About the format:
The workshop will be offered in a hybrid format utilizing online formats and in-person training in the field. Fieldwork will be completed in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Please review the agenda for details.

May 25–June 7, 2023
Online asynchronous sessions will be available in Canvas, the online course platform used by the UW System. Instructions for accessing the Canvas course will be sent closer to the start date.

June 8, 2023
Live online lectures will be available via Zoom links in the same Canvas course in which you completed your asynchronous online sessions.

June 13–15, 2023
In-person field work will be completed in La Crosse, Wisconsin. A central meeting point, along with hotel room block details will be confirmed soon.

What you will learn

The Hybrid Wetland Delineation workshop provides participants with a background in wetland hydrology, vegetation, soils, and gives students a solid understanding of USACE wetland delineation methods and protocols. Difficult to delineate situations, current offsite review guidance and tools, report writing, and field data collection are also covered in the more than 36 hours of instruction. Instructors are multi-agency regulators and scientists from the region. Online recorded lectures, other online activities, and a live online session will prepare students for hands-on learning in the field. The new format provides greater flexibility in gaining background knowledge and lets us focus on hands-on experience in the field during the in-person days.

Hybrid Wetland Delineation takes the place of the Basic and Advanced Wetland Delineation Training Workshops previously offered at UWL. This course will satisfy the training requirement of the WI DNR application for assurance.

 

Participant Registration

Fee

State & Government agencies
Non-profit organizations
Tribal Agencies
$999
Private Employers $1,099

Registration includes access to recorded and live lectures, online learning activities. In-person instruction, fieldwork and lunch are included on June 13, 14 and 15, 2023. Participants will have access to the online course through June 22, 2023.

Cancellation policy:
Substitutions welcome. Full refund less $100 processing fee two weeks prior to event, no refunds thereafter. Cancellations must be submitted in writing to ex@uwlax.edu.

Privacy policy:
Registration implies permission for photos, publicity and inclusion in a participant list, unless Graduate & Extended Learning is notified in writing prior to the program: ex@uwlax.edu.

CEUs:
3.6 CEUs/36 contact hours
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are a means of recognizing and recording satisfactory participation in non-degree programs. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) awards one CEU for each 10 contact hours in a continuing education experience. Actual contact hours are recorded. CEUs are offered at no additional charge, through UW-La Crosse. UWL CEUs fulfill continuing education requirements for many professionals, agencies and organizations. Professional associations may have specific licensing requirements. Individuals should contact their licensing association before assuming UWL CEUs will fulfill all requirements.

2023 Hybrid Wetland Delineation Workshop Agenda

36 Contact Hours/3.6 CEUs 

Online content

Learn at your own pace - 12 contact hours

Watch recorded lectures and complete online learning activities using  Canvas—the online course platform used by the UW System. Connect with your classmates and the course facilitator in online discussions. Complete all modules by June 7 to be ready for the live session on June 8.

May 25–June 7

Hydrophytic Vegetation

  • Introduction to the 1987 Wetland Manual and the Regional Supplements
  • Definitions, vegetation strata and plan species indicator status
  • Morphological adaptations
  • Plant lists (including National Wetland Plant List), keys, and other sources of information
  • Determining dominant vegetation and the hydrophytic vegetation (50/20 rule)

Wetland Soils

  • Soil morphology
  • Hydric soils, including redoximorphic features and field indicators of hydric soils
  • Problem soils
  • Web Soil Survey

Hydrology

  • Water budgets and definitions
  • Evaluating climatic conditions before a field visit and evaluating for growing-season conditions
  • Field indicators
  • USACE Antecedent Precipitation

Additional topics

  • Procedures for delineating in problematic and disturbed situations
  • Air photo interpretation
  • Off-site and on-site methods
  • What to include in a a wetland delineation report
  • WIDNR wetland delineation confirmation
  • Online data acquisition demonstrations

Live online session
June 8, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Verify your understanding - 4 contact hours

Connect online via Zoom with instructors for live lectures and a chance to ask questions about online material.

10–11 a.m.

Vegetation

  • 50/20 rule and practice exercise
  • Q&A
11 a.m.–Noon

Soils

  • Review field indicators
  • Q&A
Noon–1 p.m. Break
1–1:40 p.m.

Hydrology

  • Review
  • Q&A
1:40–2:30 p.m.

Difficult to delineate/problem situations 

  • Q&A
2:30–3 p.m. Off-site review, including antecedent preparations

In person field days

Practice and apply your knowledge - 20 contact hours
La Crosse, Wisconsin

June 13
8 a.m.–5 p.m.

  • Check-in
  • Orientation
  • Instructor-led delineation
  • First student delineation
June 14
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Two additional delineation field sites
June 15
8 a.m.–3 p.m.
Final on-site delineation and wrap-up
Who should attend? expanding section

These workshops are intended for engineers, planners, scientists, resource managers, local and tribal officials, environmental professionals and others interested in the determination of wetland boundaries.

Last modified: 07/25/2016

Am I a certified delineator in Wisconsin after taking this wetland delineation workshop? expanding section

No, there is no wetland delineation certification for Wisconsin. However, the course will satisfy the training requirement to apply as an assured delineator with the WI Department of Natural Resources. 

Last modified: 12/29/2022

Are there any requirements that need to be completed prior to the training classes? expanding section

There are no pre-requirements for the Wetland Delineation workshop. 

Last modified: 12/14/2022

Are the Regional Supplements covered in the Wetland Delineation Workshop? expanding section

Both the Midwest and Northcentral Regional Supplements are covered in the course.

Last modified: 12/14/2022

In preparation for the Wetland Delineation Workshop, are there any good materials to read prior to the workshop? expanding section

The materials to read or brush up on for a basic understanding of what we cover in the workshop revolves around information from the Army Corps of Engineers.

See: Supplements to the 1987 Corps manual for the region you work in at http://www.usace.army.mil/missions/civilworks/regulatoryprogramandpermits/reg_supp.aspx

1987 Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual www.cpe.rutgers.edu/Wetlands/1987-Army-Corps-Wetlands-Delineation-Manual.pdf

Last modified: 12/14/2022

If my wetland delineation work is currently considered assured through the State of Wisconsin, will these wetland workshop count towards my continuing education requirements? expanding section

Yes, all of the wetland-related workshops provided by UW-La Crosse, including Wetland Delineation, count towards the State of Wisconsin’s assured delineator program’s CEU requirements.

Last modified: 12/14/2022

What has become of the Basic vs. Advanced Workshops? expanding section

We have combined the two, in-person workshops we used to offer into a single, hybrid workshop. 

Last modified: 12/16/2022

Do you offer any other wetland-focused workshops? expanding section

We will be offering a workshop focused on Grasses, Sedges and Rushes in summer 2023. We have also offered Plant ID and Hydric Soils workshops in the past. We hope to bring those back in the summer of 2024. 

Last modified: 12/16/2022

Lodging:

A limited block of rooms are available at:

Courtyard by Marriott
500 Front St., La Crosse, Wis
608.782.1000

Reserve your room

  • Last Day to Book: Tuesday, May 16, 2023
    Please reserve your overnight accommodations early as there are a limited number of special rates available. Once a room block has filled and/or after room block expiration date, reservations received are subject to space availability and at prevailing room rates.
  • Refer to: Wetland Delineation 2023 workshop when making reservations.

Room rates, per night: (government per diem rate, may be subject to change)

  • $98, King (plus sales and room tax)

Please refer to the hotel's website or contact them directly for check-in and check-out times, services and amenities, directions, parking/shuttle service and other hotel information. 

Kara Brooks expanding section

Kara Brooks is the Wetland Delineation Coordinator – Bureau of Watershed Management at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). She has 10 years of experience in documenting wetlands including delineating tens of thousands of wetlands across the Midwest. She has experience reviewing wetland delineations for controversial and complex wetland sites as a state regulator in Wisconsin and has administered the WDNR Assured Delineator Pilot Program since 2019.

Jeff Deniger expanding section

Jeff Deniger is an Area Resource Soil Scientist with USDA-NRCS, Richland Center, WI. He has worked as a Soil Scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for 36 years. His job duties have changed through the years, he was a soil mapper on county soil surveys for 8 years, worked in MLRA (Major Land Resource Area) offices for 20 years updating older soil surveys, supervised a MLRA office for a few years, and the rest as an Area Resource Soil Scientist. Working as an Area Resource Soil Scientist has been the most diverse where he deals with soils related questions/ investigations/ training for 12 counties in SW Wisconsin. Jeff also completes Certified Wetland determinations for USDA Farm Program participants, averaging ~100 a year, and handles other wetland related issues.

Marissa Merriman expanding section

Marissa Merriman is a Regulatory Ecologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District Regulatory Division, with over 13 years of experience in the federal government and private sector. In her current role she evaluates wetland and stream compensatory mitigation proposals in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She also provides technical support and training for Regulatory program staff and the public regarding mitigation, wetland and waterbody delineation, and Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations. Marissa holds a B.S. in Forest Management and Ecosystem Restoration from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and certifications in Wetland Science and Ecological Restoration from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota.

Meredith Thomsen expanding section

Meredith Thomsen is the Dean of Graduate & Extended Learning, a member of the River Studies Center, and a former Biology Professor at UW-La Crosse. A wetland ecologist specializing in floodplain forest restoration, she lacks experience with wetland delineation, but suspects she is the midwest expert in digging through reed canary grass to find silver maple seedlings. She will be working with the instructors to design and facilitate the online portion of the course, and assisting with field logistics in La Crosse.

Kevin Traastad expanding section

Kevin Traastad is the USDA-NRCS Major Land Resource Area Soil Survey Office Leader for the Driftless and Central Sands areas, based in Onalaska, WI. He has a Bachelor of Science-Agriculture degree in Soil Science from UW-River Falls. He has been working in the field for 22 years. From 2005–2009 he conducted wetland identifications and delineations in southeastern Wisconsin.

Allison Willman expanding section

Allison Willman is a wetland expert for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Her current role specializes in providing wetland technical expertise to the DNR’s waterways program, wetland delineation reviews and trainings, and botanical trainings. Previously, she served as a Wetland Identification Specialist for the DNR and participated in a research study on wetland restorations. Prior to the Wisconsin DNR, she graduated with a Soils and Land Management degree from UW-Stevens Point and spent several years working in the private sector, along with completing a wetland internship with the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission.

Jeremy Ziegler expanding section

Jeremy Ziegler is an Area Resource Soil Scientist with the USDA-NRCS in Juneau, WI.  He has worked as a Soil Scientist with the NRCS for 18 years in Wyoming, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Jeremy works on wetland determinations for the NRCS and helps teach hydric soils classes in the state for the NRCS.