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Our Cultural Resource specialists can help you manage the risk of impacting important historic or archaeological places.

Plant Identification Workshop

Wetland and Adjacent Upland Plant Identification Workshop

When: June 13-15, 2018

Where: Northern Indiana

Instructors: Scott Namestnik and Brad Slaughter

Orbis Environmental Consulting botanists Scott Namestnik and Brad Slaughter are leading a three-day plant identification workshop in Northern Indiana on June 13-15, 2018, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT each day. The focus of the workshop will be plants found in wetlands and adjacent uplands.

The workshop will be loosely based in South Bend, Indiana, but will take place entirely in the field at sites in North Liberty, Walkerton, Michigan City, and Hobart, Indiana. We will visit various wetland and upland habitats, including flatwoods, fen, sedge meadow, swamp forest, emergent marsh, mitigation wetland, mesic prairie, and successional woods.
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Lunches are included in the workshop fee. A field notebook will be provided to each participant.

Participants should dress for wet/muddy field conditions and bring:

  • Pencil

  • Hand lens

  • Small ruler

  • Camera

  • Plenty of water

  • Sunscreen and insect repellent

  • Stool or folding chair (optional)

  • Field guide(s) of choice (optional)

Fee:

$549 before April 28

$599 on or after April 28

Space is limited to 20 participants. To register, contact Scott Namestnik at snamestnik@orbisec.com or (574) 303-7758.

Here’s what others have said about our workshops

 

“Really enjoyed the instructor and the fact that he made a daunting topic manageable!”

“Instructor had vast knowledge of the subject and was able to communicate very effectively ways to identify plants to those with less experience as well to those with more experience. I also appreciated being able to collect samples for future reference. Very helpful! Overall really enjoyed the class and would definitely participate in another offered by Orbis.”

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Our Instructors
Scott Namestnik – Scott has 19 years of experience managing projects and conducting floristic inventories, quantitative flora surveys, plant community mapping, invasive species surveys and mapping, and plant species of concern surveys and mapping. He is experienced with setting up and conducting mitigation wetland monitoring projects and has conducted numerous aquatic plant surveys. Another aspect of Scott’s services is providing plant identification training workshops. In addition to his experience focused on the flora, Scott conducts wetland delineations and other site assessments and participates in avian and other wildlife surveys.

Scott prepares natural area management plans and provides other technical writing services. He is recognized for his expertise is in Midwestern/Great Lakes terrestrial and aquatic vascular plants, and his written work on the flora has appeared in several peer-reviewed journals including The Michigan Botanist, Phytoneuron, Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, and Rhodora. Scott has presented research on various topics at numerous conferences.

He currently serves as a board member for NatureCITE, Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society (North Chapter), and South Bend-Elkhart Audubon Society, and he is active with the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society (Journal Team Leader) and the Indiana Academy of Science (member of the Biodiversity and Natural Areas Committee and previously Vice-chair and Chair of the Plant Systematics and Biodiversity section).
Brad Slaughter – Brad has over 13 years of experience managing projects and conducting floristic inventories, vegetation sampling, surveys and mapping of rare plants, invasive plants, and plant communities, and ecological threat assessments. He has expertise in the classification and description of plant communities and is coauthor of A Field Guide to the Natural Communities of Michigan.

Brad serves on the Michigan Rare Plant Technical Advisory Committee and managed Michigan’s Natural Heritage Database of rare vascular plant element occurrences for several years. He also coauthored the most recent iteration of Michigan’s Floristic Quality Assessment. In addition to his extensive writings, Brad regularly delivers presentations and field trips for a variety of audiences.

He also participates in wildlife surveys, including surveys for federally threatened and endangered species such as the Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, Karner blue butterfly, Poweshiek skipperling, eastern massasauga, and Kirtland’s Warbler. Brad is an active member of the Michigan Botanical Club and previously served as Vice President of the Red Cedar Chapter.
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Tessa M. Aby-Kruger

Botanist

Tessa is a geologist, botanist and vegetation ecologist with over 10 years of experience managing and conducting projects, specializing in ecological and floristic inventories, rare plant surveys, and vegetation monitoring. She also performs wetland evaluations and is a guided hike leader.

Jeremy Sheets

Senior Wildlife Biologist, Vice President

Jeremy is a founding member of Orbis and directs its ecological and wildlife surveys, assessment and planning services, and brings over 20 years’ experience conducting various wildlife surveys with a focus on bat ecology and urban wildlife management.


Jeremy has managed wildlife projects for private firms and the public sector including for wind facilities, pipelines, roadways, military bases, and airports. Jeremy is proficient in wildlife management/control techniques, wildlife identification, threatened and endangered species, and surveying and analysis techniques for mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects. Jeremy is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologists who develop Wildlife Hazard Assessments (WHA) and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans (WHMP) for airports. Jeremy is qualified to inspect erosion, sediment and stormwater plans, and their implementation. Furthermore, Jeremy is federally permitted to conduct endangered bat surveys in USFWS Regions 3, 4, 5, and 6 and includes acoustic surveys, mist-netting, and radio telemetry.

J Ryan Duddleson​

Senior Archaeologist, Principal

Ryan is a founding member of Orbis and directs its cultural resource management services, and brings over 20 years’ experience helping clients assess and minimize the risk of impacting places with cultural value.


Ryan works with public sector clients including federal, state, and municipal government, as well as private firms in energy, transportation, industrial, and development sectors. He also coordinates with agencies and consulting parties involved with the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and other related cultural resource laws and regulations. He performs archival research, analysis, and excavation. Ryan also has experience in artifact and archival curation. He has applied innovative techniques to traditional artifact analysis, such as examining organic residues from prehistoric pottery to determine prior contents. Ryan also has experience with human remains in archaeological settings. Ryan meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation, 48 FR. 44716 and is a Qualified Professional Archaeologist in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.