Ecologist

Joe joined FMR in May 2011 as an ecologist. In that time, he has written several natural resource management plans for private and public owners. The information in a typical plan includes site information, landscape context, soils, topography, rare species, historic vegetation, land use, water resources, existing landcover, management recommendations, restoration schedule and cost estimates. Joe has also led groups of volunteers at several stewardship events for FMR. He is also currently working on implementing ecological restoration plans.

Joe has over ten years of experience working in the natural resources field. Most recently, in 2010, Joe was a member of the MN DNR-Scientific and Natural Area Burn Crew for the Central Region, and gained valuable experience conducting controlled burns throughout the southeastern portion of the state. Prior to that, while at a local non-profit, he coordinated and managed ecological restoration projects in the Twin Cities Metro area and in the Anoka Sand Plain, and also wrote Natural Resource Management Plans. He has worked specifically on restoring dry sand prairie and oak savanna, as well as oak woodland and forest. He also has extensive experience in managing and restoring lakeshores and stream banks, as well as planning and implementing stormwater best management practices including raingardens, infiltration swales, sedimentation basins and wetland buffers.

Other pertinent experience Joe has includes natural resource inventory, wetland delineation, forestry consulting, and GIS mapping. Having been contract forester for several metro-area communities, including North Oaks, Shakopee, and Oakdale, Joe also has much experience working with forest health management, especially oak wilt and Dutch elm diseases.

Outside of FMR, Joe is an active member of several organizations including the Minnesota Native Plant Society, the Prairie Enthusiasts, and the Minnesota Society for Conservation Biology. He formerly served a three-year term on the City of Maplewood’s Planning Commission. His hobbies are gardening, hiking, camping, canoeing, running, and music.

Education: BS in biology from the University of Minnesota (1991) and MS in Natural Resource Management also from the U of MN (2012). Masters project topic involved the evaluation of the survival and performance of trees, which were planted in 1997 at a large-scale floodplain restoration site in downtown St. Paul on the Mississippi River, in response to soil site preparation techniques that alleviated soil compaction. Read more…