Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.

Monday, September 18, 2023
8:30 am – 5:00 pm CDT

 

Identifying Wetlands
Presented by Walker Wilson

  • Presence of wetland vegetation
  • Identification of wetland soils
  • Importance of underlying wetland hydrology

Wetlands Permitting Process with the US Army Corps of Engineers
Presented by Hunter Guidry

  • Wetlands determinations and delineations
  • Determining applicability of regulations
  • Wetland permitting and certification processes
    • Notice provisions
    • Review process
    • Mitigation/compensation requirements
  • Appeals process

Wetland Preservation, Restoration, Creation and Enhancement
Presented by Tim Carruthers 

  • Understanding the importance of wetlands
  • Carbon
  • Carbon Credits
  • Voluntary carbon markets
  • Challenges and opportunities specific to Louisiana 

Ethics Issues in Wetland Preservation and Development
Presented by Bill Sapp

  • Acting in the best interest of the public on wetlands issues
  • Finding alternatives to wetlands destruction
  • Including wetland preservation in development plans
  • Convincing clients to preserve and restore wetlands

Focus on Wetlands Mitigation Process  
Presented by Bill Sapp

  • Avoidance, minimization, and mitigation
  • Mitigation banks and in lieu fee programs
  • Advantages of preliminary jurisdictional determinations

 


Webinar Instructions
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.

Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.

GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)

Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled

Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps       Hardware: 2GB RAM or more

For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com

Credits

Professional Engineers
7.0 PDHs

Architects
7.0 HSW CE Hours
7.0 AIA HSW LUs

Landscape Architects
7.0 HSW CE Hours
7.0 LA CES PDHs

Floodplain Managers
7.0 ASFPM CECs

Certified Planners
CM|7

Attorneys
7.0 CLE Hours,
Including 1.0 Ethics Hour


Continuing Education Credit Information

This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for 7.0 PDHs for professional engineers, 7.0 HSW continuing education hours for licensed architects, and 7.0 HSW continuing education hours for landscape architects in Louisiana. Professionals seeking continuing education credits in other states may be able to claim the hours earned at this webinar; please refer to specific board rules to determine eligibility.

The Louisiana State Bar Association has approved this webinar for 7.0 CLE hours, including 1.0 ethics hour (live format only, not eligible for on-demand).

The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System has approved this course for 7.0 HSW LUs (Sponsor No. J885). Only full participation is reportable to the AIA/CES. 

The Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System has approved this course for 7.0 HSW PDHs. Only full participation is reportable to the LA CES.

This webinar has been approved by the Association of State Floodplain Managers for 7.0 CECs for floodplain managers.

HalfMoon Education is an approved CM Provider with the American Planning Association. This course is registered for CM | 7 for Certified Planners.

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed). 

On-Demand Credits

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format may not be eligible for the same credits as the live presentation; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate. The following pre-approvals may be available for the on-demand format upon request:

7.0 HSW LUs (AIA)
7.0 HSW PDHs (LA CES)
7.0 ASFPM CECs

Speakers

Dr. Tim Carruthers

Managing Partner, Theodora Oringher

Dr. Tim Carruthers is the Director of Coastal Ecology at the Water Institute of the Gulf. He has a strong international reputation from more than 20 years working in coastal ecology, focusing on human impacts and management. His work has focused on assessing and leveraging ecosystem conditions to enhance adaptation to coastal change. He brings specific experience in developing ecosystem health indicators and solving problems by focusing on systems analysis. Before joining The Water Institute of the Gulf, Dr. Carruthers worked for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, as the Coastal and Marine Advisor, based in Samoa, providing marine management support to 21 Pacific Island countries and territories. A large component of this work was developing and implementing approaches for preservation or restoration of natural ecosystems to increase resilience of vulnerable coastal communities. Dr. Carruthers has developed approaches to ecosystem condition assessment, and global syntheses of seagrass trends and processes. Synthesizing knowledge for communication to broad audiences, including coastal citizens, policy-makers and scientific colleagues, has been an ongoing focus throughout his career. Currently, Dr. Carruthers is leading the Coastal Ecology Program in projects supporting integration of physical and ecosystem models, assessing and quantifying ecosystem function of submerged and emergent coastal habitats, and linking ecosystem functions to community needs and uses of ecosystem services.

Hunter Guidry

Coastal Environments, Incorporated

Mr. Guidry has 25 years of experience as an environmental scientist, 20 years of which he served as a project manager in multi-discipline environmental settings. He is currently the director for the Applied Science and Planning Division at Coastal Environments, Inc., working on project development and also client liaison, field lead on vegetative monitoring projects, and director of all environmental programing. Mr. Guidry has training and expertise in conducting environmental site assessments – Phase I, Endangered Species Assessments, and wetland delineations following US Army Corps of Engineers criteria. He assists business, industry, private clients, and government entities in preparing permit applications and coordinating with regulatory agencies to assist in securing Section 404, 10, and 408 permits for commercial and residential development projects, energy and petroleum transmission line projects, legacy lawsuit ecological assessments, state roadway projects, and government funded wetland assessment projects as well as coastal restoration projects for state and federal agencies.

Bill Sapp

Senior Attorney at Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in Atlanta

Bill Sapp focuses on protecting the swamps, tidal creeks, and salt marshes of the Georgia and Alabama coasts and leads SELC’s Georgia Coastal Initiative. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School and his Master of Law degree in Environmental Law from George Washington Law School (with highest honors). Before joining SELC, he served as an assistant regulatory attorney with the Chief Counsel’s office of the Army Corps in DC, clerked for Judge Edenfield in federal district court in Savannah, was an associate at Alston & Bird in Atlanta, and served as the lead wetlands attorney for Region 4 of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Walker Wilson

Coastal Environments, Incorporated

Mr. Wilson is a senior wildlife biologist/wetland ecologist with Coastal Environments, Inc., (CEI) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has over 21 years of professional experience investigating the ecology of a wide variety of flora and fauna in the southeastern United States with experience in the areas of environmental compliance and biological investigations, primarily wildlife biology, ecology, botany, wetlands, and biological assessments. Additionally, he has been accepted by the court as an expert in the fields of biology, ecology and wetland delineation. Mr. Wilson’s project responsibilities and experience at CEI include remote sensing and image interpretation; jurisdictional wetland delineations and determinations; site assessments; oil spill assessment monitoring; environmental surveys/inspection/monitoring for pipelines; litigation support; wetland and wildlife management plans; habitat mapping; mitigation bank establishment and monitoring; water collection, soil and tissue samples for lab analysis; and surveys for protected species, migratory birds, wading bird rookeries, herpetofauna, mammals, mussels, and vegetation. Mr. Wilson’s projects have ranged from multi-state projects to small, site-specific areas. He has performed field surveys across the southeastern United States and trained and managed biological teams to complete complex jobs. His project experience has given Mr. Wilson insight into research methodology and ecology in the southeast.

AIA Info

AIA Provider Statement:

HalfMoon Education Inc. is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number J885. All registered AIA/CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider of learning program may be sent to AIA/CES (cesupport@aia.org or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA/CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA/CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA/CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.

Course Title: Louisiana Wetlands Law and Compliance

Delivery Method: Live Online

Course Description: This 7-hour course provides guidance to design professionals regarding wetland identification, explains the functions and importance of wetlands, reviews the wetlands permitting process, offers strategies and techniques for wetland preservation, restoration, creation and enhancement, and considers ethical issues related to wetland preservation and development.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objective 1:
Learners will be able to identify wetlands by their vegetation and soils and understand the importance of the underlying hydrology and the role it plays in flood storage, conveyance, and pollution and erosion control.

Learning Objective 2:
Learners will be able to navigate ethical issues in wetland preservation and development and be able to act in the best interest of the public on wetlands issues by finding alternatives to wetland destruction, including preservation in development plans and convincing clients to preserve and restore wetlands.

Learning Objective 3:
Learners will be able to review strategies and techniques for preserving, restoring, creating and enhancing wetlands with a focus on the challenges and opportunities that are specific to Louisiana.

Learning Objective 4:
Learners will be able to discuss the wetlands mitigation process, the role of mitigation banks and in lieu fee programs, and the advantages of preliminary jurisdictional determinations.

LUs: 7.0                                                                                             LU Type: LU|HSWs.

Prerequisites: Experience with site development

Advance Preparation: None

Program Level: Intermediate

Course Expiration Date: 

Complaint Resolution Policy:

Complaints regarding this course can be emailed to fchapman@halfmoonseminars.org or by calling (715) 835-5900. A HalfMoon Education representative will respond within 72 hours to resolve the complaint, which will include, but not limited to, access to another CE activity at no or reduced cost or a full or partial refund. Each instance will be resolved on a case-by-case situation.