2026 Annual Meeting

2026 ANNUAL MEETING
Wednesday, March 4, 2026
8:30 AM
Aqua Turf Club
556 Mulberry St, Southington, CT 06479

AGENDA & LINKS TO PRESENTATIONS

7:30 – 8:30	Registration
8:30 – 8:45	Welcome / Opening Remarks
8:45 – 9:15	Evan Zocco (University of Connecticut) Automated Mapping of Beaver-Influenced Wetlands
9:15 – 10:15	Susan Jacobson & Darcy Winther (Connecticut DEEP); Charlotte R. Skolnick & Paul M. Silva (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) 2026 Nationwide Permits and 401 Water Quality Certification
10:15 – 10:45	BREAK
10:45 – 11:15	Joanne Throwe (Throwe Environmental) Funding Spotlight: Opportunities for Connecticut with the National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) and Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF)
11:15 – 11:30	Anthony Zemba (LandTech) Connecticut Wetland In-Lieu-Fee (ILF) 2026 Grant Program Updates
11:30 – 12:00	2025 CAWS Michael Lefor & Les Mehrhoff Grant Recipient Reports 11:30 – 11:45 Carly Shaw (University of Connecticut) — The Effects of Sediment Addition Depth on Denitrification in Coastal CT Salt Marshes 11:45 – 12:00 Maria Grace (Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy) — Restoration of Indian Paintbrush in NW Connecticut
12:00	Announcement of 2026 Grant Winners
12:00 – 1:00	LUNCH — Visit our Exhibitors and Networking 12:30 – 1:00 — CAWS Annual Business Meeting
1:00 – 3:00	Panel Discussion: The Life Cycle of a Project — Challenges and Solutions 1:00 – 1:10 Site Assessment — Brian Connolly (Eastern Connecticut State University): Rare Species and eDNA Analysis 1:10 – 1:20 Design — Bill Kenny (William Kenny Associates, LLC): Higganum Cove Superfund Site & Ecological Restoration 1:20 – 1:30 Permitting — Matt Arsenault (Stantec): Dealing with Rare Species: Tips and Strategies for a Successful NDDB Determination 1:30 – 2:00 Discussion / Q&A 2:00 – 2:10 Construction — Patti Burns (Davey): Installation of 1,300 trees and Erosion Control Following Remediation 2:10 – 2:20 Maintenance — Colin Bennett (Swamp Yankee Earthcare): Mechanical (Chemical Free) Management of Invasive Plants 2:20 – 2:30 Restoration — Peter Picone (CT DEEP): Creating Native Meadows Using Native Plants 2:30 – 3:00 Discussion / Q&A
3:00 – 3:30	BREAK
3:30 – 4:00	Summer Weidman (CT Agricultural Experiment Station) Detecting Northern Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata subsp. lithuanica) in the Connecticut River with Satellite Imagery
4:00 – 4:30	Heidi Cunnick (Lake Task Force) A Citizen Scientist Program for Monitoring Kettle Lakes and Ponds
4:30 – 4:45	Final Remarks, Survey, and Close