Project Management:

NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Wetlands Restoration Program
Bonnie Mullen Duncan, is the Assistant Planning Coordinator for the NC Wetlands Restoration Program housed within the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Project Manager of the Local Watershed Planning Project for the Pasquotank River Basin. Ms. Duncan has a M.S. in Natural Resources Policy and Administration and over 6 years of experience in environmental planning, wetland, stream and buffer restoration and compensatory mitigation practices, and serves as the program’s liaison with the NC Department of Transportation concerning the Local Watershed Planning process.

Decision Support Professionals: Contractor hired by the NC Wetlands Restoration Program

George H. Wood, CEP, PWS is President of Decision Support Professionals and will be the Project Manager responsible for coordination of the GIS Data Base collection and analysis with field data collection and corroboration. Because Mr. Wood is a Professional Wetland Scientist who has been responsible for mitigation site identification and design, he will also participate in the design phase. Mr. Wood’s unique background for this project is based, in part, on his eight years with the Division of Coastal Management (CAMA). Since leaving CAMA, Mr. Wood has represented the private sector and governmental clients to the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management and Water Quality as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These experiences have provided Mr. Wood with a sound understanding of the value of a quality team with innovative team approaches to address regulatory and design intricacies of the proposed project. Mr. Wood’s experience in the acquisition, design and construction of mitigation projects promotes a clear understanding of identifying suitable mitigation sites that are cost effective to prepare.

Public Participation:
Dr. Michael R. Thomas, co-founder of DSPro, is an environmental scientist with over 25 years of experience in project siting, baseline and monitoring studies, impact assessment, and mitigation. His technical expertise includes terrestrial and wetland ecology; ecosystem and habitat analysis; land use and watershed management. Dr. Thomas has conducted NEPA, RCRA, CERCLA, and other environmental regulatory studies in 26 states, including North Carolina. He has recently conducted a number of regional and local land use planning and watershed management programs incorporating unique GIS-based decision support systems. He holds three degrees from Michigan State University, a BS in Biological Sciences and Geology, an Ms. in Fisheries and Wildlife and Environmental Planning, and a PhD in Resource Development (with fields in Land and Water Resource Management, Land Use Regional Planning, and Geomorphology). He has taught environmental biology, impact assessment, and project management at Michigan State University.

While with the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network, Dr. Thomas was responsible for the development of several computer-based, on-line information systems, notably the Great Lakes Environmental Information (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency); a data access system for sites on the National Priorities List (U.S. Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry); and a prototype intertribal environmental information system (Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency). His research and outreach interests include building computer-aided decision support systems to aid land use planning, environmental impact assessment, and risk analysis.

These experiences have required extensive stakeholder participation. Dr. Thomas is capable of bringing the combined talents of stakeholder involvement, understanding of the environmental aspects of the project and the unique decision support application that DSPro proposes to use for this project. Dr. Thomas will guide non-technical and technical users to interactively review alternatives so that all stakeholders will have an understanding of the impacts of the options.

Modeling:
Brenda Faber will provide expertise in GIS decision models for assessing implications of alternative management scenarios. Ms. Faber has over 15 years experience in the development and application of resource modeling systems. She specializes in the characterization of landscapes through GIS spatial representation, constraint analysis, impact assessment, and project alternative comparison. Ms. Faber was responsible for concept design and implementation of “Community Viz”, a resource modeling system and extension of ArcView that supports interactive negotiation of land proposals and evaluation of management alternatives. Ms. Faber is widely recognized for her pioneering research in collaborative spatial negotiation systems. These systems place stakeholder participation at the forefront of the land planning process.

Field Team:
Robert Sawyer will coordinate the field services of the proposed project. Mr. Sawyer’s professionalism is reflected in his ability to accurately perform ecosystem characterization and analysis. His degree in antrhopology, coupled with years of practical experience, allows him the ability to perform reliable assessments.

Mr. Sawyer’s field management capabilities, coupled with her strong role in the design phase, will allow for efficient integration of the teams.

GIS Team:
Helen Mattioni-Furr specializes in GIS information collection and analysis. Her use of ArcView will allow for integration of existing State, Federal and private databases to provide defensible wetland mitigation and stream restoration searches. The graphic overlay of databases will support the technical requirements of the regulatory agencies to avoid, minimize, and to mitigate unavoidable impacts and the Corps’ preference for mitigation within certain hydrogeographic zones. This information becomes even more compelling when coupled with the field data to corroborate the most efficient and effective mitigation.

Jeremiah Asher has considerable experiences in coordinating GIS data and Community Viz in such a manner to ensure compatibility. Mr. Asher will be responsible for building any new data base that may be necessary to adequately assess sites. Mr. Asher is currently developing DSPro’s web-based version of Smart Places which will be posted on our web page (www.decisionsupportpro.com). Mr. Asher will assist in the public participation phase of the project by utilizing Smart Places to capture stakeholder input.

Chuck Donley - Senior Associate, Community Viz, Subcontractor for the Pasquotank River Local Watershed Planning Project
Chuck is an urban and regional planner who specializes in creating CommunityViz applications. He brings over 20 years of experience in public and private sector short term and long range planning processes. Prior to his association with CommunityViz, he operated his own land planning firm providing design and approvals for local developers. His prior experience also includes working for Routt County, Arapahoe County, the Town of Vail, Nakata Planning Group, and URS Consultants, an environmental engineering firm. A long time Colorado resident, Chuck has worked on a variety of national and international projects, including Las Vegas, Nevada; Augusta, Georgia; Presidio of San Francisco, California; Bremerton, Washington; Pamunjon, South Korea and Aden, Yemen. His civic participation includes chairing the Steamboat Springs Economic Development Council, The Colorado Springs Drainage Board, and the El Paso County School District 11 Enrollment and Boundaries Committee. Planning Magazine twice published his writings on GIS applications for planning issues, most recently in October of 1997.