2006 West Eugene Wetlands Recognition Award Recipients UO Research Team

Members of the UO Research team accept their WEW recognition award at the ceremony May 5th







During 2003, the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership received a $200,000 grant from the EPA’s Wetland Development Grant Program to investigate the effectiveness of various site preparation techniques for wetland restoration, not o­nly for the WEW Partners, but also for wetland prairie practitioners throughout the Willamette Valley and elsewhere in the nation.  As part of this project, the Partnership hired a scientific research team from the University of Oregon that is comprised of Ph. D. candidate Laurel Pheifer-Meister, and professors Scott Bridgham, Bitty Roy, and Bart Johnson, to assist with the design, implementation, and analysis of the project. 

From the outset, this research team has demonstrated a vibrant collaborative spirit with the Partnership and they have consistently exceeded our expectations.  The team possesses a unique ability to conduct creative, robust, scientific research that not o­nly meets the needs of land management agencies, but also meets the highest standards of scientific inquiry. 

Laurel, Scott, Bitty, and Bart have invested more of their time into this project that they originally committed, and they have successfully garnered additional grant monies to augment the scope of the original project.   All of us involved in the project are very excited about the scientific and management information we are going to elucidate from it, and the genuine spirit of  teamwork and collaboration that exists among all the parties.   

The Partnership is fortunate to be working with this research team o­n this project.  These people, and this team, demonstrate that academic biologists and conservation professionals can be effective and strong partners.