Could you introduce yourself and tell us more about your background and your career trajectory in the field of ecological restoration?

I am a licensed civil engineer with a Master of Engineering in Water Resources. I started off in the world of ecological restoration working as an intern in college for a research group out of the University of Louisville under Art Parola doing stream restoration work (mostly data collection and processing). Once I graduated it dawned on me at how much I liked the physicality of the field work and the process in the work that I wanted to do more of it. As a result, I moved to New Jersey in 2012, where I have gained a range of experience working on freshwater and coastal marsh restoration, more stream restoration, and some living shoreline restoration.

I have increasingly grown in my role at a somewhat exponential rate, moving from the early levels of field work and design to overseeing large teams in full delivery of design, permitting, and execution for ecological restoration along the east coast. Over the last decade I have been involved in over 10 miles of stream restoration and well over 1,000 acres of wetlands restoration with additional forest and coastal grassland habitats mixed in, as well as dam removals. A large amount of this I have seen executed from the baseline, with my own designs, through to post construction monitoring that has shown great success in the initial years after construction. 

What about ecological restoration excites you the most?

At this point in my life, it excites me that I am able to give something back to the world and our future. Ecological restoration is critical for our future generations survival and I want my kids to be able to grow and have their own families without the threats to the environment we are trying to combat right now.

What inspired you to join SER, and what do you value most about your membership?

This was a team decision at former Louis Berger (now WSP). We were a strong team of ecological restoration practitioners (before certification) that had been doing the work for decades. It was natural for us to want to be a part of the organization leading the knowledge transfer of ecological restoration practices to gain additional experience and share our own. I specifically value this knowledge transfer as this is a unique practice with lessons learned from each individual project site. You never know when one practice will work wonderfully at one site and terribly at another.

Matt installing tidal water monitoring gauges.

What were your main responsibilities as Chair of SER Mid-Atlantic, and what inspired you to take on this leadership role?

I’ve served one full term as the executive lead (VP, President and Past-President) and am entering a second term now. In this role I am leading the Chapter in our yearly initiatives and overseeing committees pulled together to provide our members with an opportunity to meet and gain the knowledge transfers I mention above.

I largely took on this role because I wanted to see the Chapter moving again. During the COVID 19 pandemic, everyone across the nation somewhat disappeared from Chapter activities (not only the Mid-Atlantic I have found). I, like most others, definitely did not have the extra time to really take on the responsibility (I’ve had two children in that same initial term). I took advantage of my parental leave with my first born to get away from work responsibilities and put it into the Chapter while spending time with my family.

Over the last 3 years it has slowly started to pick up and we have been able to put together two decent conferences and a handful of state field trips that were a great success. Now, as I enter a second term, I want to focus on expanding our engagement with the younger generation entering the ecological restoration field that are eager to get involved and learn more from the seasoned vets that have been doing the work for decades.

What unique ecological restoration challenges and opportunities are associated with your region and how does the SER Mid-Atlantic Chapter address them?

Over the last 3-years in my first term I’ve noticed a few different issues, some politically driven and others practice driven. We’ve tried to focus on the practice driven issues, mainly the observation of invasive species migration into new regions, and standards for native seed generation led by Eve Allen through Ecological Health Network. The Chapter is able to help connect folks doing research on both these issues with folks implementing projects, so as to help both advance their standards of care and practice.

What is your vision for the future of ecological restoration in your region, and how do you see the SER Mid-Atlantic Chapter contributing to this vision?

A highlight topic of our recent conferences is melding ecological restoration in our urbanized environments. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter specifically houses some of the largest metropolises and urbanized settings in the US, spanning from West Virginia to Virginia to D.C. through to New York.

Urbanized settings will continue to exist, but finding ways to create pockets of habitat within them and to provide living based solutions that bring people back to nature is one of our greatest opportunities for public engagement. There are people already doing this, and I see the Chapter as a place to exchange knowledge and discuss how we can reconnect our urbanized areas and our restored ecosystems.

What inspired you to pursue certification, and how has it impacted your career and/or work in the field of ecological restoration?

We need a basis of certification to distinguish folks with the expertise to do this line of work. Just like an engineering license, it requires a solid foundation of knowledge and practice to be able to execute these projects. Our regulatory agencies and clients funding the projects should have a level of confidence in our ability and what we present to them in our designs.

That is why I pursued certification and I use it as a highlight in every proposal I put together for the work. I believe showcasing that our team is composed of multiple certified practitioners in the field of ecological restoration helps set us apart.

In your view, what are the advantages of becoming a CERP, both for individuals and the ecological restoration profession as a whole?

For the same reasons I became certified. It brings a standard of care and practice to implementation on such a wide range of variable habitats. Becoming certified shows you have that understanding and are living to the standard of care to implement this type of work.

What advice do you have for restoration professionals considering certification?

Just do it already. If you are an active restoration professional, you are likely already knowledgeable enough to meet the certification requirements. Also, it helps our community advance even when there is so much political opposition (at least in the US) towards listening to knowledgeable individuals.

What is your vision for the continued growth and recognition of CERP certification in the field?

I want to see the certification grow to the levels and acknowledgement as what a professional wetland scientist or professional engineer license provides.

Matt discussing with a confidential client the early stages of a stream and freshwater wetland restoration project.

Are there specific ecological restoration principles or practices that you find particularly fascinating or effective, and how have you applied them in your work or projects?

We had great success at WSP using the term “bio-benchmarks”, and I’ve presented webinars on projects using it. Other folks have different names for it, but it's essentially a habitat survey through transects, and generating ranges of elevations those habitats thrive in at a local setting. We are able to define upper and lower limits of those habitat types, dominant species, and then tie our physical based factors, like hydrology, to better define our design. In coastal marsh restoration, this lets us step away (a little) from outdated epoch ranges in the US for tidal ranges. We’ve had great success with it.

Could you highlight a particular project or initiative you've been involved in that you're especially proud of or passionate about?

I’ve been involved in quite a few projects over the recent years that I have been particularly passionate about. At this moment it would be the Higbee Beach Restoration Project with the NJDEP Office of Natural Resource Restoration in the Wildlife Management Area in Cape May, NJ. I started working on this project in 2013, and put in a lot of late night hours on this 400+ acre habitat restoration project. It went on hold in 2018 for funding, then COVID hit, and then issues in bidding, and just now at the first of the year, we have finally passed all of the hurdles and are starting construction on the project.

Discussing with NJDEP and local agencies equipment capacities for post construction maintenance and marsh equipment for the Higbee Beach Restoration project.

In your view, what are the most pressing ecological restoration challenges or opportunities that the field is currently facing, and how do you see SER playing a role in addressing them?

Like most everything being built, climate change. How do we account for the unknown with such variability in projections based on human caused changes that could go one way or the other. This is going to affect current ecosystems and species throughout the world and we are already seeing climate change impacts. The spread of invasive species for example is occurring in regions that previously did not provide conditions for them to thrive and outcompete native species. SER, as a global entity, can help shape policy and knowledge for addressing design standards to accommodate and adapt to changing climate conditions to protect native species throughout the world.

Can you share some key lessons or insights you've gained from your work that you believe are important for the broader restoration community?

Public engagement is critical (there is a reason it's part of the SER’s Standards). The general public does not understand what ecological restoration is or the practices and principles behind the physical and nature based work. It’s our job to communicate that to them. I’ve seen projects die far along in the design phase because of inadequate public engagement from clients. Another insight is to make sure you understand your regional based ecology and climate stressors in your designs. Mother nature is very temperamental down to a local scale. You need to be semi-local in your evaluations for restoration or you may not achieve project design success.

What advice do you have for students or emerging professionals who are considering a career in ecological restoration?

I think the generation entering the field of ecological restoration is already lightyears in front of the generations before them. As a result of their college experience, they are aware of ecological restoration practices and identify it specifically as a career option. Just a little over a decade ago while I was in college, I had no idea this was a career path and just happened to fall into it. They are also very eager to get into the work.

My biggest recommendation is to find a good company or agency that fits with your level of speed in the work. Consulting and engineering is high energy and fast paced, whereas research is slower and spends more time in the data understanding. Also find a good mentor. With both of those, put your nose in the dirt and just learn as much as you can as early as you can.

Matt (always in photos with my back turned) looking at coastal channel migration from previous site visit.

What’s something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

I used to fight in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) during college and am a first degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).