NAWM Members
Members receive weekly issues of Insider’s Edition and bimonthly issues of Wetland News per year. If you are a member already, you may read the latest issue of Insider’s Edition and Wetland News (NAWM’s membership newsletter) by logging in to your Members' Portal. NAWM membership benefits information.
NAWM is looking for photos of our members working in the field—whether inside or outside, regulation or restoration, monitoring & assessment—or mapping & management of wetland resources. We would like to feature photos of wetland professionals doing a wide range of activities in the field of wetland science, policy and management. Please email these photos to Laura at laura@nawm.org for use on the NAWM website and/or in our membership newsletter, Wetland News.
The NAWM membership includes state, tribal, federal, and local wetland managers, regulators, researchers, field scientists, academics, private consultants, and more. These wetlanders work across the United States in a wide variety of wetlands and related aquatic resources. To celebrate the important work that NAWM members are doing, each month NAWM shines the Member Spotlight on one member to learn more about the good work they are doing to protect and restore our wetland resources, how they came to work in wetlands, and how being a member of the Association benefits their work. If you would like to nominate a member for a future Member Spotlight, please reach out to Portia Osborne, NAWM Assistant Director, at portia@nawm.org. View Member Spotlight Archive.
Tess Danielson
Tess Danielson works for the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment in the Regulatory Review Division. Her responsibilities include regulating the District’s wetlands and streams, as well as assisting with wetland monitoring and assessment and leading wetland outreach initiatives.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is the variety. Having several responsibilities keeps it interesting and no part of it becomes too onerous. I love working outside and getting familiar with every wetland we are protecting in the District. It is an extra special field day when we spot more elusive wildlife, like beavers, salamanders, owls, or eagles. It is also nice knowing the next day I’ll be in the A/C away from the mosquitoes.
What is one of your biggest professional accomplishments?
Writing my Master’s Thesis was a major pre-professional accomplishment. I am a very slow writer, so it was a painstaking process. It did teach me what I wanted to do next as a young professional, and that I needed a break from research and writing.
What is your favorite wetland species? Why?
It is very basic, but the red-winged blackbird may be my favorite wetland species. Its song is so reminiscent of my time spent in wetlands at the Jersey shore, near my home in the DMV, and in the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana and Florida. When I hear it, I’m reminded of sunny days out in the field.
How did you end up working in wetlands?
My wonder for the water started from family vacations to the beach and school field trips to the Chesapeake Bay, and I knew by middle school that I wanted to be a marine biologist. Science was always the most fascinating subject for me, and an “oceans” class really solidified that. I enrolled in Eckerd College, the premier spot to study marine science (I may be biased). My courses there deepened my interest in ecology and my labs taught me I was more adept at studying plants than live animals. Living in Florida opened my world to mangroves and so I set out to study them. LSU offered a great graduate opportunity, and my research was based in the Florida Everglades mangrove forests. I wanted to continue my career in wetland work because I thought they were so undervalued for such impressive ecosystems.
What advice do you have for someone interested in getting started in wetlands work?
I give a presentation to students that participate in DC’s Green Zone Environmental Program, and what I tell them is that there are many sectors that can involve wetlands work. Education, research, recreation or ecotourism, policy, consulting, and regulation are just some of the fields that can have a wetland focus. If you want to work in wetlands, there is more than one way to do it, so find what you like and what you excel at!
How long have you been a member of NAWM? How have you participated in NAWM?
I joined NAWM in 2022 when I started in the Regulatory Review Division at DOEE. I have been a member of other professional networks and have attended the conferences, but they could feel intimidating, and the sessions were not always relevant. I like that NAWM is specific to wetlands but still has a broad collection of wetland professionals from different fields and states and tribes to learn from. The annual meetings are a welcoming place, and the after-session gatherings are a fun and casual way to connect with everyone in the wetland community.
If you would like to nominate a member for a future Member Spotlight, please reach out to Portia Osborne, NAWM Assistant Director, at portia@nawm.org.
View Member Spotlight Archive.