User:Morganpound/Society of Wetland Scientists

The Society of Wetland Scientists, Inc. (SWS) is an international, professional non-profit organization devoted to promoting understanding, conservation, protection, restoration, science-based management, and sustainability of wetlands. It works to strengthen professional standards for the field. SWS has members in governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia and private consulting. However, Society membership is open to anyone with an interest in wetlands. SWS has always been known for being a forum for scientists and managers to meet and work together. Based in Middleton, Wisconsin, United States, it has 3000+ members, worldwide.

SWS has fifteen regional chapters around the world that provide a local resource for networking, education and other wetland-related events: Asia, Canada, Central, China, Europe, International, Mid-Atlantic, New England, North Central, Oceania, Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, South Atlantic, South Central, Western. Each chapter has their own president that works alongside the executive board of SWS. The chapter presidents are as follows: Wei-Ta Fang fir Asia, Nigel Roulet for Canada, Tim Forbes for Central, Xianguo Lyu for China, Matthew Simpson for Europe, Ian Bredin and Tatiana Lobato de Magalhaes for International, Jennifer Slacum for Mid-Atlantic, Dwight Dunk for New England, Christina Hargiss for North Central, Phil Papas for Oceania, Josh Wozniak for Pacific Northwest, Ryan Hammons for Rocky Mountain, Brian Benscoter for South Atlantic, Scott Jecker for South Central, and Richard Beck for Western.

SWS has ten sections that work to enhance the SWS Annual Meeting by organizing symposia and workshops: Biogeochemistry, Education, Global Change Ecology, Peatlands, Public Policy and Regulation, Ramsar, Student, Wildlife, Wetland Restoration, and Women in Wetlands. Each section is appointed a head chair. The current chairs are as follows: Beth Lawrence for Biogeochemistry, Derek Faust for Education, Wei Wu for Global Change Ecology, Bin Xu for Peatlands, John Lowenthal for Public Policy and Regulation, Nicholas Davidson for Ramsar, David Riera for Student, Andy Herb for Wetland Restoration, Andy Nyman for Wildlife, and Carrie Reinhardt Adams for Women in Wetlands.

SWS is managed by an executive board that holds governance over the organization and decides on bylaws, standing rules, a code of ethics, and strategic plans. Loretta Battaglia from Southern Illinois University is the current President of the SWS and serves on the Executive Board. Max Finlayson from Charles Sturt Illinois is the Immediate Past President, with Gregory Noe from the US Geological Survey sitting as the President-Elect. Leandra Cleveland from HDR Engineering serves as the Secretary General, and Lori Sutter from the University of Georgia as Treasurer. SWS has an awards program that acknowledges wetland science contributors and honors those who have done amazing work in the field. It also creates awareness of the progress and leadership in the field. Awards are given out on an annual basis at the SWS Annual Meeting. There are 10 different awards that can be distributed each year, all dependent on the type of work and impact it has made. SWS is associated with the SWS Professional Certification Program, which works "to identify qualified individuals to assess and manage the Nation’s resources." The certification program is run by a separate office and collects separate membership dues.

The SWS Professional Certification Program meets the needs of professional ecologists, hydrologists, soil scientists, educators, agency professionals, consultants, and others practicing wetland science. Certification is not required to be a member of SWS, though it does signify the acceptance of a scientist’s credentials by his or her peers, and highlights their achievements. Having certification enhances the work of a wetland scientist, and earns them the title of a Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS).

The preliminary title for those who meet educational background requirements but not experience is a Wetland Professional in Training (WPIT). Once both educational and experience criteria are met, the title of Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) is awarded. In order to qualify for either title, one must have a BA or BS degree, with a specific number of credit hours in different scientific courses. To be a PWS, five years of experience as a wetland scientist is required to qualify. To find out specifics about qualification, visit the Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program’s website.

History:

SWS was founded in March 1980 by a group of wetland scientists led by Richard Macomber, a biologist with the United States Army Corps of Engineers Board of Rivers and Harbors. That same year, the first SWS Annual Meeting was held in Tampa, Florida, United States. The first president of SWS was James F. Parnell from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The first issue of Wetlands, the Society's premier, international journal, was published in 1981 as proceedings from the Annual Meeting. Since that time, Wetlands evolved into a quarterly journal, communicating research to an expanding community of international and interdisciplinary wetland professionals. It is currently published six times per year by Springer on behalf of the SWS.

https://www.sws.org/governance/

https://www.sws.org/society-awards/

https://www.wetlandcert.org/requirements.html

https://www.wetlandcert.org/mission_vision.html

https://www.wetlandcert.org/overview.html

https://www.wetlandcert.org/