Plant Training
Resume:
Curt Schaeffer, C. E.
Apt ***
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
ecoschaeff73@hot ma il.co m
Area of Interest: Bot any, wet land eco lo gy, taxo nomy, wet land delineat io n, mit igat io n and
restorat io n pro ject s, enviro nment al mo nitoring, enviro nment al resource permitt ing and
regulat io n, state and federal list ed species surveys, labo ratory test ing and analys is, and
technica l report writ ing.
1998 B.S. Environmental Biology, Botany and Plant Pathology. Michigan St ate
Universit y, East Lansing, MI. GPA 3.8/4.0
2001 M.S. Botany/Aquatic Ecology. Mia mi Universit y, Oxford, OH.
Thesis t it le: The Effects o f Mechanical, Bio log ical and Che mical Treat ment s on an Invasive
P lant, the Giant Reed (Phragmites australis) in a Lake Erie Coastal Wet land.
Ma jor pro fessor: Dr. David A. Francko
Field Experience:
Environmental Specialist for CK Associates, Baton Rouge, Louisiana September 2013 – January
2015
Performed wetland delineations and permitting, vegetative habitat mapping and classification,
vegetation/mitigation monitoring studies, coordinated mitigation efforts and permitting within
impacted sites, listed species surveys, wildlife inventories, litigation support, field project
coordination and participation, and employed sampling techniques related to the Habitat Evaluation
Guide (HEG) as outlined by the Western Association of Fisheries and Wildlife Agencies
(WAFWA).
Planning, participation, and supervising field sampling crews for large-scale wetland delineation and
vegetation habitat mapping (Cowardin) projects in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Kansas.
Versed in terrestria l and aquat ic plant ident ificat io n, so il pro file analys is, hydro lo gic ind icators,
vegetat io n sampling techniques, data analysis and report ing, protected species surveys,
samp ling and report ing protoco l set forth by lo ca l, state, and Federal agencies, and ut ilizat io n o f
a GPS unit and data dict io nary to co llect and store eco logical data.
Thorough working knowledge/data transfer/troubleshooting o f handheld Trimble GeoXT
GPS units including data dictionary utilization, data collection, digitization of data in the
field and data transfer to and from the unit. Some familiarity with ArcGIS software.
Authored detailed technical reports for wetland delineations.
Obtained certification by WAFWA to perform HEG methodology for the purposes of collecting
vegetation habitat data within the range of the lesser prairie chicken, recently listed as Threatened by
the USFWS. Responsible for training all members of the ecological staff to perform this
methodology in the field.
Environmental Planning Specialist for Gulf South Research Corporation, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana 2008 – 2012
Performed protected species surveys, wild life invent ories, plant species ident ificat io n and
co mmunit y assessment, classificat io n and mapp ing, wet land delineat io ns and permitt ing,
and emp lo yed samp ling
techniques relat ed to hydrogeo morphic wet land assessment (HGM).
Primar y respo nsibilit ies inc luded researching and preparing bio log ical/enviro nment al reports
in co mpliance wit h t he Nat io na l Enviro nmental Po lic y Act (NEPA) for lo cat io ns in
Louisiana, Mississ ippi, Texas, Arkansas, Ar izo na, Ca lifornia, New Mexico, Florida, Georgia,
New York, and Washington.
Planning, part ic ipat io n, and supervis ing fie ld samp ling crews to co llect and analyze data
in order to classify vegetat io n co mmunit ies by vegetat io n alliance/associat io n in
accordance wit h Nat io nal Vegetat io n Classificat io n Standards (NVCS) o f t he Federa l
Geographic Data Co mmittee (FGDC) in support of re mote sensing techniques.
Authored detailed technica l reports for wet land delineat io ns, vegetat io n ground-truthing
studies, habit at mapping, enviro nment al assessment s (EA), protected species surve ys, and
Phase I and II, and preliminary environmenta l assessment s.
Certified Project Ecologist for WilsonMiller, Inc., Naples, Flor ida 2004-08
Performed nat ive, exot ic and nuisance plant ident ific at io n, habit at mapping in accor dance wit h
the Flor ida Land Us e a nd Cover For ms Classification Syst em (FLUCCS), formal listed species
surveys, inst allat io n, mo nitoring, data analys is, and report preparat io n o f groundwater
mo nitoring stud ies, ident ificat io n o f wet land and upland p lant s and hydric so il ind icators per
the Natural Resource Co nservat io n Service,
jurisdict io nal wet land delineat io ns, post-permit co mpliance mo nitoring for state and federal
permitt ing agenc ies, and preliminary wet land and enviro nment al assessments.
Generated detailed technica l reports for t he abo ve act ivit ies including data analys is,
independent ly lead onsit e co mplia nce inspect io ns by state and federal agency staff, mo difying
nuisance and exot ic pest plant treat ment protoco l to achieve success on a pro ject by pro ject
basis, and researching po lic y changes, plant taxo nomy, and wr it ing w ildlife management
plans.
Obtained bot h on-site and o ff-site gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) relo cat io n
permit s fro m the Florida Fisheries and Wild life Co nservat io n Co mmissio n (FWC) and
supervised the excavat io n and relo cat io n o f gopher tortoise ind ividuals.
Versed in t he use o f fie ld equip ment such as GPS, groundwater well mo nitoring equip ment,
data co llect io n tools and associat ed so ftware programs, and troubleshoot ing and repairing
ma lfunct io ning fie ld equ ipment.
Often coordinated efforts across the fo llow ing disc iplines: eco logica l and wat er reso urces,
eng ineer ing, Flo r ida Depart ment o f Transpo rt at io n, la nd p la nning, la nd scape des ig n, and
la nd surve ying.
General Biologist II for USGS Biological Resources Division at Big Cypress Nat io nal
Preserve Headquarters, Ochopee, Flo rida 2002-03
Director of laboratory operat io ns and data co llect io n. Lab work inc luded sort ing,
dr ying and weighing fuel sa mples, plant ident ificat io n and creating voucher
specimens, co nstruct ing fie ld equ ipment, and experime nt al design.
Worked independent ly in remote fie ld sit es.
Established GPS coordinates for experimental plots previously lo cated via aeria l photographs.
Performed plant ident ificat io n, co llect io n o f phys ical vegetat ive attributes, co llect ing fue l
samp les.
Part icipated in prescribed burning o f experiment al plots and elevat io n surve ying via
tripod and transit.
Office-work inc luded data entry, organizat io n, manipulat io n and ana lysis o f data via
MS Excel and Stat ist ica, writ ing and cataloging re ference mat erials pertaining to fie ld
and database progress and organizat io n, and technical writ ing.
Ma in pro jects: fire eco lo gy in sout hwest Florida pinelands, vegetat io n respo nse in situ to
burning and inundat io n, and vegetat ive surveys w it hin the endangered Cape Sable Seaside
Sparrow habitat.
Wetland Ecology research for Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 1998-2001
Study invo lved o bserving the response o f nat ive and invasive vegetat ive species
fo llowing treat ment applicat io ns to Phragmites australis (giant reed), an opportunist ic
invasive spec ies t hat potent ially disp laces nat ive vegetat io n and inhibit s the
recruit ment o f other species.
Resu lt s inc luded qualitat ive, quant it at ive, and stat ist ical analysis o f vegetat ive
structure and co mposit io n wit hin sa mpling plots.
Attended several scient ific pro fessio nal sympo siu ms to present my result s.
Demo nstrated pro fic ienc y in t he fie lds o f botany and eco lo gy pr inc ipals by
passing an oral co mprehensive examinat io n ho sted by me mbers o f my graduate
advisor y co mmittee.
Assistant Field Botanist for Northern Ecological Services in Reed Cit y, Michigan 1998
Respo nsibilit ies inc luded wet land delineat io n, assessment o f wet land
funct io ns, wet land mit igat io n mo nitoring and impact assessment s.
Assist ed wit h the preparat io n o f technical reports and mit igat io n plans for resident ial
developments.
Conducted botanical surve ys and created botanical voucher specimen inventories and co llect
data.
Laboratory Assistant for Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 1997-98
Respo nsibilit ies inc luded maint aining cult ures o f Collembola, a subt erranean invert ebrate,
and assist ing in all fie ld relat ed aspects o f a fie ld eco logy pro ject.
Honors, Memberships and Certifications:
Cert ified Eco lo gist-Eco logica l Societ y o f America (2007-2017)
Eco logica l Societ y o f Amer ica (me mber)
Certified Professional Services Provider (PSP) recognized by WAFWA to
perform HEG data collection and analysis (2014)
40-Hr HAZWOPER Training (2015)
FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) IS-00100.b Certified
Boater’s Safety for Louisiana (2014) and Michigan (1990)
Marathon T & L Contractor Safety Training (2015)
OSHA 10 Training and Certification (2014)
Red Cross First Aid and CPR Certification (2014)
Shell Pipeline Company LP Safety Training (2013)
PEC Offshore Safety Training (2013)
TWIC Card (2013)
Wet land Plant s o f Louisiana (2009 – 2011)
Wet land So ils Ident ificat io n (2010)
NEPA document preparat io n fro m Duke Universit y Leadership Program (2009)
Sonoran pronghorn training and mo nitoring experie nce (2009 – 2012)
Flat-tail horned lizard training and mo nitoring experience (2010)
Florida Associat io n o f Enviro nment al Pro fessio na ls (member)
Army Corps o f Engineers Wet land De lineat io n and Manage ment Training (2003)
Richard Chinn Wet land Plant s Ident ificat io n Training (2005)
Richard Chinn Wet land Delineat io n Tra ining (2006)
FGCU Wet land Plant s Ident ificat io n Training (2006)
Wet land and Upland So ils Training (2006)
FAEP Exot ic/Nu isance Plant and Insect Pest Workshop (2004)
Gopher Tortoise Trapping, URTD Test ing, and Excavat io n and Relocat io n o f
Gopher Tortoise Ind ividua ls (supervisor y ro le) (2006-2008)
Basic Aviat io n Safet y (2002)
S-271 Interagency Helicopter Training Cert ificat io n (2003)
All-Terrain Vehic le Safet y and Cert ificat io n (2003)
Beach Light ing Interference wit h Sea Turt le Nest ing (2005)
Teaching Experience:
Teaching Assist ant for Plant s, Humanit y and t he Environment, BOT 131 (a no n-ma jors
course); Mia mi Universit y, Oxford, OH. Student eva luat io n scores: 3.72/4.0 1998-2000
Teaching Assist ant for Genera l Botany, BOT 191 (a majors course); Mia mi Universit y, Oxford,
OH. Student evaluat io n scores: 3.8/4.0 2000
Grants:
1998 Grant mo ne y awarded fro m Sig ma Xi, Mia mi Unive rsit y, Nat io na l Oceanic and At mo spher ic
Associat io n, and t he Ohio Sea Grant to fully fund Masters’ research.
1999 Received permit fro m t he Ohio DNR to conduct ecologica l stud y in Mentor Marsh, OH.
Grant s fro m Mia mi Universit y to attend the Sixteenth Internat io na l Botanical
Co nference in St. Louis, MO.
2000 Grant s form Mia mi Universit y to attend Ohio Academy o f Science in Ada, OH.
Grant s fro m Mia mi Universit y to attend the Internat iona l Asso ciat io n o f Great Lakes Research
in Cornwall, Ontario.
Publications:
Schaeffer, C.S. 2001. The effects o f mechanical, chemica l and bio logica l treat ment met hods on
an invasive plant, t he giant reed (Phragmites australis) in a Lake Erie coastal wet land. A
t hesis. Mia mi Universit y. 72 pp.
Francko, D.A., Cesaro v, S. and Schaeffer, C.S. 1999. Small-plot design fo r remo val
o f Phragmites australis (giant reed) fro m a recent ly- invaded Lake Erie coastal
wet land habitat. An abstract. Annual meet ing, Ohio Lake Management
Societ y.
Public Presentations of Thesis Research:
August, 2001 Thesis defense open to the public hosted by Mia mi Universit y in Oxford, OH.
Ma y, 2000 Paper presentat io n at the Internat io nal Associat io n o f Great Lakes Research in Cornwall,
ONT.
April, 2000 Paper present at io n at the Ohio Acade my o f Sc ience meet ing in Ada, OH.
August, 1999 Poster presentat io n at the 16th Internat iona l Botanical Co ngress in St. Louis, MO.
References:
Tre’ Wharton. Environmental Team Lead. CK Associates. 17170 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
225-***-****. ***.*******@*-**.***
Josh McE nany, Pro ject Manager, Gulf Sout h Research Corporat io n, 8081 GSRI Avenue, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, 70820. 225-***-****. ********@*******.** m
Tho mas Trettis, III, Senior PWS, Senior C.E. Wilso nMillerStantec, Inc., 3200 Baile y Lane, Su ite 200,
Naples, Florida. 34105. 239-***-****. ext. 5646 tom.trett **@*******.** m
Tim Durham, Senior Vice President – Princ ipal, Wilso nMillerStantec, Inc., 3200 Baile y Lane, Suit e
200, Naples, Flo rida. 34105. 239-***-****. ext. 5324 t im.durham@stant ec.co m
Dr. James Snyder. USGS Florida Center for Water and Restorat io n Studies. Big Cypress
Nat io nal Preserve Fie ld Stat io n. Ochopee, FL 239-***-**** **********@****.** v
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