Denice Heller Wardrop,
P.E., Ph.D

Assistant Director
Research Associate
Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center


Address/Education/Professional Licences/ Professional Employment/Publications
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Address:

Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center
302 Walker Building
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: (814) 863-1005
FAX: (814) 863-7943
e-mail: dhw110@psu.edu

Education:
Pennsylvania State University: Ecology, Ph.D 1997
University of Virginia: Environmental Sciences - Ecology M.S. 1987
Systems Engineering B.S. 1979

Professional Licences:
Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Pennsylvania,
PE-40052-E
Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Virginia
Certified Professional Wetlands Scientist, Society of Wetlands Scientists
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Professional Employment:
May 1996-Present Research Associate
Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center
Specialist in wetland ecology and evaluation, assessment, and restoration techniques. My primary research responsibilities cover four major projects. The first examines historic wetland succession and the cumulative effect of land use changes on wetlands within watersheds. Other projects include modelling hydrologic impacts of cumulative wetland loss within watersheds, the development of wetland functional assessment models within a hydrogeomorphic framework, and the creation and restoration of wetlands within Delaware Water Gap National Park. I provide technical support to a variety of other Cooperative Wetlands Center projects, and assist in the overall achievement of major research goals via proposal writing activites, staff educational presentations, and informal advisement of graduate students.
January 1993-
May 1996		 Research Assistant
Penn State University
Research in general wetland ecology and evaluation, most notably measurement and prediction of sedimentation in wetland environments and the characterization of wetland plant communities. Teaching Assistant for Natural Resources Decisions, a senior-level capstone course, and Wildlife Management Laboratory. The latter involved independent lecture and class management.
October 1991-
January 1993		 Risk Assessment Specialist
Environmental Standards Inc., Valley Forge, PA
Specialist in risk assessment methodology and decision making, fate and transport modeling, ecological assessment, data analysis, and negotiation with regulatory agencies on behalf of private sector clients.
September 1988–
October 1991		 Project Manager
Nittany Geoscience, Inc., State College, PA
Specialist in risk assessment under RCRA and CERCLA, fate and transport modeling, modeling of exposure under remedial actions.

January 1985–
August 1988

 

 

 Senior Project Manager
Environmental Resources Management, Inc., Exton, PA
Specialist in risk assessment project management and technical advisement, hazardous waste projection and facility siting, preparation of Part B permits, evaluation of hazardous waste treatment technologies.
May 1983–
December 1984		 Research Assistant
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of VA
Sedimentation in marine and estuarine systems, wave and current hydrodynamics, ecology of seagrass communities.
August 1982–
May 1983		 Teaching Assistant
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of VA
Fundamentals of Ecology laboratory.
May 1982–
August 1982		 Ecologist
National Marine Fisheries Service, Beaufort, NC
Transplanting of seagrass, marine hydrodynamics.

June 1979–
May 1980

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 Engineer
Satellite Business Systems, VA
Tracking and documentation of developmental software errors, system testing.


Selected Publications:

Wardrop, D.H., and R.P. Brooks. 1998. The Occurrence and impact of sedimentation in central Pennsylvania wetlands. Environmental Monitoring and Restoration. In Press.

Cole, C.A., R.P. Brooks, and D.H. Wardrop. 1998. Wetland hydrology and water quality as a function of hydrogeomorphic subclass. Wetlands 17(4):456-467.

Brooks, R.P., T.J. O’Connell, D.H. Wardrop, and L.E. Jackson. 1998. Towards a regional index of biological integrity: the examples of forested riparian ecosystems. Environmental Monitoring and Restoration. In Press.

D. H. Wardrop, R. P. Brooks, and C. A. Cole. Sedimentation in central Pennsylvania wetlands: occurrence, prediction, and associated impacts. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, June 10–14, 1996, Kansas City, Missouri.

R. P. Brooks, C. A. Cole, D. H. Wardrop, L. Bishel–Machung, D. J. Prosser, D. Campbell, and M. T. Gaudette. Wetlands, Wildlife, and Watershed Assessment; Techniques for Evaluation and Restoration. Prepared for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Report no. 96 of the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center, Forest Resources Laboratory, Penn State University, University Park, PA, 1996.

C. A. Cole, R. P. Brooks, D. H. Wardrop, L. A. Bishel, SS. C. Goslee, and D.J. Prosser. Assessing watershed approaches for protecting Pennsylvania's wetlands. In Proceedings of the Wetlands '95 National Symposium: Watershed Management and Wetland Ecosystems, ed. by Jon Kusler, 1995.

R. P. Brooks, C. A. Cole, L. Bishel, D. H. Wardrop, D. J. Prosser, D. E. Arnold and G. W. Peterson. Evaluating and Implementing Watershed Approaches for Protecting Pennsylvania's Wetlands. Prepared for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Report no. 95-5 of the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center, Forest Resources Laboratory, Penn State University, University Park, PA, 1995.

D. H. Wardrop, R. P. Brooks, and C. A. Cole. Cumulative impact assessment. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, May 31–June 4, 1994, Portland, OR.

M. S. Fonseca, W. J. Kenworthy, G. W. Thayer and D. Y. Heller. Transplanting of the seagrasses Zostea marina and Halodule wrightti for sediment stabilization and habitat development on the east coast of the United States. Technical Report EL-85-9, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.

D. Y. Heller. Transport of sand-sized sediment through seagrass beds. M. S. Thesis, University of Virginia. Charlottesville, VA. 1986.

In Preparation

Wardrop, D.H., and R.P. Brooks. 1998. Correlations between wetland plant communities and sedimentation.

Wardrop, D.H., and R.P. Brooks. 1998. Sedimentation rates of central Pennsylvania wetlands.

Wardrop, D.H., and R.P. Brooks. 1998. Effect of sediment load on germination of eight species of wetland plants.

 

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