ECOLOGICAL LAND SERVICES - Key Persons
Annie Jean joined ELS in 2018 and has played a key role in numerous wetland and in-water projects including delineations, wetland ratings, critical areas reports, bank use plans, habitat assessments, fish removals, and projects that required extensive coordination with the regulatory agencies including the US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of State Lands. Annie Jean's clear and concise communication style keeps our clients well informed of the process that is needed to complete their project.
Job Titles:
- Operations Coordinator / Biologist
Since becoming an ELS employee in 2018, Beau has worked on multiple wetland delineations, ordinary high water mark delineations, fish removal projects, and mitigation bank monitoring projects. He has prepared various reports such as Critical Areas Determinations, Wetland Delineation reports, Habitat Assessments, and Mitigation Bank Monitoring Reports. Beau has taken several continuing education courses to stay on top of current rules and regulations and he has also become a certified wilderness first responder. Beau has proven to be an effective communicator with our clients, our staff, and the regulatory agencies.
Chloe came to ELS with experience in monitoring, soil sampling, ESA reporting, and using AutoCAD to produce project figures. She has since played a key role in many shoreline, stream, and wetland projects. Chloe has performed site assessments, critical areas assessments, and OHWM delineations, and prepared corresponding reports (such as…you can add report types in here if you would like). ELS appreciates Chloe's clear communication style and can-do attitude, and we think you will too!
Elizabeth (Liz) Vaughn graduated from Washington State University in 2023 with her B.S in Environmental and Ecosystem Sciences and a minor in Biology. In the summer of 2022, Liz studied abroad in Ireland and then completed an internship with the Cowlitz County Conservation District, mentored by senior hydrologist Darin Houpt. Liz comes to ELS with a breadth of knowledge focused on stream surveys, bank stabilization plants, and invasive weed control. She has already hit the ground running with our wetland projects and continues to prove to be a great addition to the ELS team.
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Lead
Elizabeth joined ELS in 2023. She graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2011 with a degree in Creative Writing, and has seven years of experience creating engaging, SEO-optimized content across a wide range of platforms. As the Marketing and Communications Lead at ELS, Elizabeth is responsible for executing ELS' marketing policies, programs, and promotion of services. She also has primary responsibility for ensuring that all company proposals are fully executed from initial preparation to final delivery.
Emilio has been with ELS since 2018 and has worked on a variety of private and public environmental projects. He has experience in drafting figure sets for wetland and wetland buffer determinations and delineations, stream and habitat assessments, and mitigation plans. Emilio also has experience in drawing setup, creating and editing alignments, creating and importing points and surfaces, and calculating areas and volumes.
Jack works out of both our Bremerton and Longview office and has a background in art and computer animation as well as being certified for flying drones commercially. As a senior graphics specialist, Jack is responsible for supervising CAD department staff, prioritizing the CAD department workloads, and ensuring all work assigned is completed within the necessary timeframes. He assists our biology staff with their CAD budgets, and he researches, develops, and implements drafting standards. Jack is experienced in drafting figure sets for wetland and wetland buffer determinations and delineations, stream and habitat assessments, creating grading plans, geologic site maps, and mitigation plans. He is also experienced in drawing setup, cross sections, creating and editing alignments, creating and importing points and surfaces, and calculating areas and volumes.
Job Titles:
- Senior Graphics Specialist
Jennifer works on a variety of small and large private and public environmental projects. She has experience in drafting figure sets for wetland and wetland buffer determinations and delineations, stream and habitat assessments, and mitigation plans. Jennifer also has experience in drawing setup, creating and editing alignments, creating and importing points and surfaces, and calculating areas and volumes. She regularly attends training workshops for updates for Civil 3D and AutoCAD software.
Jenny Rice, our Administrative Assistant at ELS, brings a diverse background with experience as a customer service representative, school bus driver, parks and recreation leader, Autism caregiver, and legal assistant. Her previous roles showcase her adaptability and dedication to making a positive impact. Jenny's varied skill set and unwavering commitment to excellence make her an invaluable asset to the ELS team.
Job Titles:
- Senior Biologist / Senior Professional Wetlands Scientist
Julie is responsible for our in-house accounting. She handles accounts receivable, invoicing, financial reporting, maintaining budgets, and communicating with ELS clients regarding their accounts. Julie also maintains our time tracking system, staff entries, and payroll. Julie is always willing to jump in and learn something new to help out and is a great addition to the ELS team!
Job Titles:
- Branch Manager for Our Longview
- Senior Biologist / Environmental Scientist / Principal
Karey is the branch manager for our Longview office where she is in charge of prioritizing projects, tracking schedules, and helps biologists balance their workloads. Her experience includes environmental permitting, programmatic mitigation, developing invasive weed management plans, and wetland delineations. Karey also helps develop project scopes and monitors budget and deliverables progress for numerous multi-permit projects.
Job Titles:
- Senior Environmental Scientist
Lynn manages most of ELS' projects involving in-water work including dock construction and repair, dredging, and bulkhead installation and repair in the Columbia River and its tributaries, Grays Harbor, and the Washington Coast. She is also certified by WSDOT as a Senior Biological Assessment Author.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources & Relationship Manager
Madison is our Human Resources and Relationships Manager. She manages the employee life cycle which includes recruiting, hiring, onboarding, offboarding, and administering employee benefits. She also assists with performance management and managing company policies and safety while also making sure that our staff have the resources and support required to perform as expected. In addition to HR, Madison is in charge of invoicing our clients and keeping positive, helpful relationships with them. From our dedicated staff to our valuable clients, Madison is the grease that keeps our wheels turning.
Job Titles:
- Senior Ecologist / Professional Wetlands Scientist / Principal
Mara manages all aspects of permit compliance related to critical areas. Mara is a skilled and experienced naturalist and regularly conducts field work for critical area determinations. She also prepares critical area determination reports and other technical reports and applications related to Section 401/404 environmental permitting and state and federal-listed habitats and species. She is experienced in designing mitigation sites, preparing mitigation plans, and conducting mitigation site monitoring and reporting. Additionally, Mara is an experienced botanist and conducts field surveys and research for rare plants and priority habitats, including ocean-bluff bluegrass, white-topped aster, water howellia, Oregon white oak woodlands, and native prairie outwash associations.
Job Titles:
- Branch Manager for Our Clark County
- Senior Wildlife Biologist / Principal
Michele is the branch manager for our Clark County satellite office. As our senior wildlife biologist she has performed numerous surveys for state and federally listed amphibians, birds, mammals, and performs various wildlife, and habitat inventories. She has years of experience with environmental permitting projects throughout the Pacific Northwest and regularly monitors and supervises the maintenance of mitigation sites. Michele is also certified in River Restoration.
Shawn graduated from Central Washington University with a B.S. in Geology, and joined ELS in 2020 working as a Biologist. One year later he transitioned to become one of our field technicians. While he worked as a biologist, he gained a great deal of experience with wetland delineations, and knowledge of plant species as well as invasive species. Shawn is a Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead (CESCL), and routinely provides field maintenance duties on multiple riparian, mitigation, and restoration projects.
Job Titles:
- Senior Biologist / Principal
Job Titles:
- Field Technician
- Field Technician / Archives