Wetland Coffee Break

Come learn about the plant communities and restoration efforts on the Minnesota side of the St. Louis River estuary, near Duluth, Minnesota–in both qualitative and quantitative detail. In partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources through a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant, EOR ecologists Jimmy Marty and Drew Harry surveyed eleven sites on the estuary for invasive species and floristic quality. In his presentation, Drew aims to capture the spirit of those sites—near and dear to interstate supporters—and to detail plans and results from restoration actions.

Drew Harry is an ecologist for EOR in Madison. He spent nearly a decade with the Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance working on prairie restoration, and he’s fascinated by plants, birds, and data. Follow some of those data dives here.

Join Keir Wefferling from the herbarium at UW Green Bay to get an introduction to the most common and abundant bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) of Wisconsin fens. Keir will cover bryophyte life history, then dive into a review of the most easily field-identifiable species that we commonly encounter in western Great Lakes minerotrophic peatlands, including Boreal Rich Fens and Northern Wet-mesic Forests. Keir will also provide a brief summary of the bryophyte and vascular plants floristic quality assessments that he and his team have been performing in Wisconsin wetlands over the last several years.

Dr. Keir Wefferling is Curator of the Gary A. Fewless Herbarium in the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity and Associate Professor of Biology at University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. He studied phylogenetics, cytogeography, and phylogeography of flowering plants and ferns before (re)finding peatland bryophytes, such as Sphagnum, “brown mosses,” and liverworts. He now spends most of his research time in fens and swamps and at the microscope, collaborating with students, the public, and regional conservation partners.

Join Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s Dominic Uhelski as he introduces you to peatlands, a unique type of wetland. Often called bogs, but also fens, mires, or moors, peatlands are little-known champions in the wetland world. Peatlands are super-sponges for water, super-filters of pollution, and super-stores of carbon, while also hosting many specialized plants, animals, and curiosities, from carnivorous plants to ancient bog bodies preserved in peat! Learn about peatlands in Wisconsin from our newest staff member.

Dominic Uhelski is a peatland specialist and lover of nature and all places wet and wonderful. Having studied peatlands for nearly nine years in four states, one territory, and two countries, his focus is on finding opportunities to better manage and restore these precious ecosystems. He joined Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s staff in 2026 as Peatlands Project Manager.