Jane Rowan

Jane joined Bioengineering Group in 2008 as Director of Ecological Solutions, overseeing projects and drawing on her years of experience in wetland science and green building principles. She helps to meet client needs while delivering sustainable projects that suit community objectives such as clean water, quality habitat, and flood damage reduction. Jane is an active participant in various scientific and professional societies, and is long‐time member of the leadership team at the American Water Resource Association, serving as 2008 President. “I first learned of the stream and wetlands enhancement and construction work by Wendi Goldsmith and Bioengineering Group in the early 90’s, and I am so glad now to be part of a team that has been recognized for defining the forefront of ecosystem restoration and sustainable design.”


Jane is committed to an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems, tied to her love of the natural areas and coastlines of New England, in particular, the fragile and dynamic resources of Cape Cod. Her educational background started in a heavily traditional biological course of study at the University of Massachusetts. There she focused on understanding how living chemistry and biology interact to affect the functions of organisms. She studied both human and comparative physiology, and due to the nature of the physiology courses at UMASS in North Dartmouth, was exposed to organisms living in an ocean/estuarine and saltmarsh environment. Invertebrate and fish physiology was Jane’s major focus, and she studied the renal function of the Brown Skate, Raja erinacea, for her senior project.

While Jane spent the next couple of years to decide what her next educational experience would be, she joined Ocean Spray Cranberry’s Research and Development Lab in Middleborough Massachusetts. She honed her laboratory and analysis skills, working with food scientists to chemically analyze the food products produced in the adjoining factory, but also participated in the analysis of problems the company encountered with longevity of their high quality products when exposed to light and heat. Jane joined with PhD researchers to analyze excess tannin production in cranberry products, working on analytical instruments in the R&D lab. Here Jane recognized that though she loved the analytical, she wanted to apply that interest towards solving complex environmental problems. “I realized that I was woefully deficient in understanding natural systems, and so pursued additional education that drew my analytical understanding of the function of organisms into a big picture understanding of the function of the ecological environment”, she explains, noting that she was not alone in her lack of grasp of large-scale systems.

Jane was accepted as a Research Assistant under Dr. Maurice Alexander the Chair of the Forest Zoology Department at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Dr. Alexander had just completed working with the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation in the development of their brand new regulations regarding wetlands. “I knew I wanted to become a wetland scientist when I heard that Dr. Alexander was on the cutting edge of a developing science - what a great opportunity!” Dr. Alexander was working with students, and with Jane to map and evaluate wetland types in Onondaga County, NY to become part of the state’s inventory of wetland resources. Dr. Alexander had plans for Jane. He brought her for the first time to the most beautiful area of Central New York that eventually came to be known as the Labrador Hollow Unique Area. Dr. Alexander was aware of Jane’s great interest in interdisciplinary study of water and wetland ecosystems, as well as her ability to bring together diverse parts of natural systems in order to understand the function and values of the whole. Jane enrolled in the Graduate Program in Environmental Science which allowed her a broad array of classroom experiences and field training, in zoology, wildland hydrology, and limnology.

Jane spent the next two years studying and writing about Labrador Hollow, the state’s first Unique Area. Living on-site for six months in a state-provided trailer, she attained full immersion through daily roaming its hillsides, wetlands and streams; mapping wetlands, vegetative cover types; trapping small mammals, fish and herptiles, observing and listening to avians, and detecting large and medium mammal footprints and sign. Her skills with water quality began to bud through chemically testing and analyzing the limnological features of the 100 acre Labrador Pond and several streams. Her earth science foundation was developed studying and describing the geology of the area, the bathymetry and natural history of the pond development, and conspicuous glacial geomorphology. Jane discovered her public engagement abilities greeting and meeting with members of the public to describe her work and key findings and she also designed an educational boardwalk through its wetlands. These studies culminated with comprehensive lists of all biological components, including state and federally listed plant and animal species in a document (her thesis) entitled “An Inventory and Natural Resources Survey of the Labrador Hollow Unique Area.”

Jane completed her graduate studies and was awarded a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science, and headed back home to coastal Massachusetts. She signed on with her township and worked as a Shellfish Officer and Assistant Harbormaster, mostly to enforce shellfishing regulations in the 50 miles of shoreline within the township. Jane also performed some inventory/assessments of beaches within the township, bringing to light the difference in the numbers and species of shellfish on beaches experiencing continued development and disturbance, versus where the beaches were left to natural processes. Her work drew the attention of the town’s Conservation Commission and she was hired as the town’s first consultant to the commission, helping to detect unregulated development activities in coastal and wetland regions, and also to help the commission make decisions regarding township regulations and proposed development projects. She thoroughly enjoyed the chance to help the community think through its own vision for the future, and plan policies and actions that balanced ecology, economy, recreation, and tradition.

An auspicious phone call from Dr. Alexander notified Jane that the US Environmental Protection Agency in Philadelphia was looking for a wetland scientist to work in both their 404 Permit Review Program and their Environmental Impact Statement Review team. Jane jumped at the chance to work with EPA as an Ecologist and was thrilled to be able to have input regarding development projects proposed by government agencies and the public. While with EPA she reviewed many permit applications for water related impacts. She also reviewed DEIS’s for major impacts to wetlands and water resources due to dam construction, flood control projects and river dredging. She made significant contributions recognized by an EPA Achievement Award for her work to regulate peat mining in Northeastern and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Jane and her colleagues worked with the Philadelphia District Corps of Engineers and the State of PA to develop the basis for regulating peat mining, detecting the extent of peat mining, and doing research to enumerate the many impacts of peat mining to the biological component of the wetland communities, as well as long term and cumulative impacts to water quality. The work culminated in “Advanced Identification of Disposal Sites” allowed by the 404(b)1 guidelines, to identify, in advance those areas for which the Corps should not issue 404 permits. As a result of Jane’s work, several very highly valuable and rare peatlands in Northeastern Pennsylvania were saved from destruction.

Jane’s career took a turn at this time with the arrival of her first daughter, Rachel. “My husband and I had many discussions about how to balance career and kids, a crucial issue in many families that typically affects women most directly.” Jane worked up until a couple of days before delivering, and left the USEPA after a maternity leave to focus on her daughter. Jane had two more daughters, Robin and Jillian, who occupied most of her attention during this time, but kept her hand in her profession by providing wetland delineation, impact assessment, wetland mitigation design, and permitting services for a number of clients, including, engineering firms, townships, and private developers. She worked with her clients to minimize impacts and balance unavoidable impacts to natural ecosystems. After several years, Jane found herself working on a project where the need for a dam engineer surfaced led to interaction with Schnabel Engineering. The engineers at Schnabel saw how someone with Jane’s expertise could benefit their clients and offered her a position as Senior Ecologist.

Jane worked with Schnabel Engineering for fifteen years, mostly working with the company’s clients who proposed work would significantly impact natural ecosystems and rose to a senior leadership role within the firm, recognized by her peers within the industry as well. During this time, Jane worked with clients including the US Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Amtrak, CSX Intermodal, Lutron Electronics, Lowe’s Home Centers, Turner Enterprises, as well as many universities, state agencies, industrial clients and various private and public water suppliers. Her work exposed her to many different types of development, from dam development for drinking water to emergency bank stabilization of the Northeast Corridor track system. Jane represented most of her clients as their agent in permitting matters, developing permitting documents and designing mitigation for its impacts. Ecosystems created for mitigation included streams, wetlands (swamps, marshes, peatlands, littoral zones), shorelines (tidal and non-tidal) stormwater BMP’s, shortgrass prairies habitat, plus deepwater and intertidal habitat. Jane first worked at the outset of the projects to minimize impacts to natural systems and envisioned and defined the goals of restored areas, selecting species and hydrologic zones, assessing the earth characteristics and hydrology at the sites, and usually directing and overseeing final designs for these projects,. “Engineers and Geologists have great insight regarding water flow and soil and rock characteristics. Helping them understand the needs of wetland plants is actually exciting -- I see them pick up on the interdisciplinary theme and learn to plan their aspect of a project with the ecosystem in mind.”

Jane has always been driven to excel to the highest standards of professional practice, and to support others in doing so as well. She has done this through direct mentoring of staff, leadership within her team of colleagues, and roles in various professional organizations. In 2007 Jane was elected President of the American Water Resources Association. Jane had held positions with AWRA as both a Board Member (2003-2005) and as the Chair of the Wetlands Technical Committee (1998-2003). Jane was also heavily involved with the Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program, as Chair of the Certification Standards Committee. She was responsible for beginning the process to obtain accreditation of the Professional Wetland Scientist certification program. After her year as president of AWRA she returns to chairing the Certification Standards Committee with SWSPCP to further develop their certification program. She is currently very active in the field of mitigation banking for wetlands, streams, and other natural resources and is working to establish standards of practice for what she sees as the next frontier of regulatory compliance.

Jane took an early interest in the work of the US Green Building Council and became an Accredited Professional in their LEED program, fostering Leadership in Environment and Energy Design. Going beyond the typical emphasis on buildings and the energy efficiency of their heating, cooling, and other mechanical systems, she has focused on applying sustainable design principles to site selection, site design, and also large-scale infrastructure projects such as ports, highways, and flood control systems. She is ready to meet the challenge of restoring and enhancing disturbed ecosystems, creating new functional habitats, and finding sustainable solutions to development challenges. She has both the educational and experiential skills that allow for interdisciplinary approach to the task at hand, armed with the very important knowledge and experience in regulatory compliance. “I am delighted to work with people who consider all aspects of a project, including how they will invest in the environment and develop with low-impact solutions. I see this type of professional team as insightful, mature and visionary.”

Ask Jane what gives fulfillment in her career and she will say “I want my life here on earth to mean something. Besides my strong faith and my desire to help others, my goal is to improve the quality of the environment for all of our finite planet’s inhabitants -- humans, animals and plants. For me, sustainability is an essential spiritual conviction. We are stewards of the earth and as such we must protect and restore what we have in order for tomorrow’s world to be the joy that it is today. Bioengineering Group exposes me to the kind of clients who share my philosophy, and trust me to help them achieve their goal of ecosystem restoration. I can’t think of any better way to fulfill one of my life goals.”

 

Jane lives in the Philadelphia, PA area with her family and works on Bioengineering Group Projects around the nation. In addition to sustainable watershed and natural resources stewardship, Jane is committed to sustainable energy solutions, and was recently able to make a significant decision for her own home in Pennsylvania.  After home heating oil prices approached $5/gallon Jane investigated the possibility of installing a geothermal heating and cooling system.  There were many potential offerors but Jane and her husband selected a contractor who had been successfully installing  closed-loop vertically drilled systems for more than 25 years.  Not only is she saving money every month on both heating and air conditioning, Jane feels the move to a sustainable heating system is consistent with her personal conviction that America needs to become energy independent.  “The initial expense for the in-ground and air duct infrastructure was significant, but I knew I was doing the right thing for the environment, and for my pocket-book long term.”