Danielle Owczarski Email & Phone Number

Barre, Vermont, United States

Montpelier, Vt

Watershed planning for three major watersheds in the State of Vermont. Includes outreach, technical assistance, and grant funding and management with government and NGOs to work on watershed restoration, monitoring, and protection projects.

Montpelier, Vt

Responsible for identifying and protecting wetlands and the functions and values they provide. Activities to achieve these goals include education, project review, and enforcement. The Vermont Wetlands Section is responsible for the administration, implementation and informal interpretation of the Vermont Wetland Rules; for providing advisory recommendations on Act 250 projects with potential wetland impacts to the District Environmental Commissions; and for the review of wetland projects which fall under federal jurisdiction (Section 404 of the Clean Water Act) to ensure that State water quality standards are met.

I write editorials and informational articles on natural history, winter sports, mountain biking, and the lifestyle connected with them. Check out samples of my writing at outdoornation.org, wengerna.com, theclymb.com and deshlerphotography.com.

Montpeiler, Vt

Seasonal Position - 20 MonthsLakes and Ponds Section •Collect water samples from 52 lakes across the State of Vermont for the EPA's National Lakes Assessment•Conduct and understand scientific sampling protocol•Collection of zooplankton; sediment cores for diatoms, sediment dating, and sediment mercury; and water chemistry for nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticides, chloride, chlorophyll-a, algal toxins, nutrients, and metals•Operate data sondes (Hach Hydrolabs) to collect vertical chemistry profiles for each water body•Filter and preserve water samples•Carry out weekly equipment calibration, portage canoes long distances, and deal positively and efficiently with complicated logistics and long hours in hot and cold environments•Evaluate quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) of gathered dataWetlands Section•Conduct level I assessments of Vermont wetlands using ArcGIS assessing landscape quality, wetland type and size, hydrology, and buffer area•Contact landowners in order to gain permission for land access and talk to them about the significance of our sampling program•Conduct level II and III field assessments during the summer months which includes collecting water samples for analysis by the State Laboratory, taking soil profiles in predefined areas within the assessment site, conducting a plant survey using a transect/quadrat method, and collecting macroinvertebrate samples using funnel traps•Transfer data collected to a Microsoft Access database•Data analysis using Microsoft Excel, SigmaStat and SigmaPlot•Write site reports assessing landscape quality using the VT Non-game and Natural Heritage Program format•Co-write program report submitted to State of Vermont and the EPA•Create State of VT wetland herbarium for the protection and archiving of collected specimens•Append the VT Wetland Bioassessment and Monitoring Program’s QA/QC manual•Drive and work in the field for long hours in all weather conditions from May to October

Biology and Ecology Labs - Prepared introductory laboratory lectures and instructed students on concepts and techniques related to laboratory experiments in Ecology/Evolution and Introductory Biology. Students were instructed on pipetting techniques, laboratory safety, developing scientific hypotheses, writing scientific reports, expressing and interpreting results, and keeping laboratory notebooks. Some examples of labs taught were Enzyme Activity and Understanding Standardized Curves, Polymerase Chain Reaction and Recombinant DNA, Evolution by Natural Selection, Bird Ecology-Developing Your Own Study, and Phylogeny. Graded and evaluated reports, class work, quizzes, and laboratory notebooksNatural Resources Lab - Instructed a five-hour weekly lab for 15 students in Natural History and Field Ecology. Taught how to conduct fixed radius plot forest surveys; how to calculate basal area, percent cover, abundance, richness and Shannon-Weiner diversity index; identify trees, shrub and ground cover plants; record and analyze variables in MS Excel; conduct simple biological river assessments with macroinvertebrate identification; and compute biological indices as a river health indicator.Led natural history walks teaching about past land-use history and patterns and local farming operations including an apple orchard and dairy and beef farming operation.

* The primary duty of the Ski Patroller is to provide safety, first aid and rescue services for patrons.* Perform first aid services in a manner consistent with the contents of the National Ski Patrol's Outdoor Emergency Care Course.* Ability to ski and ride a snowboard to any location within the boundaries of the lift serviced area to provide service to a patron. With the ability to handle a loaded toboggan on any trail or location.* Responsible for boundary maintenance, hazard marking and mitigation and general hill maintenance and clean-up.* Attend annual refresher required to maintain OEC, CPR, toboggan handling (if required by their level) and lift evacuation certification. * Recognizes that there are inherent risks involved in patrolling. These include, but are not limited to, traumatic injury, contraction of serious diseases, exposure to litigation, injury due to weather, high altitude and other natural conditions and occurrences, etc. * Maintain a healthy life-style and stay in good physical condition.* Hold a senior level certification.

•Conduct upland and wetland plant restoration projects•Conduct sensitive and rare plant surveys•Identify and remove invasive and noxious plants (manual)•Identify, collect and transport native seeds to seed sorting nursery•Transport native trees for restoration and replanting in controlled burn and logged areas•Work with the Forest Service silviculturist, soil scientist, and botantists to learn about mycorrhizal relationships affecting douglas fir regeneration, matsutake harvesting techniques, soil restoration and remediation projects in areas with compacted soils from logging, and rare endemic plants in adjacent forests with serpentine soils•Work with excel spreadsheets, GPS, and GIS ArcMap to plot location points

M.S. Plant Biology, Field Naturalist Program

Bachelor Of Arts, Biology: Field Naturalist Concentration

Activities and Societies: JSC Green Solutions JSC Wellness Club Chesamore Honor Society