Thomas Ries Email & Phone Number

I am an ecologist specializing in ecosystem restoration, including stormwater retrofit and habitat restoration technologies. I am also extremely proficient with seagrass ecology and research, having run the seagrass mapping and monitoring program for the SWFWMD for 10 years. I also have extensive remote sensing experience having mapped wetlands, nationwide as part of the federal National Wetland Inventory program. Recently I was vice president at ESA where I headed up their SE Habitat Restoration group. In this role I specialized in landscape-level habitat restoration efforts within the southeastern US. This experience included conducting biological assessments, habitat restoration design development, permitting, and project implementation, which has resulted in the conservation of approximately 4,500 acres of wetlands and produced some of the most complex wetland restoration projects in Florida. Those projects have been recognized for their ecological excellence (35 environmental awards).I also am the founder and president of the non-profit organization: Ecosphere Restoration Institute. Ecosphere emphasizes public/private/partnerships (P3) to implement regionally significant ecosystem preservation and restoration efforts. Ecosphere has managed millions of dollars in grants in the past twenty years implementing habitat restoration projects for both public and private sector groups. Ecosphere secured 1 of the only 3 awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants in FL. This grant was awarded by NOAA from a pool of nationwide applicants (815 applications) out of which only 50 were selected nationwide. Ecosphere's application was fully funded to implement the $1,000,000 Lost River Preserve project in Ruskin , FL. Another noteworthy project was the restoration of the Ulele Spring system in downtown Tampa. This spring run was piped for over 75 years, I was able to daylight this former spring run in 2014 to allow access for manatees and create an oligohaline basin for wildlife. To accomplish this work I secured 8 separate grants, totaling over $860K to restore this former natural spring run to the Hillsborough River. I am currently implementing numerous living shoreline projects, as demonstration sites, throughout Florida.Specialties: Ecosystem restoration, nature-based shoreline stabilization techniques such as living shorelines, seagrass technology expertise, grant writing, and Public/Private/Partnerships (P3s).

Listed skills include Wetlands, Ecology, Environmental Awareness, Ecological Restoration, and 46 others.