ecology

September 30, 2025
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on September 30, 2025
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Mark Leads Tour of Wilderness Center Wetland for Land Trust Alliance Rally

At MAD, we’re happy to leave our mark on restoration sites, figuratively and literally. In September, Mark met with a group from the Land Trust Alliance Rally to lead a tour of our wetland project at The Wilderness Center. We’re thrilled with how things are coming along, as this is the first full growing season for the site. This project includes 13.5 acres of wetland, riparian, and upland habitat that are being improved. 3+ acres of new wetland were added, as well as several acres of existing wetland enhancement. The site was formerly farmed by the family of a neighboring landowner and now enters a new chapter in which it will play a key role in improving water quality within the Sugar Creek Watershed and […]
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September 30, 2025
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on September 30, 2025
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MAD Scientist Associates Interviewed by EECO for Career Chat Series

What an honor it was to be interviewed by the Environmental Education Council of Ohio for their Career Chat series! Mark and Jenny met with EECO intern, Jessica Fling, and Running Wild videographer, Alex Goetz, at Shepherd’s Corner Ecological Center to discuss their career journeys and what it’s like to be a MAD Scientist. Give it a watch if you want to know what it takes to be MAD! Also, there’s SO many good interviews of folks doing good work in the environmental field. They’re classroom and kid friendly.  
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September 30, 2025
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on September 30, 2025
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MAD Wins Oak Openings Corridor Project with Metroparks Toledo!

The Oak Openings Region is one of the most biologically diverse and ecologically unique areas in the Great Lakes region. Its plant life reflects a rare intersection of eastern deciduous forests, western prairies, and northern boreal habitats, all shaped by glacial history and sandy, well-drained soils. We’re so excited to contribute to conservation efforts in this globally unique habitat! Approximately 50 acres of fallow field (previously farmed) will be restored to emergent marsh and shrub-carr wet meadow wetlands, and sand prairie habitats. This will be our fifth project in the Oak Openings, totalling nearly 400 acres of restored habitat! We hope you’ll follow along with the restoration progress!
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September 30, 2025
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on September 30, 2025
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Ohio Stream Assessment Method Review

This summer MAD, in partnership with Ecosystem Planning & Restoration (EPR), and the Ohio EPA, has been working on surveying reference quality streams across Ohio’s six major ecoregions. The team has been evaluating metrics such as bank erosion, riffle and pool lengths and depths, substrate size, stream slope, floodplain connectivity and riparian vegetation quality to characterize key geomorphological and habitat features of the streams. This data in Ohio is being collected for the purpose of verifying regional curves as well as establishing and verifying reference curves in Ohio and applied to the Ohio Stream Assessment Method (OSAM). OSAM is intended to be used as the states’ updated stream functionality assessment as part of the effort for calculating mitigation credits and debits. Refinement of the OSAM […]
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May 27, 2025
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on May 27, 2025
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May the Mayflies Continue Flying

By Jenna Roller-Knapp Time flies when you’re a mayfly! Mayflies are one of oldest groups of insects, estimated to have evolved between 280-300 million years ago! As such, species in the Ephemeroptera family display many unique morphological differences and life stage strategies.  There are around 4,000 mayfly species globally and an estimated 660 mayfly species in North America (although DNA analysis suggest there may be hundreds more). It takes a skilled eye to identify species (adult or larval phase), trained hand to time the collection specimens, and an adept mind to arrange access to sampling sites. These all pose  challenges for tracking species diversity and changes over time. Interestingly, North Carolina may be a hotspot of mayfly diversity.  The mayfly lifecycle consists of an egg […]
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December 27, 2024
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on December 27, 2024
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Restoration Credentials Added

We’re proud of the team we have at MAD and are eager to see them grow in their various specialty areas. This year many staff worked towards certification programs and continuing education credits. Two of note are Restoration Ecologist, Dan Hribar, and Restoration Designer, Robert Keast. Dan began working towards becoming a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner through the Society of Ecological Restoration (CERP-IT). He also completed the Ohio DNR’s Nature-based Shorelines course. Robert continues to level up in stream restoration design series. He is currently a level III. Both certifications will serve us well in creating site appropriate, cost-effective, long-lasting restorative changes for our clients and the natural world.
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December 27, 2024
Published by MAD Scientist Associates, LLC on December 27, 2024
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Hellbranch Meadows Controlled Burn

Earlier this month, MAD Scientist Associates had the opportunity to manage a controlled burn for the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District at the Hellbranch Meadows site in Galloway, Ohio. This area is part of the historic Darby-Plains, which was managed through fire and other human intervention to keep an open prairie-savannah habitat versus forest. This was beneficial for grazing animals and diversity of plant types and communities.  This site took expert level planning to sustain the fire and keep it going in the right direction. Our team, led by Alexys Nolan and Cody Wright, worked the burn for nearly six hours. The footage of the burn at twilight is truly remarkable. We look forward to seeing how this area comes back to life next […]
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