Showcasing NOAA Restoration Projects During National Estuaries Week

Join RAE for the September edition of our webinar series. This month, we’ll celebrate National Estuaries Week by highlighting three NOAA habitat restoration projects in different estuaries around the country. We will emphasize work on different types of habitat, technical assistance with partners, and the long-term, cumulative impacts of these collaborative efforts of the NOAA Restoration Center, housed within the Office of Habitat Conservation in NOAA Fisheries. Projects will include wetland restoration in the Snohomish Estuary, WA; Cape Fear River Estuary in NC; and oyster restoration in the Chesapeake Bay, MD.

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Panelists

John Floberg is a Marine Habitat Resource Specialist working for Earth Resources Technology, Inc. and stationed at the NOAA Restoration Center within the Office of Habitat Conservation in NOAA Fisheries. Located in Seattle, Washington, John leads Case Teams in the Pacific Northwest for the Damage Assessment, Remediation and Restoration Program (DARRP), serves as Technical Monitor for the Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) and manages the NOAA Washington Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Conservation Corps Internship Program. John also has experience in science-based positions at The Nature Conservancy, North Cascades National Park, and has served as Chair of Seattle’s Urban Forestry Commission.

Krista McCraken is a Marine Habitat Resource Specialist with Earth Resources Technology, Inc., on contract with NOAA’s Restoration Center in the Office of Habitat Conservation in NOAA Fisheries. Krista has been with the Restoration Center for five years. Krista works on Natural Resource Damage Assessment cases in both North and South Carolina, leading restoration planning and implementation efforts as part of case settlements. Krista received her Masters in environmental studies from the College of Charleston, and worked for NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management for over ten years before moving to the Restoration Center. Krista lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her spouse and 3 children.

Stephanie Reynolds Westby is with the NOAA Restoration Center within the Office of Habitat Conservation in NOAA Fisheries. She directs a multi-agency program to achieve large-scale oyster restoration in Chesapeake Bay. This includes working with state and federal agencies, academics, and non-governmental organizations to set common goals and develop restoration plans, then implement, track, monitor, and adaptively manage the restoration work. She holds a master’s degree in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University, and her background includes working as an environmental lobbyist and fisheries scientist. Stephanie grew up sailing, and prior to her conservation career spent 10 years working on traditional sailing vessels, eventually as captain. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland with her family, where, much to their annoyance, she has recently taken up the ukulele.