Staff Information

Updated 07/16/2007

Norman Melvin (left)

Norman Melvin, Ph.D., is the Team Leader and botanist/plant ecologist for the USDA-NRCS-National Wetland Team located in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to his current position, Norman was a founding member and Botanist/Plant Ecologist for the NRCS National Wetland Science Institute, Laurel Maryland (1995-2004), State Plant Ecologist for NRCS, Maryland (1990-1995), and Associate Professor of Biology and Chairman of the Biology Department, St. Andrews College, North Carolina (1980-1990). While at St. Andrews College, he served as a wetland consultant for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources where he delineated wetlands, performed wetland delineations, documented T&E species populations. In addition to currently serving as Team Leader for the National Wetland Team he serves as NRCS' national representative on botanical and ecological issues related to wetlands. He is responsible for the agency’s Wetland Restoration & Enhancement training, Wetland Plant Identification training with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and serves on the National Plant Panel, NRCS National Invasive Species Advisory Committee (NISAC), and the National Technical Committee for Hydrophytic Vegetation (NTCHV). While attached to the National Wetland Science Institute Norman was appointed Adjunct Professor at both the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University where here served on several graduate committees for students involved in wetland research. He is a member of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Association of Southeastern Biologists, and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society and has presented papers at society meetings and symposia, authored publications in professional journals, and written technical articles for the NRCS.

Norman’s primary focus on the Team is on Wetland Restoration & Enhancement and Invasive Species in wetlands.

norman.melvin@ftw.usda.gov

Education:

• BS Degree in Biology from Presbyterian College, South Carolina (1973),
• MS Degree in Botany from Clemson University, South Carolina (1976),
• Ph. D. in Botany from Miami University, Ohio (1980).

Lee Davis (right)

Lee Davis is our Wetland Biologist for the USDA-NRCS-National Wetland Team, located in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to his current position, Lee was the State Wetland Specialist for NRCS in Texas where his primarily responsibilities included wetland delineation and wetland restoration associated with the Wetland Conservation Provisions (Swampbuster) of the 1985 Food Security Act and Wetlands Reserve Program. While serving in this position, Lee conducted over 400 wetland delineations for more than 30,000 acres of land from the bottomland hardwoods of east Texas to coastal herbaceous tidal depressions in far south Texas. In addition to his duties, Lee served as Acting National Wetland Conservation Program Leader, in Washington D.C. In addition to wetland delineation and wetland restoration, Lee has extensive experience in wetland functional assessment and mitigation banking. Prior to his position as State Wetland Specialist, Lee served as Area Resource Conservationist in East Texas, District Conservationist in Louisiana and Coastal Biologist with NRCS in the organic marshes of SE Louisiana. Lee’s primary focus on the Team is in wetland delineation, wetland functional assessment, and wetland wildlife. lee.davis@ftw.usda.gov

Education:

• BS Degree in Wildlife Management from Texas Tech University (1980)
• MS Degree in Wildlife Management from Louisiana State University (1983)

Richard Weber (middle)

Richard Weber is our Wetland Hydraulic Engineer for the USDA-NRCS-National Wetland Team located in Fort Worth, Texas.  Prior to his current position, he served as Design Engineer at the NRCS Nebraska State Office, where provided Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) planning and design assistance.  He also served as negotiator for WRP Architect and Engineer design contracts.  Previous to that he was the Field Engineer at Scottsbluff, Nebraska, where he designed and constructed numerous wetland restoration projects.  Previous to that position, Richard was a Civil Engineer in Chehalis, Washington, where he worked on fish passage designs and stream restorations using fluvial geomorphology principles.

Prior to that, he was a Project Engineer in Kansas, implementing PL-566 flood protection and grade stabilization projects. His areas of expertise include the hydraulics and hydrology of water control structures and reservoir routing, construction and construction contracting, stream restoration, and soil-plant-water relationships.

Richard’s primary focus on the Team is wetland hydrology and engineering for restoration & enhancement, bioengineering, and stream restoration associated with riverine wetland systems.

richard.weber@ftw.usda.gov

Education

• BS Degree in Agricultural Engineering from Kansas State University, (1982)
• Licensed Professional Engineer, Kansas

Soil Scientist – Vacant