The Braddock Bay Wildlife Management Area (WMA) includes a series of large barrier beach wetlands on the south shore of Lake Ontario, just northwest of Rochester.  A combination of lake-level regulation, introduction of invasive species, increased development on adjacent land, pollution, and other factors led to degradation of these coastal wetlands over the last 100 years.  As part of an effort to de-list the Rochester Embayment as an Area of Concern, state and federal agencies and their partners completed multiple wetland restoration projects in the Braddock Bay WMA.  Greg Lawrence, research scientist in the Department of Environmental Science & Ecology at The College at Brockport, will give an overview of the current and completed restoration projects in Braddock Bay WMA and how they aim to impact the bird communities in the coastal wetlands.

Greg Lawrence is a research scientist in the Department of Environmental Science & Ecology at the College at Brockport.  He manages multiple wetland restoration and monitoring grants through various federal, state, and non-profit agencies focusing on Lake Ontario and eastern Lake Erie coastal wetlands.  His research interests include Great Lakes coastal wetland ecology, restoration, management, and monitoring, as well as bird population monitoring and conservation, peatland ecology and restoration, and grassland community ecology.