2024 Summer Interns

rick.savage • July 25, 2024

This summer, we had the privilege of having two undergraduate interns to assist us with ongoing projects, outreach programs, and their own initiatives. In this blog we asked them about themselves, and their experience working with Carolina Wetlands Association this summer. 


1.Tell us about you and your academic background. 

Bryce Carleton: I went into college undecided and tried a bunch of options out. I took business, psychology, meteorology classes, etc., and I didn’t find myself moving forward in these paths for different reasons. I decided to take a step back and think about what classes during all of my schooling that I took seriously not just to get a good grade, and that was my environmental science class. So, I moved forward with this focus and decided to aim for majoring in Environmental Tech and Management, took some classes for it and they interested me, and I plan to graduate next spring with a bachelor's degree in this major from NCSU. 


Erin Mansfield: Like a lot of people in the environmental field, I’ve always had an interest in nature but didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with it before going to college. I went into NC State as an environmental sciences major, and I’ve really enjoyed the flexibility of the major. I took an intro to soil science class my first semester and was hooked, and since then I’ve taken several more classes for my minor, as well as working as a student lab assistant for a year in a soils lab. 

 

2.Why were you interested in working with Carolina Wetlands Association, and how did you get involved? 

Bryce Carleton: I planned on getting an internship or some other career-related work experience before I graduate. Wanting to do it outside of spring and fall semesters, I was racing for an opportunity this summer before I graduate next spring. My luck was running short until Dr. Caren Cooper told me about Carolina Wetlands Association and that they were looking for an extra intern to get something done this summer. I have an interest in wetlands and had just finished a project in a course last fall about mangrove forests of Florida and the Gulf, so these ecosystems were already at the front of my mind, so I got into contact with the director (Rick Savage) and came on board. 


Erin Mansfield: Aside from soil science, I’m also interested in water quality and hydrology, so wetlands were a natural interest for me. They’re also such an important resource to protect, so I really appreciated the work Carolina Wetlands Association was doing to advocate for them. I’ve worked a lot with various university programs, but I wanted to expand my experience into the nonprofit world to get more practical career insight. I’m a student in the 2024 Climate Leaders Program at NC State, which matches you with a summer internship. Rick and everyone at Carolina Wetlands Association were kind enough to take me in, so here we are! 

 

3. What has been some of the work you’ve done this summer, and what has been the most rewarding to you? 

Bryce Carleton: My main task while working for Carolina Wetlands Association has been writing up an annotated bibliography for wetlands and their flood mitigation. Aside from my main task, I have been involved with or helped with a variety of things like working as a volunteer at the Wetland Education Summit  in June, participating in the Volunteer Wetland Monitoring Program (VWMP) or other field events that Carolina Wetlands Association was invited to, blog posts for the website, and probably helped a little on a few miscellaneous projects or assignments that I can’t recall. Probably the most rewarding part of it was the VWMP, even though it's one of the only things not restricted to employees only. I just thought it was pretty neat to go check out and monitor these wetland locations and habitats nearby that I never knew about, despite already knowing and understanding most of the work performed during those events. 


Erin Mansfield: I’ve done a little bit of everything: social media and newsletter writing, educational outreach, field work, and a lot of behind the scenes work for projects such as Volunteer Wetland Monitoring Program (VWMP). I also helped Bryce as a volunteer for the Wetland Education Summit, which was a fun experience. Recently the planning grant for the Stony Run Walkable Watershed project ended, so I worked on data analysis and making figures for the final report. There was over a year’s worth of well data and water quality data to work with, so it was a significant undertaking, but it was so rewarding to see how over a year of data collection can come together into a handful of neat and tidy graphs. I’m now working on an update to the Stony Run project webpage to explain the relevance of all the data collected. I’ve also really enjoyed volunteering with VWMP and just being able to get out and experience our local wetlands. 


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By rick.savage • November 3, 2026
The U.S. Congress is poised to weaken federal protection of wetlands. To understand why these changes matter, it helps to know how wetland permitting actually works. How Wetland Permitting Is Supposed to Work Whether the permit goes through the State agency (e.g. NC DEQ or SC DES which reviews water quality impacts) and/or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and EPA (which review the physical, chemical, and biological impacts), every application is supposed to follow a three-step mitigation sequence: avoid, minimize, and compensate. Avoid. The reviewer works with the applicant to determine whether the impact can be avoided altogether. Often, it can. Minimize. If the impact can’t be avoided, the reviewer and applicant look for ways to reduce it. Compensate. If the remaining impact is large enough, the applicant must compensate for the loss using a formula provided by the ACOE. Mitigation normally takes place in the same watershed and provides the same function as the wetland that was lost. This process takes time, but it is essential. It ensures that applicants don’t overlook options that could spare valuable wetlands. What Senate Bill 5653 Would Change Senate Bill 5653 , the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA),aims to speed up federal and state regulatory decisions on housing and other development projects. But the bill would increase environmental degradation and undermine the federal-state partnerships that protect clean water. Here is the core problem: when permitting is rushed, reviewers can’t carry out the avoid, minimize, and compensate process. More wetlands will be damaged, and there will be no way to make up for the lost wetlands and the benefits they provide. A Weak Answer to the Housing Shortage BAAJA does little to address the real causes of the national housing shortage and construction challenges. Instead, it increases pollution and works against the central goal of the Clean Water Act: to restore and maintain the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters, including wetlands. The bill is an assault on the nation’s rivers, wetlands, estuaries, and lakes. It also looks like a deflection from Congress’s inability to pass legislation that meaningfully tackles the lack of available housing. Undercutting State Authority Over Water Quality BAAJA also limits the authority states hold under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, making it harder for them to meet the water quality standards they have set for their own waterbodies. That would set back five decades of progress toward cleaner water, progress to which every sector of society has contributed, and it would affect generations to come. Fewer Wetlands Protected, and Weaker Review for the Rest This is yet another attack on wetland protection, and it affects all of us. Even those wetlands that remain regulated after recent jurisdictional retreats by EPA and the ACOE would not receive the normal permitting review. In practice, that means they aren’t truly protected either. What You Can Do Contact your representative. Ask your senators to oppose Senate Bill 5653 . You can find and contact your U.S. senators here , or look up your U.S. representative here to share your concerns with the House as well. Support Carolina Wetlands Association. We are your organization fighting to protect wetlands. The next time you explore a wetland or pour a clean glass of water, consider making a donation to help us keep up this work.

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By kim.matthews • October 7, 2026
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