Shawn L. Shotzberger
Co-Owner and Environmental Scientist
Mr. Shotzberger has worked in the environmental consulting business since 1994. He first began his professional career at Environmental Consulting Services, Inc. (ECSI), where he led significant portions of PSEG’s Estuary Enhancement Program (EEP), including the baywide bottom trawl and beach seine surveys and the monitoring of nearly a dozen regional fish ladders. In 1998, PSEG retained Mr. Shotzberger to work directly within the EEP as a seconded project scientist. This ground-breaking project was conducted as part of PSEG’s New Jersey Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) permit for the Salem Generating Station, and entailed the restoration and/or preservation of over 20,000 acres of degraded salt-marsh, the design and installation of numerous fish ladders, the evaluation of fish behavioral deterrents at power plant intakes, and baywide and in-plant finfish monitoring, among other projects. Mr. Shotzberger managed large portions of the EEP’s implementation as a seconded staff-member until 2005, when he was recruited by AKRF, Inc. At AKRF, Mr. Shotzberger continued to advance his wetland restoration experience, and was responsible for the design and implementation of salt marsh and freshwater wetland restoration expertise in projects throughout the region. Clients have included the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Long Island Salt Marsh restoration under Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Project #1), the mitigation banking firm Evergreen Environmental, LLC, continuing work for PSEG Nuclear and the EEP, New Jersey Transit, New York State DOT, and several high-profile resort developments in New York, among others.
Mr. Shotzberger has presented numerous papers at the American Fisheries Society and the Delaware Estuary Science Conferences on aquatic resources and habitat restoration in the Mid-Atlantic Region and participated in Symposia on Cooling Water Intake Technologies to Protect Aquatic Organisms. He has also published on the intersection of electrical utilities and aquatic resources in the Edison Electric Institute’s Biocurrents Journal.
Background
Education
B.S., Marine Science (Biology), Long Island University - Southampton College, Southampton, New York, 1993
Years of Experience
Year started in industry: 1994
Relevant Experience
Evergreen Environmental, LLC – Old Turtle Thorofare Mitigation Site and Abbot Creek Mitigation Bank (AKRF)
Mr. Shotzberger directed all aspects of the data collection, design, and implementation of the Old Turtle Thorofare Wetland Mitigation Site in Rio Grande, New Jersey. Originally intended as a mitigation bank, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTPA) pursued the site as a source of standalone mitigation credits for elements of its Garden State Parkway (GSP) Widening Projects. Construction and planting were completed in May of 2013, with Mr. Shotzberger providing construction oversight. Mr. Shotzberger also worked with Evergreen to design and implement the Abbot Creek mitigation bank in Fairfield Township, New Jersey. Construction at the Abbot Creek salt marsh site was completed in 2016, and the site met its 85% vegetative success criterion by fall of 2018.
EPT Concord II, LLC - Adelaar Montreign Casino Wetland Mitigation, Monticello, NY (AKRF)
NYSDEC and USACE Permits were issued to EPT Concord II LLC in 2015 for the development of EPT Concord Resort in Thompson, Sullivan County, New York. Construction impacts within the Kiamesha Creek Watershed included fill into approximately 3.38 acres of wetlands, 0.68 acres of pond deepening, and 0.651 acres of other impacts from construction access. Mr. Shotzberger directed the efforts to identify two on-site mitigation sites totaling 10.39 acres of red maple wetlands were proposed as on-site mitigation. Both wetland cells were graded to mimic the pit-and-mound topography of adjacent reference maple/hemlock wetlands. Hydrology was derived from both ground and surface water. Plantings comprised species consistent with adjacent red maple-dominated forested wetlands and a wetland herbaceous seeds mix at both sites. Since construction in 2016, the mitigation wetland sites have developed good hydrology, herbaceous cover, and reasonable tree and shrub survival. Mr. Shotzberger currently serves on the Adaptive Management Team as part of the review process of site monitoring and site conditions and continues to steer restoration trajectory.
New York State Throughway Authority – Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement Project, Tarrytown, NY (AKRF)
As part of a suite of mitigation measures associated with wetland impacts associated with the replacement of the former Tappan Zee Bridge, Mr. Shotzberger led efforts in 2014 and 2015 to conduct vegetative cover mapping on Piermont Marsh, a tidal salt marsh located in Piermont, NY. The assessment included identifying species-based vegetation patches from high-resolution aerial photograph, followed by ground-truth field investigations to determine species mixes present. The species patches were then digitized in GIS to provide a reference point for NYSDEC scientists who have been monitoring the health of the marsh over the long term. Mr. Shotzberger also led efforts in baseline data collection for the restoration of the Gay’s Point back-channel restoration as tidal freshwater marsh as part of the mitigation effort for the project.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Long Island Refuge Complex, Long Island, NY (AKRF)
Mr. Shotzberger served as the technical lead for restoration of refuge salt marshes under the auspices of Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Project #1. Efforts included biological and physical data collection, state and federal permitting, oversight of marsh restoration design, and construction and planting oversight at Wertheim, Lido Beach, and Seatuck National Wildlife Refuges.
New Jersey Transit – Amtrak Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project Final Engineering, Secaucus, NJ (AKRF)
Mr. Shotzberger conducted ecological studies and prepared environmental permit applications and related documents for the physical engineering phase of the Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project. Critical elements include updating the essential fish habitat evaluation, assessing tidal interconnectivity of various wetland areas, and surveying threatened and endangered species. Mr. Shotzberger also developed preliminary mitigation designs for impacted tidal wetlands.
PSEG Nuclear – Tidal Wetland Bank Restoration, Salem and Bridgeton, NJ (AKRF)
As part of PSEG’s Estuary Enhancement Program, Mr. Shotzberger prepared design, construction, and permitting documents for the rehabilitation of eroded stream banks at two EEP sites. One of these restoration designs employed natural coir logs to promote wetland vegetation colonization and re-growth.
PSEG Nuclear – Assessment of River Grass Assessment Tools, Salem, NJ (AKRF)
Mr. Shotzberger undertook an evaluation of several electronic models used by PSEG’s Salem Generating Station to predict the occurrence of river-borne detritus that periodically poses a challenge to Station operations. The assessment then evaluated historic data to determine which environmental factors had the largest effect on river detritus at the Station’s intake structure.
New Jersey Transit – Amtrak Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project Preliminary Engineering, Secaucus, NJ (AKRF)
Mr. Shotzberger assessed potential ecological impacts to the aquatic biota of the Hackensack River and surrounding wetlands associated with the replacement and capacity enhancement of Amtrak’s Portal Bridge. This assessment includes an evaluation of the potential effects of the project to water quality, habitat contiguity, salt marsh vegetation, benthic invertebrates, estuarine fish, Essential Fish Habitat and threatened and endangered species to be included in the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements for the project.
PSEG Fossil, Mercer Generating Station, Carbon Silos, Trenton, NJ (AKRF)
Mr. Shotzberger served on the team responsible for securing all local, including zoning board approval, state and federal land use, coastal zone, water, and construction related permits for construction of carbon silos to support mercury removal at PSEG’s Mercer Generating Station. Mr. Shotzberger helped successfully develop a strategy that exempted the project from significant coastal zone management permitting regulations and allowed for an expeditious permitting program, allowing the project to begin construction on schedule.
PSEG Estuary Enhancement Program, Salem, NJ (ECSI and PSEG)
For several years, Mr. Shotzberger served as a senior scientist at the EEP as a seconded scientist. He managed the extensive monitoring of the success of salt marsh restoration, fishery resources in the estuary, and fish ladders associated with the program. He also supervised the design and construction of several fish ladders in Delaware and New Jersey. Mr. Shotzberger has worked on the implementation of several NJPDES Permit requirements, including the investigation of underwater sounds, lights, and air bubbles to deter fish from power plant intakes and the evaluation of potentially improving fish return systems. Mr. Shotzberger managed consultants and technical experts in the integration of Delaware Estuary biological data into PSEG’s 2006 NJPDES Permit Renewal Application.
Delmarva Aquatics – Assistant Hatchery Manager, Smyrna, DE (Delmarva Aquatics)
For the past twenty years, Mr. Shotzberger served as an assistant hatchery manager to Delmarva Aquatics, an aquaculture facility that is the largest non-governmental producer of striped bass in the United States. His duties include collecting wild bloodstock striped bass from the Delaware River, spawning fish in the hatchery, and rearing larval fish for eventual distribution. Other duties include collecting, holding, and caring for fish for academic and government research, pond stocking, and providing replacement fish stock for fish-kill mitigation. In addition to striped bass, species typically handled include bluegill, pumpkin seed, largemouth bass, yellow perch, native catfish, and ornamental koi.
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Strait, K, Balletto, J., Tuttle, R., and Shotzberger, S. (2003). Reductions in Impingement Mortality Resulting from Enhancements to Ristroph Traveling Screens at an Estuarine Cooling Water Intake Structure. USEPA - A Symposium on Cooling Water Intake Technologies to Protect Aquatic Organisms. Washington, D.C. May 2003
Strait, K. and S. Shotzberger. (2003). Are belly flops better? Edison Electric Institute, Biocurrents newsletter, Vol. 19, No. 1
Amaral, S., Davis, D., Hogan, T. and Shotzberger, S. (2004). Response of estuarine fishes to behavioral deterrent technologies. Paper presented at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Madison, WI - August 2004
Strait, K., Kitchell, J. and Shotzberger, S. (2004). Production of estuarine predators resulting from fish ladder installations on Delaware Estuary tributaries. Paper presented at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Madison, WI - August 2004
Davis, D., Amaral, S., Tuttle, R., Shotzberger, S., Strait, K., and Skalski, J. (2005). Field Evaluation of a Sound Deterrent System for Reducing Fish Impingement at a Cooling Water Intake. Paper presented at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting, Anchorage, AL - September 2005
Shotzberger, S., Evans, B (2006). Successful Restoration of Diked Salt Hay Farms in the Delaware Estuary as a Model for Future Chesapeake Bay Restoration Projects. International Wetland Restoration Conference. Salisbury, MD – May 31 – June 2, 2006
Shotzberger, S. (2009). Reframing Introduced Species Policy in the Delaware Estuary Watershed. Presentation - Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Delaware Estuary Science Conference, Cape May, NJ
Shotzberger, S. - Invited Lecturer (2008 and 2010). Villanova University College of Civil and Environmental Engineering Course CEE-8512-030 – River Mechanics & Engineering. Introduction to fish ladders as a method to promote anadromous fish migration on low-head dams in the mid-Atlantic coastal plain
McDonald, M, S. Shotzberger, and A.J. Bernick (2010).The 18th-Century Vessel at the World Trade Center Site: What Analysis of Estuarine Organisms can reveal about the Ship and its Hudson River Environment. Council for Northeast Historical Archaeology (CNEHA) Annual Meeting, Lancaster, PA. October 28 - 31, 2010
Shotzberger, S. and K. Philipp. (2019). Adelaar Wetland Restoration: A Recent Case Study of On-Site Compensatory Mitigation in New York. Presented at the New York State Wetland Forum (NYSWF) 2019 Annual Conference and Meeting, Saratoga Springs, NY. April 2 - 3, 2019