WV Restoration Planting Tool:

Would you like to restore native plants to your property?

The West Virginia Restoration Planting Tool matches your property with known native plant communities in West Virginia and predicts plant species that will thrive and provide great habitat for native fauna, including birds & butterflies.

The tool can be used for wetland and upland habitats.  It requires Microsoft Office Access software and an Internet connection and is available to the public at https://dep.wv.gov/WWE/getinvolved/Pages/Restoration-Planting-Tool.aspx

This tool is wonderful for private landowners wishing to enhance their property.

For larger and more complex projects, Triad is able to complete a site restoration or planting plan and can incorporate a creative planting plan into your project or construction stormwater permit. Triad can create planting plans for citizens, community groups, and private industry to address issues including: slope stabilization, construction site reclamation, improving forage production on hillside pastures, address problems associated with concentrated livestock, reclamation of mined lands, streambank stabilization, agro-forestry, wildlife habitat improvement, and others.

To contact a Triad office closest to your location, visit the contact us page.

Safety Employee of the Month: July
Dane Ryan, SA Office

Triad’s Safety Employee for July is Dane Ryan, Business Development Leader for the Scott Depot office. Dane has been diligent in taking the role of Corporate Safety Officer, and shown major attention to detail and concern during the COVID-19 crisis. Dane researches policies and information as situations continue to change and works daily with leadership to discuss necessary changes in safety protocol as needed.

Dane has been proactive in working with the safety committee across Triad’s company footprint making sure that safety is implemented first in every aspect. Congratulations Dane, and thank you for making safety the priority!

What’s your State Soil?

Every state has a flag. You can probably recognize your state seal and maybe sing the state song. You may know your state’s motto, official flower, or state animal. But do you know your state soil? Yes, all states have a state soil and as of 1997, Monongahela Silt Loam is the official state soil of West Virginia.

This soil type may be the state soil of WV, but Monongahela silt loam was first identified in Greene County, PA in 1921. Named after the Monongahela River, these deep, moderately well drained soils are found on alluvial stream terraces and river valleys not just in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, but throughout Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky, and Alabama. This soil derives largely from sandstone and shale which were formed over a millennia ago. It is great crop and pastures soil and considered prime farmland. Monongahela soils can also be used for engineering roads, and buildings. Engineering limitations include structures with basements. These limitations are mainly due to higher clay content in the lower layers, which have the ability to shrink and swell depending on the moisture content of the soil.

Triad’s geotechnical engineering group has a wealth of knowledge and technology to assist in identifying soils at your project site and overcoming soil limitations with engineering practices. Our in-house drilling fleet and on-site soil testing lab support our geotechnical engineers in providing economical solutions to our clients. No matter if your project includes Monongahela soils, Hazleton (the state soil of PA), Sassafras (the state soil of Maryland), or any soil in between, Triad is here to assist. Our geotechnical group is ready to help plan your project, give us a call!

Head over to our Contact Us page to reach out to an office closest to your project location.

Wetlands are areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas. To be a wetland, an area only needs to be saturated for a portion of the growing season, so wetlands do not always have standing water or even saturated soil present. Wetlands are the transitional land between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water is near the surface. They are not only beautiful and provide recreation, they are important for maintaining wildlife diversity, filtering nutrients, and for flood control. Although they comprise a small percentage of the nation’s total land area, they have a disproportionately higher number of unique plants and animals.

West Virginia isn’t wildly known for our wetlands, but the Mountain State is home to over 102,000 acres of wetlands! Canaan Valley, Dolly Sods Wilderness Area, Pleasant Creek Wildlife Management Area, and Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area are just a few places to view wetlands in WV. Cranberry Glades Botanical area is home to a high-altitude cluster of boreal-type peat bogs found rarely outside of Canada. You can also spot two native carnivorous plants – the purple pitcher and sundew. Practice social distancing by taking a hike and seeing if you can spot a WV Wetland near you! The WVDEP has published a wonderful guide to wetland plant identification in the Mountain State that can be downloaded at:

https://dep.wv.gov/WWE/watershed/wetland/Documents/Wetland%20Plant%20field%20guides/DEP_WetlandPlantsFieldGuide_DIGITAL.pdf

Triad understands that good project planning includes identifying existing resources early in project planning. Our biologists know that a good delineation report not only maps the location and extent of streams and wetlands in your project area, but also determines which features are regulated by the state and federal government. We areexperienced in planning to avoid impacts and permitting unavoidable impacts to aquatic habitats. Our environmental team is able to complete site specific wetland restoration and mitigation plans. For questions or assistance on Stream & Wetland Delineations or Clean Water Section 404/401 permitting and mitigation, please contact our Senior Scientist Carol Phillips at cphillips@triadeng.com.

For more information about Triad Engineering and the services we offer, visit the what we do section of our website.

Safety Employee of the Month: June

Triad’s Safety Employee of the Month is Debbie Jones, Administrative Assistant for the Winchester office.  Each morning for the past few months, Debbie has arrived at the office and systematically cleaned all of the various door handles in the lower level of the building and made sure that common areas are thoroughly disinfected.  She’s also regularly contacted the QC field staff to make sure they’re equipped with PPE so they can continue to work safely.  Thanks for all you do to keep Triad safe Debbie!