Laura Schwanof is Vice President in EEA’s Ecology Division and Manager
of EEA’s Stony Brook Ecology Branch Office. She is a New York Licensed
Landscape Architect with 30 years of work experience related to natural
resources inventory and assessment, environmental planning & permitting, and
landscape design. Her areas of expertise include environmental analyses, soil
and water conservation, terrestrial and wetland ecology, wetland and stream
restoration, wetland delineations, and coastal zone and site planning.
Since
joining EEA in 1997, Ms. Schwanof has been responsible for field investigations
focused on erosion and sediment control, botanical inventory, wetland assessment
and numerous ecological restoration designs.
Ms.
Schwanof has a B.S. in Environmental Science and Forestry from SUNY Syracuse.
Her professional affiliations include American Society of Landscape Architects,
Long Island Botanical Society, Society for Ecological Restoration, Society of
Wetland Scientists and The Wildlife Society. Her accolades as a landscape
architect included an award in 1993 for the ASLA Design Competition - Hofstra
University Bird Sanctuary, Uniondale, NY.
Ms.
Schwanof’s passion is her work with ecological restoration. While at EEA and
during her previous tenure with an engineering firm, Ms. Schwanof has designed
numerous restoration sites, both wetland and upland. She has prepared grading
and landscape plans for a variety of public and private facilities including
wetland creation and restoration projects, municipal landfills and parks.
Ms.
Schwanof began her career with the USDA Soil Conservation Service, serving
Nassau, Suffolk, and Dutchess Counties. As a Soil Conservationist, Ms. Schwanof
developed resources management plans for farms, nursery operations, schools, and
municipal properties which assessed the ambient condition of water bodies (e.g.,
streams, ponds, flood plains, etc.), soil, vegetation, livestock and wildlife
resources, and projected future scenarios both with and without recommended BMPs.
Plans focused on soil erosion and stormwater control, wildlife habitat
management, crop sustainability, and vegetative stabilization measures for
critically eroding areas, such as steep slopes (including bluff faces, cut
banks, sand and gravel pits) and eroding shoreline areas.
Ms.
Schwanof is an acclaimed canary breeder and recent Past President of the Long
Island Song Canary Club. She is a Senior Judge for canary singing
competitions nationwide. She is also an excellent artist, avid bird
watcher and gardener.
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