Happy International Women in Engineering Day
As female engineers, we are continuously inspired to create long-lasting positive impacts on the communities we call home. For International Women in Engineering Day, Hey asked us about why we chose this profession and what we enjoy about it. Here’s what we said:
“I wanted to help build things that mattered and helped people.”
“Engineering has allowed me to use my love of math and science to leave the earth a better place than I found it!”
“Every day I work towards building healthier and more sustainable places to live, explore, and learn.”
Fun Fact: The Society of Women Engineers did a study in June 2021 that estimated 16.5% of engineers are women. At Hey, we're lucky enough to have 40%!
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at The Preserve of Highland Park
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on June 2nd at The Preserve of Highland Park. Hey and Associates worked with the @Park District of Highland Park to convert a former golf course into this 100-acre park where people of all abilities can immerse themselves in nature. In addition to nearly 50 acres of prairie and wetland restoration, The Preserve features several miles of trails that lead to restored ponds, oak woodlands, specialty gardens, overlooks, picnic areas, and nature play areas.
Employee Spotlight - Meghan Adams
Meghan has 4 years of civil/environmental engineering experience involving stormwater management, stream and wetland restoration, surveying, and construction monitoring. She loves visiting a site throughout all stages of the project and being able to see the tangible improvement to the environment. In her free time, Meghan loves listening to audiobooks, sewing, and learning weird skills. Most recently, she took classes to learn how to make stained glass art and how to sword fight!
Endangered Species Day
May 20, 2022 is the 17th annual Endangered Species Day. The term “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction throughout all or a portion of its range. The Federal Endangered Species Act (first passed in 1973) and subsequent state laws have two main purposes: to prevent extinction and to help species recover so that legal protection is no longer needed. Pictured below are Leafy Prairie Clover (federally endangered), Blanding’s Turtle (endangered in Illinois), Black-crowned Night Heron (endangered in Illinois), and Kirtland’s Snake (threatened in Illinois).
Forest Preserves of Cook County Powderhorn Lake Hydrologic Restoration
Construction of the Forest Preserves of Cook County Powderhorn Lake Hydrologic Restoration is nearing the exciting milestone of surface connection of the Powderhorn Lake and Nature Preserve to Wolf Lake, facilitating management and fish passage for improved habitat over hundreds of acres in the far south side of Chicago. Our project partners at the Great Lakes Commission have prepared this amazing video of how this project will benefit the community and regional ecology.
Click Here to view the video.
Employee Spotlight - Kirsten James!
Make it stand out
An avid backpacker, kayaker, and gardener, Kirsten James, Civil Engineer, focuses on a variety of stormwater, floodplain, and watershed management, restoration, and access improvement projects to restore and protect water quality and improve local communities. Some of her favorite projects have been restoring hydrology in natural areas and working with lake organizations to better understand their watersheds. Kirsten strives to spend time outside every day, even when the weather doesn’t always cooperate!
Congratulations Dave and Patrick!
Hey and Associates, Inc. is pleased to announce that Dave Kraft and Patrick Lach have been promoted to the position of Principal Civil Engineer. Dave and Patrick have been instrumental in the development and delivery of Hey’s engineering services and we are elated that they are now taking lead engineering roles in the company.
Dave Kraft first joined Hey in 2005. Dave is an avid outdoorsman and always brings his enthusiasm and love of nature to his work. Recently, Dave has led a number of fascinating streambank, shoreline and ravine restoration projects in northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. Dave will lead engineering services performed out of our Volo office.
Patrick Lach first joined Hey in 2007. Patrick is an expert at advanced hydrologic and hydraulic modeling and leads these services for the firm. He has also led the design of several major engineering projects including the Addison Creek Channel Improvements project in Cook County, which will deliver flood relief to over 1,000 homes. Patrick will lead engineering services performed out of our Chicago office.
We welcome Dave and Patrick to their new roles in the firm and wish them continued success!
The American Society of Civil Engineers’s annual Legislative Fly-In in Washington DC
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is conducting its annual Legislative Fly-In in Washington DC to discuss the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and encourage our congressional representatives to continue supporting infrastructure investment. Hey and Associates is supporting this effort with Patrick Lach attending as part of the Illinois Delegation meeting with our Senate offices and House members. Pat and others from all across the state and nation are asking Congress to further the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), pass appropriations legislation, continue to pass the Water Resources Development Act (WRD) all while encouraging and promoting resilient infrastructure.
Click here for the ASCE America's Infrastructure Report Card.
Employee Spotlight - Vince Mosca!
In 2022, Vince Mosca will begin his 33rd year with the firm as one of our lead ecologists. Vince has been involved in all things wetland and natural area related, numbering somewhere north of 5,000 individual projects. In recent years, he has taken a distinct interest in climate change resiliency strategies and open space acquisition for watershed protection. He has greatly enjoyed his many years of service on the Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge Board and presenting his trademark program “Monarchs and Margaritas” to promote conservation of open space for a better world. A few of his personal favorite things are his big family life, pinball, folk bean art, house concerts and life on his beloved farmette and old yellow farmhouse in Wisconsin.
Hey Holiday Party!
Yesterday we took time to celebrate the holiday season and another successful year at Hey. Our team enjoyed the view from the balcony of The Shanty in Wadsworth, IL overlooking the LCFP Sedge Meadow preserve access that Hey staff designed with a backdrop of the restored Des Plaines River Corridor. The wetland and floodplain restoration along the river valley are foundational to our start as a firm nearly 50 years ago as a part of the Des Plaines River Wetlands Demonstration Project and the ability to pass that history along to our dedicated family of professionals added to our event. Happy holidays from everyone at Hey and Associates, Inc!
Employee Spotlight - Welcoming Ethan Appelgren!
Please join us in welcoming Ethan Appelgren to Hey. Ethan is a 2020 BLA graduate from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and is working toward licensure as a Professional Landscape Architect. His background includes site design, master planning, and geospatial analysis. When he's not working, he spends his time sketching or running along Chicago's lakeshore trail.
The Preserve
The Preserve converted the landscape of a former golf course to an interactive nature experience and play space for all ages. Existing features help to define activities, and are used to create unique experiences as visitors move throughout the site. As an intergenerational nature playscape, The Preserve will offer opportunities to engage with one’s environment on varying levels and includes Gateway and Connector multi-use trails, interior destination pathways, and meandering nature trails. Native plantings wind through the park while turf areas provide space for programmed events, special events, and picnics. Situated along the Skokie River, the site responds to fluctuating water levels, creating an ephemeral experience that changes with the time, day, and season. Low lying areas, planted with wetland species, will create opportunities for diverse habitats and different visitor experiences.
The Park District of Highland Park retained Hey to design this new park. Hey’s scope included leading the design from initial concept development through construction document preparation, and construction phase services. An extensive public process was involved to gather community input and build support for the project. In addition to a hierarchy of trails traversing the site, the project also included numerous nature play areas, enhanced wildlife habitat, several overlooks and rest areas, a nature maze, signage and wayfinding, and a sensory garden. The project was awarded an IEPA 319 Grant and OSLAD Grant.
The project site is bisected by the Skokie River with much of the eastern portion of the project area located within the river’s floodplain and floodway. The plans carefully considered the floodplain and floodway permitting requirements including compensatory storage and “appropriate uses” within the floodway. Hey also prepared a hydroperiod analysis based on a statistical evaluation of the river’s gauge records to determine how frequently and for how long the site was inundated at various elevations. This information helped inform at what elevations to place various plant communities for the best chance of success.
Construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.
Employee Spotlight - Jeff Mengler
Jeff is a Senior Project Scientist and has been at Hey for approximately 8 years. He has 14 years of experience in consulting, 18 years as a public servant for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and 3 years of experience in the non-profit sector. This 35 plus years of experience has run a wide gamut of natural resource work in the upper Midwest which he brings to myriad interdisciplinary projects at Hey. Jeff has also been involved in Chicago Wilderness and the Fox River Ecosystem Partnership (FREP) essentially since their inception, and continues to serve as president of FREP. In his spare time (whatever that is) he volunteers with local Boy Scouts, and enjoys hiking and gardening.
Navigable Waters Protection Rule
Waters of the United States (WOTUS) is a threshold term in the Clean Water Act (CWA) that establishes the scope of federal jurisdiction. WOTUS is not defined in the CWA, but rather provides discretion for the USEPA and USACE to define WOTUS. As you might imagine, there have been several interpretations (including three U.S. Supreme Court decisions) since the CWA was passed.
In January 2020, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule narrowed what was considered under federal jurisdiction. On August 30, 2021, a federal judge in Arizona ordered that the Navigable Waters Protection Rule be vacated and remanded. Therefore, USEPA and USACE are now interpreting WOTUS consistent with the pre-2015 regulatory rules until further notice. The agencies have also indicated they intend to initiate a rulemaking process to put forth a new rule to establish a more durable definition of WOTUS that considers all of the relevant court decisions to date. It is an ever-changing landscape – stay tuned and be sure you seek the latest guidance.
Construction at the Jean and John Greene Nature Preserve at McCormick Ravine
Construction is beginning at the Jean and John Greene Nature Preserve at McCormick Ravine. This Lake Forest Open Lands Association project includes a new driveway into the property, expanded parking, trails, boardwalks, and more. When John Keno & Company completes construction, the project will offer improved public access to this amazing high quality natural area featuring woodland and ravine ecosystems along the shores of Lake Michigan. The preserve will be closed to the public during construction.
Congratulations Kirsten James, P.E.
Congratulations to our newest Professional Engineer, Kirsten James! She successfully passed the PE exam in May and has since earned her licensure in the State of Wisconsin.
Employee Spotlight- Sarah Burgess
Sarah has been an engineer at Hey and Associates, Inc for almost 7 years and enjoys the variety of project work including hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of riverine and urban drainage systems, stormwater permitting, and stormwater management planning and design. She has had the opportunity to perform detailed 1D/2D hydraulic modeling as part of the City of Evanston’s Stormwater Master Plan. Especially during the summer, Sarah loves spending as much time as possible by the Great Lakes (the beautiful Lake Superior shoreline is in the photo) and a favorite hobby is swing dancing.
Welcome Ben Gordon!
Hey and Associates, Inc. would like to welcome Ben Gordon to our team. Ben is a 2019 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS in Environmental Engineering. After a time interning with our friends at the @Lake Forest Open Lands Association, Ben will be a perfect addition to our interdisciplinary team. He will be assisting our environmental scientists with on the ground restoration work and also applying his engineering degree assisting on a range of other studies and projects. Welcome aboard Ben!
Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers Public Information and Education committee
Steve McChesney, Senior Erosion and Sediment Control Specialist at Hey recently joined the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers (IAAP) Public Information and Education (PIE) committee. PIE presented a 3-day teachers training about rock and mineral use and mining. Starting with the premise, “if it can’t be grown, It has to be mined,” PIE dazzled about 20 grade school to community college teachers with fossils, minerals, and an underground tour at the Fred Weber limestone mine in Alton.
