Meet the Mussel Team

August 1, 2022
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The EnviroScience mussel team is hard at work as the 2022 mussel season is well-underway. Our malacologists are performing mussel surveys within the Mississippi River basin to the Atlantic Slope, and all the rivers in between.

EnviroScience is fortunate to have some of the best malacologists in the country, each of whom exemplify our Core Values of respect, client advocacy, quality work, accountability, teamwork, and safety. Below are just a few of the many reasons we find them to be uniquely special and why we are honored to have them on our team (and these are only a handful of the members of our robust marine group!) The EnviroScience mussel team is also supported by two other phenomenal mussel biologists, Mr. Matt Gilkay (West Virginia and Ohio approved surveyor) and Dr. Marty Huehner

The end of mussel survey season in Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia quickly approaches. If you have a project with in-water work slated to start before July 2023, be sure to call us now to help get your project cleared for mussel resource issues prior to construction!

Becca Winterringer

EnviroScience Malacologist Becca Winterringer

ES Malacologist Becca Winterringer

Becca is federally permitted throughout much of the Interior Basin and Atlantic Slope drainages. She has handled over 100 of North America’s 300+ mussel species; and yet, the elusive salamander mussel remains on her watch list. This is her year! A senior biologist and project manager for EnviroScience, as well as a key member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee, Becca loves outreach and all the places mussel surveys take her in the country. According to Becca, “This is my year for my bucket list mussel: a salamander mussel.” 

Phil Mathias

EnviroScience Malacologist Phil Mathias

ES Malacologist Phil Mathias

Phil enjoys his days in remote small creeks and rivers surveying for mussels, but also willingly accepts the challenges of managing large mussel surveys. He is a permitted malacologist throughout most of the Great Lakes and Ohio River drainages. The French Creek in Pennsylvania and the Kankakee River in Illinois are two of his favorite rivers in which to perform mussel work. As a senior scientist and project manager at EnviroScience, Phil supports our clients’ mussel service needs from private landowners; nonprofit organizations; local, state, and federal government agencies; and major international corporations.

Brian Carlson

EnviroScience Malacologist Brian Carlson

ES Malacologist Brian Carlson

Like many folks who develop expertise in mussels, Brian is an “accidental” mussel expert. A man of many skills—from aquatic insects to mussels, fish, and crayfish, Brian manages and leads our Ohio and West Virginia mussel projects. He is federally permitted for Ohio River basin mussels as well as the Guyandotte and Big Sandy crayfish. Brian’s motto is “right-on,” and his favorite place to be (other than playing with his daughter) is face-to-face with the stream bottom looking at darters, mussel siphons, and crayfish.

Emily Grossman

EnviroScience Malacologist Emily Grossman

ES Malacologist Emily Grossman

Emily is a federally permitted malacologist and project manager at EnviroScience, specializing in Upper Mississippi River mussel surveys. While she primarily spends her time on a boat leading big river survey teams, Emily also enjoys snorkeling for mussels in her free time in beautiful streams like those in northern Wisconsin. She looks forward to getting back on the mighty Mississippi this summer in locations from the Twin Cities all the way down to St. Louis, assisting clients with endangered species surveys and permitting issues.

Joanne Pem

EnviroScience "Marine Mom" Joanne Pem

ES “Marine Mom” Joanne Pem

Joanne began her journey with the Marine Services practice area at EnviroScience in 2013, and just completed the Project Management and Leadership training programs through Kent State University. Also known as the “Marine Mom,” she handles the internal functions that keep our Marine Services practice area efficient and running smoothly at all times. A consummate organizer and planner extraordinaire, Joanne enjoys the challenges the busy field season brings and looks forward to joining the crew in the field one day for a more hands-on approach.

Greg Zimmerman

EnviroScience Malacologist Greg Zimmerman

ES VP & Malacologist Greg Zimmerman

Greg is a federally permitted malacologist throughout the eastern U.S. and an ADCI-certified commercial diver. As VP, he focuses on project management, business development, and health and safety. However, Greg still supports fieldwork and freshwater mussel research. He recently noted, “I like to mix things up…pre-mussel season, I performed coral reef monitoring in Guam, experiencing giant clams in the wild—a huge thrill. But I still love the challenge of freshwater mussel projects and working with our great staff.”  

 


Few environmental firms in the country retain EnviroScience’s degree of scientific know-how, talent, and capability under one roof. The diverse backgrounds of our biologists, environmental engineers, scientists, and divers enable us to provide comprehensive in-house services and an integrated approach to solving environmental challenges—saving clients time, reducing costs, and ensuring high-quality results. Our client guarantee is to provide “Excellence in Any Environment” meaning no matter what we do, we will deliver on our Core Values of respect, client advocacy, quality work, accountability, teamwork, and safety. EnviroScience was created with the concept that we could solve complex problems by empowering great people. This concept still holds true today, as our scientists explore the latest in environmental legislation and regulations and incorporate the most up-to-date technology to gather and report data.

EnviroScience expertise includes but is not limited to: aquatic survey (including macroinvertebrate surveys and biological assessments); ecological restoration; ecological services (including impact assessments, invasive species control, and water quality monitoring);  emergency response; engineering and compliance services; endangered mussel surveys; laboratory and analysis; stormwater management; threatened and endangered species; and wetlands and streams (including delineation and mitigation). Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services.