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Course Details
Course Name: Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delineation: South
Course Code: EH0502WA26
Date: August 20 & 21, 2025
Time: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm EDT (Log in time: 7:45 am EDT)
Location: Online
Format: Live, instructor-led
Registration Fee: $950 per person
Wetland Certificate Series Discount Fee: $850 per person (must also register for Methodology for Delineating Wetlands and Hydric Soils)
Registration closes: August 13, 2025
Paying with a check, money order, or purchase order?
Payments should be made out to: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Checks and money orders should be mailed to: Office of Continuing Professional Education, Attn: Registration Dept., 102 Ryders Ln, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8519
Purchase Orders can be mailed to the address above or electronically sent to registration@njaes.rutgers.edu.
Course Overview
This class is part of the Wetland Delineation Certificate Program.
Wetland plants, also known as hydrophytes or hydrophytic vegetation, have adaptations that enable them to grow and reproduce with their roots in water or saturated soil for at least part of the year. In contrast, plants that cannot survive in saturated conditions are commonly referred to as upland plants.
Along with hydric soils and hydrology, the presence of wetland plants is one of the primary factors involved in the identification of wetland areas and the delineation of wetland boundaries. Therefore, the ability to identify wetland plants and distinguish between upland and wetland plant species is an essential step in the wetland delineation process.
Through instructor-led online lectures and virtual tours of various wetland sites, you will learn plant identification principles and study diagnostic characteristics of species frequently encountered by wetland delineators in the Southern New Jersey region. By the end of the course, you will be able to quickly and confidently identify the wetland plant species that are important in determining if an area meets the hydrophytic vegetation criterion for wetland delineation.
NOTE: If you are planning to earn the Wetland Delineation Certificate, we require that you complete the Vegetation Identification and Hydric Soils courses prior to attending Methodology for Delineating Wetlands.
Course Objectives
- To provide a review of wetland plant communities of South Jersey, emphasizing their dominant species.
- To familiarize students with important diagnostic features used to separate plants into groups for field identification.
- To use field guides to identify plants characteristic of freshwater wetlands in South Jersey.
- To introduce students to some rare and uncommon plants found in wetlands of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Who Should Attend?
This wetland vegetation identification course is designed for anyone who wants to gain experience identifying wetland plants. Past participants have included:
- Arborists and Forestry Technicians
- Biologists
- Ecologists
- Engineers
- Environmental Scientists and Consultants
- Geologists and Hydrogeologists
- GIS Specialists
- Landscape Architects and Landscape Designers
- Land Surveyors
- Land Use Professionals
- Natural Resources Specialists
- Park Naturalists
- Planners
- Registered Environmental Health Specialists (REHS)
- Wetlands Specialists and Wetland Scientists
- Wildlife Field Technicians
Required Textbooks
There are two required textbooks for this course. You may purchase these books on your own or through our office with your registration.
- Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide [ISBN 0316604429] by Lawrence Newcomb – $28
- Field Guide to Tidal Wetland Plants of the Northeastern U.S. and Neighboring Canada [ISBN 9781558496675] by Ralph W. Tiner – $45
Meet Your Instructor
Ralph Tiner, M.S., M.P.A., SWS Fellow
Ralph Tiner has more than 40 years of practical experience in wetland delineation and is a nationally recognized authority in the field. He recently retired from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he directed wetland mapping in the Northeast United States as part of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory (NWI). He is a nationally recognized expert on wetland delineation and has been actively involved in improving wetland delineation techniques for decades. In addition, he was compiler and principal author of the Federal Interagency Wetland Delineation Manual, which was published in 1989 and is the standard for identifying and delineating wetlands in New Jersey.
Read More About Ralph Tiner
Ralph has written extensively on the subject of wetlands and is the author of several field guides including: Field Guide to Non-tidal Wetland Identification, Maine Wetlands and Their Boundaries, A Field Guide to Coastal Wetland Plants of the Northeastern United States, and In Search of Swampland, as well as an update of the Wetland Indicators book entitled Wetland Indicators: A Guide to Wetland Formation, Identification, Delineation, Classification, and Mapping. His most recent books are: Tidal Wetlands Primer: An Introduction to Their Ecology, Natural History, Status, and Conservation and Remote Sensing of Wetlands: Applications and Advances (for which he is senior editor and authored several chapters).
In addition to writing about wetlands, he has been teaching wetland identification and delineation courses through the Rutgers Office of Continuing Professional Education Office since the mid-1980s.
Student Reviews
Most useful aspect of the course: “I became more comfortable using keys for plants, as well as identifying species that are common in different aquatic/estuary ecosystems. This will definitely be useful in identifying flora and their relationship with fishes and other organisms in coastal research.”
– Iphigenia “Jen” Arvanitis
“Prior to this course, I rarely ever used a dichotomous key for plant identification. Ralph has revived my understanding and proficiency in using dichotomous keys, which has allowed me to properly identify wetland plants. I now carry my field book everywhere in the event I run into a plant that I am unfamiliar with to test out these new skills!”
– Ivy Babson, Princeton Hydro, LLC
“Having the opportunity to take a wetland plant ID course by Ralph Tiner is immeasurable. The online option was perfect, and I loved the field homework assignment. Thank you!”
– Past Participant
Continuing Education Credits
The Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delineation: South course is approved for 1.5 Rutgers CEUs (15 contact hours), as well as the following credits from professional organizations.
New Jersey
NJ Certified Public Works Managers (CPWM): 3 Technical and 3 Management Contact Hours
NJ Health Officers and Registered Environmental Health Specialists (HO/REHS): Rutgers University, NJAES, Office of Continuing Professional Education has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Health as a provider of NJ Public Health Continuing Education Contact Hours (CEs). Participants who complete this education program will be awarded 13.0 NJ Public Health Continuing Education Contact Hours (CEs).
NJ Land Surveyors (NJLS): 12 PDHs
NJ Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (LSRP): 6 Professional Development CECs (Course No. 2024-052)
NJ Professional Engineers: 12 Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) credits
New York
NY Landscape Architects: 1 hr CL; 13 hrs EA
NY Professional Engineers: 12 hours
National
Society of American Foresters: 12.5 CFEs in Category 1
Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program (SWSPCP): 0.8 equivalent semester hours
Course Requirements and Policies
Technology Requirements
This online course will be delivered through Zoom via Canvas. After you register, you will receive an email from “Rutgers University Canvas” prompting you to click a link to finish setting up your Canvas account. If you do not see this message in your inbox, please check your junk/spam folder. Registrants will receive an email with a link to access the course by August 19, 2025.
Equipment you will need to access this training:
- Laptop or desktop computers are required for this class.
- Speakers and microphone are not necessary as a call-in option is available.
Email Requirement
A unique email address is required for each registrant to register and access our courses.
- If this is your first time registering with us, please provide your own unique email address when registering; do not provide an email address that you share with co-workers.
- If you have previously taken classes with us and have used an email address that you share with your co-workers or supervisor, your account must be updated with a unique email address. To do this, please send an email to us at registration@njaes.rutgers.edu stating that your email address needs to be changed and include:
- Your full name
- The shared email address that needs to be changed
- Your unique email address
- A phone number where you can be reached if we have any questions
Photo ID Requirement
Each registrant will be asked provide a photo of him/herself holding their government-issued photo ID. This is required by credit boards so that you may receive credits for participating in this online course.
- You will receive a reminder email prior to the start of the class with further instructions. Wait to receive these instructions before you attempt to upload your ID.
- The photo must be clear enough that we can read your name and verify that the person pictured on the ID is in fact the person holding it.
- After an OCPE staff member reviews the picture and verifies your identity, you will have access to participate in the course when it begins.
Cancellations and Substitutions
A $100 cancellation fee applies for this course. Substitutions are permitted. View our cancellation policy.
Attention U.S. Veterans
This course is approved by the New Jersey State Approving Agency for Veterans Training for educational benefits through the GI Bill®. Learn more.
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.
Program Questions? We’re Here to Help!
If you have any questions about Vegetation Identification for Wetland Delineation: South, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Program Coordinator: Suzanne Hills
848-932-7234
suzanne.hills@rutgers.edu
Administrative Assistant: Amy Smith
848-932-7764
amy.smith70@rutgers.edu
For registration assistance, please contact our Registration Department at 848-932-9271, option 2 or email registration@njaes.rutgers.edu.
