Delaware Center for the Inland Bays

Rehoboth Beach, DE:   The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays (CIB) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Marianne Walch to the position of Science and Restoration Coordinator.

Dr. Walch brings nearly 30 years of environmental and ecology research experience in academic, federal and state government positions to the CIB.  For twelve years she has been an Environmental Scientist at the Delaware Department of Transportation where she led the water quality monitoring and research programs for the Department’s stormwater and federal permitting programs.

In her position, she managed a nearly one-million dollar annual research and monitoring budget and participated in all aspects of DELDOT’s stormwater quality program, including watershed and stream assessments, illicit discharge detection and elimination, restoration planning and public education and outreach.

Prior to joining DelDOT, Walch managed environmental microbiology and biotechnology programs at federal and university laboratories, where she conducted both basic and applied research.  She has served on numerous boards and advisory committees in Delaware, including the Tributary Action Teams for development of state watershed Pollution Control Strategies, the Delaware Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials Steering Committee, and the Delaware Nonpoint Source Advisory Committee.

Dr. Walch is well versed in the work and mission of the CIB, having worked with the CIB on initiatives such as the Anchorage Canal Stormwater Retrofit project, a demonstration project to clean up stormwater runoff to the Little Assawoman Bay.  She has also served as a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee, a standing committee of the CIB Board of Directors.

As the Science and Restoration Coordinator for the CIB, Walch will lead research, monitoring, and aquatic ecosystem restoration efforts on the three Inland Bays and their watersheds.

Walch has wide-ranging interests and experience in science and natural history. She has been a volunteer surveyor for the Delaware Amphibian Monitoring Project for more than ten years, participated on horseshoe crab surveys, freshwater mussel surveys, vegetation surveys and bird counts.  She lives in Millsboro in the Inland Bays watershed.  Dr. Walch can be contacted at science@inlandbays.org

The Delaware Center for the Inland Bay is one of 28 National Estuary Programs; a non-profit organization established in 1994 to promote the wise use and enhancement of the Inland Bays and its watershed.  With its many partners, the CIB conducts public outreach and education, develops and implements restoration projects, encourages scientific inquiry, and sponsors research.