Preserving Partnerships and Unique Habitats
The Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program’s (Rare Care) partnership with the Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP) is invaluable and the relationships we build with their staff create a strong foundation for our program. As such, we like to spotlight the people we work with at WNHP like Joe Rocchio, the new Program Manager. Joe’s tenure for Heritage Programs began in 1999 when he worked for the Colorado Natural Heritage Program as a wetland ecologist. In 2007 he moved to WNHP and has served as the Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the past five years before moving into his new role.
Joe’s interest in the natural world began as a child growing up in Indiana with many nearby quarries. These quarries offered him an avenue to explore geology and sparked an interest in searching for fossils. This love of treasure hunting led to him considering a degree in paleontology at Indiana University. However, a fieldtrip to Pinhook Bog of Indiana Dunes National Park for a wetland ecology course changed those plans. While standing on a boardwalk, surrounded by sundews, pitcher plants, and large tamarack trees growing on floating mats of sphagnum moss, his path took a turn. He realized “this is what I want to do” and decided to change his major to wetland ecology.
Peatlands, like that of Pinhook Bog, are old ecosystems. Their acidic and waterlogged conditions slow decomposition and as material builds up over millennia, they become a type of repository, a record keeper of natural history. For Joe, to stand in a peatbog is to be transported to another era. He reflects “It’s humbling to know you’re in an ancient place”. For this reason, the northern bog sedge, Carex gynocrates, is one of his favorite plants. As an indicator species of a healthy and intact peatland, he welcomes seeing it while doing fieldwork.
Possibly the most exhilarating experience of his career was in 2011 when he discovered the only known raised bog in the western US called Crowberry Bog on the Olympic Peninsula. In his blog post for the Washington Native Plant Society, Joe writes “I felt like Indiana Jones finding the Ark of the Covenant.” Raised bogs are a rare type of wetland that result from thousands of years of peat accumulation built up so that it is no longer impacted by ground water but only from precipitation. Crowberry Bog is home to rare species as well. The treasure hunter had found a true gem!
Over the next eight years, Joe conducted research at Crowberry Bog and petitioned for it to be conserved. In 2019, the hard work paid off and it was designated a Natural Area Preserve, protected for research and education purposes. Experiences like this inform Joe in his new role as WNHP Program Manager. He recognizes the key role partnerships play in researching and conserving rare habitats like Crowberry Bog. As Program Manager, Joe is most excited about strengthening existing partnerships and building new creative partnerships to continue conserving Washington’s unique habitats.