Principal Ecologist & President

Ph. D. Ecosystem Ecology, Wetland & River Science, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 1983

M. Sc. Forest Ecology, Silviculture, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 1979

B. S. Forest Ecology/Silviculture, University of Montana, Missoula, Tufts University. 1974

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Lyndon C. Lee is a U.S. national wetland and river science and regulatory expert. He works as the Principal Ecologist and President of L.C. Lee & Associates, Inc. and Director of the National Wetland Science Training Cooperative. His emphasis is on the application of good science and design to projects that interact with federal, state, and local programs regulating activities in wetland, river, and forested ecosystems.

Lyndon founded L.C. Lee & Associates, Inc. (LCLA) in 1990. Since 1990, Lyndon has ensured that all LCLA technical teams are tailored to meet the needs of specific jobs. Using a combination of local, regional, and national networks, LCLA teams can include senior scientists and technical experts who have many years of applied experience in wetland and river science, conservation biology, design/build approaches to ecosystem restorations and natural systems design, regulatory assistance, and training. In addition to waters/wetlands, LCLA teams focus operations in many different types of ecosystems including forests, grasslands, riparian areas, urban landscapes, brownfields, and other types of contaminated sites.

From 1986 to 1989, Lyndon served as the Senior Wetland Ecologist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters Office of Wetlands Protection, Washington, D.C. During this time, he was involved directly with the formulation and application of national waters/wetlands policy, basic and applied research, and regulatory/enforcement procedures. At EPA, Lyndon directed a national team of EPA technical and regulatory experts who dealt with top priority waters/wetland issues throughout the U.S. He also served as the liaison from the Office of Wetlands Protection to the EPA Superfund and RCRA programs. During his tenure at EPA, Lyndon led the team that produced a landmark study of cumulative impacts to bottomland hardwood forests of the southeastern U.S. He also founded the National Wetland Science Training Cooperative, which he has continued to run since leaving EPA.  

Lyndon came to EPA from the University of Georgia Institute of Ecology, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), Aiken, South Carolina. During the interval 1984 – 1986, he was the Research Manager of the SREL Division of Wetlands Ecology. At SREL, he managed wetland research programs at the U.S. Depart­ment of Energy's Savannah River Nuclear Facility and National Environmental Research Park. Savannah River is a principal production site for weapons-grade plutonium and many other radionuclides. SREL’s basic and applied research focused on (a) assessment and monitoring of the effects of radionuclide produc­tion on riverine waters/wetland ecosystems, (b) manage­ment of the movement and fate of radionuclide, heavy metal, and organic contaminants in waters/wetlands, and (c) restoration of wetland and river ecosystems degraded by chronic thermal and/or contami­nant inputs. 

While pursuing his graduate degrees, Lyndon spent six years research­ing the structure and functioning of riverine waters/wetlands and riparian forested ecosystems throughout the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountain regions. He focused on interactions among physical and geochemical processes and development of the structure and functioning of floodplain and riparian plant communities. Between his Master’s and Ph.D. programs, (1977 – 1980) he worked as a Senior Habitat Ecologist for the Interagency Grizzly Team's Border Grizzly Project, which was based at the Montana Forest and Range Conser­vation Experi­ment Station, Missoula, Montana. There he developed, conducted, and supervised research dealing with the definition, description, classification, protection, and restora­tion of grizzly bear and grey wolf habitat throughout the northern Rocky Moun­tains, south­eastern British Columbia, and in northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Lyndon’s work highlighted the importance of waters/wetlands ecosystems as essential components of critical habitat for endangered, free-ranging grizzly bears and other wide-ranging carnivores.  

The scope of Lyndon’s consulting experience over the last 30 years has taken him to all areas of the U.S., and to Canada, Europe, Japan, South America, Australia and many Pacific and Caribbean islands. He has completed more than 200 contracts with federal, state, and local government agencies, private industry, research and conservation organizations, and private landowners. Dr. Lee has focused most of his day to day efforts on the (a) application of science to the design and construction of wetland and river restoration projects, and (b) development and imple­menta­tion of practical silvicultural, and land-use manage­ment programs for wetlands and riverine ecosys­tems. Currently Lyndon’s research interests are focused on responses of wetland, river, and forested ecosystems to perturbation, assessment of site-specific and cumulative impacts to waters/wetland ecosystems, design and construction of waters/wetlands ecosystem restorations, and management of the movement and fate of contaminants in waters/wetlands ecosystems. 

In addition to his technical and applied work, Lyndon continues to work as a U.S. national expert and team leader on federal U.S. Clean Water Act jurisdictional and functional assessment issues as they relate to management of waters/wetlands. In this capacity, his emphasis always has been on the application of science to federal, state, and local programs that focus on protection of aquatic ecosystems. He has a great deal of experience in U.S. federal regulatory and enforcement procedures, assessment of impacts to waters/wetlands ecosystems, and training of others in all of the above. For example, since 1993, Lyndon has been one of the principal architects responsible for development and implementation of the “Hydrogeomorphic Approach” (HGM) for assessment of waters/wetlands ecosystem functions. In this regard, he has extensive practical knowledge of ecological modeling, and application of science to regulatory, enforcement, and restoration programs. Further, since 1989, Lyndon has served as a lead expert and technical team leader for the National Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Department of Justice - Environment and Natural Resources Defense Division (DOJ/ENRD), several U.S. EPA Regions, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Working with DOJ, Lee has helped win or settle at least ten major Clean Water Act cases that have been argued in three Districts of U.S. federal court, three circuit courts of appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Lyndon has been active in teaching and training throughout his career. He held the position of Assistant Research Professor at the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology while working at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and at EPA Headquarters. He has also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at both the University of South Carolina and George Mason University. While at the universities of Washington and Montana, Lyndon taught or assisted in teaching a variety of forestry and natural resource management courses. He also served as a principal instructor for the Montana Forest Habitat Type Short Courses, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Since 1987, Dr. Lee has led over 100 waters/wetlands training courses for EPA and several other federal, state, and local agencies and organizations through the National Wetland Science Training Coopera­tive. 

Lyndon is an active member of the scientific community. He has published two books, more than 25 refereed professional papers and chapters, many HGM Guidebooks, and over 200 technical reports. He has presented more than 70 oral papers and seminars at professional meetings and conferences. He edited the Bulletin and served on the National Board of Directors of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) for seven years. Lyndon co-founded the “SWS Student Awards Program” and endowment, and served as the Program Chairman for two national SWS meetings (Seattle, 1987 and Washington, D.C., 1988). In 1992, Lee was awarded Life Membership in the Society of Wetland Scientists for his service. In 1995, he earned certification as a Professional Wetlands Scientist (#385).