WK Dickson Expands Wetlands and Watershed Environmental Services: Leading Stream Restoration Specialist Joins Firm

W.K. Dickson & Co, Inc. (WKD) is pleased to announce a major expansion of its wetlands and watershed environmental restoration and mitigation services. This practice area will be guided by Michael S. Ellison, a noted stream restoration specialist.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WK Dickson Expands Wetlands and Watershed Environmental Services: Leading Stream Restoration Specialist Joins Firm

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, April 7, 2002 -- W.K. Dickson & Co, Inc. (WKD) is pleased to announce a major expansion of its wetlands and watershed environmental restoration and mitigation services. This practice area will be guided by Michael S. Ellison, a noted stream restoration specialist.

WK Dickson recognizes streams and wetlands are critical, complex and valuable ecosystems capable of supporting interdependent uses and are of lasting community value. We are delighted that WKDs expanding Stream Restoration discipline will now include the expertise of Michael Ellison," said David Pond, Senior Vice President.

Mr. Ellison, who has 15-plus years experience in natural resource management and environmental science, will be based in WKDs Raleigh, North Carolina office. One of Mr. Ellisons initial WKD Water Resources Group projects involves providing pre-development monitoring data for a 1500-acre site in Mecklenburg County, NC. More than 4,000 homes, a 130,000-square-foot retail and office space town center, a 200-acre golf course, as well as an equestrian center, school and park planned for the site could impact water quality in eight coves and seven miles of streams. An unrelated stream restoration and enhancement water resources project, also involving Mr. Ellison, will reduce future downstream sediment loads and improve channel safety of a 5,000-foot incised stream channel in Rock Hill, SC.

During his career, Mr. Ellison has worked on more than ninety mid-Atlantic region projects in diverse geologic settings to revitalize land and water resources impacted by mining, waste disposal, and land development. He is a specialist in the assessment and restoration of watersheds, the application of standard fluvial geomorphic analytical methods to stream stability, and in the Classification of Natural Rivers developed by renowned hydrologist David L. Rosgen.

Mr. Ellison, who holds a B.S. in Geology from the University of Alabama, has completed extensive post-graduate study in the areas of process based channel design, river assessment and monitoring, river morphology and applications, bioengineering for stream bank stabilization, and applied fluvial geomorphology. He is registered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Certified Wetland Delineator, and is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the River Management Society, which is dedicated to the protection and management of North America's river resources.

Company Information
WK Dickson is a multi-disciplined, Engineering News-Record Magazine Top 500 consulting firm, specializing in engineering, planning, surveying, and landscape architecture. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina since 1929, WK Dickson has diversified into 11 different practice areas and grown from one office of five employees to seven offices of 205 employees positioned throughout the Southeastern United States. WKDs professional staff of state-registered engineers and surveyors is familiar with state and local regulations covering site development, transportation and environmental projects. WK Dickson maintains offices in Charlotte, Asheville, Hickory, Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; and Atlanta, Georgia.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scott Whalen, PE
Raleigh Branch Manager
Email: info@wkdickson.com
On the Web: www.wkdickson.com
(919) 851-6364