MEET THE STAFF
MEET THE STAFF
MEET THE STAFF
Restoring or creating new habitats runs deep in our company’s roots. Although W2W has been in business since 2018, our experienced team members have served the Chicagoland area, northern Illinois, and the Midwest for much longer!
Education and training are important to us, not only for staff development but for our clients as well. We aim to keep up with the latest research and restoration techniques. Our staff professional certifications include but are not limited to:
- Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Prescribed Burn Manager
- International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Arborist
- Illinois Department of Agriculture Pesticide Applicator License
- Lake and McHenry County Certified Wetland Specialists
See below to learn more about our founder’s background.
Matt Hokanson
Owner, Ecologist
Matt is an ecological professional and finds great joy in sharing his knowledge with others. He has always had a love for the outdoors but discovered his true calling after volunteering with local restoration groups. Working alongside seasoned botanists and habitat restoration practitioners, restoring habitat for wildlife and people, and working to save rare plant species turned into a life-long passion of his.
After retiring from the automotive industry, in 2008 Matt began working at an ecological restoration firm, where he met Erin. Over the next four years he expanded his restoration knowledge and led field crews to control invasive species, remove brush and trees, restore native shorelines, participate in prescription burns, and work on native planting and seeding projects. Prior to cofounding Woods to Wetlands, LLC with Erin, Matt was also employed as a resource technician with the Forest Preserves of Cook County for several years. There he became certified as an arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and assisted with habitat restoration and forestry related projects, some of which required tree climbing, tree planting, pruning, maintenance, and tree removal.
Matt is trained in wildland firefighting and is a certified Prescribed Burn Manager through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. For the last decade he has spent much time planning, executing, and leading both prescribed burns and wildfire suppression in grassland, woodland, and wetland fuels. Additionally, Matt has trained and worked with Forest Preserve staff, restoration volunteers, and conservation corps members on prescribed burn procedures and techniques.
Proficient with GIS, cartography, and drones, Matt develops data-based maps for various projects and clients. For the last 16 years, through his volunteer and research endeavors, Matt has worked closely with rare, threatened, and endangered species for their conservation and propagation. He is an advocate for local forest preserves and enjoys helping locate, identify, monitor, and collect seed from conservative plant populations. Matt is actively engaged in volunteer outreach and other initiatives with the Forest Preserves of Cook County, the Citizens for Conservation, and as a member of other local environmental committees. As a volunteer, Matt has supervised habitat restoration workdays and helps train fellow volunteers on various restoration techniques such as target herbicide application, mowing, planting, and native seed collection, seed preparation/cleaning, and native seed distribution.
Matt Hokanson
Owner, Ecologist
Matt is an ecological professional and finds great joy in sharing his knowledge with others. He has always had a love for the outdoors but discovered his true calling after volunteering with local restoration groups. Working alongside seasoned botanists and habitat restoration practitioners, restoring habitat for wildlife and people, and working to save rare plant species turned into a life-long passion of his.
After retiring from the automotive industry, in 2008 Matt began working at an ecological restoration firm, where he met Erin. Over the next four years he expanded his restoration knowledge and led field crews to control invasive species, remove brush and trees, restore native shorelines, participate in prescription burns, and work on native planting and seeding projects. Prior to cofounding Woods to Wetlands, LLC with Erin, Matt was also employed as a resource technician with the Forest Preserves of Cook County for several years. There he became certified as an arborist through the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and assisted with habitat restoration and forestry related projects, some of which required tree climbing, tree planting, pruning, maintenance, and tree removal.
Matt is trained in wildland firefighting and is a certified Prescribed Burn Manager through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. For the last decade he has spent much time planning, executing, and leading both prescribed burns and wildfire suppression in grassland, woodland, and wetland fuels. Additionally, Matt has trained and worked with Forest Preserve staff, restoration volunteers, and conservation corps members on prescribed burn procedures and techniques.
Proficient with GIS, cartography, and drones, Matt develops data-based maps for various projects and clients. For the last 16 years, through his volunteer and research endeavors, Matt has worked closely with rare, threatened, and endangered species for their conservation and propagation. He is an advocate for local forest preserves and enjoys helping locate, identify, monitor, and collect seed from conservative plant populations. Matt is actively engaged in volunteer outreach and other initiatives with the Forest Preserves of Cook County, the Citizens for Conservation, and as a member of other local environmental committees. As a volunteer, Matt has supervised habitat restoration workdays and helps train fellow volunteers on various restoration techniques such as target herbicide application, mowing, planting, and native seed collection, seed preparation/cleaning, and native seed distribution.
Erin Hokanson
Owner, Wetland Scientist
Erin is an experienced wetland scientist, plant ecologist, and seasoned restoration practitioner dedicated to reviving local ecosystems and spreading the importance of land conservation. She believes habitat restoration begins at home. Creating native greenspaces and corridors in urban areas is crucial to support our local pollinator and wildlife populations and for healthier and happier lives.
Prior to graduating from Dominican University with honors, in 2007, Erin was hired by an ecological restoration firm and quickly soaked up the science and art of habitat restoration. Becoming the “plant expert”, Erin developed in-house plant identification guides and tests to help employees fine tune their native and invasive species identification skills. Five years later, Erin was motivated to learn more and was employed by an environmental consulting firm to lead the restoration of approximately 60 acres of critical breeding habitat for the federally endangered Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana) located on Forest Preserve property in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties. This project required coordination with local, state, and federal resource agencies in addition to setting-up and running a three-year transect study to document restoration progress. At this firm Erin was also formally trained as a wetland delineator and gained much experience delineating and overseeing wetland mitigation projects for state transportation agencies.
Throughout her 16-year professional career, Erin has regularly performed vegetation management within sensitive habitats and wetland systems, has provided restoration guidance to clients, supervised and planned wetland mitigation projects, conducted habitat assessments, floristic inventories, plant monitoring, and transect studies, written numerous natural area management plans and technical reports, planned and participated in prescription burns, and performed tree health and identification surveys. Additionally, Erin has delineated hundreds of wetlands and participated in field monitoring and meander surveys for several state and federally endangered species such as the eastern prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea), leafy prairie clover (Dalea foliosa), Mead’s milkweed (Asclepias meadii), Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus), eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), rattlesnake master borer moth (Papaipema eryngii), and others.
With her extensive amount of consulting experience and training, Erin strives to incorporate native plants in every outdoor project and uses her knowledge to better our community by educating landowners, training future ecological restoration warriors and enhancing the habitats we live in and are surrounded by.
Erin Hokanson
Owner, Wetland Scientist
Erin is an experienced wetland scientist, plant ecologist, and seasoned restoration practitioner dedicated to reviving local ecosystems and spreading the importance of land conservation. She believes habitat restoration begins at home. Creating native greenspaces and corridors in urban areas is crucial to support our local pollinator and wildlife populations and for healthier and happier lives.
Prior to graduating from Dominican University with honors, in 2007, Erin was hired by an ecological restoration firm and quickly soaked up the science and art of habitat restoration. Becoming the “plant expert”, Erin developed in-house plant identification guides and tests to help employees fine tune their native and invasive species identification skills. Five years later, Erin was motivated to learn more and was employed by an environmental consulting firm to lead the restoration of approximately 60 acres of critical breeding habitat for the federally endangered Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana) located on Forest Preserve property in Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties. This project required coordination with local, state, and federal resource agencies in addition to setting-up and running a three-year transect study to document restoration progress. At this firm Erin was also formally trained as a wetland delineator and gained much experience delineating and overseeing wetland mitigation projects for state transportation agencies.
Throughout her 16-year professional career, Erin has regularly performed vegetation management within sensitive habitats and wetland systems, has provided restoration guidance to clients, supervised and planned wetland mitigation projects, conducted habitat assessments, floristic inventories, plant monitoring, and transect studies, written numerous natural area management plans and technical reports, planned and participated in prescription burns, and performed tree health and identification surveys. Additionally, Erin has delineated hundreds of wetlands and participated in field monitoring and meander surveys for several state and federally endangered species such as the eastern prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera leucophaea), leafy prairie clover (Dalea foliosa), Mead’s milkweed (Asclepias meadii), Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), Black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus), eastern massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), rattlesnake master borer moth (Papaipema eryngii), and others.
With her extensive amount of consulting experience and training, Erin strives to incorporate native plants in every outdoor project and uses her knowledge to better our community by educating landowners, training future ecological restoration warriors and enhancing the habitats we live in and are surrounded by.
...preserving and restoring the ecological health of our landscapes from woods to wetlands...
...preserving and restoring the ecological health of our landscapes from woods to wetlands...
...preserving and restoring the ecological health of our landscapes from woods to wetlands...
Woods to Wetlands, LLC
Streamwood, IL 60107
(224) 642-8708
Copyright 2023 Woods to Wetlands, LLC
Woods to Wetlands, LLC
Streamwood, IL 60107
(224) 642-8708
Copyright 2023 Woods to Wetlands, LLC
Woods to Wetlands, LLC
Streamwood, IL 60107
(224) 642-8708
Copyright 2023 Woods to Wetlands, LLC