Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.

General information

Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI) emerged from The Michael Rolband Company, a real estate development firm founded in 1988 by Michael S. Rolband, P.E., P.W.S., P.W.D., LEED® AP, which specialized in environmentally-challenged sites. In 1991, the organization incorporated under the new name of Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. to reflect the firm’s shift in focus to Clean Water Act permitting and regulatory requirements of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act. WSSI became a Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Davey Tree Expert Company on April 1, 2014.

Today, WSSI is the leading natural and cultural resources consultant in Northern Virginia. Our scientists, regulatory specialists, engineers, surveyors, permit compliance specialists, archeologists, ecosystem managers, and geographic information specialists provide expertise and experience for public and private sector builders to obtain the environmental approvals needed to create the built environment.

WSSI has provided services and permit approvals on over ± 2,500 project sites, encompassing more than 200,000 acres. In addition the firm has created and restored over 1,300 acres of wetlands and ± 157,000 linear feet of streams. WSSI's workload consists of more than 90 percent repeat clientele.

As a testament to WSSI’s outstanding achievements and unparalleled expertise in its field, the firm has received numerous industry achievement awards, and its principal engineers and scientists are often asked to conduct classes and seminars for local universities, industry associations, and regulatory agencies, including: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association, the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA), the Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESI), and the American Law Institute/American Bar Association (ALI-ABA). In addition, WSSI staff frequently testify before local, state, and national legislative committees regarding wetlands and water resources' policy.

Always maintaining its principle of holistically examining environmental and cultural issues in the development process, WSSI has grown to over 75 technical and administrative staff. Understanding the unique perspectives of its clients allows WSSI to successfully integrate the practical constraints of economics and land plan requirements with the need to satisfy local, state, and federal regulations.