Chris Bason, the new science and technical coordinator for the Center for the Inland Bays, has big plans for conservation in the Cape Region.
Bason, 28, is originally from New Castle and attended the University of Delaware, where he received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, focusing on entomology and ecology. From Delaware he traveled to East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., where he received a master’s degree in biology, focusing on wetlands ecology. Articulate and energetic, Bason spent a year studying the role of beavers in pond ecosystems.
Bason then turned full circle and in August 2004 returned to Delaware where he interned with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before taking a position at the Center for the Inland Bays (CIB).
He began working as wetlands project leader, bringing to the job his seven years of wetlands experience. He said when the coordinator position opened up, he was interested because he really liked the program and the people.
“It’s a good group of people to work with,” said Bason. “There is a lot of community support and a lot of opportunities to bring people together.”
Bason said he likes the center’s goal of protecting the estuaries and watershed. He trudges through wetlands in the Cape Region daily, taking samples and monitoring improvements – working to protect an ecosystem that has long fascinated him.
“This is a good opportunity to apply my creativity,” said Bason. “I want to get some new ideas and get some new projects going.”
Bason hopes to reevaluate the center’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan to decide where the center will go in the future.
“I need to organize the information and see what the progress has been,” he said. “I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how far we’ve come.”
Bason brought his passion and energy to the CIB Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) meeting Sept. 9, where he presented his plans for his new position and asked for suggestions on how to improve the program.
Bason said he wants to focus on the comprehensive plan, a mission statement for the Inland Bays that defines how to preserve and protect the waterways. He also wants to work on a science outreach program, attract new volunteers and work on the center’s new building located at Indian River.
Bason said he’s excited to return to Delaware to help improve the coastal environment where he grew up, a once quiet area now undergoing rapid change.
“I know a lot of people here and have a lot of contacts,” he said. “All of my family is here and the coastal plains are what I know best.”
He now lives in Ocean View with his wife, Chantal, and works out of the Center’s James Farm location.
“Sussex County is so interesting because of the great natural resources, but it’s also changing rapidly,” said Bason. “It’s a real hot spot for people interested in conservation.”
