POSTER PRESENTER CO-AUTHOR: Olson Mari (GEI Consultants, Inc.) TITLE: Burrow by burrow: Using microhabitats to inform wetland restoration ABSTRACT: Restoration projects typically target landscape-scale goals such as improving hydrology, vegetation, and ecosystem processes, but small-scale features offer opportunities to enhance microhabitats for species that rely on them. At Havenwoods State Forest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we implemented a wetland restoration project incorporating a shallow scrape as part of an Area of Concern (AOC) project addressing the fish and wildlife population beneficial use impairment. The project specifically considered burrowing crayfish and snake species inhabiting the site. Crayfish burrows—subsurface microhabitats—serve as essential overwintering and refuge habitat for snakes, making their preservation critical to project success. We analyzed field-collected burrow locations in ArcGIS Pro using Average Nearest Neighbor and Kernel Density tools to evaluate spatial clustering and identify high-density areas. The design process balanced excavation objectives with habitat protection by refining the restoration footprint to reduce disturbance and applying burrow distribution data to guide placement of snake exclusion fencing. This poster presents geospatial methods for integrating species-specific habitat requirements into wetland restoration design to inform restoration placement while minimizing habitat disturbance. By “going beneath the surface,” this approach demonstrates a replicable framework for integrating fine-scale microhabitat distribution data to enhance landscape-scale restoration and benefit wildlife. BIO: Madeline Opie is a wetland ecologist with GEI Consultants, Inc., specializing in AOC habitat restoration design, wetland delineations, GIS mapping, and field surveys–including rare species, habitat, and FQA–for municipal and state clients. She holds a master’s degree in biological sciences from UW-Milwaukee and a bachelor's degree in environmental science from UW-Madison.