Matt Weiss

Status: Current

Served: 2023-2025

With: USFWS

At: Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge

Station: Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in Marion, Illinois

Years Served: 2023-present

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

Pre-Fellowship Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from University of Cincinnati

Bio: Matt Weiss is a Public Lands Transportation Fellow for the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service Crab Orchard Refuge in beautiful Southern Illinois. He assists with improving mobility access to the greater 44,000 acre refuge area that sees over one million visitors annually. Living car free and commuting via ebike to work informs his perspective on road safety. He comes to WTI with experience in designing the built environment and two years of experience working on Vision Zero for the Chicago Department of Transportation. Outside of work, Matt is on the Young Professionals in Transportation International Board as the Midwest Regional Liaison. He also is on the Board of Directors of Out Our Front Door, a Bike camping educational nonprofit in the Chicago great lakes basin. He is a friend of the AEP-20 Standing Committee on Transportation Needs of National Parks and Public Lands. Matt is an Eagle Scout and grew up by Chicago O’Hare Airport with an appreciation for nature and active transportation.

Description:

This transportation fellow position will be stationed at the Service’s Crab Orchard NWR located in Marion, Illinois (approximately 2 hours from St. Louis, MO; 3 hours from Nashville, TN; and 5 hours from Chicago, IL).

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge was established on August 5, 1947. The refuge is made up of 44,000 acres and is complexed with the 17,000 acre Cypress Creek NWR, both located in Southern Illinois. Crab Orchard NWR has four legislated purposes of wildlife, agriculture, recreation, and industry. The refuge also has designated wilderness and an ongoing CERCLA site. The refuge has three large reservoirs, several smaller wetlands, forest, grassland, and streams. The topography of the refuge varies from flat to rolling to large hills and cliffs in the southern portion with abundant wildlife resources. Public visitation nears one million each year with refuge recreational amenities including campgrounds, a marina, group camps, fishing piers and a Visitor Center.

Some of the potential projects that the transportation fellow will provide support for during this assignment at the Crab Orchard NWR include:

• Work to identify how the unit can fit into the proposed Electric Vehicle corridor
• Plan and implement use of the units traffic counters
• Assist in implementing recommendations from the Road Safety Audit
• Assist in coordination and implementation of the Crab Orchard Greenway, a Multimodal Trail
• Project administration and coordination with contractors and stakeholders for the Wolf Creek Bridge Replacement
• Assist with plans for improving wayfinding (e.g., maps and signage)
• Conduct stakeholder outreach in the area