Wetland Training Institute

What Wetland Training Institute does

Wetland Training Institute LLC (WTI) is a privately held professional training company founded in 1989 by Robert (Bob) Pierce and other former U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Branch staff, headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It delivers continuing education courses on wetland delineation, hydric soils, hydrology, plant identification, wetland construction and restoration, mitigation banking, and federal wetland policy/permitting (Clean Water Act Sections 404/401), serving environmental consultants, federal and state agency staff (USACE, EPA, state environmental agencies), and certified wetland professionals (PWS, CPSS, CWB).

WTI's product portfolio spans 15+ discrete courses delivered in three formats — in-person, online, and hybrid (online lectures plus in-person field practicum) — at price points ranging from $325 (entry-level plant ID) to $1,750+ (multi-day comprehensive courses), plus a $5,000 team-training SKU. The company complements its course catalog with three proprietary publications — the Wetland Mitigation book, Nationwide Permits Complete (2022), and the Pocket Guide to Hydric Soil Field Indicators (2025 edition, Version 9.0) — sold individually or as a discounted 3-book bundle, plus branded merchandise. There is no proprietary technology platform; the offering is content- and instructor-driven, with certificates of completion accepted by certifying agencies for continuing education hours.

The business operates as a bootstrapped, founder-owned LLC with no venture capital, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed partnerships, and a small employee base (11–50). Revenue is generated on a direct-to-consumer basis through the company's e-commerce website, with marketing limited to organic website presence, an email newsletter, a Facebook page, and a long-form blog ('Tales from the Swamp'). Geographic reach covers all continental U.S. states plus Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but no international markets. The company's core differentiator is the pedigree of its instructors, several of whom helped author the technical manuals, regional supplements, and policies that define U.S. wetland regulatory practice.

Name

Wetland Training Institute

Legal name

Wetland Training Institute LLC

Website

https://wetlandtraining.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wetland Training Institute LLC is a privately held, founder-owned professional training company founded in 1989 that delivers in-person, online, and hybrid courses and proprietary publications on wetland delineation, hydric soils, hydrology, plant identification, restoration, and federal permitting to environmental consultants, agency staff, and certified wetland professionals across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Environmental Training and Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Agribusiness, Farm Management & Compliance (EDAOAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Crop, Soil & Agronomy Technician Training (EDAOAOAF)

Keywords

• Wetland delineation training
• Environmental professional education
• Hydric soils instruction
• Wetland regulatory courses
• Wetland science certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Stevens Point

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Course Tuition: Revenue generated from professional training courses on wetland delineation, soils, hydrology, plant identification, policy/permits, and restoration. Courses priced individually from $325 to $1,750+ depending on topic and format. Includes in-person field courses, online lectures, and hybrid formats.
2. Publications and Books: Sale of educational publications including Wetland Mitigation book ($55), Nationwide Permits Complete ($85), Pocket Guide to Hydric Soil Field Indicators ($60), and bundled book packages ($180).
3. Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise such as WTI Logo T-Shirts ($25).
4. Team/Corporate Training: Custom team training options available, with the 2026 Updated Delineation Course - Team View priced at $5,000.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wetland Training Institute LLC provides professional training courses on wetland delineation, soils and hydrology, plant identification, wetland construction and restoration, mitigation banking, and wetland policy/permitting, offered in in-person, online, and hybrid (online lectures plus field practicum) formats. The company also sells exclusive reference books, field guides, and branded merchandise supporting wetland science practice, and issues certificates of completion documenting instructional hours for professional certification requirements.

Product overview

Wetland Training Institute LLC (WTI) offers a portfolio of professional training products and publications for wetland science and regulatory professionals. The core offering consists of training courses in wetland delineation, soils and hydrology, plant identification, construction/restoration, policy and permitting, and advanced technical topics, available in in-person, online, and hybrid formats. Supporting the training are three core publications: the 'Nationwide Permits Complete' reference book, the 'Pocket Guide to Hydric Soil Field Indicators,' and 'Wetland Mitigation: Planning Hydrology, Vegetation, and Soils for Constructed Wetlands.' A bundle option packages all three books together. The company also offers merchandise and awards certificates of completion for course participants documenting instructional hours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wetland Training Courses Professional training courses covering wetland delineation, soils and hydrology, plant identification, wetland construction and restoration, mitigation banking concepts, and wetland policy and permitting, available in in-person, online, and hybrid (online lectures with field practicum) formats for environmental professionals throughout the United States.
• Wetland Mitigation: Planning Hydrology, Vegetation, and Soils for Constructed Wetlands (book) A comprehensive guide to wetland construction and restoration focusing on hydrology planning with supporting chapters on goal setting, substrate preparation, plant selection and planting, including access to Excel spreadsheet programs for hydrograph preparation.
• Nationwide Permits Complete 2022 (book) Reference book containing complete texts of 2021/2022 Nationwide Permits, General Conditions, and Regulations at 33 CFR 330, along with associated preambles from the past 40 years.
• 2025 Pocket Guide to Hydric Soil Field Indicators (book) Field reference guide based on Version 9.0 (2024) of the NRCS Field Indicators of Hydric Soils, including simplified keys for all ten USACE Regional Supplements and a new key for contrast determinations.
• 3 Book Bundle Bundle package containing one copy each of Nationwide Permits Complete 2022, 2025 Pocket Guide to Hydric Soil Field Indicators, and Wetland Mitigation book at a discounted price.
• WTI Logo T-Shirt 100% cotton t-shirt available in sizes Small through XXXL featuring the Wetland Training Institute logo.
• 2026 Updated Delineation Course - Team View (Custom Team Training) Custom team training option for the Updated Wetland Delineation Course, designed for organizations training multiple staff members simultaneously, priced at $5,000 per team.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Soil Science Society of America (SSSA): SSSA administers the Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS) credential, whose CE requirements overlap with WTI's hydric soils and delineation courses. It functions as a certification ecosystem peer rather than a direct training competitor.
• Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS): SWS is the principal professional society for wetland scientists, administering the Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) certification. While not a training company, SWS shapes the certification framework whose continuing-education requirements drive recurring demand for WTI's courses, making it an adjacent ecosystem peer.

Emerging players

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Watershed Academy Webcasts: EPA's Watershed Academy offers free web-based training on Clean Water Act and watershed topics. While not a paid training provider, it competes at the low-cost/free end of the same regulatory-knowledge training market and could compress demand for certain introductory WTI courses.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) PROSPECT Training: PROSPECT is the USACE's internal training program for regulators and engineers, including modules on Section 404 permitting and jurisdictional determinations. It overlaps with WTI's government-segment content as a free in-house alternative for federal staff who might otherwise be WTI customers.
• National Conservation Training Center (NCTC): NCTC is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's centralized training facility offering conservation courses to federal and state employees, including wetland and regulatory modules. It is a public-sector incumbent that overlaps with WTI's government-segment training content but does not sell to private-sector consultants.

Regional players

• University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point / Wisconsin Continuing Education: UWSP is geographically co-located with WTI (Stevens Point, WI) and offers extension and continuing education programs touching on soil, water, and environmental topics. It is a regional, institutionally-backed training provider that competes for the same Wisconsin and Upper Midwest practitioner audience but does not operate nationally in the same way WTI does.

Direct peers

• Northwest Environmental Training Center (NWETC): NWETC is the closest direct peer to WTI, offering professional short courses and continuing education for environmental consultants, regulators, and scientists on topics like wetland delineation, NEPA, ESA, and Clean Water Act permitting. It mirrors WTI's direct-to-consumer course catalog model and serves overlapping buyer personas (consultants, agency staff, biologists).
• Swamp School: Swamp School offers field-based wetland delineation training courses primarily in the southeastern U.S. It is a smaller, more regionally focused direct competitor to WTI's in-person field courses, with comparable curriculum and similar buyer personas.
• HalfMoon Education: HalfMoon Education provides continuing education seminars and online courses for licensed professionals across environmental, engineering, and land-use topics, including wetland delineation and stormwater. It competes with WTI on the same individual-professional buyer with CE-credit-driven purchasing behavior, although it operates across a broader professional CE portfolio.
• Lorman Education Services: Lorman delivers on-demand and live continuing professional education across environmental compliance, real estate, and HR topics. It overlaps with WTI on the environmental training side and competes for the same professional-development budget, though its catalog is much broader and less specialized in wetland delineation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wetland.training
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wetland-training

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wetland Training Institute