W. Blaine Early, III, Ph.D., J.D. is a senior member of the law firm of Stites & Harbison, PLLC, in the Lexington, Kentucky, office where he has practiced environmental law for 27 years. His practice areas focus on water-related laws and compliance, natural resources and energy, and surety law, especially environmental reclamation and remediation. He has served as chair of the Water Quality and Wetlands Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. He has also served on the boards and as chair of non-profit organizations committed to fact-based, community involvement in water quality and sustainability that include Watershed Watch in Kentucky, Inc. and Bluegrass Tomorrow, Inc. Prior to joining the firm he was a judicial law clerk to Hon. Jennifer B. Coffman, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky. He earned a Ph.D. degree in biology at the University of Louisville and was a professor of biology at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky before entering the legal profession. Blaine was drawn to Vital because of its mission to fully implement the long-term management of stream and wetland restoration projects and, in the process, to conduct research to test and substantiate the results of those projects. Such continuing efforts are crucial to sustainable maintenance of restored wetlands. He believes that Vital is uniquely positioned to be able to carry out that mission.