Services
Sound Scientific Information and Analysis

Surveys
Pre-construction Surveys
Biological surveys performed before construction or other activities to comply with permit conditions, mitigation measures, or conditions of approval.
Due Diligence Surveys
Reconnaissance-level surveys used to verify baseline biological conditions of a property before purchase or development and to identify biological constraints, fatal flaws, and opportunities.
Nesting Bird Surveys
Surveys performed to identify the location and status of any active bird nest on or near a project site.
Roosting Bat Surveys
Surveys conducted to locate any bat roost, determine its status, and identify its occupants.
Floral and Faunal Inventory Surveys
Focused surveys performed to catalog the plants and animals of a property or area.
Nonnative Plant Surveys
Focused surveys performed to document the presence and distribution of nonnative plants, especially invasive species.
Special-status Species Surveys
Protocol-level surveys used to determine presence, distribution, and/or abundance of plant or animal species listed under the federal or state Endangered Species Act or otherwise designated by federal or state agencies or conservation organizations as rare, threatened, or endangered.
Aerial Surveys
Surveys performed from airplanes or helicopters to determine numbers and distribution of animals such as waterfowl, seabirds, wading birds, nesting raptors, sea turtles, or marine mammals; includes photographic surveys and radio telemetry tracking surveys.

Monitoring
Environmental Compliance Monitoring
Monitoring of construction or other activities to ensure effects to sensitive biological resources are avoided or minimized in compliance with permit conditions, mitigation measures, or conditions of approval; includes presentation of environmental awareness training.
Passive Acoustic Monitoring
Monitoring using acoustic recording devices and analysis software to document the use of an area by bats, birds, or other animals.
Remote Camera Monitoring
Monitoring using remote, infrared cameras to document the use of an area by mammals or other animals.
Habitat Monitoring
Monitoring habitat using residual dry matter, percent vegetative cover, percent canopy cover, and other metrics in compliance with mitigation monitoring plans or habitat management plans.
Species Population Monitoring
Monitoring populations of plants or animals to provide a framework for making informed management decisions.
Assessments
Biological Resource Evaluations
Reconnaissance-level assessments used to document baseline biological conditions, identify biological constraints, evaluate project impacts, assess project alternatives, and identify avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures. Often performed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Biological Assessments
Assessments conducted on behalf of a federal agency to document the effects of a proposed action on species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Wetland Determinations and Delineations
Site assessments using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers three-parameter approach to determine if wetlands are present and, if present, delineating their boundaries relative to non-wetlands, property boundaries, and project footprints.
Conservation Value Assessments
Assessments of a property’s special-status biological resources and potential to provide mitigation or compensation for offsite impacts under a conservation easement.
Ecological Risk Assessments
Assessments that evaluate the likelihood that alternative actions may have adverse ecological effects, estimate the type and severity of those effects, and ultimately provide a systematic approach to aid those who must make decisions in the face of uncertainty.
Peer Review
Critical assessments of biological resource sections of environmental compliance documents, natural resource management plans, habitat conservation plans, and other documents and reports to evaluate validity of information and analysis.

Planning
Habitat Conservation Plans
Regional or project plans developed on behalf of a non-federal entity pursuant to Section 10 of the federal Endangered Species Act.
Natural Community Conservation Plans
Regional plans developed pursuant to the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Fish and Game Code Section 2800 et seq.).
Habitat Creation, Restoration, and Enhancement Plans
Plans developed to guide activities to create, restore, or enhance habitat for plants and wildlife.
Mitigation Monitoring Plans
Plans developed to identify actions and success criteria for compensatory mitigation for impacts to wetlands pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean water Act.
Species Protection, Conservation, or Monitoring Plans
Plans developed to protect, conserve, or monitor special-status species.
Integrated Natural Resource Management Plans
Plans developed pursuant to the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a-670f, as amended) that identify specific actions and strategies needed to protect biological resources on U.S. Department of Defense lands.
Habitat Management Plans
Plans developed to guide activities needed to manage habitat for plants and wildlife.
Weed Management Plans
Plans that identify methods and strategies for managing invasive plant species.

Permitting

Clean Water Act
Section 404 permits with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Section 401 Water Quality Certifications with the Regional Water Quality Control Boards.
California Fish and Game Code Sections 1600 et seq.
Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreements.
Federal Endangered Species Act
Section 7 and Section 10 incidental take permits.
California Endangered Species Act
Section 2081 incidental take permits.
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Incidental Harassment Authorizations and Letters of Authorization.
Studies
We carry out detailed investigations and analyses to evaluate particular questions or test certain hypotheses. Representative types of studies include investigating whether (1) assumptions about project-related impacts adequately predict actual impacts, (2) avoidance and minimization measures adequately protect biological resources, (3) survey or monitoring methods adequately capture appropriate and sufficient data, and (4) whether oil spills may have resulted in population-level effects on biological resources.
