Our environmental experts have worked with Northwest natural resource managers for more than 30 years to monitor, protect, and restore sensitive flora and fauna in our region.
Acoustic & Radio Telemetry
Providing tools to track movements & behavior of protected fishes
Areas of Specialization: Assist dam operators design and implement HD PIT tags to monitor adult Pacific lamprey - Design and maintain radio telemetry arrays to track adult Chinook salmon and steelhead - Install telemetry stations to monitor movements of migrating juvenile Chinook salmon & effects of dam removal on out-migrating salmonids - Install and maintain radio telemetry sites for year-round monitoring of adult lamprey – Perform 3D mapping of fish movements - Operate, maintain, & download Lotek radio telemetry equipment & Vemco and Lotek acoustic telemetry systems – Develop & maintain telemetry databases – Perform surgical tagging of juvenile Chinook and adult Pacific lamprey.
Biological Impact Assessments
Evaluating & documenting impacts from utility siting, construction, & operation
Areas of Specialization: Identify and quantify potential impacts to: juvenile & adult fish from hydropower operations - Benthic species from reservoir drawdowns – State-listed plants, burrowing owl nests & ground squirrel colonies from constructing, operating, & maintaining a natural gas pipeline - Rare plants, black-tailed jackrabbits, and shrub-steppe-dependent birds, & habitats from rebuilding power poles and transmission lines – Marine fishes, sargassum, plankton, water, & sediment from the BP Gulf oil spill. Provide recommendations to reduce environmental impacts - Perform ESA Section 7 & 10 consultations & mitigation planning.
Characterization & Monitoring
Providing scientifically accurate information for environmental decision makers
Areas of Specialization: Design & perform studies to: Monitor long-term trends in fall Chinook salmon redd abundance and distribution – Characterize aquatic habitat for steelhead spawning - Assess larval Pacific lamprey to understand critical habitat requirements - Assess species composition, densities, & distribution of freshwater mussels - Identify and protect priority roosting habitats for state monitor bat species – Map distribution of rare plants to minimize disturbance - Preserve sagebrush-obligate bird populations & habitats – Monitor state-listed frogs and toads to help protect sensitive breeding areas - Map distribution of rare plants to minimize disturbance - Develop management and monitoring plans to help assess changes and trends in the condition of flora and fauna.
Compliance
Protecting natural resources while maintaining operational objectives
Areas of Specialization: Conduct field surveys and monitoring to document compliance with federal, state, and regional laws and agreements that protect and enhance natural resources – ESA, NEPA, NRDA, SEPA, Migratory Bird Act - Assist clients fulfill biological objectives & respond to FCRPS litigation-related issues associated with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) License & U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion - Determine the effectiveness of bird flight diverters in reducing the chance of birds colliding with overhead transmission lines - Monitor hydroelectric project sites for aquatic invasive plants in compliance with FERC and Ecology requirements related to Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification - Conduct formal & informal consultations with USFWS, NOAA, Ecology, tribes, & state fish and wildlife agencies - Maintain NOAA Fisheries scientific collection) permit for handling listed salmonids & WDFW scientific collection permit.
Cultural & Historic Resources
Ensuring compliance with federal cultural resources laws and regulations
Areas of Specialization: Archaeology, anthropology and tribal issues - Historic resources inventories, assessments, design – Section 106 compliance & reporting - Cultural resource management - Consultations with Northwest Native American tribal groups - Cultural resource monitoring plans - Memoranda of Understanding & Programmatic Agreements - GIS mapping and analysis.
Environmental Surveys & Sampling
Collecting defensible data to accurately and precisely represent problem being investigated
Areas of Specialization: Aerial surveys & photography to manage long-term trends in salmonid redd abundance and distribution – SCUBA & snorkel surveys to collect freshwater mollusks and document age, densities, composition, and distribution – Trimble GPS and underwater video camera to map habitat characteristics. ABP-2 backpack electrofisher to identify potentially suitable habitat for larval Pacific lamprey – Radio telemetry to track fish passage - Acoustic bat detectors to identify & protect sensitive species – Terrestrial spotlight surveys to determine the presence of black-tailed jackrabbits – Boat & land surveys to assist in mitigating and restoring protected aquatic species - Full fleet of fully equipped research vessels to conduct sampling and surveying in offshore areas during daylight and nighttime - Large pool of U.S. Coast Guard-licensed vessel captains.
Fisheries Biology
Assisting clients improve survival of salmon and other rare fishes in the FCRPS
Areas of Specialization: Conduct rare, threatened, & endangered species surveys, fisheries inventories, & population surveys – Monitor salmonid population & recovery – Evaluate juvenile and adult fish passage at hydroelectric projects – Design & maintain radio & acoustic telemetry systems to monitor fish species of concern – Identify & count adult fish at mainstem dams with fish passage facilities – Evaluate hydropower generation and flow regulation impacts on anadromous fish survival – Perform surgical tagging of juvenile Chinook and adult Pacific lamprey – Inspect juvenile collection facilities, fish bypass facilities, & adult fish facilities – Perform benthic invertebrate sampling & external and histopathological and physiological analyses of fish health - Evaluate the status of fish stocks in the FCRPS.
Invasive Species
Identifying invasive terrestrial & aquatic plants to eradicate & control species
Areas of Specialization: Perform pre-construction noxious weed surveys for power transmission line projects - Conduct field surveys to identify invasive plants and noxious weeds, photograph and map their locations, and determine population density - Recommend methods of propagation and spreading to control species - Map known aquatic invasive species & monitor for the presence of new invasive species at or near hydroelectric project facilities per site Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring and Control Plan.
Water Quality
Areas of Specialization: Perform water quality measurement and monitoring in reservoirs, lakes, impoundments, rivers, streams, wetlands, powerhouse forebays and tailraces, and natural and man-made waterways - Analyze water quality (physical parameters, chemical analysis, phytoplankton analysis) - Assess water quality conditions and examine spatial and/or temporal trends and relationships among water quality parameters - Monitor hydroelectric project sites for aquatic invasive plants in compliance with FERC and Ecology requirements related to 401 Water Quality Conditions.