Delivering environmental consulting services related to wetlands, streams, and wildlife habitat in the Puget Sound region.”
 

 
 

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  Photos: Great Blue Heron,  Thomas Lake Wetland Complex

Services Provided

As evidenced from the list of services provided below, Wetlands & Wildlife can effectively assist clients with nearly all their environmental project needs related to regulated wetlands, streams, or wildlife habitat. Please click on any item for a  brief description of each service provided.

Wetlands & Wildlife provides the following environmental consulting services for clients:
1) Initial site visits (reconnaissance)
2) Feasibility analyses
3) Site planning guidance, including preparation of site plans
4) Wetland delineations
5) Wetland rating forms and data sheets for report submittal
6) Stream, river, and lake delineations of Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM)
7) Wildlife habitat assessments
8) Wildlife surveys
9) Wildlife Habitat Management Plans and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Plans
10) Preparation of Floodplain Habitat Assessment and Mitigation Report
11) High-accuracy Trimble GPS machine to locate Critical Areas locations
12) Detailed environmental reports
13) Detailed mitigation/restoration plans using computer-aided drawings
14) Monitoring of installed Mitigation Plans and preparation of Monitoring Reports
15) Project Management--Assistance obtaining development permits
16) Attendance at site or office meetings with regulatory agency personnel
17) Attendance at public hearings
18) State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
19) Joint Aquatic Resource Project Application (JARPA)
20) Assistance when clients have a code enforcement case on their property



Below is a brief description of each numbered item listed above:

1) Initial site visits (reconnaissance) conducted to determine if any regulated Critical Areas exist on a property that may affect current or future proposed development. Initial visits can be completed at the request of a property owner, the property owner’s primary contact person, or a prospective buyer if a property is for sale (as long as the property owner provides written permission to access the property); (NOTE: Wetlands & Wildlife recommends that prospective buyers complete this step before the real estate transaction is completed so that no surprises related to Critical Areas come up after the purchase is already completed) Back to top

2) Feasibility analyses conducted to determine if a client’s desired development plan will impact a regulated critical area or associated buffer area. This service can save clients time and money because it is important to be aware of Critical Areas regulations before paying money to have an architect or engineer design a project that can’t be approved due to Critical Areas regulations Back to top

3) Site planning guidance, including preparation of site plans as required by the federal, state, and local jurisdictions. An accurate site plan shows all proposed development and all existing conditions including existing structures, existing access, easements, etc. Wetlands & Wildlife prepares quality professional site plans and maps by using a computer-aided drawing program Back to top

4) Wetland delineations conducted in accordance with the Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual and the Washington State Wetland Delineation Manual. This step is required if it is determined during prior steps that any regulated wetland areas or associated protective buffer areas are located on the project site that may be affected by a proposed development activity Back to top

5) Wetland rating forms and data sheets for report submittal are completed to determine a wetland’s regulatory classification. The number of points scored on the rating form dictates the category of wetland and the associated regulatory buffer setback required between a proposed development activity and the wetland. The rating form used during the site evaluation was produced by the Washington Department of Ecology, while the data sheet used by Wetlands & Wildlife, Inc. was produced by the Army Corps of Engineers Back to top

6) Stream, river, and lake delineations of Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) conducted using current OHWM guidelines provided by the Washington Department of Ecology. The OHWM is not always the top of bank and is not always as obvious as it may appear. Wetlands & Wildlife is trained and experienced to determine OHWM using current field assessment methods Back to top

7) Wildlife habitat assessments conducted to determine if habitat for threatened, endangered, and special status wildlife species occurs on a proposed development site. Detailed wildlife habitat assessments are required by multiple jurisdictions based on site characteristics Back to top

8) Wildlife surveys completed to determine presence/absence/abundance of any threatened, endangered, or special status wildlife species if the wildlife habitat assessment determines that a species protected by a federal, state, or local regulation may be utilizing a given property Back to top

9) Wildlife Habitat Management Plans and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Plans completed as required by many jurisdictions in our region. Habitat Management Plans are required when prior biological reviews determine that a species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act has a primary association with the proposed development site. Habitat Enhancement Plans are often prepared as a portion of a mitigation plan intended to offset an impact associated with a proposed development activity Back to top

10) Preparation of Floodplain Habitat Assessment and Mitigation Report. A document produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and just released in early 2010 requires many development projects proposed within a mapped floodplain to have a detailed study conducted prior to permit approval to evaluate effects of the proposed development on species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Wetlands & Wildlife has the necessary experience to complete this detailed habitat assessment and provide mitigation recommendations for clients as required by regulatory agencies to assist in permit approval Back to top

11) High-accuracy Trimble GPS machine used to collect data and locate delineation flags on a site. Depending on each client’s project goals and the site-specific characteristics, clients may be able to take advantage of this service by locating Critical Areas flag locations with a high-accuracy global-positioning system (GPS) machine and thereby avoiding the need to hire a professional land surveyor to locate the wetland flags. Using a highly accurate GPS machine to locate delineation flags can save the client money because they don’t have to hire a professional surveyor to locate the delineation flags, yet the GPS machine can produce data collection results accurate within 12 inches or less. The map created from this high-accuracy GPS machine also aids in preparation of an accurate site plan and the detailed mitigation/restoration planting plan when imported into our computer-aided drawing program. NOTE: Certain projects (plats, short plats, etc.) will require a professional land survey before agency approval, but this high-accuracy GPS machine can be used on many other project types to assist clients Back to top

12) Detailed environmental reports prepared for clients which discuss any regulated critical areas on the site and current or future development proposals as they relate to the applicable environmental regulations to assist clients with project approval from all necessary environmental review agencies (federal, state, and local). The list of environmental reports includes of Critical Areas Studies, Biological Assessments, Biological Evaluations, and Proposed Mitigation or Restoration Plans Back to top

13) Detailed mitigation/restoration plans prepared in accordance with the regulatory agencies’ guidelines to assist clients with project approval from all necessary environmental review agencies (federal, state, and local). These detailed reports include a text component and a map/visual component of proposed mitigation/restoration through use of a computer-aided drawing program which provides quality professional maps that are scaled and accurate. Wetlands & Wildlife’s ability to draw detailed schematic planting plans assists clients because they don’t have to retain a separate landscape architect to complete the planting plan for them Back to top

14) Monitoring of installed Mitigation Plan and preparation of Monitoring Reports. Once a mitigation/restoration plan has been approved by a regulatory agency and installed per the approved plans, Wetlands & Wildlife monitors the installed mitigation plans for clients to ensure performance standards outlined in the mitigation plan are met. An annual monitoring report is completed for submittal to the regulatory agency, complete with a description of the mitigation site’s status and photographs. At the end of the mitigation monitoring and maintenance period outlined in the mitigation plan, a final report is submitted to show that all mitigation performance standards have been met Back to top

15) Project management--Assistance obtaining development permits when a jurisdiction’s environmental code requires a permit to be obtained. Wetlands & Wildlife can assist clients with the often cumbersome and daunting federal, state, county, and city environmental permitting processes Back to top

16) Attendance at site or office meetings with regulatory agency personnel. At the client’s request, Wetlands & Wildlife attends meetings with staff members of environmental review agencies acting on behalf of clients to determine the most efficient and cost-effective approach at achieving approval of the proposed development project. Meeting attendance can be critical to making sure clients understand what is required of them to obtain permit approval Back to top

17) Attendance at public hearings and legal meetings completed on behalf of clients as the technical Critical Areas expert for wetland, stream, and protected wildlife habitat regulations. I have attended several public hearings as the lead technical expert related to code enforcement cases involving Critical Areas issues Back to top

18) State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) checklists submitted to the appropriate review agency (only if your project requires this to be completed) Back to top

19) Joint Aquatic Resource Project Application (JARPA) submitted to the appropriate review agency (only if your project requires this to be completed)  Back to top

20) Assistance when clients have a code enforcement case on their property. In the unfortunate case that a code enforcement case has been opened on a client’s property related to Critical Areas, Wetlands & Wildlife can assist with determining if any violation of the federal, state, or local environmental regulations did in fact occur. If it is determined that a violation did occur, Wetlands & Wildlife assists the client with rectifying the violation to get the property into compliance so that the code enforcement case can be closed. Back to top
 

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