Spotlight: Aquatic Services
Aspen Environmental Group maintains a core staff of freshwater and marine ecologists who continue to provide creative solutions to complex aquatic issues. Our expert fisheries biologists and stream ecologists are working on some of the most complex construction and recovery projects in Southern California including the Santa Ana River, Little Rock Creek, Ventura River, and the Santa Clara River. Our certified fisheries professionals perform focused surveys and multi-year population studies utilizing capture/release and mark-recapture processing of special status fish, amphibians, and reptiles; and statistical analysis to determine population health and trends.
These biologists support agency and public-sector clients with a range of services from field surveys to long term ecological studies. Aspens team of biologists can prepare legally-defensible impact analyses for CEQA/NEPA; provide agency consultation; develop appropriate mitigation and monitoring programs; and ensure State and federal ESA compliance. Our Team can also develop mitigation planning in support of the CWA, Fish and Game code, CERCLA, and NPDES compliance. Aspen’s expert understanding of aquatic habitat criteria informs the development of successful restoration strategies to benefit special status species.
Our aquatic experts help clients navigate the environmental assessment and permitting process to achieve project objectives while complying with state/federal requirements. One of Aspen’s goals has been to play the role of the liaison between agency and industry clients and help the parties reach consensus on developing project objectives that allow responsible development. Some of Aspen’s services include focused surveys for state and federally-listed macroinvertebrate, fish, amphibian, and reptile species and to conduct long-term population studies.
For broader aquatic habitat impact analysis and mitigation Aspen experts can accurately define aquatic habitat types and conditions using a variety of physical and biological protocols. These include the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Protocol (SWAMP); California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM), and the California Eelgrass Mitigation, Benthic Macroinvertebrate (BMI) and Algal inventory. These studies can be used to determine the health of the system and the degree of impairment that has occurred because of human influence or other physical processes. They can also be used to develop habitat suitability criteria and various plans including riparian restoration, aquatic toxicology, and exotic/invasive species control plans. For more information please contact Chris Huntley at 818-338-6714 or chuntley@aspeneg.com.