Restoration and enhancement of aquatic ecosystems requires an understanding of numerous disciplines. Tidal wetlands, non-tidal wetlands, estuaries, creeks/rivers, sloughs, lakes, and riparian zone ecosystems are defined and maintained by different physical, chemical and biological dynamics.
Each of these target ecosystems differ in the requirements of their indigenous biotic communities, regulatory frameworks within which projects must be permitted, monitoring strategies to document restoration success, site-specific constraints, engineering design elements, and assessment methods to develop and implement appropriate restoration strategies. We have considerable expertise in implementing a comprehensive systems approach for planning and implementing assessment, restoration, and enhancement across the range of aquatic environments. We also design and build wastewater treatment and storm water management wetlands to meet our clients' needs and site-specific conditions. Our end-to-end services include:
Site investigations
Hydrologic, geomorphic, topographic, and bathymetric assessments and surveys
Fish, wildlife, plant and invertebrate surveys and habitat mapping
Wetland delineation
Sediment transport and settling analyses
Tidal datum reckoning
Non-tidal and tidal surfacewater hydrology
Groundwater hydrology
Hydrogeomorphic assessments
Limnological assessments
Wetland biogeochemistry and cycling
Sampling of surface and groundwater, water quality, soil and sediment, plants and algae
Watershed, point and non-point assessments
Hydrologic budgets
Nutrient budgets
Fate and transport assessments and modeling
Restoration planning and design
Fish and wildlife migration studies and barrier assessment
Habitat enhancement assessment
Restoration design to maximize functional and aesthetic value and minimize maintenance requirements
System component design, including channel morphology and capacities, water control structures, pumps and piping
Engineering plans and specifications
Process and conceptual design for wetlands alone or as part of a treatment system (e.g. ponds, grit chambers, activated sludge)
Hydrologic modeling (HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, and SWMM)
Remote sensing, GIS analysis, and cartography
Aerial photography and photogrammetry planning, rectification, and orthorectification
Vegetation/biological resource delineation, classification, and mapping
Compilation, digitization, and management of vector/raster data
Data analyses such as cut and fill operations, watershed delineation, automatic buffer delineation and change detection, slope/aspect classification, and much more
Land use classification and digital elevation modeling
Database management and analysis including: Relational database development and management, export and link to common database applications
Multiple media, color, size, resolution, and scale options to suit client needs
Internet map service (web GIS)
Project construction
Migration barrier reconfiguration or removal
Development of best management practices
Well installation
Construction planning and oversight
Re-vegetation
As-built surveys
Restoration monitoring
Monitoring program design, including sampling protocol development
Data collection and analysis
Database design and management
Data analysis and synthesis into project outcome and "lessons learned" reports