Expertise and Services

Environmental Flows

How much water does a river need to maintain its ecological integrity?  Our scientists pioneered the concept of multiple flow regimes to maintain geo-fluvial processes, fisheries habitat, riparian systems and channel morphology.  We continue to advance environmental flow concepts with new techniques that merge hydrologic and terrain models to create 3-dimensional analysis of flows.  Ecosystem Sciences identifies all the flow regimes necessary to maintain or enhance environmental values.

Integrated Regional Water Management

Management of watersheds and water resources is often an “unintentional” system that evolved over time from overlapping jurisdictions, contradictory goals, and competing needs within and between watersheds.  Sorting these inefficient and archaic systems to restore intelligent watershed and water resource management is achieved through integrated planning.  We develop integrated regional watershed management plans through a step-wise process beginning with stakeholder input, assimilation of existing data and watershed plans, identification of key watershed issues, determination of appropriate solutions, and GAP analysis to cover watershed areas and issues not addressed in existing plans.  The completed IRWM plan stitches together and integrates existing plans into seamless management actions based on common goals and objectives.

Watershed Inventory and Planning

Water is the most critical resource of our time.  Competition for this limited resource is constantly increasing.  In geographic areas when development is on the rise, the demand for water surges.  Water is a limited commodity and “mining” of aquifers, diversion of surface waters, inefficient agriculture practices, municipal demands, industrial or waste pollution all contribute to the loss or degradation of the resource even as demand increases.  Ecosystem Sciences recognizes the need to conserve, protect and share water, and we initiate our watershed planning with an inventory of the resources that are critical to groundwater recharge and surface water flow and the landscape uses that positively or adversely affect water.  We then work with stakeholders to develop plans for the restoration of degraded watershed elements, ways to conserve water through improved irrigation, grazing, or other land use practices, and sustainable uses to meet future demands.

GIS –Mapping, Modeling, Analysis, Planning

A picture is worth a thousand words and mapping landforms, landtypes, vegetation, and specific habitats using our Geographic Information System(s) often eliminates the need for lengthy text discussions.  Consequently, our reports and data analysis are visually oriented, relying upon high-quality mapping to illustrate key points and some conclusions.  This approach makes our documents user-friendly and easily understood by the non-scientist or planner.  GIS techniques also provide landscape to site scale connectivity and allows us to maintain continuity and context throughout our watershed work.

Environmental Design, and Planning

At Ecosystem Sciences we view the built environment, architecture, design and planning as tools inextricably tied to urban and rural ecosystems which make-up the watershed.  We take architecture away from the conventional or traditional sense and apply the principles of community, networks, and connectivity between the urban and rural environment in our watershed planning and restoration work.  The core philosophy at Ecosystem Sciences is that humans are fundamental to watersheds; the keystone species which determines how sustainably or unsustainably watershed resources are used.  Thus, the urban ecosystems are integral to the total watershed condition and use and are central to planning and restoration.  

Sustainable Urbanism and Urban Ecology

Urban ecology and sustainable building and infrastructure are rapidly developing fields at the intersection of architecture and urban planning, engineering, public administration and environmental concerns. Urban Ecology is the synthesis of urban planning, architecture and landscape architecture combined with sustainable practices of ecologically-sensitive development and natural resource protection. The role of cities and positive urbanism in shaping more sustainable places, communities, and lifestyles is very important. Cities and communities must be substantially expanded to incorporate ecology and more ecologically responsible forms of living and settlement.

The field of ecological urbanism encompasses the practice of creating sustainable urban environments through the implementation of green infrastructure that originates in ecologically-sound urban planning, resource conservation and the use of innovative building typologies and sustainable methodologies. The demand for sustainable design is rising in a world where designers are increasingly being asked to face the challenge of incorporating sustainable development practices in a conventionally driven construction economy.

Field Research, Monitoring and Data Analysis

Coming soon.

Analysis of Species Habitats

Threatened and/or endangered species are typically isolated in small remnant (meta) populations within ecotypes.  Species are able to persist in these habitats because essential life-stage habitat requirements are met.  The degree to which meta-populations are at risk is a function of how the surrounding landscape is used.  Unsustainable resource extraction (water diversion, groundwater pumping, deforestation, mining, etc.), threaten the continued existence of these hotspots and the T&E species dependent upon them.  Ecosystem Sciences analyzes hotspots from the perspective of the greater ecosystem and how on-going resource utilization directly or indirectly increases risk.  We then design buffer zones, set-backs, or sanctuaries to protect and enhance, and ideally expand, hotspots.

Habitat Conservation Plans

Large landowners often seek relief from limitations to land uses imposed by threatened and endangered species laws.  The forest and grazing industry, water purveyors, mining companies, and other resource extraction businesses recognize that habitat conservation plans create a method to protect T&E species while giving them sufficient relief for many years.  The intent of an HCP is to create a win-win situation.  Ecosystem Sciences works with the landowner to determine which is the best HCP approach for them; Safe Harbor, Low Effect, and/or No Surprises.  Our scientists work closely with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the state fish and game agencies to develop the best plan for the landowner.

Freshwater Fisheries

Restoration of rivers and streams has many benefits and beneficiaries, yet public interest often focuses on the most tangible benefits especially improved fishing.  At the outset of planning for the restoration of a watershed and its streams, Ecosystem Sciences, through focus groups, has learned that one overriding expectation is a better coldwater or warmwater or anadromous fishery.  Our biologist have restored or created some of the finest freshwater fisheries in the West.  The Owens River Gorge supports one of the best brown trout streams in the West with trout densities of 3,000 trout per mile, a 7 fish/hour catch rate, with trout 12 to 24 inches.  Other projects have enhanced spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead throughout the Columbia River basin.  Our work to protect or enhance freshwater fisheries habitat has taken us to the Mekong River, the Ganges River, and Nile River basins.