ESA - News

Biological Resources


	News Margaret Clancy promoted to Northwest Biological Resources and Land Management Director Margaret will lead a team of 15 scientists specializing in wetland science, wildlife and fisheries biology, botany, and landscape architecture. The team supports a wide range of transportation, land use planning, energy, water resources and restoration projects for public and private sector clients throughout the Pacific Northwest. Margaret, a Professional Wetland Scientist, brings 19 years of experience in the Pacific Northwest. She specializes in projects involving Growth Management Act, Shoreline Management Act and Clean Water Act compliance; watershed management; and restoration. Her clients include the Port of Seattle, Whatcom County, Sound Transit, the Puget Sound Nearshore Estuary Restoration Program, and the Lummi Nation. Teresa Vanderburg promoted to Vice President and Biological Resources and Land Management Practice Leader Teresa Vanderburg has been promoted to vice president and practice leader. Teresa will lead ESA's growing Biological Resources and Land Management practice, with more than 30 biologists throughout the West coast, out of ESA's Seattle office. A certified Professional Wetland Scientist, she brings more than 18 years of experience in the field of natural resource management to her new position. Whatcom County adopts Shoreline Master Program By unanimous vote, the Whatcom County Council adopted its Shoreline Master Program (SMP) on February 27, 2007. This vote was the culmination of nearly three years of work for county and ESA Adolfson staff. The SMP was updated under the watchful eyes of Washington State Department of Ecology, the Citizen’s and Technical Advisory Committees, the Building Industry Association of Washington, environmental groups and other local jurisdictions. The final product had wide support among citizens, staff and industry. The SMP is similar to a zoning code for marine waters, and large lakes and rivers. Lands within 200 feet of these shorelines are subject to the goals, policies and regulations within this program. Requirements for the SMP come from the (Washington) State Shoreline Management Act, as well as guidelines developed by Ecology in 2003. The SMP guides land use types, development intensity, design of in- and over-water structures, and addresses public access, water-related uses, and shoreline restoration. For more information, contact Margaret Clancy at mclancy@adolfson.com. Two dams on Alameda Creek come down In 2006, The San Francisco Planning Commission certified the final EIR (prepared by ESA) for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) project to partially remove Sunol and Niles Dams, located in the Niles Canyon reach of Alameda Creek in Alameda County. In September, the SFPUC took a historic step toward restoring steelhead habitat by demolishing the 100-year old dams on the creek near Fremont, California. To assist the SFPUC and other stakeholders, ESA staff prepared a comprehensive biological mitigation and monitoring plan that detailed the pre-project baseline data and described a conceptual revegetation and planting plan, tree replacement plan, riparian and wetland habitat monitoring and adaptive management plan, California red-legged frog habitat mitigation and monitoring plan, and fish passage monitoring plan. As part of the planning and compliance phases, ESA staff evaluated many environmental issues that were considered significant and unavoidable impacts to cultural resources (both dams are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historic Resources), and potentially significant impacts to California red-legged frog, steelhead, Pacific lamprey, Western pond turtle, San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat, other special status animals (e.g., breeding raptors and passerines, bats), special status plants, and riparian and wetland habitats. Mitigation measures were developed to reduce the potentially significant impacts to a less-than-significant level. ESA has had a key role in negotiating US Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish and Game, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control District. ESA expands landscape design services to California clients Mark Epstein, a licensed landscape architect out of our Seattle office, with licenses in both Washington and Oregon, recently received his California license. Mark provides landscape design services such as site planning, visual simulations, grading and drainage design, as well as wetland and stream mitigation design. Mark also specializes in design of therapeutic gardens for hospitals and the healthcare industry and has been recognized in several publications including the Seattle Times. For more information contact Mark at mepstein@adolfson.com.