Environmental Science Associates

Fun in the sun. 😎 ESA’ers have been soaking up the sunny weather over the late summer/early fall, hosting lots of fun activities across our offices to bring employee-owners together outside of the workday. Our Portland and Petaluma offices hosted picnics and games, including the annual “Doug’s Cup” disc golf tournament at Crane Creek Regional Park. In Richmond, California, members of the Northern California Biological Resources and Land Management team took a native plant and pub crawl at The Watershed Nursery and a local brewery. And our San Diego office set sail on the waters of the San Diego Bay while the Communications team embarked in Seattle’s Lake Union to take in the scenic views. It’s definitely been time well spent together! #ESACulture #LoveWhereYouWork #GoodTimes

The three essentials of Coho salmon spawning habitat: logs,✔️ gravel beds, ✔️ and deep pools of water ✔️. This week Marin Water , with the support of ESA, led lawmakers, board members, and resource agencies on a tour of recently constructed large wood and riffle structures, as part of the Lagunitas Creek Habitat Enhancement project. ESA led the design, permitting, and environmental compliance of this project to add 270 logs and 10,000 tons of gravel in an ambitious effort to accelerate habitat enhancement of Lagunitas Creek, for the recovery of endangered Central California Coast Coho Salmon. The first phase of the project is currently under construction by Hanford, under the watchful eye of Marin Water (project lead), ESA (design engineer), and Anchor (construction inspector). For more information about the project, please check out: https://lnkd.in/g-_E_BR8 #LagunitasCreek #CohoSalmon #SalmonHabitat #HabitatRestoration

More beach please! Construction to restore back-beach habitat and coastal access at Surfers’ Point in Ventura, California, commences!  The City of Ventura is moving forward with the construction of the long-awaited second phase of the Surfers’ Point Managed Retreat Project, which will start in the coming weeks. Phase 1 of the project was completed in 2011 and is heralded as a major success and example of how managed retreat can be implemented as a multi-objective sea level rise adaptation approach that considers infrastructure, coastal access and recreation, and ecology. Construction of Phase 2 of the project is funded by a $16.2 million grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy, which includes relocating the damaged oceanfront bike path and parking lot, restoring the back-beach by installing a buried cobble berm, and covering it with sand dunes and native plants. The project essentially extends the Phase 1 project to the east by about 1,000 feet and will protect infrastructure against coastal erosion and improve resilience of this critical coastal access point. For over a decade, ESA has worked with the City of Ventura to advance the project in partnership with the working group, which includes the Ventura County Fairgrounds, Surfrider Foundation Ventura County Chapter, BEACON, California State Coastal Conservancy, and others to address sea level rise and erosion at this renowned surf spot and popular recreation site. ESA led the waterside design of the project, including engineering design of the mass grading, cobble and sand fill, and dune grading and restoration, provided permitting support to obtain all regulatory approvals, conducted regular topographic monitoring of the shoreline since 2011 to assess the evolution and response of the Phase 1 implementation. Construction will begin in only a few weeks. We’re so excited to see this important coastal work resume! See more about this project in a video produced by the The Surfrider Foundation: https://lnkd.in/gQnm2PJf and learn about ESA’s contributions to Phase I and II at Surfers' Point Shoreline Management at: https://lnkd.in/g-J5gcWx #SurfersPoint #Ventura #CoastalRestoration #ShorelineAdaptation #CoastalManagement #SeaLevelRise #Engineering

So great seeing all of our friends at the APA California Conference in Riverside earlier. Thanks to all who attended our sessions and joined us for a lively tequila tasting event! It was wonderful connecting with fellow planning professionals and sharing insights and collaborative strategies centered around urban and regional planning throughout the state. We’ll see you next year! #APACalifornia #UrbanPlanning #EnvironmentalPlanning #Riverside

💧 Let the water flow! Last week, the Soquel Creek Water District hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for its Pure Water Soquel advanced water purification facility. The new facility will take in more than a million gallons of water per day from the nearby wastewater treatment plant using a five-step purification process to replenish the district’s groundwater basin—the District’s sole source of fresh drinking water for its 40,600 residents. The completion of the $180 million project is a huge milestone for the District, as it will protect a critical freshwater source from overdrafting and sea water intrusion. ESA was thrilled to attend the ceremony and be part of this big moment after assisting on this project over the past eight years! We’re thankful for the opportunity to support the District throughout the project providing environmental review, environmental advisory during design and permitting stages, construction compliance monitoring, and regulatory agency coordination. Congratulations to the Soquel Creek Water District on this tremendous achievement! Read more about the project at: https://lnkd.in/gbwXhTnY #PureWaterSoquel #Groundwater #WaterSupply #SustainableWaterSupply #WaterPurification

Key changes are in store when it comes to NEPA and the environmental review process. Earlier this year, the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule was finalized, placing new emphasis on mitigation monitoring and reporting programs (MMRPs) and guidelines for how airports must achieve MMRP compliance. But what is a MMRP, and what are their implications for clients? In our latest blog, we dive into MMRPs and current mitigation measure standards, and specifically how our airport clients can meet NEPA requirements, while simplifying their data collection and reporting. Read it at: https://lnkd.in/gaQ_Pdgh #NEPA #FAA #NEPAUpdates #MMRP #MitigationMonitoring #EnvironmentalCompliance #EnvironmentalPermitting #Airports

It was empowering to connect with fellow women leaders at the H2O Women’s Conference! Last week, ESA CEO Leslie Moulton-Post, Northern California Water Business Group Director Alisa Moore, and Principal Biologist Tamara Klug attended the annual all-women conference in Santa Barbara, California. It was so inspiring to come together and delve into the future of water sustainability, related technologies, and environmental justice! Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck #H2OWomensConference #WomenLeaders #WaterResources #WaterManagement #WomenWhoLead

👷♀️ As an archaeologist, you never know what you might discover on an excavation site.⛏️ Imagine the utter amazement of finding a trove of objects dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, discovered at a multiethnic site north of Fresno, California’s historic downtown! This summer, Senior Archaeologist/Principal Investigator Heather Atherton led archaeologists from ESA, Rincon Consultants, Inc., PGH Wong Engineering, Inc., Harris & Associates, Soar Environmental Consulting, Inc., and Applied EarthWorks, Inc. in the data recovery on a multiethnic site that was occupied between the 1890s and 1930, as part of the California High-Speed Rail project. The parcel, which contained the remains of multiple structures, was once owned by prominent Fresno citizen Louis Einstein. Archaeological testing indicated the site was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. The team recovered artifacts such as dishes imported from China, Japan, and Great Britain, medicine bottles, animal bones, opium paraphernalia, toothbrushes, perfume, clothing, sewing tools and children’s toys, which suggests a variety of people were living, working, and being entertained at the site. “This is unusual for the late 19th and early 20th centuries as such multiethnic sites were rare in the city and did not occur outside of Fresno’s Chinatown,” remarks Heather. As Heather shares, this type of archaeological research is crucial in understanding early settlements like these, especially when historical documentation is limited or fairly non-existent for underrepresented populations. Our ongoing analyses will continue to tell us more about this fascinating site! Throughout Archaeology Month this October, we’ll be sharing great finds and more about our archaeological team. 📷's: The excavation site, Eleni Carwin holds an unusually shaped inkwell, Wintergreen rice bowl, wide-mouthed jar, and Four Seasons Flower bowl-all imported from China, bone toothbrush, ceramic toothpaste jar lid. #ArchaeologyMonth #Archaeologists #CulturalResources #Fresno #HistoricalResources

🌊 Let’s talk about restoration! We’re headed to the 2024 Coastal & Estuarine Summit in Washington, DC, hosted by Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) on October 6 - 10. We’re excited to be a sponsor, and you can find us at our booth #25 where our coastal team including Michelle Orr, Julie Sullivan, Mike Wessel, and Sky Miller, P.E. can’t wait to connect and discuss the many ideas and solutions for managing water resources, restoring estuaries, and protecting our coasts. On Wednesday, October 9, from 1:30 - 3:00pm, Principal Scientist Mike Wessel will present his topic, “Modeling Static and Dynamic Fish Habitat to Support Environmental Flows and Habitat Restoration” during the Managing Water Resources session. Find more details about Mike’s presentation and the conference at the following link: https://lnkd.in/edhAngWV #RestoreAmericasEstuaries #RAESummit #CoastsAndEstuaries #CoastalManagement #WaterManagement #HabitatRestoration

🎉 Let the festivities begin! October is National Employee Ownership Month, when ESA recognizes and celebrates the skills, values, and impact of our 750+ employee-owners working together to make our firm the best we can be. We’re proud to say that we’ve been 100 percent employee-owned for 24 years! We’ll be sharing more about employee-ownership celebrations in the coming weeks. 📷: Employee-owners in our San Diego and Irvine offices celebrate the month's kickoff #EmployeeOwnership #100PercentEmployeeOwned #ESAculture #ESOP