Our environmental resources; water, air, plants, soils, and wildlife; are nature’s life support system. Nature’s systems support life, promote health, and shape culture. Humans have an innate need to connect with and feel part of the natural environment. With communities looking for new ways to partner with nature, engaging nature’s processes in design is at the heart of sustainability. The vitality of our communities depends on how well we bring together our human and natural systems.
Though most of our projects address environmental planning and ecological processes at some level, there are several types of projects where this is the primary theme. We have a long history of work in coastal planning and management. We are familiar with the unique resources, uses, demands and regulations that occur in the coastal environment. We have been involved in Integrated Stormwater (or Watershed) Management Plans (ISMPs or IWMPs), through which land use planning and site design issues are integrated with engineering issues in the development of watershed plans. We have also conducted studies of environmentally sensitive areas for municipalities, where understanding, documenting, and managing resources in a practical way are the key objectives.
Our approach on all of these projects is to understand the ecological context, to use GIS mapping to compare and evaluate resources and options, to use databases to support analysis, to engage stakeholders, and to prepare plans or management strategies that protect resources and achieve community objectives.
Project Types
Coastal Planning
Stormwater Management
Environmentally Sensitive Area Studies
Environmental Assessments