University of San Francisco Environmental Management undergraduate and recent Northern California intern, Deja Newton, tells us about her experience at ESA and what she learned and benefited from while she was here.

Learn more about the restoration efforts underway at San Geronimo and ESA’s involvement by watching the full webinar replay from The Trust for Public Land.

Tim Sturtz, PhD, one of the Northwest region’s top air quality experts, has joined ESA. Tim will be providing expertise in air quality assessment and management, including greenhouse gas analyses and odor assessments.

As the world continues to navigate the impacts of COVID-19, ESA is committed to helping the aviation industry establish health and safety protocols for its employees and passengers. Read a brief synopsis of the briefing and find the full PDF in this story.

The full SCAG guidebook has been released, providing steps cities and counties can take to better prepare their communities for climate change impacts.

We are honored to present three students – Jessica Brown, Sierra Red Bow and Victor Lopez – with the inaugural ESA Scholarship Program grants, established at the end of last year to commemorate our 50th anniversary.

In a year where outdoor recreation has been the key to good health, the East Bay Regional Park District has announced that the long-awaited Bay Point Regional Shoreline will open to the public in November.

ESA’s Sacramento office was ranked as one of the “2020 Best Places to Work” in the medium-sized company category by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Are you aware of the newest legislation impacting California transportation projects? Read our summary and download our fact sheet by clicking here.

ESA announces the arrival of our new Southern California Regional Director: Ruta K. Thomas.

Just a year after its opening, San Francisco’s Chase Center, home to the NBA Golden State Warriors, has some good news to share: it has achieved the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification for Building Design and Construction: New Construction.

We are excited to be at the APA California Virtual Conference September 14-16. This year’s conference is centered around the theme of “State of Change.” Read more to see how to connect with us!

In recognition of his participation and co-leadership of the extensive volunteer efforts to reunite families with the cremains of their loved ones after the devastating California fire seasons starting in 2017, Michael Newland has been awarded the 2020 President’s Award by the Society for California Archaeology (SCA).

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading community planning and environmental consulting firm, welcomes Jon Ambrose to its Northwest team as Principal Associate in the firm’s Environmental Hydrology and Design team.

Join a few of ESA’s habitat restoration experts―Doug Robison, PWS, Tom Ries, and John Bourgeois―as they present or serve as panelists at the annual RAE Summit.

Join ESA’s Steve Alverson, Senior Vice President, and Chris Jones, Principal Associate, at their online course through the University of California at Davis that focuses on airport land use compatibility and how it affects local land use planning.

A key member of the ESA Cultural Resources team since joining in 2012, Chris Lockwood, PhD, RPA, has been promoted to the role of Business Group Director for the Northwest Region.

According to the July 2020 release from Engineering News Record, ESA ranks as number 21 of the Top 30 All-Environmental Firms.

ESA’s landscape architecture team has been combining design, planning, and natural resources—rooted in science—to create, enrich, and build the places we love to be. We want to take this moment to celebrate some of our talented team members and their award-winning projects.

A pertinent topic for another group of mammals.

Two prominent ESA projects are featured in articles in the latest issue of Estuary News, a 25-year-old regional magazine of the San Francisco Estuary Partnership and its partners. We hope you have a chance to read the stories in full―some good news in the realm of restoration projects.

Moulton-Post joins the Foundation’s board alongside four other new members: former Natural Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman, Association of CA Water Agencies’ Executive Director Dave Eggerton, Kronick’s Eric Robinson, the Water and Power Group’s John Bezdek, and GEI Consultants’ Erica Bishop.

During National Engineers Week—which was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951 to ensure a diverse and well-educated future for the engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers—we want to recognize each of the nearly 50 engineers at ESA who have made a positive impact on the world around us.

One of the smallest, and arguably cutest, San Francisco Bay endemic species is the salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris). These mice are listed as a federal- and state-endangered species due to habitat loss, but ESA’s biologists are hard at work to restore and preserve these areas. Enter Erika Walther.

This restoration project seemed fairly straightforward at first blush: grade the pits, plant native species, and restore the freshwater wetland and upland communities back to the way they were before the area was mined. Then Tom reviewed a historic aerial of the site. “There was a creek there that was breached by the mining activities, which resulted in the creek being cut off from the natural flow patterns in the region,” Tom Ries explains. “As soon as I saw that, I thought, ‘well, we have to restore that creek.’”

On January 23, 2020 the EPA and Department of the Army finalized the “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” (NWPR) to define “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The new rule finalizes a two-step process to replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule, which also re-defined WOTUS. ESA’s team of environmental permitting specialists are reviewing the NWPR to understand how it may affect our clients and their projects, including the potential jurisdictional status of various aquatic features.

“For all of us, opening a new office during our 50th anniversary year is especially exciting—it’s a celebration of the firm’s important relationships with our South Bay clients, a continuation of our long-standing tradition of supporting the development of healthy, livable communities, and, of course, it supports our mission of providing value for our employee-owners,” said ESA President and CEO Leslie Moulton-Post.

The latest issue of ESA Connects is out, and it is overflowing with water news: an overview of the California Water Plan Update 2018 and Sustainable Water Management, a look at the City of Ventura’s new VenturaWaterPure project, the latest outcomes of Washington State’s Hirst Decision, and much more.

Matthew Silva is a part of our Northern California Fisheries team consisting of 20 fisheries biologists. He oversees the implementation of large-scale fisheries research efforts as a field lead and project manager. We interviewed Matt to get an inside look on our fisheries team; here’s what we found out.

We are glad to welcome Mary Laux back to our Northern California team. Laux began her consulting career at ESA in 2001 with the airports group, and has spent the last 16 years with AECOM as an Associate Principal/Planner managing large, multidisciplinary projects.

Having completed thousands of noise and air quality studies, and as a certified member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering since 1991, Dr. Chung is recognized as one of the premier noise experts in the nation. He has also been involved in more than 100 greenhouse gas and climate change impact analyses.

The California Supreme Court, in a late-August decision, denied challenges to the sufficiency of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) prepared for California American Water Company’s (CalAm) long-awaited desalination plant, the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP).

Across the globe, coastal zone management efforts have concluded that restoring fish populations often requires acting on land-based human activities. With a few notable exceptions, most commercially and recreationally important species of fish, crabs, and shrimp spend at least a portion of their lives in estuarine locations, where waters from the open ocean mix with runoff from land.

Sacramento, CA

Recognized as one of the California Top 20 Under 40 Professionals by Engineering News Record in 2016, Choi most recently worked for AECOM where she held a variety of leadership roles—from Studio Leader to Senior Project Manager—and worked on a number of high-profile local and international, multi-disciplinary projects.

An interview with Bill Harrell, California Department of Water Resources (DWR), and Erika Lovejoy, Sustainable Conservation, on accelerating restoration projects in California.

The latest issue of ESA Connects is out, and it is packed with restoration stories from coast-to-coast, including an exclusive interview with Bill Harrell, California Department of Water Resources (DWR), and Erika Lovejoy, Sustainable Conservation, on accelerating restoration projects in California.

Senior Airport Planner, Autumn Ward, based out of ESA’s Tampa office was inducted to the Board of Directors for the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society (TJDAS).

Lake Chelan, WA

Bend, OR

Maricopa, AZ

Boise, ID

Reno, NV

Santa Barbara, CA

Since 2013, e-commerce retail sales have been creeping up from 7 percent to 10 percent in the United States, and that number is expected to reach almost 14 percent by 2021.
While not a staggering statistic (considering the amount of business and personal shopping most of us do online on a daily basis), it has had a direct effect on the brick-and-mortar counterparts—especially those large retailers that anchor shopping malls.

Fort Lauderdale, FL

St. Augustine, FL

Marco Island, FL

Recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Business in 2018 by the San Francisco Business Times, Peters most recently worked for AECOM where she directed its San Francisco Bay Area Cities Program and held a key role on its Pacific Region Growth Team.

Based in San Francisco, Mains brings more than two decades of experience directing information technology and knowledge management for major consulting, branding, and merchandise firms, including 16 years with Landor, a global branding firm.

An interview with Richard Sinkoff, Director of Environmental Programs and Planning, Port of Oakland, on the value of working with stakeholders to achieve a healthier environment.

“He is truly a thought leader on key issues affecting our region including climate reliance, restoration, salmon recovery, and strategic planning; and bolsters our ability to tackle challenging environmental problems in a strategic, scientific, and collaborative way.”

Based in San Francisco, Haase brings more than two decades of operational experience across a diverse range of business lines for the building, engineering, and environmental industries.

“Joining ESA gives me an incredible opportunity to expand my professional development as a multifaceted biologist, collaborating with some of the best scientific consultants in our industry, while contributing to strategic planning and growth of the Southeast region.”

For decades, we have been watching the devastating effects that climate change has had on our environment. This global epidemic has moved from the outer reaches of our attention to endangering our homes and daily lives. Whether the threat is drought, fire, rising sea levels, agriculture loss, or storm intensity, the time for action is now.

Tennant is based in the firm’s Irvine office and Waggoner is located in Sacramento, each bringing extensive experience in managing large-scale compliance programs for high-profile infrastructure projects.

“Hillary has a proven track record of managing planning and environmental review processes for highly visible and complex projects in communities across the Bay Area. She is a well-known advocate for sustainable development, and we are thrilled to have her expertise and leadership at ESA.”

Centano joins ESA’s corporate management team and builds on the firm’s recent and forthcoming prominent and strategic hires.

This role better positions ESA to respond to the growing need for consulting services in Chris’ areas of specialty, including air quality permitting, climate-sustainability strategy, and environmental management systems and regulatory compliance.

Pam brings more than 30 years of experience in planning, conducting, and preparing environmental studies and has worked with public agencies and private developers on more than 200 small- and large-scale projects requiring State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)/National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is pleased to announce that the firm has five pilots certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly drones. The pilots—Russ Burdge, Jonathan Kemp, Julie McNamara, Brian Pittman, and Brendon Quinton—are being dispatched to project sites to conduct real-time site monitoring and reconnaissance, and to collect orthomosaic imagery and high-definition video for clients in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, and Southeast regions.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is relocating their Oakland office to 180 Grand Avenue, Suite 1050, on the edge of Lake Merritt. The move was prompted by the firm’s commitment to meet the needs of its Bay Area clients and to accommodate its growing team of scientists, engineers, planners, and designers in the East Bay.

The merger supports ESA’s strategy to deepen technical expertise and meet growing client demands for responsive and high quality environmental services throughout Florida and elsewhere in the Southeast.

Mike will be based in ESA’s Petaluma office, leading the region’s Cultural Resources team of expert prehistoric and historical archaeologists, architectural historians, and historians to increase the breadth and depth of ESA’s Cultural Resources practice.

The 2016 California Transportation Commission (CTC) Annual Report recommends eight California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) reforms for promoting efficiency through innovations. One of the reforms is to permanently authorize Caltrans and its regional partners to “use alternative project delivery tools such as public-private partnership (P3), design-build (DB), and construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) methods.”

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is pleased to announce that Christopher Warn has joined ESA as a principal managing associate, with a focus on client service, project management, and business development.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is pleased to name three new vice presidents: Terri Avila, Community Development Practice Leader; Dana McGowan, RPA, Cultural Resources Practice Leader; and Elizabeth (Betty) Andrews, PE, Senior Program Manager.

Swen brings over 20 years of experience in financial management with professional services. He has experience in all aspects of the financial operations, including resource allocation, monthly reporting, forecasting, collections, accounts receivable, accounts payable and management of the finance department.

“With a practical understanding of biological and water resources, she partners with clients to get projects in the ground—from planning and environmental compliance to permitting and monitoring.”

ESA PCR, a premier environmental consulting firm, has moved its Santa Monica office from 201 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 500 to 233 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 150, a few blocks away. Nearly 20 environmental planners, CEQA/NEPA specialists, air quality analysts, climate change adaptation planners, historical archaeologists, and cultural resources specialists will occupy the new space.

“This move enables us to continue our 42-year legacy of serving local clients with a team of on-the-ground experts,” said Bobbette Biddulph, Southern California Regional Director.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, recently completed a landmark study reinforcing the importance of restoring coastal habitats in Tampa Bay and around the nation to buffer the effects of rising seas and a changing climate.

ESA’s Senior River Scientist, Dr. Colin Thorne is being honored by the Royal Geographical Society with the prestigious Back Award.

An expert in rivers, Colin has been recognized for his outstanding contribution in helping to shape national and international policy on rivers and flood management.

Chris will support our aviation clients nationally in the areas of noise, air quality, land use compatibility, and public outreach from his base in New York City.

“Albert’s impressive track record of maximizing the financial performance of A/E/C companies makes him a great fit for his new role within ESA,”

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, has consolidated its Irvine office with recently acquired ESA PCR from 17744 Skypark Circle to 2121 Alton Parkway in Irvine, California.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is pleased to announce that Leslie Moulton-Post has been named ESA’s Chief Executive Officer and President effective April 1, 2016.

The Sonoma Creek Marsh Enhancement Project will reduce mosquito production and improve habitat conditions for special status species for roughly 260 acres of centennial marsh located near the mouth of Sonoma Creek and San Pablo Bay in Sonoma County California.

The merger supports ESA’s strategy to deepen our technical expertise and broadens our reach as we continue to meet growing client demands throughout Southern California.

A leader in the fields of wildlife biology, permit strategy, endangered species act consultation and CEQA/NEPA compliance, Barbra joins our growing Southern California team of more than 20 scientists specializing in biological resources, resources management, wetlands studies, habitat restoration, permitting, and monitoring.

ESA's Tampa office has moved to Meridian Three at 4200 West Cypress Street, Suite 450 in Tampa, Florida.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is pleased to announce that Leslie Moulton-Post has been appointed ESA’s next Chief Executive Officer and President. Leslie will take over the position from President Gary Oates in the spring of 2016 following a planned transition period.

Terri brings over 30 years of experience in environmental consulting and natural resource planning. With a diverse background that includes urban and greenfield development, natural resources management, transportation, and water, she approaches her work from a multi-faceted perspective, demonstrating a unique ability to reconcile the competing demands of development and natural resources management.

“Alisa is integral to the measured growth and success of our water and energy practice, and her career has been focused on the integration of water, energy, and the environment. In this new role, she will continue to collaborate with clients as a trusted strategic advisor to meet the increasing environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Dan brings more 30 years of experience working on large-scale, complex, multidisciplinary planning and development projects. His leadership and expertise has been integral to growing ESA’s community development practice and advancing our community and environmental planning work.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, participated in Saturday’s carefully executed implosion of Pier E3, the largest of the piers on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge’s Old East Span. Pier E3 contains the largest caisson used to support the cantilevered section of the Old East Span, and is one of about 20 piers that will need to be removed as part of the demolition process.

From our Sacramento office, Dana will lead the firm’s Cultural Resources Practice, which is comprised of a team of 60 professionals including prehistoric and historical archaeologists, architectural historians, preservation planners, maritime archaeologists, and curation specialists.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a leading environmental consulting firm, is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Irvine, California on August 3, 2015. The office is located at 17744 Skypark Circle, Suite 200 in Irvine, California, 92614 and will help service our growing Southern California clients in Orange County and beyond.

“With more than three decades of experience in Orange County, Michael’s established relationships with agencies, districts, and regulators will strategically build upon ESA’s successful legacy of providing premier environmental planning and design solutions to our Southern California clients.”

Brian has dedicated his career to strategically addressing technically and politically complex issues of resource allocation, balancing the demands of the built and natural environment by delivering integrating solutions for environmental compliance and documentation, community planning, and project development.

On Friday, October 9, 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit granted a nationwide stay against the so-called Waters of the United States rule, which is intended to clarify which bodies of water are covered by the Clean Water Act. 

On June 9th, the Oregon Department of State Lands awarded the Derry Dell Stream Restoration Project the Project of the Year Award.

Jim manages our growing northwest team of more than 20 professionals specializing in biological resources, fisheries science, resource management, wetlands studies, habitat restoration, permitting, and monitoring.

Mark manages our northwest team of planners and technical specialists with a thorough understanding of environmental conditions, design processes, and agency requirements to help clients plan, design, permit, and implement their planning and development projects.

In ESA’s 2014 Sustainability Report, we’ve outlined how our company has performed against the sustainability goals and objectives outlined in our 2012 Sustainability Plan. The 30-page document measures the firm’s progress and further promotes our commitment to sustainable operations, pursuing work that matters within a vibrant employee-ownership culture.

Mike’s experience includes deploying field teams with GPS devices for data collection, mapping plant communities using object-based and pixel-based remote sensing tools and managing software development life cycles for international humanitarian organizations.

Partnership with Tampa Bay Watch, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Environmental Science Associates, NOAA, U.S. EPA, U.S. FWS, and ScottsMiracle-Gro will demonstrate how Bay restoration efforts can best help mitigate climate change impacts.

“She is an effective leader with deep technical expertise and strong people skills that our clients and employees truly value. In her new role as Regional Director, Margaret will continue to advance our firm’s integrated services and solutions for clients throughout the Northwest.”

Read how this 2014 study discovered that functioning tidal wetlands actually store carbon, removing it from the atmosphere and from causing further environmental harm.

Contact: Steve Emmett-Mattox
Phone: 720.300.3139

ESA is pleased to announce that the Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently awarded the Minto-Brown Island Park Floodplain Restoration project with a 2013 Merit Award for Analysis and Planning.

The rapid changes in climate and sea level projected over the next 100 years threaten not only the natural wetlands, but also the communities and infrastructure around San Francisco Bay. How can we proactively create a new, more sustainable shoreline that integrates natural processes and undervalued resources such as sediment and wastewater?

The Federal Clean Air Act of 1970, as amended, requires that states identify those areas where the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are not met for six air contaminants, known as criteria air pollutants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated such areas as nonattainment areas. A state with a nonattainment area must prepare a State Implementation Plan (SIP) that details the programs and requirements that the State will use in order to meet the NAAQS by the deadlines specified in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

While Los Angeles and Sacramento have vastly different population levels, climates, and cultures, they shared a common theme at the University of California at Davis’ Aviation Symposium in Costa Mesa; lessons learned from implementing Optimized Profile Descent (OPD) procedures at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Mather Airport (MHR). ESA Airports National Director, Steve Alverson, moderated a panel to share lessons learned from recent OPD efforts.

A floor-by-floor snapshot provides building managers with a useful assessment of the effectiveness of their building's waste diversion programs and suggestions for increasing compliance.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued a Program Guidance Letter (PGL) 12-08 to instruct Airport District Offices (ADOs) on how to implement portions of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA).

With more and more cities and counties planning for a greener future, a key baseline of both an effective sustainability plan and climate action plan is to clearly assess current conditions.

Community-scale Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories are critical to the development of GHG reduction strategies in both sustainability plans and climate action plans. The new Community GHG Inventory Protocol provides a framework for accounting consistency between inventories and among communities within a larger county, region, or state.

Climate Action Plans (CAPs) and Energy Action Plans (EAPs) have become important planning tools for communities to articulate how they will meet energy, mobility, and material resource challenges in a carbon-constrained economy.

An initiative led by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE), aimed at creating greenhouse gas offset opportunities for wetlands received final approval under the Verified Carbon Standards (VCS) on October 4, 2012. This ground-breaking approval paves the way for increased private investment in wetland restoration and conservation projects through the issuance of internationally recognized carbon credits.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued a Program Guidance Letter (PGL) 12-08 to instruct Airport District Offices (ADOs) on how to implement portions of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA).

One half planning and implementation, the other half requires a shift in culture.

Stakeholders examine the successes and challenges of anaerobic digestion technology, permitting, and economics.

Climate Action Plans (CAPs) have become important planning tools for communities to articulate how they will meet energy, mobility, and material resource challenges in a carbon-constrained economy.

ESA celebrated Earth Day 2012 by releasing its first bi-annual sustainability report. The 50-page document highlights the firm’s progress toward being a sustainable business, providing forward-looking sustainable solutions to the firm’s clients, and promoting stewardship of the environment, our communities and employee-owners.

The new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 Clean Water Act Nationwide Permits (NWPs) will become effective March 19, 2012. The existing (2007) NWPs will expire on March 18, 2012. We’re here to help you keep your projects on track during this transition by providing resources, information, and assistance.

November 16^th is GIS Day and we’re celebrating more than a decade of delivering creative, innovative, and integrated client solutions using GIS. We’ve been using this powerful tool to benefit our clients and the environment on projects spanning a variety of markets and geographic locations from coast to coast. In recognition of GIS Day, we’re taking a moment to highlight the value this technology and our GIS team has contributed to our clients, the environment, and our teaming partners on several recent efforts.

Environmental Science Associates (ESA), a San Francisco-based environmental science and planning firm, led the City and County of San Francisco’s environmental consultant team in releasing the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on the 34th America’s Cup (AC34) venue for the City and Port of San Francisco.