Restoring Ecosystems. Ecosystem Restoration Services

Transcription

1 Restoring Ecosystems Ecosystem Restoration Services

2 2 Ecosystem Restoration Services AECOM s integrated approach sciencebased planning, with innovative design and execution delivers sustainable and cost-effective results.

3 Ecosystem Restoration Services 3 Pollution, construction activities, habitat and hydrologic modification, watershed development, and other human-related activities have resulted in the loss and degradation of coastal, aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems throughout the world. AECOM s ecologists, restoration scientists and designers, and engineers are at the forefront of ecological restoration projects, and have provided valuable input and insight into national, regional, and local restoration regulatory and mitigation frameworks. AECOM not only has permitted, designed and constructed ecological restoration projects of all sizes, but also has provided construction management and monitoring services on hundreds of ecosystem restoration projects. A leader in the field of ecosystem restoration for over 20 years, we provide the full spectrum of restoration services, including project planning, site selection, design, permitting, implementation, monitoring, maintenance, reporting and long-term management. To support these projects and ensure cost efficiencies, AECOM maintains a wide variety of engineering, graphical, modeling and GIS-based tools. A broad array of clients have utilized our experience in addressing ecosystem restoration needs from assessing damage to full rehabilitation through documentation of long term success. Our experts understand the ecological and public benefits of restoring degraded ecosystems and contaminated sites, the regulatory driving forces that require restoration, and the advantages of applying restoration during project design for proposed construction, dredging and other projects to support a net positive environmental effect. We help private and public-sector clients to thoughtfully restore valuable ecosystems and comply with national, regional and state/provincial regulations protecting special-status species, habitats and ecosystems. For example, we have improved multiple lakes and reservoirs through sediment nutrient inactivation, restoring water clarity and supporting designated uses while not disrupting food webs or harming indigenous fauna. We have also designed and constructed waterways that improve local drainage during high-water events, convey irrigation water, and provide aquatic and adjacent upland habitat for threatened and endangered bird and reptile species. Freshwater Wetlands Habitat Improvement Habitat Creation T&E Species Mitigation Invasive Species Control Migration Enhancement Shoreline/Bank Stabilization Water Quality Restoration Sediment/Soil Remediation Pollutant Source Control Hydrologic Improvement Rivers & Streams Lakes Salt/Coastal Marshes Estuaries & Coastal Waters Terrestrial/Upland Habitats AECOM s ecosystem restoration practice helps clients implement effective environmental stewardship and sustainability programs.

4 4 Ecosystem Restoration Services Our projects improve ecological structure and function, and balance stakeholder concerns. Representative Projects South Bay Salt Ponds, California San Jacinto Salt Marsh, Texas Thunder Bay Fish Habitat, Ontario, Canada Ballona Wetlands, California Vernal Pool and Butterfly Habitat, California National EIS for Habitat Conservation, Alaska Ramanessin Brook Watershed, New Jersey Lake Nona Native Upland, Florida Truckee River, California Trinity Creek Wetland, Stream, and Uplands, Wisconsin Long Pond Permitting, Treatment Ecorestoration, Massachusetts

5 Ecosystem Restoration Services 5 Freshwater Wetlands Numerous human activities have led to a substantial net global loss of wetlands. In many countries, there is a definite trend towards reversing those losses by encouraging wetlands protection, restoration, construction and banking. We have prepared and implemented regional and site-specific restoration plans for projects involving wetlands impacts related to urban and agricultural development, infrastructure, water supply and flood management, and remediation purposes. AECOM s nationally renowned wetland staff includes senior certified wetland scientists who have also published and presented extensively on wetland delineations, remote sensing, regulatory policy, functional assessment, mitigation and restoration. Our staff has completed thousands of wetland projects, including numerous restoration, construction and mitigation projects involving enhancing ecological functions and values, improving wildlife habitat, protecting endangered species populations and habitats, improving hydro-period and hydrologic balance with ecosystem function, controlling invasive species, and remediating contaminated sites, while balancing the interests of all stakeholders and meeting project and client objectives. Freshwater Aquatic Habitats Rivers, Streams and Lakes Freshwater aquatic systems, such as rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, are impacted by numerous stressors, including water and sediment pollution, excessive nutrient loading, bank erosion, reduced and seasonally modified runoff and lake inflow, habitat modifications, and invasive and exotic species. AECOM is a nationally recognized leader in the assessment and restoration of lake, reservoirs, and streams. Our staff includes Certified Lake Managers and the former President of the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS). Several of our lake restoration projects have received NALMS Achievement awards providing added good will for our clients. AECOM also has substantial experience in restoring rivers and streams, including habitat restoration of more than 50 river systems in the United States and Asia. Watershed management is typically an important component of our aquatic system restoration projects, and we routinely prepare cost-effective watershed management plans that meet diverse interests of local, regional and national stakeholders.

6 6 Ecosystem Restoration Services AECOM s staff includes fisheries scientists, aquatic ecologists, benthic macroinvertebrate specialists, limnologists, riparian community experts, terrestrial and wetland ecologists, civil and environmental engineers, geomorphologists, hydrologists and hydraulic engineers, and water chemistry specialists. With applied strengths in all aspects of freshwater aquatic habitat protection and enhancement, our multi-disciplinary expertise and experience allow us to prepare and implement effective management and restoration plans for fish, watersheds, lakes, river, and other freshwater ecosystems. We design and implement successful restoration programs, including vegetation plantings for habitat improvement; streambank and shoreline stabilization; riparian zone management to reduce pollutant runoff; control of point sources and land use planning for pollutant source reduction and water quality improvement; contaminated sediment remediation; stream habitat enhancement featuring boulders, woody materials, and streamside plantings; invasive species control; removal of non-native fish species; and aeration system installations to improve oxygen levels for aquatic biota. Coastal, Estuarine, and Marsh Habitats Coastal marshes are a critical part of the marine ecosystem, providing habitat and nursery areas for numerous important marine species, as well as providing flood storage and protection. With the concentration of development along coastlines globally, coastal ecosystems are heavily impacted with the loss or degradation of coastal marshes, beach systems and benthic habitats such as eelgrass beds. AECOM s staff includes internationally recognized scientists in our marine and coastal centers. Our capabilities and experience in restoring all components of the coastal ecosystem include marsh restoration and construction; tidal gate design to improve tidal flushing and restore natural salinity gradients; coastal benthic habitat restoration, including eelgrass; coastal water and sediment quality remediation and restoration; beach nourishment and dune restoration; artificial reef design and installation; and estuarine and marine water quality and tidal modeling to help design coastal habitats and infrastructure. For example, we have extensive experience in designing major coastal development projects with appropriate protection and restoration of critical estuarine habitats around the world, and we provide integrated environmental and engineering solutions to sea-level rise and coastal flooding threats. Terrestrial and Wildlife Habitat AECOM s staff of botanists, wildlife scientists, terrestrial restoration ecologists and landscape architects have successfully and consistently worked together to design and implement effective restoration programs for a wide variety of clients. Our specialists perform terrestrial habitat evaluations and species surveys, habitat enhancement design and implementation, threatened and endangered species protection and mitigation, and enhancement and restoration of fragmented habitats and wildlife migratory corridors in support of a wide range of environmental impact studies, facility siting and permitting, master planning projects, and large-scale open space conservation programs. Our restoration ecologists have extensive experience with a variety of habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, vernal pools, wet meadows, upland scrub, riparian, mountain and desert communities. AECOM has expertise in the full range of soil microbiological components, geology and soils, hydrologic processes, and native species planting and growth characteristics that provide the greatest certainty of rapid ecosystem establishment, ensuring that the target

7 Ecosystem Restoration Services AECOM s ecosystem restoration practice helps clients implement effective environmental stewardship and sustainability programs. 7 community gets a head start on invasive species and that ecosystem restoration success is self-sustaining and long-term. AECOM s restoration ecologists have academic and practitioner experience with plant ecology, soil microbiology, plant physiology, soil science, nursery operation, construction practices, irrigation techniques, installation methods, and successful maintenance and monitoring methodologies. This range and depth of disciplines contributes to a perspective on ecosystem function that results in successful outcomes for our clients in a timely and cost-effective manner. To support our terrestrial habitat restoration projects, AECOM maintains outstanding relationships with numerous plant nurseries, mitigation bank operators, and regulatory agency staff who can expedite restoration efforts and provide local support to region-based restoration projects. Fish Passage and Dam Removal Dams and other man-made obstacles have resulted in restrictions or blockage of fish passage in many rivers, particularly for anadromous fish such as salmon that need unrestricted migration routes to reach spawning and nursery areas. AECOM provides a range of services for creating or improving fish passage, including fish passage and ecological assessments, the design of fish ladders and other passage systems, improved hydraulic control structures and fish screens that protect fish at hydropower dams and other water diversions, and partial or complete dam removal to assist clients in meeting regulatory requirements or other objectives. AECOM maintains facilities for studying fluid flow problems utilizing physical hydraulic and computer modeling techniques, including Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models as design and analysis tools. AECOM s 24,000-square-foot physical modeling laboratory, located in Redmond, Washington, United States, is one of the few fully equipped hydraulics laboratories in the world and facilitates solutions to complex fish passage and dam removal issues. Our fisheries biologists, well versed in fish passage requirements, work in concert with our hydraulic modelers and engineers to develop and implement cost-effective designs that increase fish passage and survival. Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Environmental stewardship and sustainability is an important component of good corporate citizenship. AECOM approaches environmental stewardship at the convergence of cultural, business and scientific interests to conserve and enhance the natural environment. In addition to developing sustainable, economical and respected environmental stewardship programs for client s operations, customers and employees, AECOM actively supports international and, regional resource management and restoration organizations, including The Nature Conservancy. AECOM was a leader in the founding of the Coastal America Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (CWRP), a public-private coalition focused on protecting, enhancing, and restoring wetlands and other aquatic habitats. AECOM continues active involvement in both the CWRP National Advisory Council and state CWRP, chapters and activities on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts, and has a growing list of restoration and watershed project awards to share with its client partners.

8 M9BR0004 AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government. With approximately 45,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation, and technical excellence in delivering solutions that enhance and sustain the world's built, natural, and social environments. A Fortune 500 company, AECOM serves clients in more than 100 countries and had revenue of $6.3 billion during the 12-month period ended March 31, More information on AECOM and its services can be found at