RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Biological Resources

The conservation and wise management of California’s diverse ecological and biological resources is driven by many of the social, economic, and land use decisions that face the world today. Federal, state, and local regulatory agencies have adopted increasingly stringent environmental standards. Sapphos Environmental, Inc. combines scientific expertise with in-depth knowledge of permitting and compliance protocols to achieve technically sound, cost-effective solutions for biological resources issues for a full spectrum of environmental projects.

Sapphos Environmental, Inc. has been pivotal in successfully completing the wide range of general and directed surveys for biological resources, threatened and endangered species, and wetlands issues for publicly and privately sponsored projects, including utility-scale renewable energy projects in Shasta, Kern, San Bernardino, and Santa Barbara Counties; major airports, such as Los Angeles International Airport; small- to large-scale transportation projects, including highway widening and bridge improvement projects; parks and golf courses; and master-planned communities and mixed-use developments.

Biological Resources Services

• Habitat assessment
• Plant community mapping
• Protocol surveys for state- and federally listed rare, threatened, and endangered species
• Preparation of applications, permits, and delineations pursuant to Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 1600 of the California Fish and Game Code
• General reconnaissance and protocol-level surveys for special-status plant and wildlife species, including listed, sensitive, and locally important species
• Restoration, Revegetation, and Reclamation Plans
• Environmental document preparation pursuant to the CEQA and NEPA guidelines

Historic Resources

Policies to encourage the preservation of significant historic resources have been widely adopted at all levels of government, ranging from the National Historic Preservation Act enacted by the federal government in 1966, to state-level legislation such as CEQA, to numerous municipalities that have incorporated cultural resources ordinances into their municipal codes. Sapphos Environmental, Inc. architectural historians command a thorough knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local regulations and criteria of significance for historic properties and have a track record of providing usable and defensible historic resources surveys, historic assessments, and property evaluations. The firm is experienced with providing a diverse range of cultural resources management documents and services for historic properties. All team leaders meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualifications Standards.

Historic Resources Services

• Reconnaissance- and intensive-level historic resources surveys, historic assessments, and significance evaluations
• Historic Context Statements
• National Register of Historic Places, California Register of Historical Resources, and landmark nominations National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form
• Evaluation under CEQA
• Historic structures reports and design guidelines
• Historic American Buildings Surveys (HABS) Use of Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
• Rehabilitation tax credit, Mills Act, and grant applications
• Historic preservation elements and plans
• Educational and interpretive exhibits, publications, and presentations
• Rehabilitation and adaptive reuse feasibility studies