Our Services

Alpine EcoSciences has the expertise to help with a range of ecological sciences services. We can help with issues regarding forest management and the stewardship of your land, the environmental assessment of development actions, the assessment of ecological risks from contaminant exposure, and ecotoxicological chemical reviews.

 

Forestry and Land Stewardship

As a landowner, you want to hire a forestry consultant to provide professional guidance to help you manage your forested land. As an ACF Consulting Forester, we can help with the Forest Ag Program (tax savings program for land stewardship activities), forest health evaluations, wildfire mitigation plans, among other forestry-related services.

Forest Ag

If you own 40 forested acres or more, and manage the forest resources on your land, you may be eligible for the Forest Ag Program:

  • Financial benefits: Eligible forested land classified as agricultural for tax purposes, potentially saving thousands of dollars per year.

  • Land stewardship benefits: Reduces forest fragmentation and enhances wildlife habitat, improves forest health, prevents wildfires.

To participate, landowners must:

  • Have at least 40 forested acres.

  • Have a 10-year Forest Management Plan (FMP) prepared by a professional forester or natural resources professional that meets Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) guidelines.

  • Manage their land and produce some marketable wood products (e.g., firewood or Christmas trees), per their FMP.

  • Approved FMPs and application fees are due to the local CSFS office by October 1 to be considered for the following tax year.

Environmental Assessment

Environmental assessment (EA) under the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or project prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. This can include:

  • Environmental Assessment (EA): Through the EA process, a determination is made whether an action has the potential to cause significant environmental effects or if a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) can be issued. If impacts are significant, the process moves to an Environmental Impact Statement.

  • Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): An EIS is prepared if a proposed major action is determined to have significant environmental impacts. An EIS evaluates a range of alternatives to accomplish the proposed action, and evaluates the environmental consequences.

  • Categorical Exclusion: An action may be excluded from a detailed analysis if the action is deemed to have no significant environmental impacts.

Ecotoxicology and Ecological Risk Assessment

The owner of Alpine EcoSciences was involved with the development of the original Principles of Ecological Risk Assessment, the Framework for Metals Risk Assessment, and the development of the Ecological Soil Screening Levels for ecological risk assessment. Risk assessment characterizes the nature and magnitude of risks to ecological receptors (e.g., birds, fish, wildlife) from exposure to contaminants. Risk assessments may be required under CERCLA (Superfund), RCRA, state and other regulations. We can help with:

  • Ecological risk assessment: Evaluating the risk to fish, wildlife, and other ecological receptors from chemical exposure. This may include food web modeling, bioaccumulation studies, and screening-level risk assessments, among other services.

  • Ecotoxicological reviews: Conducting literature reviews to assess the ecotoxicity of specific contaminants or contaminant groups (e.g., pesticides, metals, PCBs, PAHs).

  • Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA): The legal process undertaken by federal agencies to evaluate the impacts oil spills and hazardous waste sites on natural resources. This includes preliminary assessment, injury assessment and restoration planning, and restoration.

  • Field studies: Development of Field Sampling Plans to collect data to support ecological risk assessment. This includes benthic macroinvertebrate studies, fish sampling, bird studies, plant sampling, and habitat characterization.