Wildlife & Botanical Assessments
Kleinschmidt has extensive experience with terrestrial resource (wetland and upland cover types/habitats, wildlife) assessments for hydroelectric relicensing, decommissioning and compliance projects. Kleinschmidt biologists have completed extensive wetlands mapping projects, using National Wetland Inventory maps as a baseline and adjusting these as necessary to reflect existing conditions. Kleinschmidt biologists have also used a combination of field work and aerial photo interpretation to create wetlands maps from scratch. In addition, we have extensive experience conducting wetland functional analyses and assessing the effects of project operations on wetland acreage and functions and values. Kleinschmidt has provided detailed studies to characterize the effect of varying flow levels on wetland resources in bypass reaches. In some cases this has involved wetted perimeter studies that attempted to identify the flow level that maximized wetland formation. Quite often, Kleinschmidt has been called on to provide an analysis of the effects of impoundment fluctuations on wetlands including plant community composition, wildlife usage, functions, and aerial extent.
Kleinschmidt typically employs a habitat-based approach to wildlife studies associated with hydroelectric projects. For example, Kleinschmidt has completed numerous cover type maps and habitat descriptions as a basis for developing expected and confirmed wildlife usage for a project study area. Most often, confirmed wildlife usage is determined through direct observation, or confirmation of sign (such as scat, tracks, dens, or calls), and wildlife assessments are qualitative (i.e., without the use of transects, trapping, or tracking studies). However, on occasion Kleinschmidt has been called on to provide more quantitative assessments. Kleinschmidt scientists regularly conduct botanical surveys.
Kleinschmidt has prepared numerous terrestrial resource portions (wetlands, botanical, and wildlife) of Exhibit Es or Applicant Prepared EAs, including existing conditions characterizations and impacts analyses. In recent years, Kleinschmidt has completed terrestrial resource studies for more than a dozen separate clients/projects, and has an excellent working relationship with regulatory agencies, NGOs, and private industry.
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