BRC's Services

BRC can help design a solution no matter what your needs

Large or small, every BRC project is assigned to a senior member of our staff who is responsible for the project's quality and timely completion. Client satisfaction is our foremost concern. BRC’s project managers are trained to apply the basic principles of integrated project management: to communicate and clearly define the problem, develop a plan and a schedule, implement the plan, monitor progress, and produce useful, easy-to-understand yet technically rigorous products that meet the project’s goals.

General Biological Services

Our biologists are professional scientists who are familiar with the requirements for biological assessments when there is the potential to impact natural systems. They are expert in recognizing and assessing the appropriate biological inventories and proposing solutions that address the relevant regulatory issues that might affect a proposed project or action. Wildlife and botanical surveys for special status species and the habitats that support them are fundamental to the initiation and planning of any project.

Focused Ecological Assessments

Our expert staff specializes in wildlife, botanical resources, wetlands, aquatic ecology, and forestry. We regularly implement survey protocols and permitting requirements established by individual counties, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others. Our scientists have the experience and knowledge to take a project from baseline resource inventories and potential impact analyses, through permitting and construction, and eventually mitigation and restoration implementation.

Special-Status Species Analyses

The BRC team possesses extensive federal, state, and regional expertise with endangered species permitting, habitat conservation planning and other multi-species planning approaches to resource conservation. BRC can provide timely professional expertise on every special-status species that could potentially occur within our service area. Not only do BRC’s associates possess a variety of federal endangered species research permits and Memoranda of Understanding for many of the listed or sensitive wildlife species found in California and neighboring states, but BRC also occasionally subcontracts for the services of recognized experts who possess any needed permits not held by our staff.

Construction Compliance Monitoring

Biological monitors ensure that impacts to biological and/or waters resources are avoided or minimized to the maximum extent possible and to ensure that project activities are complying with project permits and BMPs. Biological monitor(s) may stop or otherwise re-direct project-related activities in the event that special-status biological resources are identified as in harm’s way, or issues of non-compliance are observed. As appropriate, monitors will communicate directly and respectfully with crews to resolve such issues so that work may continue in compliance.

Regulatory Compliance, Permitting, and Mitigation

The services BRC provides vary greatly, depending upon the type of development or facility being planned, proposed, evaluated, or built. BRC staff has produced ecological assessments, mitigation plans, construction monitoring plans, biological resources management plans, long-range resource management plans, research reports, restoration plans, and scientific journal articles and books.

Restoration Applications

Restoration may be done to re-establish a vegetation community within disturbed areas, or to remove non-native invasive species, with the intent to restore the physical processes and plant and animal communities found in the native vegetation structure. Common restoration projects include 5-year plans for mitigation, as well as multi-year programs to target invasive species over several rounds of retreatments.

GIS, GPS Mapping, and Mobile

Figure 4.2 Fort Irwin GOEA Raptor Observ

BRC's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Geospatial Applications

BRC’s geographic information systems group is integral in producing synoptic products to depict and calculate survey requirements based on real world environmental variables. Survey area orientation and survey data collection are carefully developed and managed by our GIS specialists using spatial data technologies to support rapid group interaction and reporting. These mapping and analytical products are included in both technical reporting and project management activities.

BRC offers a full range of GIS and remote sensing professional services that have been developed to effectively address our clients’ needs. Professionals at BRC are highly experienced with geospatial data creation, integration, maintenance, analysis, visualization, and application development, as well as delivering final products tailored to each client. BRC uses industry-standard GIS, and remote sensing software packages, such as ESRI ArcGIS, to employ current analysis methods; Trimble and Garmin handheld GPS units and Trimble TerraSync software to aid in electronic field data collection; and large-format digitizers, plotters, and scanners to ensure quick and accurate data input and delivery.

BRC is at the forefront of biological surveying and geospatial data collection. BRC’s Real-time Analytics Project Tracking and Reporting mobile data collection system (“RAPTR”) supports real time survey controls and reporting to provide close monitoring of project activities. Based on mobile GPS and cloud computing technologies, our field teams are employing leading edge field data collection subsystems to provide streamlined survey products, real time reporting, and high resolution mapping to our clients. The RAPTR system collects valuable geospatial data on iOS, Android, Windows (Phone/tablet) to visualize and share GeoSpatial data. RAPTR manages field data collection, assigns tasks to field staff, and monitors collection activity to coordinate efficient and comprehensive surveys.