Services

Rates

Contact is to request a proposal to discuss and receive a bid on your project. Rates typically involve project size, travel, and details of the project.

Service Area

We typically serve Northern Lower Michigan and the middle and eastern Upper Peninsula, however larger projects may be considered outside of this region.

Technology

We integrate remote sensing technologies, GIS, and advanced data collection methods in addition to traditional field-based survey.

Reporting

Reports and plans are tailored to the clients needs including custom maps, high-quality photo documentation, statistical analysis, and delivery of geospatial data.

Ecological Assessments and Inventories

Conducting a Floristic Quality Assessment at the Cedar River Preserve with regional conservancy staff support.

Ecological assessments and biological inventories are instrumental to making land use decisions for both private and public lands, such as planning and managing recreational use, locating high-priority conservation areas, and managing rare or target species populations.

Floristic Quality Assessments inventory the vascular plant species in a discrete area to generate a quality index. This can be used to compare conservation value between areas, or monitor change in quality over time.

Rapid Ecological Assessments combine different disciplines to create a snap-shot of a land and its inhabitants, including plants, mammals, birds, insects, and other taxonomic groups of interest.

Natural Resource Management Planning

Technical Service Provider for the Natural Resource Conservation Service certified to write Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) Forest Management Plans (CAP106) and Fish and Wildlife Management Plans (CAP142) and registered forester with the State of Michigan certified to write Forest Stewardship Plans and enroll in the Quality Forest Program.

We specialize in habitat and conservation-oriented plans that prioritize healthy ecosystem management. This commonly includes practices to restore degraded land into functioning natural communities, identify and treat invasive species, create habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species, create customized seed mixes and planting plans, and management of declining forest stands.

Planting native seedlings with the Conservation District, school staff, students, and volunteers after a red pine timber thin at the Frankfort Public School forest.

Invasive Species Detection and Mapping

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Native whorled milfoil (left) and hybrid European x Northern milfoil growing together in a submergent marsh.

We can help landowners, organizations, and neighborhood and lake associations identify, map, and make a management plan for invasive plant species impacting their community and natural resources. Invasive species surveys can be incorporated into more general assessments or as a stand-alone survey.

Terrestrial invasive species surveys target upland and wetland communities and use a combination of field surveys with aerial imagery interpretation to identify and map invasive species populations. We typically follow MISIN protocol unless otherwise specified by the client.

Aquatic invasive species surveys target plants growing in waterbodies and utilize directed point-intercept sampling to construct a map of the underwater plant community. Sampling is directed by ancillary information such as aerial imagery, Secchi depth, and bathymetry.

Restoration, Native Landscapes and Seed Collection

Native plant restoration, including native landscaping, is vital to the conservation of not only the plants, but also the insects, birds, herpetofauna, and mammals that rely on the vegetation, as well as ecosystem function and services provided to people.

We can assist on projects between a few square feet to hundreds of acres, and can provide you with a solid plan to restore your lawn, garden, forest, or old field with native vegetation communities.

We work with the Seeds of Success program via the Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank at the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the North American Orchid Conservation Center at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, to collect native seed for conservation and restoration initiatives and the Millennium Seed Bank Project. We utilize their methodology when collecting seed for private or regional projects.

Collecting native seed for the North American Orchid Conservation Center.

GIS Remotes Sensing and Mapping Services

Mapping services are often incorporated into ecological surveys and assessments, invasive species surveys, and other projects. Most floristic quality assessments and ecological assessments include georeferenced maps of natural communities with associated species. Invasive species detection will include maps showing species distribution and abundance so that landowners can better plan management strategies.

Environmental Compliance

Wetland determination and delineation and threatened and endangered species reviews for EGLE compliance are offered for small to medium projects.

We also offer sub-contractor services to cover the botanical needs of larger projects. Past performance includes endangered species population monitoring for USFWS, invasive species population monitoring for EGLE wetland permit compliance, botanical assessments as part of energy infrastructure re-licensing projects, and wetland quality monitoring for EGLE.

Classes and Workshops

Plant identification classes and workshops

Does your organization need instruction in plant or natural community identification? We can help you learn your sedges, common wetland plants, or high-quality forest indicator species. Contact us to discuss your needs. A limited number of pro-bono classes are offered to non-profit native plant conservation organizations.

Plant identification classes and workshops are occasionally offered to the public or member groups and organized through the Michigan Botanical Society, Northwestern Michigan College Extended Education Program, and local conservation organizations. See our Blog page for upcoming offerings.

Services

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