Threatened, Endangered, and Special-Status Species Surveys and Permitting
TEE biologists provide habitat assessments and conduct determinate surveys for special-status plant and wildlife species including those protected under the federal and state Endangered Species Acts. Our staff has statewide experience working within a variety of habitats and natural communities. Our biologists are familiar with species’ habitat components, life histories, and agency-approved survey methodologies. Touré Environmental staff assess project-related impacts and consult with regulatory agencies to avoid, minimize, and/or mitigate habitat impact.
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Services Provided
• Compilation and analysis of baseline data and field inventory for listed/candidate and
other special-status plants and animals
• Inventory and identification of special-status plants and animals by permitted staff
specialists
• Implementation of agency-recommended protocols for presence/absence
determination of special-status species
• Preparation of Biological Assessment (BA) documents
• Formal and informal consultation with U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine
Fisheries Service, U.S Forest Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and local
agencies
Invertebrates:
• Conservancy fairy shrimp
• Longhorn fairy shrimp
• Vernal pool fairy shrimp
• Vernal pool tadpole shrimp
Amphibians:
• California tiger salamander
• Arroyo toad
• California red-legged frog
• Foothill yellow-legged frog
• Mountain yellow-legged frog
• Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog
• Western spadefoot
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Plants:
• Rare, threatened, and endangered plant
vouchers
• Identification of Caulerpa taxifolia algae
Reptiles:
• Western pond turtle
• Desert tortoise
• Giant garter snake
• Alameda whipsnake
• Flat-tailed horned lizard
Mammals:
• California bat species
• San Joaquin kit fox
• Stephens’ kangaroo rat
• San Bernardino kangaroo rat
• Mohave ground squirrel
• Palm Springs pocket mouse
• White-eared pocket mouse
Fish:
• Southern California steelhead ESU
• Delta smelt
• Arroyo chub
• Hardhead minnow
• Santa Ana speckled dace
• Santa Ana sucker
• Unarmored threespine stickleback
• Tidewater goby
Birds:
• Burrowing owl
• Least Bell’s vireo
• California gnatcatcher
• Swainson’s hawk
• Willow flycatcher
• Migratory species
Special-Status Species Permits and Survey
Capabilities
TEE has highly qualified staff with the expertise and necessary federal and state permits toconduct habitat assessments and protocol-level surveys. Touré Environmental biologists holdcurrent permits and perform surveys for numerous special-status species including:
Amphibian Ecology, Surveys and Aquatic Habitat Assessments
TEE biological expertise includes amphibian ecology, survey capabilities and Endangered
Species Act and special-status species compliance (listed, special-status, and other species).
Touré Environmental amphibian biologists have extensive experience conducting habitat
assessments, presence/absence surveys, and consultations for several state and federally listed species and other special-status species throughout California. Touré Environmental has extensive experience designing and conducting studies and surveys for special-status
amphibian species in California’s Central Valley as well as in montane habitats throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Coast Range, and the southern portion of the Cascades Range.
Our biologists have training and experience conducting amphibian surveys using state and
federal agency protocols and have developed standardized methodologies for conducting
habitat assessments and visual encounter surveys for a variety of amphibian species. Touré
Environmental performs surveys for special-status amphibians throughout California and has developed management strategies, prepared avoidance conservation, mitigation measures, and designed monitoring plans for the following species:
• California red-legged frog
• California tiger salamander
• Western spadefoot
• Yosemite toad
• Arroyo toad
• Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog
• Foothill yellow-legged frog
• Cascades frog
• Western pond turtle
Services Provided
• General and species-specific habitat assessments and formal surveys
• Constraints analyses and recommendations
• Baseline studies in support of hydroelectric relicensing and post-license monitoring
• Threatened and endangered species studies
• Hydrogeomorphic assessments and flow/habitat studies
• Impact evaluations
• Conservations, mitigation, and monitoring plans
• USFWS Biological Assessments, resource agency liaison and negotiation
Bat Surveys
TEE has highly qualified staff with expertise and necessary permits to conduct the full range of bat surveys to meet the requirements of regulatory agencies in addition to complying with
county and city environmental ordinances. Touré Environmental biologists assist project
proponents in designing and implementing projects that avoid or minimize impacts to local bat populations.
Services Provided:
• Initial site assessment for bat habitat suitability and potential roost identification
• Bridge assessments and surveys
• Roost surveys using a Treetop Peeper camera
• Day/Night roost surveys
• Roost exit surveys
• Active acoustic surveys (using Anabat II broad-band detector with laptop)
• Passive acoustic monitoring (using Anabat II broad-band detector with storage ZCAIM))
• Mist netting surveys
• Abandoned mine and cave assessment surveys
• Developing and implementing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mitigation
• Bat-related education programs
Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Assessments
TEE fisheries and aquatic staff design and conduct environmental assessment studies in all of California’s aquatic habitats, including riverine, lacustrine, estuarine, and marine systems. We conduct technical studies and prepare supporting documentation for Biological Assessments and Section 7 consultations for salmonids (National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)) and non-salmonids (U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)) under the Endangered Species Act. TEE biologists hold federal incidental take permits (or are routinely approved by NOAA Fisheries on a project basis) for numerous federally-listed species in California, including the various races and Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs) of Chinook salmon and steelhead, tidewater goby, Santa Ana sucker, and unarmored threespine stickleback.
Our biologists work with hydraulic engineers to valuate existing and predictive fish habitat
(PHABSIM modeling), affects to fish and habitat from altered streamflows (dam and bypass
releases), fish passage, fish screening, and fish entrainment. Touré Environmental conducts
field-level stream and riparian habitat mapping using USFWS protocols, and channel
classification using the Rosgen multi-level approach. Touré Environmental biologists are
proficient with hydroacoustic assessments, acoustic tagging, and mobile methodologies.
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Services Provided
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• Fisheries and aquatic habitat study design
• Estuarine habitat/eelgrass assessments
• Aquatic, riparian, and estuarine habitat restoration
• Estuarine/marine fish ecology and study design
• Acoustic fish tagging/tracking
• Entrainment evaluations
• Fish passage assessments
• Water project operations impact assessments
• Mitigation planning and design
• Alternatives analyses
• Limiting factor analyses
• Watershed and ecosystem restoration planning
• Section 7 Endangered Species Act compliance
• Fish relocation and salvage
