Biological Survey and Management Document Preparation Services
The PCCA has prepared documentation for more than 30 open space and wildlife preserve properties. PCCA staff can work from ground zero providing document authorship from ground zero but can also work with existing documents in need of editing and templates requiring site-specific tailoring. The PCCA can prepare a complete suite of legal record and management documents for most projects including:
- Complete natural history and archaeological inventories
- Baseline survey reports required for conservation easements
- Perpetual and long-term land or habitat management plans
- Facilities management plans (e.g., for preserve infrastructure components) when applicable
- Supplemental plans (e.g., fencing and signage plans)
- The Property Analysis Records (PAR)
- Conservation easements
- Irrevocable letters of credit
- Trust fund agreements including perpetual management financial assurance agreements
- Endowment funding agreements
- Transfer responsibility agreements
Property Analysis Record
The process involves many steps but ultimately we prepare a land value analysis to justify the establishment of the preserve or easement and subsequently propose a management plan – for example, a Habitat Management Plan (HMP) or Land Management Plan (LMP) – that will describe the actions necessary to set aside and manage the land in perpetuity. Once finalized, the cost of initial and long-term management needs to be calculated, which we prepare using a tool called the Property Analysis Record (aka the PAR) developed by the Center for Natural Lands Management. The PAR identifies completely and succinctly the features of the property and then identifies the tasks and costs required for long-term management and maintenance of the property and establishes the required endowment to fund those responsibilities.
Wildlife Conservation Field Services
In support of its mission to support survivorship of threatened and endangered species, whether in support of preserve or easement design or for pure research purposes, The PCCA provides the following field services:
- Preparation of current and historic natural history overview
- Collection of data and preparation of baseline reports
- General wildlife surveys
- General botanical surveys
- Focused surveys for listed/protected species
For construction-related projects, in addition to biological surveys, The PCCA can provide the following:
- Pre-construction assessment of potential effects (constraints analyses)
- Development of best management practices (BMPs) to minimize or eliminate adverse wildlife impacts
- Pre-construction and site preparation monitoring plans
- Construction and post-construction monitoring plans
- Authoring and delivery of worker training and information programs
- Design of mitigation strategies
- Development of adaptive management strategies