Environmental Solutions E-Newsletter

Periodically, ESA Adolfson sends out "Environmental Solutions," our electronic newsletter. This newsletter is a resource for our clients and colleagues, focusing on current issues and how our industry is affected. If you would like to receive our e-newsletter, please email your name and email address to ESAnews@esassoc.com. Your information will not be sold or used for any other purposes.

Environmental Solutions, Spring 2009

Growing our Sustainable Practices
In 2008, ESA Adolfson adopted a pro-active commitment to the principles of sustainability, recognizing the triple bottom line concept that takes into consideration economic, social, and environmental concerns. Realizing that clients are now faced with developing plans or strategies to meet issues related to climate change, the firm committed itself to “walking the talk” with well-devised and practical approaches to sustainability. Annually, the firm reports its greenhouse gas emissions to the Climate Registry and was recently recognized as a Climate Action Leader. This demonstrated and effective know-how, gives clients proven strategies for attaining their own sustainability goals. Our sustainability initiative, led by Molly Adolfson and Lizzie Zemke, PWS, out of our Seattle office, first established a formal sustainability vision and the adoption of firm-wide sustainability policies and implementation plans to guide our day-to-day activities.



After completion of our own sustainability effort, an ESA Adolfson team, led by Lizzie, applied our sustainability assessment ‘lessons learned’ to long-time client, City of Kenmore, by conducting a pilot sustainability assessment and assistance project for their internal operations. The Sustainability Competency & Opportunity Rating & Evaluation (SCORE), a proprietary program, developed by a collaboration of non-profit organizations was used for this assessment. The SCORE program helps organizations identify their strengths and weaknesses with regard to a broader sustainability than just those issues raised by climate change and helps them make decisions about future practices based upon the results.

Following completion of the assessment, ESA Adolfson prepared a summary report for the City and developed an initial sustainability action plan for City staff. The recommended action plan included signing on to the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, developing a sustainability page on the City’s website, and developing a formal sustainable purchasing plan for City Hall. This pilot project was well-received by City staff and provided them with a short list of actions they could choose to take immediately. As a result of the assessment the City was able to see how their current sustainability efforts compare with those of other cities, and they were able to gain an understanding of how much effort might be required in order for the City to move ahead.

These efforts by ESA Adolfson, the City of Kenmore, and several other clients, reflect the growing concern about climate change and the need for sustainability planning at the local level. Regionally, the Western Climate Initiative, a collaboration of several western states, including Washington, and two provinces of western Canada was set up to find ways to work together to reduce greenhouse gases in the region. Additionally, hundreds of U.S. cities have made the decision to sign on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Initiative.

Lizzie will be presenting ‘lessons learned’ on these efforts later this spring at the National Association of Environmental Professionals conference, Making Sustainability Happen: Goals, Practices, and Challenges, from May 2-6, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For further information, please contact Lizzie Zemke at (206) 789-9658.

Lizzie is a certified Professional Wetland Scientist with 20 years of experience in botany, wetland science, and vegetation mapping in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP)
20 Management Measures Technical Report
ESA Adolfson is developing a comprehensive report on the science and application of 20 nearshore restoration actions or management measures for PSNERP, a large-scale, comprehensive initiative to protect and restore the natural processes and functions in the nearshore zone of Puget Sound. The program is organized around a federal cost share agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) using the Corps General Investigation (GI) methodology.

The purpose of the technical report is to:

• Help PSNERP determine how to most effectively use these management measures to accomplish process-based restoration that addresses documented nearshore ecosystem degradation in Puget Sound;
• Describe the relationship of management measures to Puget Sound nearshore processes, structure, and functions;
• Provide project engineering, planning, and design guidance to ensure consideration of relevant constraints and best practices.

The technical report will include an overview of the uses of management measures in large-scale restoration efforts and a chapter dedicated to each of the 20 measures identified by PSNERP. The geographical domain of the study area extends along 2,500 miles of shoreline from the Canadian border, through Puget Sound, and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Cape Flattery. The nearshore, as defined by PSNERP, generally extends from the top of shoreline bluffs or upstream in estuaries to the head of tidal influence out to the deepest extent of the photic zone.

For more information about this or additional restoration project efforts, contact ESA Adolfson’s project manager, Margaret Clancy, at (206) 789-9658.

Margaret has 18 years of consulting experience in the Pacific Northwest. She specializes in projects involving Shoreline Management (SMA) and Growth Management Act (GMA) initiatives, watershed characterization, and restoration. She enjoys projects that blend science, planning, policy development, and public outreach.

International Efforts in Urban Restoration
ESA Adolfson is partnering with other experts in the Pacific Northwest to provide training for professionals in ecological restoration and urban sustainability for a new UN-HABITAT International Urban Training Center (IUTC) located in Gangwon Province, South Korea.

ESA Adolfson scientists have worked with IUTC staff over the past two years in the areas of urban stream restoration, wetland restoration, and biodiversity. In 2007 and 2008, we organized and provided instructors for a one-week course in urban ecological restoration for managers, engineers, and other professionals from Korea and the Asia-Pacific region. Linda Krippner, PWS, in our Seattle office, has also prepared a biodiversity strategy for Gangwon Province and led a workshop on restoration and climate change. This workshop was featured at the 2008 UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China, in November 2008. Ken Yocom, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Washington, School of Landscape Architecture, and a senior consultant for ESA Adolfson, has also been an instructor for the urban restoration course. Last September, Ken provided instruction on urban restoration in Nepal for the IUTC program.

At the end of April, Linda Krippner will be participating with other international advisors in an expert group meeting to help plan future IUTC training programs. She will also present her work at the Society for Ecological Restoration Northwest Conference this May in Lynnwood, Washington. Additional information about urban restoration programs can be found on the IUTC website at www.iutc.org.

For further information, please contact Linda Krippner at (206) 789-9658.

Linda is a wildlife and wetlands ecologist with 19 years of experience conducting wetland studies and preparing wetland restoration plans.