ERG planned and performed bat mist net surveys to support long term ecosystem management planning at Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) in Fairfax County, VA and Douglas Point SRMA in Charles County, MD for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The project included mist netting of seven sites at each location using a modified level of effort outlined in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) survey guidelines. Radiotelemetry was planned for any suitable Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) or tricolored bat; however, no individuals of these species were captured. The survey captured 35 big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and six eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis). A report was developed describing the results and including management recommendations.

ERG conducted a wetlands and Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) delineation for a bridge replacement project which included a tidal environment in Nueces County, TX for STV, Inc/TxDOT. ERG identified WOTUS within the project area and developed a water features delineation report. Since there were proposed impacts to WOTUS, ERG drafted a Nationwide Permit 14 Preconstruction Notification for TxDOT to submit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ERG also conducted a habitat assessment at the project area to identify habitat for threatened and endangered species. ERG developed the species analysis documentation required by TxDOT. As a result, ERG drafted a Biological Evaluation (BE) that addressed potential effects of the action to the federally protected Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) and Rufa Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) as required for consultation with the USFWS. Additionally, ERG conducted informal consultation under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries for potential affects to the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii). ERG also coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard and the NOAA Fisheries for Essential Fish Habitat. 

ERG developed the 5-year updates for the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP), Bloodsworth Island Range INRMP, and Naval Recreation Center Solomans INRMP in In St. Mary’s, Dorchester, and Calvert counties, MD. The INRMPs fulfill the requirements of the Sikes Act, as amended, and serve as a long-term planning document that guides implementation of the natural resources program to help ensure support for the installation mission while protecting and enhancing natural resources for multiple use, sustainable yield, and biological integrity. Updates to the INRMPs included regulatory information, mission changes, adding additional species information and survey data, and developing additional projects. The three updates also included the development of a climate adaptation plan as an appendix to each INRMP.

ERG developed a Biological Assessment (BA) and Biological Evaluation (BE) for the Six Creeks Fireshed Project in the Ironton Ranger District, Wayne National Forest in Lawrence, Scioto, and Gallia counties, OH. The Six Creeks Fireshed Project included the use of prescribed fire and non-commercial vegetation cutting activities across 56,000 acres in order to have healthy oak-dominated ecosystems, expanded and improved wildlife habitat, and reduce fuel loading in accordance with the 2006 Forest Plan. The BA included 13 federally-listed and proposed species from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Information for Planning and Consultation (IPaC) list of which seven were analyzed for potential impacts, including Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), Northern long-eared bat, tricolored bat, salamander mussel (Simpsonaias ambigua), monarch butterfly, Northern monkshood (Aconitum noveboracense), and small whorled pogonia (Isotria medeoloides). The BE included 36 regional forester sensitive species of which 22 were carried forward for analysis. Avoidance and minimization measures from the Forest Plan and Bat Conservation Strategy were included in both the BA and BE. Additionally, ERG conducted impact analysis on soils and watersheds utilizing Web Soil Survey, National Wetlands Inventory, and other data sources.