Our Philosophy

Environmental Consulting That Actually Tries to Protect the Environment.

PLANNING A NEW PROJECT? READ THIS FIRST!

What is the best project? The one that doesn’t require any environmental permits because it was designed to avoid and/or minimize environmental impacts!

Various environmental regulations call for a common sense approach known as “avoid, minimize, mitigate”. This means that excellent planning should, as the first objective, attempt to AVOID all environmental impacts. If this is not possible, then you move to the second step–minimizing them as much as possible. The last resort is mitigation.

In order to properly design a project, the biological/ecological surveys should always be done FIRST then the results of the surveys are integrated into the design/site planning process. This approach invariably translates into better (and likely cheaper) projects. Generally, the more environmental impacts your project will have, the higher the costs, financially and time-wise, because you will need more environmental permitting and county/agency review. You may be required to do mitigation which is added costs. Also, environmental impacts have their costs–not just for you, but to the community. Proper planning avoids high financial and societal costs to you and the community. “Avoidance” as a planning strategy is just common sense and meets the mandates of many environmental laws and regulations however; many development projects do not follow this common sense approach which is, quite simply, to use existing infrastructure and avoid impacts as much as possible.

What Is Your Role in All This? It’s Called Due Diligence.

A couple buys a property with a pond on it. They install a large deck over the outlet to the pond, sinking pylons into the water. They are red-tagged with a Code Enforcement violation and end up taking it all out. It costs them thousands of dollars.

A couple builds a barn on the edge of a pond. They keep chickens, a few pigs, goats in the barn. Not too long after they start using the pond, it becomes very polluted resulting in a fish kill.

A man buys land for a home. In order to access the home, he will have to cross a creek. He thinks it will be easy to just build a bridge across the creek but three years later, he still has not been able to install his driveway.

A new Cannabis grower buys a cheap lot that has an extremely steep slope. He thinks he can just ‘install’ some terraces on this slope to grow his product, until the slope collapses when he starts ‘installing’ the terraces with his backhoe. The slope collapses into the creek below. He is hit with multiple violations and walks away from the property with nothing except a lot of fines he has to pay.

These are all true stories and there are plenty more where this came from. Due diligence is the onus of the landowner/buyer and it means you are responsible for doing all the research regarding how you may use your land and stay in compliance with local (county), state, and federal policies/regulations. (For example, what is the current zoning for the property and can you even do what you want to do based on the current zoning?). Not doing this research can result in literally thousands of dollars wasted, possible code violations, bad juju between you and your neighbors, a property so destroyed/uglified, you can’t sell it, in short–a nightmare. And there will be no one to blame but yourself. Doing thorough due diligence can save you thousands of dollars in consultants NOT hired, soils NOT collapsed, wetland/waterways not illegally filled/crossed, driveways NOT subsided/collapsed into the wetland under it–so before you buy that piece of property for your “dream” project, make sure you do a thorough job on your due diligence FIRST.

Be Smart. Be Wise. Save Money. Protect the Environment. All of these are possible with thorough due diligence on your part which will translate into a well-planned project.

Experience

Virginia started Ecological Outreach Services in 1999 following her experience working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, California State Parks, other agencies, and the private and non-profit sectors. She holds a B.S. in Field Biology and a M.S. in Plant Ecology. Originally from the mid-west, she offers years of experience that spans from Alaska (five+ years), Wyoming, to Vermont, and spaces in between. She combines extensive experience, a solid education, and a passion for her profession into excellent services for her clients.

Virginia has over 20 years as a regulatory field biologist. She has implemented many different kinds of regulations including CEQA/NEPA, and those related to endangered species, mitigation, habitat, and water.

EOS is a Nevada and Yuba County Approved Consultant. EOS is a State of California Certified Small Business.

Some Former Clients Include:

Many private landowners, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Nevada Irrigation District, Lake of the Pines, The Nature Conservancy, Center for Natural Lands Management, San Diego Gas and Electric (Sempra Energy), Salvation Army-Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, City of Escondido, Ecorp Consulting, Burleson Consulting, and many others. Virginia has worked as a subcontractor for many other firms and has managed teams of subcontractors. She has taught and continues to teach ecology, biology, and related courses for local colleges.