(McDowell County, WV) In an effort to allow safe travel over Dry Fork for residents of McDowell County, the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) and Federal Highway Administration proposed the demolition of a one-lane, three-span bridge built in 1941 and the construction of a new two-lane, two-span steel bridge. The proposed project location at Dry Fork has been designated a critical habitat for the federally threatened Big Sandy crayfish (Cambarus callainus). Due to the proposed instream work associated with the project, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) enlisted the help of EnviroScience, Inc. to perform a required benthic macroinvertebrate survey.

EnviroScience’s agency approved surveyors developed and carried out a survey plan at the project location. A total of three federally threatened Big Sandy crayfish were collected during the effort. Using a sub-meter accurate GPS, the location of each crayfish was logged, and coordinates were provided to WVDNR and USFWS.

Having confirmed the presence of Big Sandy crayfish at the proposed project location, EnviroScience reported its findings to USFWS and recommended measures be taken to ensure protection of the federally threatened crayfish and preservation of its habitat. To minimize potential ecological impact, WVDOH and project engineers implemented species-specific conservation measures with particular focus on bridge design, project sequence and timing, best management practices (BMP), and construction methods.

(Kanawha County, WV) The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) proposed streambank protection measures along 1,520 linear feet of the right-descending bank of the Elk River in Kanawha County, WV. Streambank erosion and potential loss of wastewater infrastructure had been observed at two separate reaches of the Elk River. The goal of the project was to prevent loss of the wastewater line and lift station and maintain services for residents within the Elk Valley Public Service District. Because of the proposed instream work associated with the project, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) required a mussel survey.

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 mussel surveys were completed by a federally permitted malacologist and our commercial dive team. During these surveys, 720 live mussels of 15 species were collected within the project survey areas, including two live federally endangered snuffbox (Epioblasma triquetra) and two “proposed threatened” (as of January 2022) round hickorynut (Obovaria subrotunda) mussels. The location for each individual was logged in the field using a sub-meter accurate GPS, and coordinates were immediately provided to the WVDNR and USFWS.

After completing the mussel surveys, EnviroScience and USACE initiated formal consultation with USFWS to further facilitate project completion.

EnviroScience maintains a hearty staff of malacologists who are all permitted to conduct freshwater mussel surveys. Our experience includes endangered mussel surveys, impact assessments, translocations, mitigation design, biological assessments, expert consultation, and experimental lab and field research on mussels. Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services. Our diving meets the highest standards for safety and efficiency, including those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) EM385-1-1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ADCI, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

(Tyler County, WV) Antero Resources Corporation contracted EnviroScience, Inc. to perform an impact assessment, including a delineation and freshwater mussel survey to document potential impacts to the Elk Fork at the Margery Pad located in Tyler County, WV. The assessment included documenting the extent of impacts not previously proposed and determining disturbance limits. A delineation of aquatic resources, including streams and wetlands, was performed within the disturbance limit and a 150-foot buffer.

EnviroScience also conducted a qualitative freshwater mussel survey on Elk Fork at the project location to determine the impact of the incidental fill on potential resident freshwater mussels. An EnviroScience certified malacologist efficiently coordinated the mussel survey plan, fieldwork, and report with Antero and the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources (WVDNR) following current West Virginia state protocols. Based on the qualitative mussel survey results, it was determined that the project’s incidental fill did not impact native freshwater mussel populations in Elk Fork at the project location.

After completing the field surveys, EnviroScience coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, WVDNR, and the WVDNR Office of Land and Stream to verify that no permitting would be required for the minor unanticipated impacts. A permit application for work within the designated 100-year floodplain was submitted to and approved by the Tyler County, WV floodplain administrator.

EnviroScience maintains a hearty staff of malacologists who are all permitted to conduct freshwater mussel surveys. Our experience includes endangered mussel surveys, impact assessments, translocations, mitigation design, biological assessments, expert consultation, and experimental lab and field research on mussels. Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services. Our diving meets the highest standards for safety and efficiency, including those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) EM385-1-1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ADCI, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

(Columbia, TN) Gresham Smith and Partners worked as an engineer for the City of Columbia, Tennessee, to enhance a major intersection between two highways. This project included widening the roadway, constructing sidewalks, and installing stormwater and other utilities. The project required the extension of culverts and other activities that had the potential to disturb two tributaries to the Duck River: Allen Branch and an unnamed tributary. After initial correspondence with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they commented that there was potential for the project to impact native federally listed aquatic species, including some freshwater mussel species.

EnviroScience, Inc. provided services to Gresham Smith and Partners, performing a habitat assessment for potential state and federally listed freshwater mussels per the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Environmental Boundary Field Study protocol. EnviroScience also collected stream chemistry and water quality data in conjunction with the habitat assessment.

EnviroScience compiled a list of all known mussels recorded in the Duck River – Bear Creek drainage area. The list consisted of four federally endangered mussels, one federally threatened mussel, and seven mussel species listed as locally endangered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. An EnviroScience biologist then visited the site and performed a thorough stream survey along a 50-meter reach bracketing the proposed culvert crossing. No mussel specimens, alive or dead, were observed. It was determined during the stream survey that due to prolonged periods with no water, the stream was unlikely to support a sustained mussel population.

EnviroScience maintains a hearty staff of malacologists who are all permitted to conduct freshwater mussel surveys. Our experience includes endangered mussel surveys, impact assessments, translocations, mitigation design, biological assessments, expert consultation, and experimental lab and field research on mussels. Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services. Our diving meets the highest standards for safety and efficiency, including those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) EM385-1-1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ADCI, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

(Mobile, AL) The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) promotes the wise stewardship of water quality and living resources in the Mobile Bay estuarine system. The Mobile Bay watershed drains two-thirds of Alabama and parts of Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee and is the most biodiverse drainage basin in North America. Three Mile Creek (TMC) supports a broad diversity of marine and freshwater species in a highly urbanized area. EnviroScience, Inc. assisted MBNEP in developing a plan to control invasive species in the 30+ square mile TMC watershed by working closely with the client and local and regional subject area experts. Major challenges included abundant invasive species, particularly island apple snail, alligatorweed, Chinese tallow (popcorn tree), cogongrass, and Japanese climbing fern. These invasions often cause a loss of biological diversity within both the plant and animal communities.

To provide a qualitative evaluation of invasive species within the TMC watershed, EnviroScience used a plot-based sampling design to document invasive and native species and their locations. A total of 43 invasive plant species and two invasive animal species were quantified during spring and fall sampling events.

From this data, EnviroScience developed a watershed-wide and species-specific plan to control invasive species within the TMC watershed. The invasive species control plan (ISCP) contains prescriptive measures and associated costs and schedules for its implementation. Included in the ISCP is an interactive electronic database that considers multiple factors, including the target species; their location; and labor, supplies, and equipment costs that are scalable and can be used by MBNEP to estimate the effort to control other Mobile Bay watersheds.

Few environmental firms in the country retain EnviroScience’s degree of scientific know-how, talent, and capability under one roof. The diverse background of our biologists, environmental engineers, scientists, and divers enable us to provide comprehensive in-house services and an integrated approach to solving environmental challenges—saving clients time, reducing costs, and ensuring high-quality results. Our expertise includes but is not limited to: aquatic survey (including macroinvertebrate surveys and biological assessments); ecological restoration; ecological services (including impact assessments and water quality monitoring);  emergency response; engineering and compliance services; endangered mussel surveys; laboratory and analysis; stormwater management; threatened and endangered species; and wetlands and streams (including delineation and mitigation.) Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services.

(Gatlinburg, TN) EnviroScience, Inc. performed a biological assessment on discharge from the City of Gatlinburg’s wastewater treatment plant on the West Prong Little Pigeon River to provide supporting data for requirements in the facility’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The biological assessment consisted of a macroinvertebrate survey at a station upstream of the outfall and two downstream. Samples were collected in compliance with Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC) protocols and were scored on the Tennessee Macroinvertebrate Indices (TMI) to assess the community at that location. 

In addition to the macroinvertebrate collection, EnviroScience also provided water quality measurements and habitat assessments, in accordance with TDEC protocols, at each of the three sites. The full suite of field assessments that EnviroScience conducted was meant to serve as a baseline assessment of effluent phosphorus reduction efforts that the City of Gatlinburg had implemented to comply with the permit. Results of the assessment determined that the variability in macroinvertebrate conditions between the three sites was consistent with sampling completed in previous years and should be considered to represent baseline conditions.

Few environmental firms in the country retain EnviroScience’s degree of scientific know-how, talent, and capability under one roof. The diverse background of our biologists, environmental engineers, scientists, and divers enable us to provide comprehensive in-house services and an integrated approach to solving environmental challenges—saving clients time, reducing costs, and ensuring high-quality results. Our expertise includes but is not limited to: aquatic survey (including macroinvertebrate surveys and biological assessments); ecological restoration; ecological services (including impact assessments, invasive species control, and water quality monitoring);  emergency response; engineering and compliance services; endangered mussel surveys; laboratory and analysis; stormwater management; threatened and endangered species; and wetlands and streams (including delineation and mitigation.) Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services.

(Blount County, TN) EnviroScience, Inc. conducted a presence/absence survey for freshwater mussels in Abrams Creek in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The National Park Service used data from this survey as baseline data to understand the current status of the resident mussel fauna and aid in developing long-term resource management strategies. 

The survey used a combination of snorkeling, SCUBA, and un-aided visual inspection techniques to search for the presence of freshwater mussels at 23 sites throughout the lower reach of Abrams Creek. EnviroScience malacologists selected sites using a combination of GIS desktop delineation and rapid, field-based habitat assessments to determine suitable mussel habitat. Semi-qualitative sampling techniques were used at each site to populate a species table, determine observed overall abundance, and calculate catch-per-unit effort.

Data collected were compiled in a comprehensive report for the National Park Service headquarters staff. The report included site mapping, digital field photos, observational and calculated mussel data, and habitat data collected using rapid, field-based habitat assessments.

EnviroScience maintains a hearty staff of malacologists who are all permitted to conduct freshwater mussel surveys. Our experience includes endangered mussel surveys, impact assessments, translocations, mitigation design, biological assessments, expert consultation, and experimental lab and field research on mussels. Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services. Our diving meets the highest standards for safety and efficiency, including those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) EM385-1-1, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), ADCI, and the U.S. Coast Guard.