Leaf Litter

Biohabitats Projects, Places, and People

Check out our latest Biohappenings and meet the newest members of the team!

By Amy Nelson

Article Index

Projects & Places

Biohabitats Awarded 5-year On-Call Stream Restoration Contract (Baltimore County, MD)

Biohabitats has been selected to provide stream restoration services on an on-call basis to Baltimore County under a 5-year $1 million contract. Our services will include stream restoration design, soil bioengineering design, wetland creation and enhancement, and stormwater retrofit. We will be teaming with McCormick & Taylor, EBA Engineering and Coastal Resources on this contract.

Biohabitats Begins Stream Restoration at Rock Creek (Ignacio, CO)

Biohabitats’ Southern Rocky Mountain Bioregion office has been contracted by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to restore 3,000 feet of the channel and riparian area of Rock Creek. Rock Creek, a third-order stream, is located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwestern Colorado. The channel and riparian areas have been damaged by overgrazing, excess sediment input, and irrigation return flows. This design-build project will provide the Southern Ute Indian Tribe with a stable channel, in stream habitat and a restored riparian buffer.

Another Urban Stream On the Road to Ecological Restoration (Cleveland, OH)

Working for the Northeast Ohio Sewer District, Biohabitats completed an initial assessment and preliminary concept design for 5,750 lineal feet for West Creek. West Creek is a tributary to the Cuyahoga River within an industrialized area. Biohabitats developed alternative stream restoration concepts on a rapid turn-around basis. The concepts were successfully used to obtain funding for future design and construction.

 Biohabitats Awarded 3-year SHA Contract: Remedial Wetland Mitigation and Stream Restoration Design and Associated Environmental Services (MD)

Under a new 3-year $1 million contract, Biohabitats, along with subcontractors Chesapeake Environmental Management, EBA Engineering, Inc., Elizabeth Anderson Comer/Archaeology, and Moffatt & Nichol, will provide remedial wetland mitigation design, remedial stream restoration design, and environmental construction inspection services for the Maryland State Highway Administration statewide.

Biohabitats Undertakes Stream and Floodplain Creation for Republic Services, Inc. (Rockville, VA)

Biohabitats has been engaged by Republic Landfill, Inc. to prepare construction drawings and provide construction management services for 2,030 linear feet of stream creation which will serve as mitigation for impacts associated with landfill expansion. An additional 2,000 linear feet of intermittent stream and floodplain will be created and is proposed to be used as a multi-project mitigation site for future projects.

Much-anticipated Natural Areas Study to Begin for Pittsburgh Parks (PA)

Biohabitats has been contracted by the City of Pittsburgh to perform a Natural Areas Study of four large regional parks — Frick, Highland, Riverview and Schenley Parks. The project, located in Biohabitats’ Ohio River Bioregion, will include a study of the flora, fauna, soils, geology and hydrology of these parks along with recommendations for initiating conservation and ecological restoration strategies.

The Natural Areas Study is part of a larger effort to conserve and restore approximately 1,700 acres of land in the parks. Recommendations to perform the Natural Areas Study came out of the Pittsburgh Regional Parks Master Plan – in which Biohabitats participated as a design team member.

Biohabitats to Provide a Multitude of Stream Restoration Services at Greenspring Quarry (Baltimore County, MD)

Biohabitats has been retained to provide stream restoration services in conjunction with the development of the Greenspring Quarry property in Baltimore County. Plans call for the restoration of Moores Branch and Wellwood Branch as mitigation for development impacts at the Quarry as well as the restoration of the South Tributary as part of mine reclamation plans.

Biohabitats will develop a stream restoration concept plan; prepare final design and construction drawings, specifications and a cost estimate; and provide construction oversight services.

Sweeping Meadows and Groves Will Lead to St. Mary’s Hospital (Rogers, AR)

One of our larger Regenerative Design projects is St. Mary’s Hospital (Mercy Hospital System), a 175-bed replacement hospital in Rogers, Arkansas. Working with Perkins & Will Architects (Atlanta), the Biohabitats team is completing the landscape master plan and taking it through construction drawings. Among its many components is an entry landscape that incorporates a native Arkansas wildflower meadow, meant to evoke the agricultural history of the site and region.

Biohabitats is also working with the hospital to develop several fundraising packages that will dramatically enhance the landscape budget.

Biohabitats Enters Phase Two of Aquatic Resource Study at Delight Quarry (Reisterstown, MD)

As a result of a baseline conditions study at Delight Quarry which Biohabitats conducted in 2003, we have once again been retained to continue monitoring the biological, physical and chemical conditions at the site. The six stream sampling stations that were previously established for collection of fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, physical attributes such as temperature, total dissolved solids and suspended solids, stream channel morphology, and water samples for chemical analysis will continue to be monitored. Results of the data collected will be incorporated into a report following the conclusion of a years monitoring.

Biohabitats Contracted to Complete Stream Restoration Design for Plumtree Run (Harford County, MD)

Last fall Biohabitats, along with subconsultant Century Engineering, completed an alternative feasibility study and a stream restoration conceptual design for Plumtree Run in Harford County. Biohabitats was recently awarded the contract to complete the final design development for this stream restoration.  Following the approval of final design plans, Biohabitats will also provide construction procurement and construction oversight services.

Biohabitats Designs Riparian Buffer Restoration Plan for Delaware River (Philadelphia, PA)

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) has contracted with Biohabitats to prepare an invasive species removal plan and a revegetation design for the establishment of a native riparian vegetative buffer along two parcels of privately-owned property comprising 1,200 linear feet of riverbank on the Delaware Riverfront. The plan will illustrate appropriate planting zones based on landscape morphology, soils, hydrology and microclimate.  The invasive species removal and native revegetation are proposed in conjunction with the construction of a hiker/biker trail along the Delaware River.  The trail is part of a long term goal of creating a proposed greenway along the west bank of the Delaware.

Biohabitats Kicks Off Gwynn’s Falls Stream Restoration Project (Baltimore, MD)

Biohabitats was recently awarded a stream restoration project for Maidens Choice Run, a tributary to the Gwynns Falls, under the Baltimore District of USACE and its partner the City of Baltimore Department of Public Works.

Biohabitats To Conduct Watershed Restoration Feasibility Study of Allen Fork Headwaters (Boone County, KY)

Biohabitats, along with subconsultants Human Nature (Cincinnati, OH) and Viox and Viox (Erlanger, KY) will conduct a field verification of existing conditions and feasibility study for watershed planning in a headwater catchment of Allen Fork, a tributary to Woolper Creek, in Boone County, Kentucky. The study is being commissioned by Boone County Public Works in partnership with Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky.

Construction Begins at Pike Creek Stream Restoration, New Castle County, DE

Biohabitats was recently contracted by Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to provide construction management for the Pike Creek at Three Little Bakers stream restoration project. Under a previous contract, Biohabitats designed the stream restoration for approximately 5,000 linear feet of stream running through a golf course.

Biohabitats Receives ASLA Merit Award for Streamlighting at UVA Dell

Biohabitats was recently presented with a 2004 Merit Award by the Potomac/Maryland Chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the design of the Stream Daylighting at the University of Virginia. This project was designed in collaboration with Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (Charlottesville, VA). The purpose of the project, which included 1000 feet of stream daylighting and a one-acre stormwater management pond, was to restore the ecological function of Meadow Creek through the Dell and to provide water quantity and quality benefits to the Meadow Creek watershed. The previously neglected Dell is now a showpiece at one of the “front doors” to the University of Virginia.  Click here to view all 2004 Potomac/Maryland ASLA Award Winners http://www.mdasla.org.

Bronx Zoo Master Plan Wins a Baltimore Chapter AIA Design Award

The Baltimore Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Baltimore) named the Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx Zoo Master Plan as a winner in its 2004 Annual Design Awards Program. Biohabitats provided ecological master planning services to the team of architects and planners from Ayers Saint Gross (Maryland) that created the plan. Biohabitats conducted an inventory and assessment of the ecological features of the Zoo campus. This included assessment of vegetation composition, invasive plant species, stormwater quality and quantity management, soil erosion, riparian habitat, grounds management, animal exhibit and care areas, and the Bronx River corridor (including in-stream habitat, bank erosion and water quality.)  Based on the assessment, Biohabitats prepared ecological protection and restoration recommendations which were included in the master plan. The plan addresses the Wildlife Conservation Society’s growth needs while maximizing the campus’ sustainability, and enhancing its natural resources.

For more information on the AIABaltimore Design Awards visit: http://www.aiabalt.com/0_committees/0_DesignAwards/DesignAwards.htm

People

Kathy Poole, R.L.A., CLARB

As we expand our regenerative design practice, Biohabitats welcomes the integration of landscape architect Kathy Poole to our team. Kathy will lead our Regenerative Design practice while collaborating on our work in Conservation Planning and Ecological Restoration.

Her range of experience includes new towns, corporate landscapes, campuses, parks, urban regeneration, restorative health care, and green infrastructure.

Through her 20 years of landscape architectural practice and collegiate teaching, Kathy has developed an international reputation for her ecological design inquiry and expertise. Her writings on landscapes as infrastructures and award winning designs have been published at home and abroad.

Kathy is a Registered Landscape Architect and CLARB certified, with a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Clemson University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University. She is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology.

Suzanne Hoehne, Environmental Scientist

Biohabitats welcomes the addition of Suzanne Hoehne to our Ohio River Bioregion office in Louisville, Kentucky. Suzanne brings 4 years of hydrology experience to our firm. Her background includes wetland research at the University of Wisconsin Madison and bridge design work for the Wisconsin D.O.T. Most recently Suzanne has worked on watershed assessment, hydrology and stream restoration projects for an architectural and engineering consulting firm in north central Pennsylvania.

Alan Carpenter, Senior Ecologist

Biohabitats welcomes the addition of Alan Carpenter as a Senior Ecologist to our Southern Rocky Mountain Bioregion office in Golden, Colorado. Alan brings 20 years of natural resource management and land conservation experience to Biohabitats. He was previously the Land Steward with the Colorado program of The Nature Conservancy and the founder of Land Stewardship Consulting, Inc., a consulting firm to help land owners and land managers increase the biodiversity values of their properties.

Got an idea?

Contact The Editor

Sign up for Leaf Litter

Browse by topic

Browse by year