Environmental Services – Logan Simpson

Aug
2023
15
2023 / Aug / 15
Summit County Open Space Plan and Comprehensive Plan
- posted in
Logan Simpson prepared the first update of the Summit County Open Space & Trails Master Plan since 1996. The previous Plan focused on land acquisition for a newly conceived program; the new Plan guides the acquisition, trail development, maintenance, and resource management into the next decade to proactively address challenges and adapt to change. It provides policy guidance on open space, trails, and other outdoor recreation topics across jurisdictional boundaries. This Plan works with the Countywide and Basin Master Plans to reflect the community’s vision for open space and trails throughout the County. It is focused on non-developed, nature-based recreation and provides guidance to federal, state, and local agencies that collaborate with Summit County, with each able to set its own policy on lands under their respective jurisdiction. The planning process integrated partners, land managers, resource interests, and recreation stakeholders to address acquisition, stewardship, and visitor priorities. Multi-lingual in-person and online public input was a driving force in the development of this Plan.
Aug
2023
15
2023 / Aug / 15
Navigating Farmington’s Future Comprehensive Plan
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Logan Simpson completed an update to the City of Farmington, New Mexico’s 2002 Comprehensive Plan to reflect the City’s transformation from an economy traditionally reliant on oil, gas, and coal extraction, to one that is much more diverse. Policies within the draft plan highlight an economic future that strengthens key assets such as: outdoor recreation opportunities; a burgeoning film industry; and access to regional healthcare and higher-level education; increased tourism; and becoming an active lifestyle destination for its influx of retirees. The Plan provides recommendations to assist Farmington’s governing bodies in decision-making, moving policy and development forward in a productive way conducive to transforming Farmington into a healthy, sustainable economy. The Plan is reflective of public outreach efforts by integrating what residents and business owners love and the issues they identify. Based on public input, the update includes new elements such as planning for healthy and socially sustainable communities, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and environmental quality.
Aug
2023
15
2023 / Aug / 15
Buckeye Wildlife Corridors, Best Practices Guide
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Logan Simpson developed the first-of-its-kind Wildlife Corridors Best Practices Guide, a set of best management practices and tools for development that considers harmony with wildlife corridors and the natural environment within the City of Buckeye’s growth area. While much of land surrounding the City remains undeveloped and provides essential habitat for wildlife, Buckeye is evolving rapidly, and the population increase warrants thoughtful planning. With the goal of maintaining and enhancing existing biodiversity while ensuring community prosperity, a case study-based approach was taken to organize this Guide around three strands – environmental, growth, and quality of life. The Guide’s is to advocate for wildlife connectivity throughout the City and encourage collaboration between all groups involved in developing Buckeye. Groups and individuals with local expertise helped inform the planning process, including landowners/developers, utilities, local/state agencies, and conservation advocacy groups.
Aug
2023
10
2023 / Aug / 10
Lake Powell Pipeline Biological Resource Survey
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Logan Simpson completed biological resources technical studies for the proposed 225-mile Lake Powell Pipeline. The project included the construction and operation of a buried water pipeline, water intake facility at Lake Powell, surface water storage reservoirs, hydro-electric generation facilities, and transmission lines. The pipeline corridor included federal, state, private, and tribal lands extending from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona to Cedar City, Utah. Logan Simpson: completed 386 miles of field surveys documenting 16 special-status plant species occurrences of over 350,000 plants; mapped the distribution of 17 species of noxious/invasive weeds; recorded 306 plant taxa; and documented 3,443 polygons representing 556 vegetation associations on 25,000 acres. As alignments shifted, we assessed which rare plants potentially occur and adjusted survey schedules to match phenology of the target plants in target areas to aid in surveys and positive identification. A geospatial database of the vegetation survey results was developed to provide the basis for impact analysis of rare plants, determine mitigation actions, and develop an invasive/noxious species management plan.
Jul
2020
23
2020 / Jul / 23
Browns Canyon National Monument Resource Management Plan and EIS
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Logan Simpson led preparation of the first-ever resource management plan (RMP) for the newly-created Browns Canyon National Monument in Colorado. This 21,604-acre monument is located along the upper Arkansas River and contains scenic and diverse natural resources. The monument is jointly managed by BLM and USFS and includes one of the most heavily utilized commercial boating areas in the nation. The RMP focuses on protection of resources, continued public use and enjoyment, and continuation of historic uses, such as livestock grazing.
Logan Simpson also prepared the associated EIS for the BLM and USFS. The EIS was completed in just 434 days from the Notice of Intent to the publication of the Record of Decision in July 2020—more than a year ahead of the contracted schedule. Logan Simpson’s planners employed multiple strategies to help keep the project moving, such as crosswalking the agencies’ vocabularies and processes. This small but important step helped improve the Interdisciplinary Team’s respect and understanding for each agency’s guidelines and reduced schedule delays and do-overs.
May
2020
08
2020 / May / 08
Community Wildfire Protection Plans
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The wildland urban interface (WUI) is the area where homes are built near or among lands prone to wildland fire. These areas have become more popular for homeowners for their privacy, natural beauty, recreational opportunities and affordable living. As a result, rural fire districts are more often having to fight fire and protect homes and property within these WUI areas. Logan Simpson developed the first two CWPPs in Arizona for the at-risk communities of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that complied with Title I of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). We facilitated the collaboration among Federal, state, and local partners as well as Native American tribes to developed these two CWPPs and established priorities to reduce the risks to communities and surrounding lands. Subsequent to these first two CWPPs, Logan Simpson developed 20 CWPPs, analyzed over 31 million acres, and gathered input from over 300 communities across multiple states.
May
2020
08
2020 / May / 08
Four Forests Restoration Initiative (4FRI) Facilitation
- posted in
The Four Forest Restoration Initiative is a collaborative effort more than 20 years in the making. 4FRI is the flagship of the Forest Service’s national Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program which sought to achieve the collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration on unhealthy forest landscapes. This project is considered one of the most massive restoration projects in the nation. Stakeholder collaboration and consensus was central, as the values of restoration are complex. Stakeholders were a broad cross-section of more than 100 organizations, including federal, state, and local government, timber industry, preservation, and environmental interest groups, and citizens. The collaborative had often been divided deeply on specific issues and struggled to achieve consensus. Within four years, the collaborative turned over five different facilitators before turning to Logan Simpson. From 2012 to 2015, Logan Simpson guided the group through several complex challenges. Where possible, we brought electronic polling and modern collaborative planning tools into the 4FRI mix. The group’s success with Logan Simpson included revised decision rules (unanimously adopted); revision of the behavior-related ground rules of the Charter; revisioning/strategic planning each year; consensus comments on a draft EIS for the first analysis area; and successful collaborative leadership leading to broad-based support for the final EIS, which has moved to implementation without litigation. Logan Simpson managed and facilitated the collaborative with steering committee calls, facilitated meetings, problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Dec
2019
04
2019 / Dec / 04
National Historic and Scenic Trails Methodology, Field Guide, and Training
- posted in
Logan Simpson’s landscape architects, archaeologists, historic preservationists, biologists, visual resource specialists, and recreation specialists recently worked with the BLM to develop a first-of-its-kind methodology to help inventory, assess, and monitor National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHTs). Since National Trails often cross multiple administrative boundaries, the BLM purposefully designed the methodology so it could be used by all agencies and organizations who share management responsibilities. This integrated approach provides federal, state, and local agencies and trail organizations with a common framework as they inventory, assess, and monitor each trail’s resources, qualities, values, settings and uses.
The National Trails Methodology considers four landscape elements―natural, scenic, historic and cultural, and recreation―and how they work together to define the nature, purposes, and uses of a trail. An interdisciplinary team made up of agency decision-makers, technical professionals in each resource area, and members of trail organizations and volunteer groups implements the methodology. Together, they determine how to study the trail—from the locations from which inventory will be conducted to how data will be collected and analyzed, and eventually to how resources will be monitored. Cross-agency participation is encouraged when trails cross jurisdictional boundaries.
A companion Field Guide and training curriculum provide the step-by-step guidance needed to carry out the methodology. Both the Field Guide and training emphasize the use of existing programs, skill sets, and data standards whenever possible with simple checklists and a standardized monitoring form to ensure consistency across agencies. BLM anticipates that the NSHT Methodology, Field Guide, and Training will be rolled out in early 2020.
Nov
2018
09
2018 / Nov / 09
Rawhide Solar Facility Permitting
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Logan Simpson worked with Platte River Power Authority to prepare a 1041 permit application for construction of a 30-MW solar generating facility at the site of the Rawhide Power Plant north of Fort Collins, Colorado. The project included a survey of the site’s biological and cultural resources and other related investigations. Following hearings by the Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners, the project was unanimously approved.
Oct
2018
21
2018 / Oct / 21
Desert Tortoise Surveys
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Logan Simpson conducted desert tortoise surveys and provide data and a final report to BLM for three BLM land parcels added to the Las Vegas Field Office. To comply with federal environmental laws, the LVFO tasked Logan Simpson with collecting endangered species survey data. The 5,400 acres were surveyed according to BLM and USFWS standards and protocols. Tasks included performing a project assessment using the 2009 USFWS publication key to determine survey requirements for the project area, and submit a survey plan to LVFO for review, conducting surveys during the desert tortoise active season using 2009 USFWS published protocols, and finally providing LVFO with a final report and all survey data.