Projects

Fort Ord Base Reuse and Habitat Conservation Plan, Monterey County, CA 

Client: Fort Ord Reuse Authority 

Under contract to the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA), Zander Associates provided biological resource management guidance in support of the local community reuse plan for the 28,000-acre Fort Ord military base. Through working sessions with representatives from FORA member jurisdictions, consultation with resource agencies and baseline biological review, Zander Associates helped to create a base reuse plan that establishes significant habitat preserve areas, while enabling an ambitious reuse plan for the base. Zander Associates has served as the FORA representative in negotiations with key federal, state, and local agencies,
including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California State Parks Department, the California Coastal Commission and others. 

Zander Associates is also principal author of the draft base-wide Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for Fort Ord, which designates key resource agencies (BLM, State Parks and the University of California Natural Reserve System) as preserve managers for the large tracts of land set aside as conservation areas in the Base Reuse Plan. 

The HCP defines habitat management responsibilities and monitoring requirements for twenty special-status plant and animal species and the habitats that support them. 

The HCP relies on the use of prescribed fire as a habitat management tool, designating specific areas for controlled burns and monitoring the data. 

The HCP estimates management and compliance costs, establishes a mechanism to generate the funds to pay for them and thereby enables development and redevelopment of the former base to proceed without further permitting issues. 
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Arroyo Seco Restoration Project, Pasadena, CA 

Client: Browning Ferris Industries 

For several years, Zander Associates biologists and habitat restoration specialists worked with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, the City of Pasadena, and others, to plan, design and obtain all necessary federal, state and local approvals for a riparian /wetland restoration project in the Arroyo Seco stream channel as it flows through Pasadena. The project involved diversion of flow from a concrete-lined flood control channel into a former (pre-flood control) alluvial terrace of the arroyo, grading to recreate a stream system reminiscent of historic flow patterns, and revegetation with native plants indigenous to the area. 

Originally proposed as mitigation, the restoration project took on a life of its own, requiring full CEQA treatment, extensive committee review and approval, interaction with various public interest groups (e.g. Sierra Club, CNPS), a community outreach program, and preparation of detailed plans and specifications. Once implemented, our project served as a model for beneficial reuse of flood control facilities throughout Southern California. 
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Pebble Beach Golf Course, Biological Resource Assistance,
Monterey County, CA

Client: The Pebble Beach Company 

Zander Associates was retained by the Pebble Beach Company (PBC) to provide technical support for the Del Monte Forest Preservation and Development Plan which involves the creation of a new golf course, residences, visitor-serving facilities and an equestrian center in this historic destination resort community. The property is located in the environmentally sensitive coastal zone area of the Del Monte Forest in Monterey County, California. Consequently, PBC planned and designed the project with the objectives of preserving important forest habitat areas and special-status species. 

We evaluated existing data and reports and conducted field assessments focused on a wide range of resources including sand dune habitats, wetlands, and rare plants. On behalf of PBC, we coordinated our work with Monterey County and assisted in development of the Biological Resources evaluation of the project. We have remained available to PBC for ongoing consultation regarding permitting requirements and management/ mitigation of sensitive species such as Yadon's rein orchid and California red-legged frog habitat are their within the project site. 



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Monterey Peninsula Country Shore Course Restoration and Improvement Program, Pebble Beach, CA 

Client: Monterey Peninsula Country Club

Zander Associates conducted a resource assessment of the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club (MPCC) to evaluate and map existing biological resource and wetland conditions, identify constraints and opportunities associated with those resources and recommend appropriate design and habitat restoration measures for a proposed improvement program for the course. 

MPCC is a private, membership-supported golf and country club located along the western edge of the Del Monte Forest at Pebble Beach in Monterey County. This part of the Monterey Peninsula is noted for its extensive stands of native Monterey pine forest merging into the sandy and rocky shoreline of the Pacific Ocean along the scenic 17-Mile Drive. The area is characterized by numerous championship golf courses and resorts set amidst the natural elements of sand dunes and pines with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean. 

We characterized and mapped vegetation according to eight vegetation types: coastal terrace prairie grassland; coastal scrub; Monterey pine forest; iceplant-dominated areas; iceplant/coastal scrub; iceplant/grassland; ruderal/grassland; existing golf course greens, tees and fairways. We conducted systematic, seasonally-timed surveys for two special-status species of plants known to occur in the area: coastal dunes milk vetch (Astragalus tener var. titi) and Pacific Grove clover (Trifolium polyodon). We also completed a wetlands assessment of the property following guidelines acceptable to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

Working with MPCC personnel and golf course architects, we assisted in the development of an improvement program for the golf course that would avoid sensitive biological resources and allow the restoration and enhancement of about fifty acres of coastal terrace prairie and coastal scrub habitat along the 17-Mile Drive section of the Shore Course. Zander Associates assisted MPCC with local, state and federal project permitting and approval, monitored the site during construction and oversaw the implementation and monitoring of the restoration program following completion of the course improvements.
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Silver Creek Valley Country Club, San Jose, CA 

Client: Shea Homes 

Over a period of several years, Zander Associates has provided a full scope of services to the client in the course of planning, approval, and development of the 1500 acre Silver Creek Valley Country Club residential subdivision project in the Silver Creek Hills of San Jose, California. The project site contains serpentine grassland habitat which was found to support several sensitive plant species and the federally endangered bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydrias editha bayensis). It was also determined that the site supports wetlands falling under Corps jurisdiction. 

Zander Associates conducted detailed baseline biological studies and wetlands assessments for use in project planning and in extensive negotiations with the resource agencies on jurisdictional issues; prepared the biological resources section of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and coordinated with the EIR team; prepared permit application materials, including detailed wetland mitigation plans to accompany the Corps permit and the Department of Fish and Game Streambed Alteration Agreement; and facilitated negotiations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding the bay checkerspot butterfly and habitat mitigation options on the site. Zander Associates staff also participated in the preparation and implementation of the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for the project. 

Because it was determined that project activities could impact bay checkerspot habitat, as well as wetlands under Department of the Army jurisdiction, we also requested formal consultation with the USFWS pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. During the consultation process, Zander Associates coordinated additional studies of the checkerspot population at Silver Creek and prepared a Compensation Plan for the approximately three acre area of designated habitat that was to be removed for the development project. 

We are currently overseeing implementation of all habitat mitigation and protection plans on the project site. Zander Associates' Environmental Monitor oversees site construction activities on a regular basis to ensure that sensitive habitats are protected, that mitigation measures are properly implemented, and that storm water pollution prevention measures are employed. The Monitor then prepares annual monitoring reports for submittal to all jurisdictional regulatory agencies. 
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Sunshine Canyon Landfill, Los Angeles County, CA 

Client: Browning Ferris Industries 

Over a period of several years, Zander Associates has provided a full scope of services essential to sensitive planning of the phased expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill within a 759-acre site in the Santa Susana Mountains of southern California. Our services have included: management of a large, diverse team of consultants; coordination of baseline studies; preparation of environmental reports and other required documents, including negotiation and preparation of necessary permits; impact evaluation and development of mitigation plans. 

To collect baseline biological data fundamental to the project's impact analyses, Zander Associates biologists designed and implemented a unique system of characterizing stream zone habitat. A series of over 100 transects were completed within five separate canyons and sub-watersheds on the site. For each transect, stream zone morphology, extent of scour, adjacent wetland, and riparian woodland vegetation data were documented, and the results were presented graphically, by transect. This information was used by the US Army Corps of Engineers as the basis for determination of their Section 404 jurisdiction on the site. 

Zander Associates is also assisting Browning Ferris with mitigation planning and monitoring to compensate for the loss of wetlands and riparian habitat on the site. Under the plan, a 1200-acre abandoned reservoir in the northern part of the City of Los Angeles, now designated a nature preserve, will be used to create over 40 acres of new wetland and riparian habitat. 
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