Developing practical and science-based strategies to achieve biodiversity and ecosystem health goals
At WEST, we develop practical and science-based revegetation, biodiversity enhancement, and ecosystem service solutions for clients to achieve their conservation goals. We help clients develop and implement long-term land management strategies and measure changes in biodiversity and ecosystem function at renewable energy sites, along right-of-way, and in other managed environments. Our team has decades of expertise in ecological restoration and enhancement, pollinator habitat requirements, and soil conservation. We routinely conduct site assessments to document baseline vegetation and soil conditions, which are used to prepare planning and reporting documents tailored to corporate sustainability goals, regulatory requirements, and conservation best practices.
Our Expertise
Field Surveys and Evaluations
Consistent with our other services, we conduct a comprehensive variety of field surveys using established methods and protocols that allow for science-based ecosystem assessment.
Our expertise includes:
- Survey plan development
- Soil sampling, vegetation mapping, and habitat classification
- Baseline and post-intervention ecosystem assessments
- Noxious weed surveys
- Vegetation success monitoring
These surveys provide the critical data needed to support informed management, restoration, and conservation efforts, reflecting WEST’s depth of experience in science-based ecosystem assessment.
Planning and Implementation Support
We provide subject matter expertise from project conception through completion with project-specific plans and reports tailored to incorporate corporate goals and local, state, and federal policies and regulations.
Our expertise includes:
- Avoidance, minimization, and mitigation strategies
- Frameworks for a consistent approach to assessing and reporting changes in landscape-scale biodiversity and ecosystem health across a portfolio of projects
- Vegetation management plans
- Habitat management plans
- Subject matter expert support at public meetings and hearings
- Seed and plant sourcing support to promote successful establishment of vegetation
- Evaluation of revegetation or ecological enhancement progress
- Scientifically defensible adaptive management recommendations
This support helps ensure projects are not only compliant and ecologically sound, but also aligned with broader conservation goals—demonstrating WEST’s practical expertise in turning planning into successful on-the-ground outcomes.
Research
We conduct research to test the effectiveness of ecosystem enhancements for achieving our clients’ conservation and biodiversity goals. Our soil, vegetation, and pollination scientists collaborate with clients and academic leaders to generate new knowledge of ecosystem services at energy development and distribution facilities.
Our current research efforts include:
- Monitoring site conditions in response to revegetation and ecosystem enhancements
- Analyzing data on plant-insect interactions at solar facilities
- Observing novel microhabitats used by threatened and endangered species
- Evaluating best management practices for revegetation and ecosystem enhancement
This research advances understanding of ecosystem services in developed landscapes and supports practical, science-driven strategies—highlighting WEST’s commitment to innovative, collaborative conservation solutions.
Working Lands Technical Services
WEST’s team of certified Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Technical Service Providers (TSPs) helps private landowners participating in NRCS conservation programs plan and design practices that address natural resource concerns on working lands. Our staff bring decades of combined experience in ecological restoration, habitat management, and conservation planning to this work, ensuring landowners receive technically sound, science-based guidance tailored to their land and goals. NRCS conservation programs provide financial and technical assistance to landowners interested in implementing conservation projects on their properties. Our staff hold certifications in Oregon and Colorado, with additional certifications and regions planned.
Our technical services include:
- Habitat Restoration and Planting Design: Critical area planting, tree and shrub establishment, riparian restoration, wildlife habitat planting, and restoration of rare or declining natural communities.
- Vegetation and Land Management: Brush management, herbaceous weed treatment, cover crops, range planting, and conservation cover.
- Wildlife and Pollinator Habitat Enhancement: Pollinator habitat design, fish and wildlife habitat design, upland wildlife habitat management, hedgerow planting, and early successional habitat development.
These services closely align with the ecological restoration, habitat management, and conservation planning work WEST already performs across the US, extending our mission to apply sound science in support of responsible land management and natural resource conservation while creating new opportunities to engage directly with landowners, conservation partners, and communities.
Representative Projects
Discover WEST’s library of scientific publications and reports highlighting our work in environmental research, wildlife monitoring, renewable energy, and data-driven solutions.
Partner with WEST for Sustainable Nature-based Solutions
WEST delivers measurable, scientifically backed biodiversity enhancement uplift and monitoring solutions to help clients achieve conservation goals, regulatory compliance, and long-term ecosystem sustainability.
Contact us to learn how our expertise can support your project.
