Adkins Consulting, Inc. is excited to now be in Durango to better serve our Southwestern Colorado clients.
Matthew Zabka is our office manager for the Durango office. Stop by and visit with him regarding your Environmental Permitting needs at:
180 East 12th Street, Unit 5 in Durango, or call (970) 769-1401.
Adkins Consulting, Inc. 180 East 12th St. #5, Durango, CO 81301
The Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) was petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1991 due to concerns of population decline as a result of habitat loss. The raptor is currently listed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a Species of Concern, by the BLM (Farmington Field Office) as a Sensitive Species, by the US Forest Service as a Species of Traditional Cultural Importance, and is fully protected by the State of New Mexico. ACI is authorized to survey goshawks in a variety of methods, including Dawn Acoustical, Intensive Search, and Broadcast Acoustical protocols. ACI has several years of experience surveying for goshawk in the Carson National Forest’s Jicarilla Ranger District.
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
Northern goshawks are similar in size to red-tailed hawks, and can be mistaken for a Cooper’s hawk or Sharp-shinned hawk. Adult Northern goshawks are dark gray from behind, with alternating light and dark gray bars on the tail. The breast is white to light gray with fine streaks of dark gray. Adult northern goshawks have a red eye with a horizontal white stripe directly above the eye.
Northern goshawks occupy a variety of habitats including mature coniferous and deciduous forests. Nest sites are generally in stands of larger trees with dense canopy cover. Northern goshawks forage in forest clearings and in forested stands with an open understory that allow for capturing prey in flight. Northern goshawks lay one to four eggs in early spring, with a clutch of two to three chicks. Young fledge at about five to six weeks of age, but are dependent upon their parents for food until late summer or early fall in their first year of life.
Goshawk surveys are performed with predetermined calling stations on multiple visits to the project area within a specific date range and time of day. Visual surveys are also performed, including searches for feathers, feather molts, whitewash and prey remains on the ground as well as scanning for stick nests in the trees. Binoculars are used to scan the sky where raptors may be cruising above the canopy.
Contact ACI for more information about performing Goshawk surveys, and be sure that your project will not impact our limited Northern goshawk habitat.
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There is a lot of work throughout the Four Corners region involving a biological evaluation of the ecological resources. From high elevation montane habitats to the Colorado Plateau’s high desert ecosystems, countless flora and fauna are affected every day by human changes to the environment. Many plants and animals are recognized by various government and political agencies as needing attention through special management practices and are obligated to do so through such federally enacted legislation as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973.
We at ACI work closely with these agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the States of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Navajo and Jicarilla Apache Nations, among other government agencies, to ensure the proper management of any and all potentially affected flora and fauna in any given proposed project area.
Although a supplement to the more detailed Environmental Assessments (EA) that ACI composes, Biological Evalutaions/Biological Assessments Evaluations (BE/BAE) outline the potentially affected flora and fauna and recommends any special management concerns associated with a project or proposal.
Species Focus in San Juan County, NM: The Brack’s hardwall cactus (Sclerocactus cloveriae var. brackii) is considered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a Species of Concern and is managed by the BLM’s Farmington Field Office (FFO) as a Sensitive Species. Brack’s cactus habitat is known to occur on BLM and Navajo Nation lands in San Juan County throughout the BLM/FFO designated potential habitat area. ACI is qualified to perform Brack’s cactus, and the closely associated Aztec gilia, surveys and transplants under the direction of the BLM/FFO.
Brack's hardwall cactus (Sclerocactus cloverae brackii)
Brack’s hardwall cactus, also known as the smallflower fishhook cactus, occurs in the sandy-clay hills of the Nacimiento Formation in desert scrub habitat in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. The plant is found within piñon-juniper woodland, Great Basin Desert scrub, and open high desert grassland habitats at elevations between 5,000 and 6,400 feet. Suitable habitat is found throughout the San Juan Basin, one of the largest natural gas fields in the nation.
The Farmington Resource Management Plan (RMP) outlines a Specially Designated Area as boundaries of potential habitat for the Brack’s hardwall cactus and Aztec gilia. When individual plants or suitable habitat for Brack’s cactus are found during a biological survey for a ground-disturbing project, ACI will assist in mitigating impacts to the plants and their habitat by offering alternative location solutions, avoidance of any observed plants, or transplanting the affected specimens. We also provide monitoring services during construction to protect near-by species and/or suitable habitat from being disturbed.
ACI is qualified to survey for all Federally listed birds, mammals, fish, and reptiles listed by the various agencies with land management responsibilities throughout the Southwest. Some of the species include the Southwest Willow Flycatcher, Northern Goshawk, Pagosa milkvetch, and Mexican Spotted Owl.
Adkins Consulting specializes in providing the Oil and Gas Industry in the Four Corners region with a full range of environmental reporting and permit preparation services including NEPA compliance.
Our standard services for a gas well project can include:
We can handle your project from start to finish through all legal aspects of permitting and NEPA compliance measures.
