Habitat Restoration
Successful restoration planning and implementation require a tailored approach to address unique, site-specific, and often complex challenges and ultimately meet the needs of a variety of stakeholders. It also requires a planning and construction team that can quickly adapt to a variety of issues and produce solutions that not only look good on paper, but will be cost-effective and practical during implementation.
No two projects are alike, and as such, HELIX’s habitat restoration experience spans a variety of habitats, geographic areas, project sizes, and client types. Our focus includes on-site habitat revegetation of areas temporarily disturbed during project construction, as well as on-site and off-site habitat restoration of previously disturbed areas, creation of new habitat, and enhancement of existing habitat.
Guiding You through Every Phase, to Project Sign-off
Providing a full range of services to clients throughout California, we have the necessary team in place that can take your project through all of the environmental requirements to final sign-off. Our habitat construction team works side-by-side with our biologists, arborists, environmental planners, landscape architects, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) staff throughout the planning, design, and implementation phases of a project to ensure a seamless transition, necessary compliance, and successful development.
HELIX is involved in all aspects of habitat restoration including:
- Identification and evaluation of potential sites
- Conceptual design and constructability reviews
- Permitting and agency coordination
- Sensitive species surveys
- Construction drawings
- Rare plant propagation
- Habitat installation
- Invasive plant and erosion control
- Long-term maintenance and monitoring
- Brush management / fuel load management
- Oak tree mitigation
Adaptive and Innovative Approaches
From upland to wetland restoration efforts, our completed projects have involved transplantation of individual plant species for desert/xeric shrubland areas (such as cactus, agave, and ocotillo) and coastal/montane areas (including brodiaea, dudleya, and goldenstar), as well as the installation of sensitive species habitat features (including artificial burrows for burrowing owls, vernal pools, and mima mounds). Our adaptive approach to restoration has led us to include progressive techniques such as prescribed burning, which involves complex coordination with regulatory and fire agencies, development of a burn plan, and preparation of smoke management plans. Through our comprehensive services; knowledge of federal, state, and local regulatory requirements; relationships developed with agencies at every level; and insight gained from the many restoration projects that we have successfully completed, HELIX has become the go-to resource throughout California for the design and implementation of habitat restoration projects.
Native Plant Nursery
HELIX owns, manages, and operates our own nursery where we cultivate plants that are not only native to California, but specific to our client’s exact project locations. By collecting and propagating seeds from actual project sites, and then tending to them carefully by our full-time staff at our nursery, clients are assured of the highest quality plants and their best chances for survival. In addition to harvesting native seed, we also maintain container stock which provides all of our projects with a large inventory of native plants.
DRONE SERVICES
HELIX ‘s drone team of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 certified pilots work closely with our habitat restoration specialists, biologists, planners, construction managers, and GIS staff to provide an interdisciplinary approach for ecological restoration and biological reconnaissance. Using aerial imagery by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), HELIX offers an innovative perspective and cost saving approach to provide key project insight with orthomosaic maps, photos, and videos.