Thank you for the excellent work you performed preparing the 13 page environmental summary of the Coburg Power project. The report is clear and balanced. It synthesizes primary and secondary source materials and presents the information in an unbiased manner favored by environmental agencies. The report covers a wide range of issues including:
- Siting the transmission line;
- Threatened and endangered species;
- Fish and wildlife conservation;
- Heritage conservation;
- Land use planning;
- Wetlands;
- Farmlands;
- Air pollution control;
- Waste water discharge;
- Solid and hazardous waste; and
- Recreational resources.
I would recommend your services to anyone seeking high quality work performed in a timely manner.
Coburg Power Company
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your recent work with us on our mining permit for activities within the Columbia River.
It was after much deliberation that the decision to seek outside consultation was made. Applied Ecosystem Services came very highly recommended to us by a variety of referrals and has not only proven to be a fruitful decision, but has shown us that your services have met your reputation.
Rich, your commitment to this project, work with the US Army Corps of and other regulatory agencies combined with your knowledge of fisheries and your provided graphic exhibits have proven to be invaluable towards our acquisition of this permit.
It has been my pleasure in working with you and I hope that we will have the opportunity to work together on another project in the near future.
Please feel free to use Columbia River Sand and Gravel for any references that you may wish.
Columbia River Sand and Gravel
The purpose of this letter is to thank you for the fine job you did in building and explaining our storm and process water management plan and our spill prevention and counter measures plans. Although these plans were required by the E.P.A., I feel they should be a natural process for any ‘high’ water use, environmentally conscious company such as mine.
Your promptness, professionalism, accuracy, and sense of urgency earns you and your company great credit. All the material you produced was very clear and concise and all the various meetings we had both on the phone and in person were time efficient without being rushed.
I would recommend your company to anyone requiring your special talents and would be happy to talk with anyone regarding the work you have done for my company.
Lewis Rock and Redi-Mix
I recently retained Rich Shepard and Applied Ecosystem Services, Inc. to consult in litigation involving complicated water issues. Rich researched the precipitation and water flow issues and developed a model that explained why my client was not at fault. Since the issues may arise again in the future, I cannot detail all that he did but suffice it to say that he took a very complicated issue and put it into a form that I, and a jury, could understand. I also was impressed by Rich’s work ethic. He provided timely reports and responded to questions promptly. I would not hesitate to hire Rich again in the future.Lachenmeier Enlow Rall & Heinson
The purpose of this letter is to provide a recommendation for Dr. Richard Shepard.
On behalf of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, I reviewed and commented on a revegetation test plot program prepared by Dr. Shepard for Angell Brothers Rock, Inc. Dr. Shepard’s work was thorough and based on the best available scientific information. His revegetation test plot program design showed a clear understanding of statistical analysis techniques. His written and oral communications is clear and concise.
In working with Dr. Shepard I particularly appreciated his willingness to listen to and address our Department’s concerns. He worked hard to address our concerns in a manner acceptable to our Department and his client. Once agreements were reached, he took great care to amend the revegetation test plot program design to reflect these agreements. I am confident that his attention to detail in this revegetation test plot program will avoid future misunderstandings between our Department and his client.
Habitat Conservation Division, Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
Your firm was retained by the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments to review and give us an evaluation of a report that was done on the Willamette River for the Oregon Department of State Lands. This report specifically addresses the reclamation of the Willamette River by dredging the river.
Your task was to evaluate the accuracy of the report and focus on the potential environmental impacts that were not outlined in the report.
This evaluation of the report benefited us by giving us a better understanding of the state report and specific environmental concerns we should take into consideration. It also suggested methods to address those concerns so we could move forward with our consideration for support of reclamation of the river by dredging.
Your evaluation gave us an interpretation of the very technical and hard to understand information from the state report. Your report was in layman’s terms. This clarified the report and helps the various policy makers make more informed decisions. This information gave them a better understanding of the potential impacts of dredging.
Your meeting with a group of Oregon State Senators and local mayors to discuss the environmental concerns that would need to be addressed in the proposed dredging project on the Willamette River helps them evaluate recommendations coming from the Council of Governments. This information was articulated in such a manner that this group was able to understand the impacts and helped them in their local and state evaluations of our recommendations on this project.
We were very pleased with the work you and your company did for us and would highly recommend you to other organizations needing this type of specialized information.
I serve as a member of the task force for the Willamette River reclamation project.
Polk County (OR) Commissioner
I’m pleased to report on the very positive and beneficial relationship we enjoyed with Rich Shepard of Applied Ecosystem Services. The Oregon Association of Nurseries, working with five other agricultural trade associations, hired Rich Shepard to prepare written comments on draft Willamette River TMDL regulations on behalf of a coalition of agricultural groups.
As our coalition of agricultural interests considered how best to respond to proposed Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulations, Rich carefully assess the concerns and interests of all coalition members and he wisely advised us to advance a positive, constructive position in our comments. His review of DEQ’s long and highly technical Willamette River TMDL regulatory proposal revealed the document contained many inconsistencies and insufficiencies in methods and data collection. Consequently, our comments to DEQ proved valuable and insightful and represented an important statement by the agricultural community on principal components of the proposed TMDL limits on mercury, temperature, and turbidity.
We quickly recognized the value of Rich Shepard’s contribution. With Rich’s leadership and technical assistance, our coalition effectively conveyed to DEQ the many concerns of the wide range of agricultural operations potentially affected by the proposed regulations. The positive, fact-based approach presented in our comments showed DEQ where and how they could improve their data collection and analyses, which would ultimately support better agency decisions.
I recommend Rich Shepard and Applied Ecosystem Services to any company or organization of high quality scientific advice and guidance.
Oregon Association of Nurseries
During the 2005 legislative session the Oregon Dental Association and the Dentists of Oregon’s Political Action Committee contracted with Rich Shepard, PhD, for professional support. We asked for his help in responding to the environmental issue that fluorides in river water harm salmon, so potable water supplies should not be fluoridated for the documented public health benefits.
Dr. Shepard was attentive to our needs and willing to work on the short time schedules dictated by the Legislature. We really appreciated this, along with his knowledge about the aquatic environment and professionalism in meeting with the Committee Chairman to explain our response to a key study about fluoride and salmon in the Columbia River.
This published research report by two NOAA Fisheries research scientists claimed that fluorides from an aluminum plant in the vicinity of the John Day Dam negatively affected the behavior of adult salmon returning from the ocean. decreased their reproductive abilities, and even killed fish. Rich read the paper and wrote a very careful analysis that demonstrated – in the authors’ own words – that they were not able to substantiate a single claim. He did this by providing specific references to page, column, and paragraph where a claim of harm was made and where it was refuted.
Rich continued to offer his valuable support through the Interim session as the Association decided the next steps to meet its goals on this issue. I recommend his services without reservation to any organization facing complex, contentious, and emotional environmental issues. His objectivity and ability to find the critical flaws in the offered arguments can make all the difference.
Oregon Dental Association