Multispecies Inventory from Predator Diets and Barred Owl Impact Study

SWCA is conducting a study of predator diets and the impact of barred owls in Forest Park for the Portland Parks and Recreation Department. With more than 5,000 acres of undeveloped land, Forest Park is home to more than 100 species of native birds and more than 50 mammal species.

The study will analyze the diversity and abundance of small mammals, the density and reproductive success of the invasive barred owl, the use of the park by the native great horned owl, and coyote ecology and prey use in the park. Identifying predator-prey relationships will lead to a better understanding of small mammal abundance and distribution in the park. The Portland Parks and Recreation Department will incorporate study results into a multi-species inventory and use the data to direct wildlife management decisions for Forest Park.

Barred owl photo credit: Mark Musselman/USFWS

Wyoming Abandoned Mine Land Cultural Resources Services

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Abandoned Mine Land Division hired SWCA to provide cultural resource evaluation, surveying, monitoring, and documentation for a variety of abandoned mine sites scheduled for reclamation throughout the state. The federally funded reclamation work must comply with Section 106 of the National Preservation Act.

SWCA is providing Class 1 file searches, historical background research, site reconnaissance, Class III cultural resource inventories, and reports to aid with State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) consultation. The team also is making recommendations for mitigating impacts to cultural properties and designing treatment and data recovery plans.

This project is a large team effort by more than 40 prehistoric and historic archaeologists, historians, and architectural historians from the Sheridan, Denver, and Salt Lake City offices. One facet of the project involves historical research. The SWCA team searches archival documents at the SHPO, mineral patent records of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey mining district maps, historical General Land Office plats, deed records at local county courthouses, journals, publications, newspaper articles, and other sources.

The project includes HABS/HAER documentation as well as implementing cutting edge technology such as LIDAR/laser technology to record structurally unsound features, such as those at the Aladdin mine site (pictured at left) in northeastern Wyoming. The site contains one of the better examples of late 1800s wooden coal tipple structures in the western United States, but erosion and neglect caused the tipple to be in imminent danger of collapse. SWCA formulated viable treatment options for the site, including aerial photography, educational programs for local schools, and displays for a local information center and the Crook County museum.

Kawailoa Wind Pre-Construction Bird & Bat Monitoring/Habitat Conservation Plan

First Wind hired SWCA to conduct pre-construction avian and bat monitoring for the 69-megawatt Kawailoa Wind Farm on the North Shore of Oahu. SWCA also prepared a Habitat Conservation Plan, required under the Endangered Species Act, outlining measures to mitigate the potential impact on six federally threatened or endangered species and one state-listed endangered species resulting from construction and operation of the wind farm. Such measures include trap development, predator control, fencing, habitat restoration, and research. Once construction is complete, Kawailoa will be Hawaii’s largest wind energy project and power roughly 14,500 homes.