What We Do
Core Services
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- Restoration Project Assessment, Planning, and Design
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IERS leverages diverse experience to assess problems, explore and select strategies, and provide workable restoration designs. IERS also brings experience as an active restoration contractor to create practical project designs appropriate to environmental and client needs.
A hallmark of the IERS approach is to engage regulatory agencies and key stakeholders as partners early in project planning and design in order to clarify expectations, build trust, and minimize surprises during project implementation. IERS is committed to adding value to environmental decision-making processes by stimulating open dialogue and staying focused on project goals.
Specific Services
- Watershed Assessment
- GIS Mapping and Analysis
- Erosion Assessment
- Soil and Vegetation Specifications
- Restoration Project Implementation Oversight
- Soil Investigation
- Erosion Control
- Steep Slope Restoration/Stabilization
- Riparian Restoration
- Wetland Restoration
- Riparian Restoration
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs)
- Restoration Irrigation Design and Installation
- TMDL Planning
- BMP Design
- Regulatory Compliance
- Agency Facilitation
- Restoration Contracting
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IERS is an experienced, full-service restoration contractor specializing in restoring drastically disturbed sites and degraded ecosystem functions from the ground up on some of the most challenging and sensitive upland, riparian, and wetland sites in the Sierra Nevada. Our treatment approach focuses on long-term sustainability and is tailored to the unique conditions of each site. Our commitment to monitoring and adaptive management enables us to continually refine and improve the efficacy of our restoration techniques.
Specific Services
- Soil Investigation
- Erosion Control
- Steep Slope Restoration/Stabilization
- Wetland Restoration
- Riparian Restoration
- Restoration Irrigation Design and Installation
- BMP Design and Implementation
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs)
- Regulatory Compliance
- Agency Facilitation
- Ecological Monitoring and Research
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Monitoring and research is a core element of the IERS approach that allows us to constantly improve our restoration techniques and project designs. When project goals are specified in quantitative terms, monitoring allows us to objectively determine whether project goals have been met. Our rigorous monitoring techniques ensure that data collected are statistically-defensible and accurate.
IERS maintains long-term partnerships with researchers from a variety of institutions in order to address information gaps in our understanding of ecosystem-based restoration processes. We focus on applied research that directly addresses the most pressing environmental management issues.
Specific Services
- Soil Investigation
- Erosion Assessment
- Rainfall and Runoff Simulation
- Soil and Vegetation Monitoring
- BMP Effectiveness Monitoring
- Water Quality Monitoring
- Steep Slope Restoration/Stabilization
- Riparian Restoration
- Wetland Restoration
- Regulatory Compliance
- Agency Facilitation
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Planning and Oversight
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IERS works closely with project designers and implementers to understand and comply with regulatory requirements during construction. IERS creates highly usable Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) in plain language with practical instructions for construction contractors. IERS also develops and implements highly successful SWPPP training programs. From small-scale restoration projects to large-scale development, our inspectors work proactively with contractors so that specifications and regulatory requirements are well understood and upheld to ensure that the construction process goes smoothly.
Specific Services
- Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs)
- SWPPP Contractor Trainings
- BMP Design and Implementation
- BMP Effectiveness Monitoring
- Restoration Project Implementation Oversight
- Erosion Control
- Regulatory Compliance
- Agency Facilitation
- Education and Publications
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IERS is in the business of designing restoration projects, implementing restoration projects, and learning from restoration projects. As a firm we do not wish for these efforts to be a closed loop only within IERS. We are dedicated to sharing our results and techniques in order to improve practices and support restoration efforts beyond our company. To this end, we publish peer-reviewed papers, produce documents, and conduct workshops for clients, non-profit groups, and the general public that focus on improving understanding, encouraging lively dialogue, and ultimately enhancing the environment in which we live.
Specific Services
- Research Publications
- Handbooks and Toolkit Documents
- SWPPP Contractor Trainings
- Residential BMP Trainings
- Erosion Control and Restoration Trainings
- Agency Facilitation
OUR APPROACH
IERS is built upon the recognition that soil forms the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems. We recognize that restoring disturbed areas requires a solid understanding of the soil, plants, hydrology and related functional elements. To that end, we have leveraged our extensive fieldwork as a licensed contractor as well as the data we obtain from targeted field research and project monitoring to develop a process that integrates all aspects of a project, including planning, construction implementation, research-level monitoring, and information transfer. We feel that this process provides the highest level of value to our clients and the ecosystems in which we work, irrespective of industry, location, or purpose.
We use self-organizing natural systems as models for our structure, organizing our resources around project goals and needs rather than pre-determined hierarchies. IERS strongly believes in sharing the results of our work in order to benefit the local, regional and global environmental communities. We strive to educate others and disseminate our findings through practical and useful methods such as publications, handbooks, trainings, facilitated working groups and via our website.
IERS has been successful in filling critical information gaps in restoration practice and continues to plan, develop, monitor and share results of projects based on that increased understanding. We continue to address the limitations of our understanding and will continue to apply our integrated process to critical environmental issues.