We are excited to announce that Busby Biological Services, Inc. (BBS) has been selected as a finalist in the category of Outstanding Technical Document for the 2014 San Diego Chapter AEP Awards Event being held at Scripps Seaside Forum this Thursday, October 2! The Biological Technical Report (BTR) we prepared for SDG&E’s Sycamore Canyon to Penaquitos Substation Transmission Line Project is an extremely complex technical document that covers the existing biological resources along the entire approximately 17-mile (1,060-acre) 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line alignment; the potential impacts to these biological resources; and the proposed avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures that will be used to assure impacts are below a level of significance.

This was BBS’ first opportunity to contract directly with TRC Solutions, Inc. (TRC) and to provide SDG&E with a technical document prepared solely by BBS. The preparation of the BTR was a challenge because the project was “fast tracked” by SDG&E, which meant that instead of having 4 to 5 months to complete the project, BBS had only 6 weeks to conduct the background research; conduct the vegetation mapping, special-status plant surveys, and special-status wildlife surveys; coordinate with Environmental Intelligence, LLC (EI) to obtain the wetland data; analyze and integrate all survey data into the report; and finalize the draft BTR. With this tight schedule, BBS developed a creative approach to an ongoing review process by coordinating with and providing draft portions of the document to TRC and SDG&E as these portions were completed for review and comment. Thus, the completed draft document had already incorporated many of the revisions, which significantly streamlined the preparation of the Proponent’s Environmental Assessment (PEA) and submittal to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Although BBS is a small firm, we worked creatively, efficiently, and cooperatively with our clients within a narrow time frame to provided an exceptionally thorough and complete document that has received high compliments from both TRC and SDG&E.

Busby Biological Services, Inc. (BBS) is currently entering the final data review and reporting stage for the “Coastal California Gnatcatcher 2014 General Inventory and Breeding Status Assessment Study on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California”. This marks the second time that BBS has participated in this large scale, Basewide study; the first was during 2010.

The objectives of this study were to conduct a habitat assessment to identify potentially suitable Coastal California Gnatcatcher (CAGN) breeding habitat, to conduct a presence/absence survey for CAGN, and to monitor a target of 50 CAGN nests to assess survival and productivity within the approximately 125,000-acre base. BBS served as the technical lead for this study retained by Tetra Tech Inc.  The survey team was composed of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)-permitted CAGN surveyors and nest monitors primarily from BBS and the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM), as well as other USFWS-permited independent biologists.

The project began during the fall of 2013 with a pre-breeding habitat assessment of approximately 45,000 acres of potentially suitable CAGN breeding habitat identified from Base Geographic Information System (GIS) vegetation map layers. During the habitat assessment, the potentially suitable CAGN breeding habitat was further refined to identify approximately 20,000 acres that would require presence/absence surveys and nest monitoring for CAGN.

Busby Biological Services, Inc. (BBS) has been included as a “Profile in Success” in the 2013 SDG&E Annual Report for Diverse Business Enterprises. Please read on to find out how BBS has benefited from SDG&E’s diverse business programs.

Profiles in Success: Busby Biological Services, Inc.

BBS is now a small, woman-owned business enterprise! Please see our expanding list of SBE/WBE/DBE certifications.