Download RES Leanna Ballard - Ballard Ecological Consulting

LEANNA S. BALLARD
Ballard Botanical Consulting, Inc.
P.O. Box 118, Millville, Utah 84326
435-213-0584
[email protected]
Ms. Ballard has 25 years of experience working as a botanist, wetlands specialist and wildlife biologist in the
Great Basin and the Northwest. She is experienced in research, design, and implementation of vegetative
mapping strategies to analyze wildlife habitats and to study long-term ecological succession. As a botanical
consultant for several federal agencies and private consulting groups, Ms. Ballard’s responsibilities have
included vegetation inventories, wetland delineations, riparian and stream inventories, invasive, weedy plant
population mapping, and design of methods for sampling plant communities and habitats. She specializes in
rare plant surveys and riparian inventories and is experienced in designing and implementing bioengineering
and restoration strategies for riverine, riparian, and wetland habitats. Ms. Ballard has worked with federal and
state regulation compliance, including the Clean Water Act (Sections 401 and 404 permitting), the State
Stream Alteration Act, Wetlands Reserve Program, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
guidelines. Ms. Ballard has written vegetation and wetland-related sections of NEPA documents including
Environmental Assessments (EAs), Environmental Impact Statements (EISs). Biological Assessments (BAs), and
Categorical Exclusions (CXs) for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS). She has
compiled native, endemic restoration seed mixes, and has written monitoring plans for vegetation
rehabilitation. Ms. Ballard has conducted threatened and endangered plant and wildlife species surveys in
Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Alaska, and Idaho.
EDUCATION
B.S., Biology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah,
1977
M.S., Fisheries and Wildlife Science, Utah State
University, Logan, Utah, 1993
PhD course work completed, Forest Ecology, Utah
State University, Logan, Utah, 2007
Client: U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Bureau of Land Management.
For the past three years (2014-2016) Ms. Ballard has
conducted rare plant field surveys throughout remote
locations in Utah for a state-wide inventory of federally listed
and sensitive species. Recorded field findings into a permanent
database for use by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S.
Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in
conservation planning and land management decisions.
Collected rare plant specimens for permanent repositories in
five Utah university herbariums.
CERTIFICATIONS & TRAINING
Certified Scuba Diver, PADI, California, 1988
Wetland Delineator Certification, Wetland Training
Institute, Texas, 2002; Montana, 2007
Introduction to ArcGIS I, Sandy, Utah, 2004
Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data, Sandy,
Utah, 2005
Using PC-ORD to Analyze Multivariate Data,
Bellingham, Washington, 2005
MSHA Newly Employed, Inexperienced Miner,
Sandy, Utah, 2015
Wilderness First Aid, Logan, Utah 2014
MEMBERSHIPS
Member, Botanical Society of America
Member, National Audubon Society
PROJECT EXPERIENCE
Botanical Surveys
Inventory of BLM Wind River Front Allotments in
Rangeland Habitats, Sublette County, Wyoming
(Biological Resources Analyst)
Client: Jonah Interagency Mitigation and
Reclamation Office
Ms. Ballard provided baseline vegetative resource inventories
and baseline habitat inventories for sage-grouse, pronghorn
migration corridors habitat, and sagebrush communities in
need of treatment to restore historic productivity and enhance
wildlife habitats in future efforts. Inventory and assessment
tasks completed included current species composition,
productivity, shrub condition and age classification and
overall canopy structure of sage-steppe habitat sampled, Ms.
Ballard also, determined a Similarity Index (SI) as a
percentage of the Historic Reference Plant Community
(HRPC) for the particular soils and climate found at each
ecologic site.
Utah Natural Heritage Program (botanist and field
technician).
Client: Barrick Gold. Nevada State Conservation
Credit System for greater sage-grouse. Field work and
training to become a “Certified Verifier”. Collected numerous
vegetation parameters of structure, function and species
density, height and cover values utilizing the Habitat
Quantification Tool which quantifies habitat function for
greater sage-grouse habitat in the State of Nevada. The HQT
generates a percent function and a number of functional acres
for each seasonal habitat type (breeding, late brood-rearing,
and winter) within the area assessed.
The HQT accounts for habitat characteristics or attributes that
influence sage-grouse habitat selection across multiple scales.
These habitat characteristics were based on different orders of
selection that represent four spatial scales at which habitat
attributes influence where greater sage-grouse reside and
obtain resources necessary for survival and reproduction.
Inventory of genetic variation, morphological and
physiological traits within quaking aspen (Populus
tremuloides) populations, British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada.
Client: Utah State University
Ms. Ballard collected aspen leaf samples throughout northern
tier of roads across four Canadian provinces in order to
quantify the genetic, physiological and phenotypic variation of
quaking aspen populations in a large landscape-level study
during PhD research.
Seven Troughs Range - TES Inventory, Pershing
County, Nevada (Botanist and Biological Resources
Analyst)
Client: Wildcat Mine
Ms. Ballard conducted a threatened, endangered, and
sensitive inventories using survey protocols required for
NEPA/ESA Compliance for BLM Special Status Plant Species.
She mapped vegetation communities and dominant species,
characterizing each of the project area vegetation
communities. The vegetation community map will also be used
to show good/poor sage-grouse habitat for future surveys.
Plant species list and wetland delineations conducted.
Proposed Fiber Optic Cable Route - Plant and
Wildlife Surveys, Owyhee County, Idaho and Elko
County, Nevada (Biologist)
Client: Rural Telephone Company
Ms. Ballard conducted plant and wildlife surveys for a fiber
optic cable connection between Murphy’s Hot Springs, Idaho
and Jarbidge, Nevada. Ms. Ballard conducted necessary
baseline surveys/clearances after working closely with USFS
and BLM resource specialists to obtain all pertinent and
existing data on special status species. During the field
surveys, she recorded special status plant potential habitat
locations using Trimble GEO XT and Garmin GPS units. She
also recorded information on all wildlife sightings and
described vegetation communities. She conducted raptor
species surveys including golden eagle nesting on USFS land
in Nevada, and BLM lands in Idaho.
Client: Rocky Mountain Power
Ms. Ballard conducted a series of USDA Forest Service
threatened, endangered, and sensitive (TES) inventories in
Salt Lake, Davis, Morgan, Weber and Rich Counties, Utah,
using survey procedures required for USDA Forest Service
Element Occurrence protocol for all Special Status Plant
Species. She mapped new populations of Penstemon
platyphyllus, collected voucher specimens and completed field
forms for all survey segments of the project, including rare
plant habitat and associated and dominant species, site
morphometry, characterizing each of the project area
vegetation communities and generated a species list for all
Right of Way segments.
Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA), Idaho
(Botanist)
Clients: Simplot and Caribou-Targhee NF
Roan Cliffs of the West Tavaputs Plateau - Baseline
Studies*, Carbon County, Utah (Resource Analyst)
Client: Green River Resources Mining Exploration
Phase
Ms. Ballard completed HEA, a method for estimating the
appropriate amount of compensation for interim losses, by
characterizing forest structure and function in context of
future potential impacts on the Dairy Syncline Mine and East
Smokey Canyon Project Areas. The habitat service metric for
this analysis used data from multiple sources, including
silvicultural and other vegetation field measurements, GIS
layers, and NAIP aerial imagery. Field measurements
included: tree Diameter at Breast Height (DBH)
measurements, forest canopy cover surveys utilizing photos
interpretation that was validated by field measurements and
sampling of three levels of forest stratification; also shrub and
herbaceous species canopy cover, age and form surveys. She
conducted an invasive species weed population inventory and
documented the locations by creating a map and report. She
also recorded special status plant potential habitat locations
using Trimble GEO XT and Garmin GPS units, and conducted
sensitive, threatened and endangered floral species surveys.
Ms. Ballard conducted baseline studies that included a
vegetation inventory and collection of cover data on a 60-acre
site and created a comprehensive species checklist of all
vegetation species and the habitats that occur within the
project site.
Comprehensive Review of Conservation Status
Ranking for 20 Rare Utah Plant Species (Botanist)
Client: NatureServe
SITLA Lease Area - Plant Survey, Uinta County, Utah
(Ecologist)
Client: Red Leaf Resources
Ms. Ballard surveyed approximately 69 acres of suitable
habitat for Penstemon grahamii located within a roughly 320acre area of the lease area. She surveyed generated a species
list and described vegetation communities and evaluated the
percentage of vegetation cover.
Vegetation Community Classification, Nevada
(Botanist)
Client: Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Ms. Ballard classified vegetation communities on the 24,000
acre refuge into alliances and associations based upon three
years of vegetation mapping data collected during
comprehensive field surveys on the refuge. She utilized data on
an Access database and conducted extensive research of
professional botanical literature. These 75 vegetation
descriptions are part of a long-term restoration effort of
native vegetation communities at the refuge.
Rare, Endemic Plant Surveys, Nevada (Rare Plant
Survey Team Leader)
Client: Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Ms. Ballard led a team of technicians to inventory and
document all locations of 14 endemic, rare plant species on the
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. She
designed sampling methods and protocols for inventories for
each species based on the known ecology of each species.
Vegetation Management, Sensitive Plant Habitat
Assessment and Survey
Updated data in Central Biotics for a total of 20 reviewed
taxa, including: range extensions, trends, threats,
management objectives. Ms. Ballard assessed the conservation
status of species following comprehensive guidelines for
assigning a conservation status rank in Central Biotics for a
total of 20 reviewed taxa by rarity, range extensions, trends,
threats, and management objectives. Tasks included research,
using Utah herbariums records, contacting USDA Forest
Service district botanists. Learned heritage methodology, data
management and other tools, including the Rank Estimator
and GeoCat and Biotics 5 database.
Wetlands
Slug and Trail Creeks – Alternative, Caribou County,
Idaho (Biological Resources Analyst and Wetland
Specialist)
Client: Dairy Syncline Mine
Ms. Ballard conducted riparian inventories identifying key
wetland indicator species for determining stream-bank health,
water depth, and quality drainage conditions. She utilized the
Montana Division of Environmental Quality Wetland Rapid
Assessment Methodology and the Stream Visual Assessment
protocol along crossing sites on several tributaries of Slug and
Trail Creeks for analyzing streambank health and water
quality. She also conducted wetland delineations to provide
baseline information for various specialist reports. Ms.
Ballard returned to conduct further wetland delineations and
habitat assessments on the Dairy Syncline Mine Alternative
and conducted wetland delineations on the Smoky Canyon
Panels F & G in August and Oct. 2013.
Adobe Pipeline - Habitat Value Assessment, Emery
County, Utah (Wetland Specialist and Wildlife
Biologist)
Client: Cottonwood Creek Consolidated Irrigation
Company
Ms. Ballard assessed the amount and value of wildlife habitat
that would be lost due to replacement of open water canals
into pipes. She utilized the Basin-wide Salinity Control
Program: Procedures for Habitat Replacement protocols as
mandated by the Bureau of Reclamation for the field site
characterization analysis.
Cortez Gold Mines - Greater Sage-Grouse Lek
Monitoring, Seep and Spring Inventories for
Quarterly Monitoring Program, Lander and Eureka
Counties, Nevada
Client: Barrick Gold North America
Ms. Ballard assisted in conducting seep and spring monitoring
for several projects at Cortez and other Barrick Gold Mines.
This included using the Pipeline seep and spring monitoring
program protocols, the Pediment monitoring program, and
the Horse Canyon monitoring program. Data collected
included species identification, plant community composition,
species frequency, noxious weed introductions, and species
indicators of water quality.
Riparian Vegetation Assessment, Mink Creek, Idaho
(Riparian Botanist)
Client: Utah State Water Research Lab
Ms. Ballard performed a riparian vegetation assessment of six
stations along Mink Creek in Franklin County, Idaho, in
conjunction with Bonneville cutthroat trout habitat. She
conducted greenline, woody regeneration, and cross-section
surveys. The field investigation was performed using the
protocols from Winward’s (2000) “Monitoring the Vegetation
Resources in Riparian Areas."
Hobble Creek - June Sucker Recovery
Implementation Program, Provo Westside
Connector EIS, Utah County, Utah (NEPA
Vegetation Specialist)
Client: Utah Transit Authority, Utah Department of
Transportation
An EA was developed as part of the June Sucker Recovery
Implementation Program to develop a stream channel design
and perform environmental clearances for the lower Hobble
Creek restoration project in Utah County. The project
proposed to modify the stream channel so that it will support
a spawning run of June sucker (Chasmistes liorus), a federally
listed fish native to Utah Lake. Ms. Ballard’s NEPA
responsibilities included input on alternatives for wetlands
and vegetation communities, discussions of the affected
environment of vegetation communities, and descriptions of
the vegetation species and communities within the existing
channel.
AREPI Pipeline, Simplot, Monsanto, Custer
Telephone Company, Newmont Mining
Corporation, Wolf Creek Properties - Wetland
Delineations, Utah, Nevada, Idaho (Wetland
Delineator)
Ms. Ballard has managed large projects such as the 75-mile
second phase of constructing a 95-mile, subterranean, crude
petroleum pipeline across Summit, Weber, and Davis counties
with a small segment of the pipeline crossing the WasatchCache National Forest. The pipeline right-of-way crossed
underneath several waterways and wetlands. Consequently,
environmental inspection and monitoring was necessary to
ensure compliance with the environmental requirements of
state and federal agencies. Ms. Ballard was responsible for
technical surveys and reports, including wetland delineations
and vegetation sections.
West and East Forks and Main Channel, Boulder
Creek - Riparian Assessment and TES Surveys,
Garfield County, Utah (Riparian Botanist)
Client: Garkane Energy
Ms. Ballard conducted extensive riparian inventories on West
and East Fork, and on the main channel of Boulder Creek in
Garfield County, Utah, under FERC licensing/permitting
requirements for Garkane Energy.
Ecological Engineering
Wetland Delineation of Surface Waters, Tooele and
Juab Counties, Utah. and White Pine County,
Nevada (Wetland Scientist)
Client: Confederated Tribes of the Goshute
Reservation
Ms. Ballard and Ballard Ecological Consulting conducted
EPA-funded wetland delineations and GIS mapping of all
surface waters on the 113,000 acre Goshute reservation,
including all wetlands, springs and streams and associated
riparian areas. Ms. Ballard conducted the wetlands and other
Waters of the United States (WoUS) assessment of the CTGR
from June–October 2013. Tasks included two overflights of
wetlands and streams; mapping all wetlands using GIS and
GPS technology; defining and characterizing all wetlands
according to the Cowardin system (Cowardin et al. 1979);
establishing scientifically-derived benchmarks for wetlands
restoration success and associating required monitoring and
analytical techniques for the tribal Wetland Program Plan;
preparation of a report to document findings of the
assessment, which included a map of all delineated wetlands
and other surface waters; and creating an aerial photo library
to be used in future wildlife studies. The completed report
documents the current baseline conditions of wetlands and
other WoUS within the CTGR boundaries and will be utilized
in future climate change analyses.
Jordan River Riparian Restoration, Utah County,
Utah (Wetland/Riparian Conservation Ecologist)
Client: Thanksgiving Point, LLC
As project manager, Ms. Ballard supervised the design,
planning, development, implementation, and supervision of
mitigation projects after identifying detrimental impacts
caused by golf course construction on riparian and wetland
areas adjacent to the Jordan River in Utah County. She
developed and initiated habitat restoration plans to repair
environmental damage due to construction effects on riparian
and wetland areas in order to bring Thanksgiving Point LLC
into compliance with federal and state standards and
regulations including the State Stream Alteration Act, Section
401 of the Clean Water Act, and the Wetlands Reserve
Program. Ms. Ballard also designed a monitoring plan for
palustrine wetland, including limiting advanced eutrophic
conditions.
St. George Switchyard Expansion and Red Butte to
St. George Power Line Upgrade Project, Red Cliffs
Desert Reserve, Utah (Restoration Botanist)
Client: Bureau of Land Management
Ms. Ballard’s responsibilities included writing reports on a
special status species and developing a Vegetative
Rehabilitation and Monitoring Plan for a large re-vegetation
project within the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve near St. George,
Utah. She worked closely with the BLM to develop a seed mix
of annuals, forb, and shrub species likely to repopulate the
disturbed area.
Carl Wynn Nature Center - Lutz Spruce Ecological
Succession, Homer, Alaska (Botanist)
Client: Center for Alaska Coastal Studies
As project manager, Ms. Ballard researched, designed, and
implemented vegetative mapping strategies to study
ecological succession on a 131-acre Wynn Nature Center site
near Homer, Alaska for long-term monitoring after a
catastrophic spruce beetle epidemic on Lutz spruce on the
Kenai Peninsula. She conducted floral inventories and
developed repeatable, statistically-valid sampling methods to
sample vegetation within seven study plots. She installed
nested frequency transects and completed photo plots and
written documentation of the seven discrete plant
communities. She completed botanical technical reports on all
findings relating to the seven floral communities and common
plant assemblages, a species checklist and photo plots, and
appropriate statistical analysis for this project.
Wildlife Surveys and Studies
Threatened, Endangered, Candidate, and
Sensitive Species
Ms. Ballard has conducted numerous surveys for a wide
variety of special status plant and animal species in Utah,
Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and Wyoming. Project examples
include: desert tortoise surveys in southern Utah, and
Nevada; sensitive plant and wildlife species surveys for the
Caribou NF in Idaho; Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in
northern Nevada; BLM field offices in Idaho, Nevada, Utah,
Colorado and Wyoming; and greater sage-grouse and raptor
surveys for linear projects, natural gas mitigation sites and
mine expansion projects in Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and
Wyoming.
Tribal Wildlife Climate Change Vulnerability
Assessment and Adaptation Planning for seven
culturally important wildlife species of the Confederated
Tribes of the Goshute Reservation: Bonneville cutthroat trout,
Columbia spotted frog, Greater sage-grouse, Yellow-bellied
marmot, Mule deer, Elk, and Pygmy rabbit. Developed and
completed a Climate Change Adaptation Plan for each of these
species and developed and directed an environmental
education program regarding climate change effects on
wildlife for the Tribe. US FWS funded.
Sensitive Utah Vertebrate Species Research, Salt
Lake City, Utah (Wildlife Technician)
Client: State of Utah Department of Natural
Resources
Ms. Ballard researched, collected, and electronically mapped
rare and sensitive Utah vertebrate data for the Utah Natural
Heritage Program, using ArcView GIS and BCD (Biological
Conservation Database) software. She researched and
electronically recorded all known documented Utah
distribution locality data for nine sensitive vertebrate species,
including the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), northern
flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus), and the plateau striped
whiptail (Cnemidophorus velox). Ms. Ballard collected these
data from federal agencies, U.S. Museums, State of Utah
university archives, libraries and databases, Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources records, researchers, private collections,
and agency research findings.
The Great Salt Lake (GSL) Waterbird Survey (WBS),
Salt Lake City, Utah (Volunteer)
Client: State of Utah Department of Natural
Resources, and the National Audubon Society
Ms. Ballard volunteered throughout spring 2001 at
Farmington Bay, Davis County, Utah, during The Great Salt
Lake (GSL) Waterbird Survey (WBS), a five-year study (19972001) that examined the relationships of migratory
waterbirds within the GSL ecosystem through the spring,
summer, and fall seasons, between years and across a variety
of habitats. Leanna joined a team of researchers who
completed counts of waterbirds at GSL every 10 days from
April through September. The counts included the following
families: Gaviidae, Podicipedidae, Pelecanidae,
Phalacrocoracidae, Ardeidae, Threskiornithidae, Anatidae,
Rallidae, Gruidae, Charadriidae, Recurvirostridae,
Scolopacidae, Laridae. Avian use of the GSL ecosystem was
measured by bird use days. The information collected during
these surveys became the foundation of the establishment of
an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Farmington Bay in 2004.
Incidental Wetland Inventories, Hyde Park, Utah
(Wildlife Biologist Field Investigator)
Ms. Ballard’s investigated, identified, and provided written
and photographic documentation of all wildlife and plant
species occurrences on incidental wetland Ph.D. study sites
near Delta, Utah. During four years of field seasons, she
identified all waterfowl and upland avian species at the
Gunnison Bend and DMAD reservoirs and other water bodies
near Delta, Utah, as well as the incidental wetlands formed
during historic agricultural irrigation practices. Completed
avian nest data collection, fish and wildlife habitat
assessment, and evaluation and analysis at incidental wetland
study sites.
Line Avian Species Inventory during the Migratory
Bird Nesting Period, House Creek and Rogerson,
Idaho (Wildlife Biologist Field Investigator)
Client: Rogerson Fiber Optic
Ms. Ballard assisted with extensive migratory bird nesting
surveys and compiled the wildlife species list for the House
Creek to Rogerson, Idaho Fiber Optic EA. Where active nests
were discovered, the appropriate agency biologists were
notified and an appropriate buffer area around the nests were
established to prevent nest abandonment until after the
migratory bird nesting period was over.
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Ballard, L. Wetland Delineation of Surface Waters of
the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute
Reservation (CTGR), Tooele and Juab Counties,
Utah, and White Pine County, Nevada. Ballard
Ecological Consulting report to CTGR and EPA.
Nov. 3, 2013.
Ballard, L. and Barbara Dugelby. The Final
Technical Performance Report to US Fish and
Wildlife Service, Goshute Tribal Wildlife Grant
#FWS/R6/WSFTUTF12AP0024: Wildlife Climate
Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation
Planning for seven culturally important wildlife
species of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute
Reservation: Bonneville cutthroat trout, Columbia
spotted frog, Greater sage-grouse, Yellow-bellied
marmot, Mule deer, Elk, and Pygmy rabbit. May
2013.
Ballard, L. Biogeography of the Wasatch Mountains
published in Flora of the Wasatch app. Flora of the
Wasatch: A Guide to the Wildflowers, Grasses,
Shrubs, Trees, and other Plants of the Region. Steve
Hegji and Whitney Tilt, Authors. Katie Gibson, App
Developer. May, 2012.
Ballard, L. Biogeography of the Rare, Endemic and
Listed Plants of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge, Nevada. Presentation at the Fifth
Southwest Rare Plant Conference: Changing
Landscapes in the Southwest. Calochortiana, the
scholarly journal of Utah Native Plant Society.
December 20, 2012.
Ballard, L. Biogeography of the Rare, Endemic and
Listed Plants of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife
Refuge, Nevada. Presentation at the Fifth
Southwest Rare Plant Conference: Changing
Landscapes in the Southwest. March 17, Salt Lake
City, Utah. Proceedings to be published by USDA
FS, 2010.
Ballard, L. Assessing Aspen Understory Response to
Conifer Encroachment and Aspen Regeneration
Treatments. Pre-project seminar symposium. April
14, Eccles Conference Center, USU, Logan, Utah,
2006.
Ballard, L. Ecological Site Classification of Western
Intermountain Aspen (Populus tremuloides): Where
does it belong on the landscape? Utah Sustainable
Ecosystem Restoration Project (USERP) Conference,
Nov. 29, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 2005.