Registered Professional Forestry Services Proposal
for
The City of Fortuna
In response to RFP for Registered Professional Forestry Services October 9, 2025
Prepared by:
ii
Baldwin, Blomstrom, Wilkinson and Associates, Inc.
Implementing Ecosystem Forestry in Northwestern California P.O. Box 702, Arcata, CA 95518 | 707-825-0730 (V) | 707-825-9359 (F) www.bbwassociates.com
1.0 INTRODUCTORY LETTER
October 2, 2025
Registered Forestry Services
City of Fortuna, Public Works Office
Attention: Brian Issa
P.O. Box 545
Fortuna, California 95540
Re: Proposal for Registered Professional Forestry Services for the City of Fortuna Dear Mr. Issa,
specializes
BBW & Associates, Inc. (BBWA) is very pleased to provide this proposal to the City of Fortuna for registered professional forestry services. We understand that experience is very important to the City of Fortuna. We have assembled a team of highly qualified natural resource professionals who combine extensive technical qualifications and forestry knowledge with years of forestry experience including working on public forest lands. BBWA practices and promotes responsible forestry as a means of sustaining the integrity of forest ecosystems and the human communities dependent upon them. We strive for professional forest management standards that are ecologically, economically, and socially responsible and meet our client’s needs.
Our experience and high-quality work products demonstrate our ability to manage projects, provide innovative solutions, address critical issues and solutions, and apply accurate methods of assessment to any project we are assigned.
Sincerely,
Jared Gerstein, Registered Professional Forester # 2826 BBW & Associates, Inc.
707-834-2912 | [email protected]
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
3 2.0 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTORY LETTER ......................................................................................................................2
3.0 BUSINESS PROFILE.................................................................................................................................4
3.1.1 Business Structure and Operation ..............................................................................................4
3.1.2 Current and Previous Business Activities.....................................................................................5
4.0 Overview of Qualifications and Experience ..................................................................................8
4.1.1 Project Team .....................................................................................................................................8
4.1.2 BBW & Associates Project Team Members....................................................................................8
4.1.3 Additional Project Team Experience and Abilities.......................................................................8
5.0 QUALITY ASSURANCE CAPABILITIES.............................................................................................. 11
5.1 Description of Services ..................................................................................................................... 11
5.1.1Services Not Provided................................................................................................................. 11
5.1.2 Procedural Techniques to Add Value ....................................................................................... 11
5.2 Project Understanding and Quality Control .................................................................................. 12
5.2.1 Management Strategies............................................................................................................. 14
5.2.2 Implementation of Innovative Management........................................................................ 14
5.2.3 Subject Matter Expertise ........................................................................................................ 15
6.0 Fee Schedules..................................................................................................................................... 16
7.0 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................ 18
8.0 EVIDENCE OF INSURABILITY AND BUSINESS LICENSES ............................................................ 21
9.0 ATTACHMENT 3 - RÉSUMÉS FOR KEY PERSONNEL .......................................................................... 22 Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
4 3.0 BUSINESS PROFILE
3.1.1 Business Structure and Operation
Baldwin, Blomstrom, Wilkinson and Associates, Inc. (BBWA) is a private consulting forestry company based in Arcata, CA specializing in conservation-based forestry for the past 19 years. Our mission is to help clients implement conservation-based forestry that is economically viable, socially acceptable, and ecologically responsible. Conservationbased forestry is an approach to land management that seeks to improve ecological conditions and economic viability of forests through strategic use of adaptive management tools, including but not limited to; commercial timber harvest, restoration forestry practices, conservation easements, forest carbon offsets, grant and cost-share programs, and real property acquisition. Our clients in general have the shared goal of restoring and retaining ecological function by allowing their forests to mature and maintain higher stocking levels. We use geographic information systems, forest growth and yield models, and field- based understanding of regional forest types to help our clients evaluate and visualize their long-term plans.
BBWA is an S-Corporation located at 494 H Street in Arcata, CA, 95521. Our current staffing level is fifteen full-time employees, of which ten are Registered Professional Foresters (RPFs). We are in compliance with any and all applicable local, state, and federal licensure, certification, and accreditation requirements and standards.
Key staff has more than 120 years of forestry, fire, watershed and conservation experience, as well as a long history of working with the public agencies, Resource Conservation Districts, non-governmental organizations, tribes, and private timberland owners. BBWA is a local Humboldt County-based firm with a track record for delivering high quality work products and meeting client deadlines.
As founding members of the Forest Stewards Guild, BBWA has adopted the Guild’s professional principles, as follows:
1. The well-being of human society is dependent on responsible forest management that places the highest priority on the maintenance and enhancement of the entire forest ecosystem.
2. The natural forest provides a model for sustainable resource management; therefore, responsible forest management imitates nature's dynamic processes and minimizes impacts when harvesting trees and other products.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
5 3. The forest has value in its own right, independent of human intentions and needs.
4. Human knowledge of forest ecosystems is limited. Responsible management that sustains the forest requires a humble approach and continuous learning.
5. The practice of forestry must be grounded in field observation and experience as well as in the biological sciences. This practical knowledge should be developed and shared with both traditional and non-traditional educational institutions and programs.
6. Our first duty is to forests and their future. When confronted with circumstances that threaten the integrity of the forest and conflict with the Mission and Principles of the Forest Stewards Guild, members must respond through education, advocacy, or where necessary, disassociation. Guild membership signifies a commitment to the highest forest stewardship ethic.
3.1.2 Current and Previous Business Activities
Baldwin, Blomstrom, Wilkinson and Associates was founded in 2002 as a Partnership with four partners and was incorporated in 2008 as Baldwin, Blomstrom, Wilkinson and Associates, Inc. with seven owners.
BBWA has been providing services equivalent to those set forth in this RFP for 23 years, with many employees of BBWA having practiced professional forestry and watershed restoration for much longer.
BBWA has fostered innovation by being an early adopter of tools and techniques that allow landowners to realize an economic return while improving the condition of the lands that they own. BBWA has been at the forefront of forest certification, watershed restoration, working forest conservation easements, forest carbon credit offsets, multiaged management and long rotation, selection-based silviculture. Many of these techniques have become common practice and even legally required now, but BBWA was an early adopter of these techniques and helped to shape them into what they have become today. As an example, BBWA has maintained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for our clients for the past 20 years and during that time we have Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
6 implemented projects to promote acceleration of mature forest characteristics, restore oak woodlands, remove and/ or upgrade legacy roads, reduce forest fuel loading, promote reforestation following wildfire, restore instream habitat, and conduct California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)-compliant environmental analyses for these activities.
Managing forests using the innovative methods described above is inherently more complicated than business-as-usual forestry, which has required BBWA to recruit and train very high-quality staff that are mission driven. Our staff see the practice of forestry as ecosystem management and not simply fiber production. Many of our staff have advanced degrees and our retention rates are high, and all personnel are capable of and have experience in performing the Services set forth in the RFP with minimal instruction.
As a result, we have managed to retain many of our clients for well over a decade.
BBWA has a reputation for developing practical methods of implementing conservationbased forestry and our clientele is representative of that approach. Selections from our agency client list include:
Government Agencies:
• County of Humboldt
• CAL FIRE
• Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
• Scotia Community Services
District
• Shasta Valley RCD
• Trinity County Resource
Conservation District
• Redwood National and State Parks
• City of Arcata- via team member
• US Forest Service
• City of Fortuna
• McKinleyville CSD
• North Coast Resource Partnership
• Humboldt Bay Municipal Water
District
Tribes and tribal organizations:
• Hoopa Valley Tribe
• Yurok Tribe
• Round Valley Indian Tribes
• California Indian Fire and
Forest Management Council
(CIFFMC)
• Big Lagoon Rancheria
• Resighini Rancheria
• Karuk Tribe
• California Indian
Environmental Alliance
• Trinidad Rancheria
• Redwood Valley Rancheria
• Middletown Rancheria
• Elk Valley Rancheria
• Approximately 20 additional
tribal entities across central
and southern California
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City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
7 In addition to government agency clients BBWA has provided professional forestry services for the following organizations which required services similar to those requested in this proposal:
Community Forests:
• City of Arcata (Mark Andre as City
RPF)
• Usal Redwood Forest Company
• McKay Community Forest
• Weaverville Community Forest
Conservation Groups:
• Save the Redwoods League
• Cal Trout
• Eel River Recovery Project
• Trust for Public Land
• Scott River Watershed Council
• North Coast Resource Partnership
• Mattole Restoration Council
Land Trusts:
• North Coast Regional Land Trust
• Jacoby Creek Land Trust
• Pacific Forest Trust
• Sonoma Land Trust
Conservation Based Forestland Investors:
• New Island Capital
• Conservation Fund
• Western Rivers Conservancy
• Fred M. van Eck Forest
Carbon Offsets:
• New Forests
• Forest Carbon Partners
Timber Industry and Other
Consulting Firms:
• Humboldt Redwood Company
• Barnum Timber Company
• North State Resources -
Redding, CA
• Quercus Consulting - Mt.
Shasta, CA
• Anchor QEA - San Francisco, CA
• WSP
• GHD Engineering
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
8 4.0 OVERVIEW OF QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE
4.1.1 Project Team
The project’s key personnel that will be responsible for providing the Services set forth in this RFP are shown in Figure 1. All personnel are capable of, and are experienced in, performing the Services set forth in the RFP with minimal instruction.
4.1.2 BBW & Associates Project Team Members
Jared Gerstein – Project Manager
• Registered Professional Forester #2826
• B.A. Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz
• M.S. Forest Science, Oregon State University
Jared Gerstein is the Vice President of BBW & Associates. He has been practicing forestry and watershed management since 1998 and specializes in timber sale administration, harvest plan development, road and culvert inventory and design, silvicultural planning, conservation easement valuation and is the BBWA business manager. Mr. Gerstein specializes in multi-aged forestry and the restoration of complex stand structures. He has prepared many CALFIRE harvest permits including THPs, NTMPs, Emergency Notices, Exemptions and PTEIR/PTHPs. He has published articles in Western Journal of Applied Forestry and for the UC Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Mark Andre – Municipal Forestry Expert
• Registered Professional Forester #2391
• B.S. Natural Resource Planning, Cal Poly Humboldt
Mr. Andre is an owner and employee of BBWA and was formerly the Environmental Services Director for the City of Arcata, CA. where he was responsible for forest management, open space protection, environmental planning, recycling, creeks/wetlands/ storm water management, water-wastewater, recreation, energy and fish and wildlife habitat improvement projects. He served as the City forester for Arcata's Community Forest since 1986 and has retained this role to present (2025). He has prepared and administered municipal timber sales for the City of Arcata for almost 30 years. He frequently works with regulatory, resource agencies, advisory committees, university staff/students and staff, biological and hydrologic consultants on project permitting, CEQA/NEPA, funding, Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
9 implementation and research and monitoring. He is a Rainforest Alliance (FSC) Certified Resource Manager (SW-FM/COC-072), founding member of the Forest Stewards Guild, advisor to the Northcoast Regional Land Trust, member of the Humboldt County Forestry Review Committee, and was formerly on the State Board of Forestry after being appointed by governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown. Recent awards include Humboldt State University Distinguished Alumni 2019.
Paul Harper – Project Biometrician
• Registered Professional Forester #2672
• B.A. Anthropology, Duke University
• M.S. Wildland Resource Science, UC Berkeley
Mr. Harper has been practicing forestry since 1992 and is the President of BBWA. He has been engaged in forest management planning, research, writing, and analysis, in northwest California and a brief stint in Vermont. His areas of expertise include inventory sampling design, data analysis, growth & yield modeling, long-term harvest scheduling/optimization and carbon stock quantification. Mr. Harper served as the primary expert witness for the plaintiffs in the 2009 fraud lawsuit against Maxxam/Pacific Lumber Inc. He is responsible for managing the 13 ARB-compliant carbon projects that BBWA has developed for our clients. He has also installed and checked hundreds of permanent forest carbon plots.
April Sahara – Project Spatial Information Manager
• Registered Professional Forester #3267
• B.S. Biology, minor in Botany, Humboldt State University • M.S. Biology (Forest Ecology), Humboldt State University Ms. Sahara works as a spatial information and GIS professional, forestry professional, and botanist for BBWA. She primarily focuses on the analysis of governmental regulatory requirements and voluntary constraints (including endangered species, forest practice rules, habitat conservation plans, and conservation easements) as they relate to forest carbon offsets and forest management planning. She specializes in quantitative analysis, and is actively involved with project management and implementation, database development, and data organization and maintenance of both spatial and non-spatial data. She also works as an information technology support person, botanical field consultant, and dendrochronologist. Her previous work as a forest stand ecologist emphasizes statistical analysis, including baseline and predictive modelling of woodland encroachment. She has also conducted several dendrochronological analyses, inventoried and monitored whitebark Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
10 pine, and taught classes in ecology, general biology, botany, remote sensing, and GIS. Ms.
Sahara has published articles in Forest Ecology and Management, Kaleidoscope and other newsletters, in addition to various reports for agencies and organizations. She has also made a lot of maps.
Giacomo Renzullo – Project Biologist
• B.S. Botany, Humboldt State University
Giacomo Renzullo is a wildlife biologist, botanist, and forestry technician. Mr. Renzullo has extensive experience preparing biological sections for Timber Harvest Plans. He has designed and conducted Northern Spotted Owl Surveys for the past 10 years, as well as botanical and aquatic surveys. Mr. Renzullo is an ISA-certified arborist and has worked as a canopy ecologist for over a decade throughout the world from Britain to Australia and Southeast Asia. He has worked for Dr. Steve Sillet as a canopy ecologist doing research in the tall forests around the world and as a professional rope access technician on multiple natural history documentaries. In addition to his biological experience, Mr. Renzullo works as a consulting forestry analyst for the Round Valley Tribes planning and implementing Timber Sales and Forest Improvement Projects. He has also installed hundreds of permanent forest carbon plots.
Clifford Hunsinger – Project Operations Forester
• Registered Professional Forester #3141
• B.S. Forestry, Hydrology Emphasis, Humboldt State University Cliff Hunsinger is a staff forester that specializes in Timber Harvest Plan (THP) preparation, silvicultural planning, timber sale administration, harvest layout, road and stream crossing assessment/planning, and related permit processes. He works closely with landowners, tribes, consultants, agency staff, and contractors/loggers to develop and implement projects in a seamless fashion. He has been instrumental in drafting the numerous THPs, NTMPs, Emergency Notices, Exemptions and Amendments that BBWA has submitted to CALFIRE for approval over the past 10 years. Early in his career, Mr. Hunsinger worked as an arborist in the off-season and spent his summers logging and felling hazard trees as a contract timber faller for USFS wildland fire incidents. That work eventually phased into watershed restoration work with Humboldt Fish Action Council where he helped plan and complete numerous restoration projects including watercourse crossing upgrades, road improvements, habitat structure installations, and vegetation management projects.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
11 Ben Aufdermaur – Project Inventory Crew Leader and Inventory Data Manager • Registered Professional Forester #3129
• B.S. Forestry, Soils Emphasis, Humboldt State University Ben Aufdermaur is the forest inventory supervisor at BBWA. His specialties include inventory preparation and implementation, data QAQC, equipment maintenance, and soil studies. He manages inventory crews and develops CFIP management plans for small landowners. Mr. Aufdermaur has worked at hazardous tree reduction & fuels removal with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA). He has also installed over a thousand permanent forest carbon plots.
Ryan Maberry –Lead Forest Technician
• B.S. Forestry, minor in geospatial analysis, Humboldt State University Ryan Maberry has been leading forest technician field work at BBWA for 5 years. He organizes all project level work and logistics. Forest inventory data collection, quality control and entry are his specialties. He is also responsible for implementing unit flagging for watercourses, boundaries and sensitive resources.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
Figure 1. Project Team Organizational Chart
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
8 4.1.3 Additional Project Team Experience and Abilities BBWA has extensive experience providing Forest Management, permitting and technical Support Services to public and private organizations. We have extensive knowledge of and are familiar with local, state, and federal regulations, codes, standards, and best practices applicable to the provision of the Services set forth in the RFP. We regularly work long hours as necessitated by site work and possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. We regularly compile and review existing data and information for projects and clients, including reporting and planning documents already in existence.
BBWA provided professional services for the City of Fortuna from 2021 until 2025.
During this time, BBWA filed (2) CAL FIRE timber harvest exemptions on the City owned Vancil forest including a Public Agency, Public Utility Exemption and a Structure Protection Exemption. Additionally, BBWA provided hazard tree assessment for the City of Fortuna on an as needed basis.
The Project Team can perform additional surveys, inspections, data collection, data analysis, including timber cruising within the project areas in order to support the development of CAL FIRE exemptions and or a Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP) complete with a timber inventory and cash flow estimate. In addition, we obtain appropriate permits to meet CEQA and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, work with resource protection agencies to develop plans to protect public trust resources, develop and implement grant funded resource management projects, and work with stakeholders to resolve forest-related disputes.
BBWA and the Project Team have prepared and/or administered Forest Stewardship Plans, Non-Industrial Timber Management Plans, Notices of Timber Operations (NTO), Program Timberland Environmental Impact Reports (PTEIR), Program Timber Harvest Plans, Timber Harvest Plans, Erosion Control Plans, Emergency Notices, Exemptions, Forest Management Plans, BIA timber sales, and carbon credit offset projects along with many other projects in Northern California over the past ten years.
BBWA has developed Forest Stewardship Plans for individual landowners, Tribes and Rancherias, investment management groups and community owned forests. These Forest Stewardship Plans provided an important opportunity to review existing information, collect new information as needed and work with the client and the stakeholders to craft Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
9 a plan that provided interpretation of information to the stakeholders and definitive guidance for the land managers. Identification of goals and objectives early in the process is essential to identify conflicts and opportunities. The Forest Stewardship Plan will provide useful information for the NTMP and will compliment that effort rather than duplicate work required for the NTMP.
BBWA has prepared and/or administered harvest on 8 NTMPs in the past 10 years. We prepare NTOs for two of these NTMPs every year so are very familiar with the processes and updates required to keep these documents within regulatory compliance. NTMPs have a lifespan of 50+ years, as such we recommend that clients tailor these permits to include maximum flexibility. Our experience is that NTMPs are very useful long-term harvest permits, but they need to be carefully crafted to complement the associated land management agreements rather than conflict with them or introduce unforeseen constraints in the future.
We have prepared and/or analyzed timber inventory reports for hundreds of properties ranging from five to 50,000 acres in size. We tailored each inventory to the particular aspects of the project, ranging from appraisals focused on commercial timber value to permanent plot inventories for forest carbon offset projects. In some cases, we installed forest inventories using our own crews or subcontractors, in others we used existing data and conducted further analyses to provide relevant information to the client.
BBWA has experience providing scientific information, cost/benefit analyses and alternate scenarios to stakeholders in order to help inform and resolve conflicting goals and objectives. However, our experience is that information alone cannot solve all conflicts- in some instances governing bodies have to craft compromise solutions that allow progress but do not eliminate dispute. Harvest of unique habitat types, use of herbicides, recreational user group access, fire management and use of harvest proceeds Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
10 are common flashpoints for disagreement. BBWA has experience dealing with these and other issues.
BBWA’s biology staff consist of experts for all listed species and other key groups, including plants, raptors, northern spotted owl and other birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish. We have the appropriate skills to conduct protocollevel surveys for listed species. Our biologists and ecologists have extensive experience conducting botanical and wildlife surveys, and we conduct assessments in riparian, and other wetland habitats, as well as upland forested habitats. BBWA’s biologists have extensive experience preparing Section 404 and 401 permits and CDFW lake and streambed alteration agreements.
For archaeological resources, BBWA will include a records search at the Northwest Information Center (NWIC) and conduct records searches and archival research to identify any previously documented cultural resources and cultural resources studies (such as Rohde 2014) that have previously occurred within the vicinity of the Project.
BBWA RPF’s with appropriate CAL FIRE Training will review historic maps, ethnographic literature, County supplied historical review documents and any related documents onfile with the County. The BBWA archeology team will perform the necessary survey intensity for to comply with the NTMP (14 CCR 1090) regulations, Forest Practice Rules and to the standards of the CAL FIRE state archaeologist. BBWA will also consider impacts on paleontological resources and human remains.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
20 5.0 QUALITY ASSURANCE CAPABILITIES
5.1 Description of Services
5.1.1 Services Not Provided
BBWA will not be responsible for professional land surveying, legal property surveying, or other verification of Project boundaries. No out-of-scope work will be completed without prior authorization from the City.
5.1.2 Procedural Techniques to Add Value
Our procedures include regular professional interactions with the likely stakeholders for the Fortuna project, including state and federal regulatory agencies with forestry oversight, local tribes, recreational user groups, grant funders and UCCE staff, amongst others.
Our project team uses procedures that streamline data collection, communication and presentations. We have existing templates for preparation of NTMPs that are based on 2021 Forest Practice Rules and suitable for electronic submission, when available. Our GIS is completely integrated with our document preparation, forest inventory and layout tasks via field-based data collection devices with suitable software.
The BBWA team is familiar with the importance of the integration of planning efforts to improve community and ecosystem resilience to wildfire. The Fortuna project can take advantage of the CWPP and local Fire Safe Councils to maximize the integration of these existing efforts. Additionally, the BBWA team will strive to ensure that the documents prepared for the project are consistent with the City of Fortuna and work closely with City staff in all phases of the project including the cumulative impacts assessment if an NTMP is prepared.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
12 The Forest Practice Rules require that a domestic water notice is published and letters are sent to all property owns within 1,000 downstream of project areas requesting information regarding domestic water sources. As an extra measure for this project, BBWA will request information from the Humboldt County Environment Health Department regarding any known on-site drinking water systems, and users of state small water systems. We will also query the state Division of Water Rights database for any known registered water systems and request information from CDFW regarding any permitted surface water diversions.
Public field trips could be led by BBWA foresters to explain the proposed forest project options and actions to the public and City staff.
BBWA can structure any forest inventories to include forest dead and live carbon pools for an accurate assessment of the forest carbon baseline condition as well as modelling the predicted project emissions and sequestration over time.
All potential permitting and funding programs that could provide resources for implementation of management plan goals will be described to the City of Fortuna that might maximize cost and time efficiency. This may include cost-share and grant programs, available exemptions and categorical exemptions for some tasks, and tiering off the available statewide Vegetation Treatment PTEIR.
We will take advantage of our knowledge and experience in working with other community forests in terms of developing mitigation measures, or performance standards for timber harvest related activities to minimize impacts to neighborhoods and recreational use. The lessons learned from other community forest planning process, plan development and residential neighborhood engagement will be valuable to the project.
5.2 Project Understanding and Quality Control
We understand the scope of services to include the following:
a.) Develop strategies for forest management of designated City-owned properties.
BBWA developed a Forest Stewardship Plan for the County of Humboldt McKay Community Forest and a Forest Framework Plan for the McKinleyville Community Services District. Our experience with these projects as well as the development of the City of Arcata Forest Management Plan and NTMP provides us with public forest background that will help to inform and understand issues that may arise in Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
13 management of the City of Fortuna owned forest properties. Our staff are familiar with the forestland and parks managed by the City of Fortuna. b.) Participate in site tours of City-owned property that is designated at forests to be managed with authorizing agencies.
BBWA is a local firm that can participate in field tours. We have participated in similar tours that have involved technical groups, city staff, stakeholders, agencies, interested adjacent property owners, recreational user groups and media. c.) Represent the City in negotiations with authorizing agencies to achieve acceptable forest management permits.
BBWA has excellent relationships with regulatory agencies that pertain to forest management. We work well with CAL FIRE, CDFW, RWQCB, and the USFWS. BBWA has experience with assisting the City of Fortuna with forest management permits including the following CAL FIRE Exemptions: We would propose the consideration of using a Public Agency, Public Utility right of Way Exemption instead of a Less than 3 acre Conversion Exemption on as the appropriate Categorical exemption the reservoir property.
d. Handle all other customary activities and services associated with forestry management.
BBWA staff are experienced in all customary activities and services associated with forestry management. Key aspects include communication with stakeholders and agencies, environmental impact assessment, economic feasibility evaluation, solicitation of contractors, contract administration, timber marketing/procurement processes, supervision of logging operations, timber sale receipt tracking, calculating timber yield taxes, and filing notices of completion for timber operations. f.) Identification and mitigation of potentially hazardous trees BBWA foresters are experienced in identifying hazard trees and have provided this service to the City of Fortuna from 2022-2025. We have recently been involved with the post-fire recovery efforts on Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Our role in that large scale FEMA, OES and CAL Recycle funded recovery effort was determining criteria for hazard tree removal, training arborists and providing field quality control/quality assurance for the project. We developed the Standard Operating Procedures for the tree removal being used on that project. BBWA has on staff several RPFs and a certified arborist familiar with hazard tree assessments.
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City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
14 g.) Presentations at public meetings may be required BBWA staff have frequently presented at public meetings. We are able to convey information and tailor our presentations for both technical and non-technical audiences.
We are comfortable presenting to elected officials, staff, and the public at large and appreciate that an open transparent process leads to overall better outcomes and long term success. We understand that the Fortuna project area is a publicly owned forest. In addition, neighborhood groups, recreational users, local tribes, the Fortuna Fire Protection District have an ongoing direct interest in management outcomes. BBWA is clear that provision of services will require active engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders with potentially conflicting goals and objectives. We see a potential to work with timberland owners including Humboldt Redwood Company to sell fee or conservation easement lands that could enable a regional pedestrian/ mountain biking trail network in and around the City.
h.) Willingness to think “outside the box” and present innovative ideas for forestry management of specific City-owned properties.
See Section 5.2.2 for “Willingness to think outside the box” innovative ideas
5.2.1 Management Strategies
Potential controversial issues regarding forest management will include decisions regarding types of silviculture, intensity of harvest, frequency of harvest, use of herbicides, harvest of mature/big trees, costs of management, protection of wildlife, activity levels near residences and slash treatment and disposal.
5.2.2 Implementation of Innovative ( o u t s i d e t h e b o x ) Management BBWA has a long history of implementing innovative forestry on the ground and is familiar with tools, techniques, literature and practices in the field of conservation-based forestry. The City of Arcata Community Forest is a model forest, recognized throughout the world as a demonstration of sustainable management of conifer forests. BBWA is a key consultant for the Usal Redwood Forest Company, a 50,000-acre community owned forest in Mendocino County. Based on our experience, BBWA hosted a Multi-Age Forestry Group tour in Humboldt County in cooperation with the Forest Stewards Guild in May 2018 that included lands managed by BBWA and a guest lecture by Pascal Berril.
BBWA is integrated into the group of foresters that practice multi-aged and conservationbased forestry and has access to this network as necessary to brainstorm and problem solve with examples from across the network of other land managers.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
15 BBWA has the ability to conduct detailed growth and yield modeling using the FORSEE growth and yield modelling program, which is a CAL FIRE accepted model for NTMPs.
FORSEE can be used to compare various intensities of harvest, species compositions, harvest rates, silvicultural regimes, etc. to help the County and public understand the implications of various alternatives. FORSEE also has the option to generate graphic simulations of forest stand conditions under various scenarios so that users can visualize modeled stand conditions.
BBWA has the ability to approach the project as a long-term forest habitat restoration project and prescribe management techniques that would over time provide revenue and:
• Minimize or eliminate the need for herbicide treatments for vegetation control. • Lead to larger, more stable and vigorous trees that creates conditions for abundant understory vegetation.
• Accelerate growth rates and re-allocate basal area to large diameter classes. • Increase stand complexity with elevated large snag densities, elevated downed woody debris, and multi-layered forest canopies.
We have experience in using silvicultural techniques that minimize or eliminate the need to apply herbicide treatments in redwood forests by recruiting the structural elements commonly found in older forests. This is recognized as an important management objective in younger forest stands and also addresses issues of biological diversity and forest integrity. Forest structure refers to species composition and the physical arrangement of trees, including the sizes, ages, spatial arrangement of gaps, and the sizes, heights, spatial arrangement of trees, snags, and dead and down material.
The Project Team has experience in managing forests where aesthetics are an important aspect of management. The City of Fortuna could possibly utilize or CCC crews the CAL FIRE inmate crews to perform post-harvest slash chipping along high visibility or high use roads and trails as an extra “above and beyond” visual treatment.
In our experience, each logging operation is an opportunity to reduce invasive species, improve forest habitat diversity, and correct legacy watershed issues that may exist.
That would be our approach to setting up long-term management.
5.2.3 Subject Matter Expertise
BBWA has experienced personnel and staff to perform the requested services. BBWA Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
16 staff are experienced with supervising logging operations, marketing timber, calculating timber yield taxes and filing notices of completion for timber operations. BBWA will dedicate sufficient staff to this project to maintain continuity and timely performance throughout the contract period. Staff and sub-consultants assigned to this project will cover all of the required subject area disciplines required from geotechnical, forestry, wildlife, botanical, archaeology, planning, CEQA/NEPA analysis and review and permitting. Interdisciplinary team member’s work together to develop projects.
6.0 FEE SCHEDULES
a.) The Forester rate for evaluation and professional opinion of timber resources on the properties will be $105/hour.
b.) The hourly rate for providing a potential timber harvest conversion/exemption (< 3 acres CCR 1104.1bc) and a Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (CCR 1090) will generally be $105/ hour for RPF’s but we will utilize the Forest Technician rate of $75/hour for some aspects of these permits. We estimate that for both of those items the percentage of work by Technicians will be approximately 25% of the total budgets. c.) Other costs will include:
• NWIC Archeology Records Check ~ $300-700
• Vehicle Mileage per rate sheet below.
• Potential property boundary survey costs if not provided by City. • Potential for geotechnical services sub-contractors if not provided by City.
Rates shown represents hourly rates of BBWA staff for all work required including evaluation and professional opinion of timber resources of properties, potential timber harvest permits, hazard tree assessments biological surveys and grant application assistance. The rate of $105/per hour will be applied for the professional forestry services.
BBWA will utilize forest technicians and analysts for some portions of the work. See the rate sheet below.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
17 Baldwin, Blomstrom, Wilkinson and Associates,
Incorporated 2025 Rate Sheet
Service Rate
Senior Forester/Scientist $125/hour
Staff Forester/Scientist $105/hour
Analyst $90/hour
Carbon Inventory crew $90/hour
Technician $75/hour
Travel Time $35/hour
Mileage Public $0.625/mile
Mileage Private $0.75/mile
ATV (quad) $50/day
UTV (side by side) $100/day
UTV with snow tracks $200/day
Lodging actual expenses
Meals and miscellaneous IRS per diem rate
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
18 7.0 REFERENCES
Contact
Name
Emily Sinkhorn
Contact
Physical
Address
736 F Street
Arcata, CA 95521
Contact
email [email protected] Contact Phone Number (707) 825-2163 Project
Start Date December 12, 2022
Project
Completion
Date
Ongoing
Description of Services
Mark Andre is an employee/owner of BBWA and has been retained by the City of Arcata to conduct municipal forest management services at the City of Arcata, including conducting timber harvests using Notices of Timber Operations (NTOs). Emily Sinkhorn has taken over all other responsibilities as the Environmental Services Director at the City of Arcata, but Mark Andre is still the RPF of Record for the NTMP and conducts all forestry services. Most recently (2025) Mark Andre conducted a timber harvest in the Jacoby Creek Forest using cable logging techniques, upgraded the timber haul road and contracted for installation of new Kernen bridge over a Class II watercourse. BBWA has provided forestry consulting services directly to the City of Arcata for forest carbon plot inventory work. BBWA foresters and forest technicians re-measured carbon inventory plots using protocols provided by the City of Arcata.
Contact
Name
Hank Seeman
Contact
Physical
Address
1106 Second Street
Eureka, CA 95501
Contact
email [email protected] Contact Phone Number (707) 268-2680 Project
Start Date July 29, 2020
Project
Completion
Date
Ongoing through 2026
Description of Services
BBWA has worked with the County of Humboldt since 2020 to develop a Forest Stewardship Plan and Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP). The Forest Stewardship Plan was completed September 13, 2022. https://humboldtgov.org/1808/McKay-Community-Forest The NTMP is in progress. It has been through First Review and Pre Harvest Inspection, however there are two outstanding issues which need to be resolved before it can be finalized.
The County needs to 1) prepare an Erosion Control Plan for the trail network with associated 1600 permits through DFW and RWQCB Waiver enrollment and 2) Engineering plans need to be developed for a bridge across Ryan Creek. We anticipate receiving these work products from the County and completing the NTMP in 2026.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
19 Contact
Name
Amy Nilsen and Meritt
Perry
Contact
Physical
Address
621 11th Street
Fortuna, CA 95540
Contact
email
[email protected]
[email protected]
Contact Phone
Number 707-725-7600
Project
Start Date September 1, 2021
Project
Completion
Date
Ongoing
Description of Services
BBWA worked with City of Fortuna staff to analyze site conditions and permit options on the 13-acre Vancil parcel to clear hazard trees around their municipal water supply and reduce forest fuels on City property adjacent to the residential neighbors. BBWA submitted a report with recommendations on November 5, 2021. The City was initially interested in developing an NTMP for the property, but BBWA concluded this would not be cost effective and ultimately recommended preparing two separate CALFIRE Exemptions (1104.1 and 1038c) to accomplish the City’s primary objectives. BBWA worked with the City to prepare a bid package for the log sale and logging contract then help select the winning bids, develop contracts, prepare CEQA permits, administer the timber sale, inspect the final work products and oversee financial aspects of the timber sale. The project was inspected and approved by CALFIRE in March 2023 as complete. BBWA continues to provide consulting services to the City of Fortuna on hazard tree inspections and grant applications. Utilizing a NCRP Technical Assistance grant, BBWA provided the City of Fortuna with an appraisal of the Crosswhite parcel adjacent to the Vancil property and worked with staff to develop grant applications for property acqusition.
Contact
Name
Paul Rosenblatt, General Manager
Westhaven Community Services
District
Contact
Physical
Address
446 B Sixth Ave Trinidad,
CA 95570-2015
Contact
email [email protected]
Contact
Phone
Number
707 496-6455
Project
Start Date May 2021
Project
Completion
Date
Ongoing
Description of Services
BBWA worked with the Westhaven CSD to develop a tree removal plan for the water treatment plant upgrade project and assisted with CEQA analysis and mitigation measures for the project.
BBWA also helped secure technical assistance grant funds to develop a Conceptual Area Protection Plan outlining a riparian and open space protection plan from the water system headwaters to the Pacific Ocean.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
20 Contact
Name
Ron Sundberg, Natural Resources
Director
Contact
Physical
Address
1 Cher-Ae LN. Trinidad,
CA 95570
Contact
email [email protected]
Contact
Phone
Number
707 599-0135
Project
Start Date November 2021
Project
Completion
Date
Ongoing
Description of Services
BBWA developed a Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Trinidad Rancheria that was approved by the Bureau of Indian affairs (BIA). The FMP included an invasive plant assessment and restoration plan and a fire management plan. BBWA recently assisted the tribe with securing a $2.2M grant from the California Dept. of Conservation for a 34 acre forest acquisition. BBWA utilized a technical assistance grant from the North Coast Resource Partnership to provide a forest inventory, appraisal and real property negotiations.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
21 8.0 EVIDENCE OF INSURABILITY AND BUSINESS LICENSES
We certify that we have all licenses and/ or certifications required for the provision of the services set forth in this Proposal.
Registered Professional Forestry Services
City of Fortuna Request for Proposals October 2025
9.0 ATTACHMENT 3 - RÉSUMÉS FOR KEY PERSONNEL
Distinguishing Qualifications
• Multi-aged Silviculture
implementation
• Road upgrade and design
• Marking and
layout of harvest
plans
• Logging supervision
• Forest Management Planning
Years of Experience: 27
Professional Registrations/
Certifications
CaliforniaRegistered
Professional Forester #2826
Education
M.S., Forest Science, Oregon
State University, 1999
B.A. Environmental Studies,
University of California Santa
Cruz, 1994
Certificates
CALFIRE Archaeological Survey
Training.
Wilderness First Aid
NICA Level 2 Coach for High
School Mountain Biking
Forest Stewardship Council
group certificate manager for
BBW
Jared Gerstein
Registered Professional Forester #2826
Jared Gerstein is a principal partner in BBW & Associates. He has been practicing forestry and watershed management since 1998 and specializes in timber sale administration, harvest plan development, road and culvert inventory and design, silvicultural planning, conservation easement valuation and is the BBW business manager. Mr. Gerstein specializes in multi-aged forestry and the restoration of complex stand structures. He has prepared many CALFIRE required harvest permits including THPs, NTMPs, Emergency Notices, Exemptions and PTEIR/PTHPs. He has published articles in Western Journal of Applied Forestry and for the UC Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
ProfessionalHighlights
Forest Management Plan for Lost Coast Forestlands, Whitethorn, CA. Primary author on forest management plan for 7,000 acre forested property in northern Mendocino County. Worked with landownersto develop management goals and objectives that were consistent with FSC principles, conservation easement terms and cash flow targets. Designed forest inventory and vegetation typing system, incorporated and augmented PWA road inventory and developed strategic mapping products from recently acquired LIDAR data set.
Mattole Restoration Council Program Timber Environmental Impact Report, Mattole Watershed, CA. Worked with MRC staff to prepare an EIR for light touch forestry across the 200,000 acre Mattole River Watershed. Solicited public input at 4 public workshops held across Mattole watershed and modified scope of PTEIR to address concerns. Developed prospective sediment yield model for PTEIR based on existing Mattole River TMDL data values. Developed spatially specific model of potential project participation based on parcel size, timber volume and logistical constraints.
Usal Beach Timber Harvest Plan, Usal California. Developed a CALFIRE approved Timber Harvest Plan for the Usal Redwood Forest Company, a community managed forest in northern Mendocino County. Worked with URFC staff and RFFI Board of Directors to design a THP that would satisfy concerns of Board, meet Conservation Easement terms, comply with carbon offset project constraints, meet sensitive species habitat protection requirements, be compatible with adjacent public park and yield reasonable cash flow.
Forester for Round Valley Indian Reservation, Covelo, CA. Work with Tribal Council and staff to design, permit and administer timber stand improvement projects and commercial timber sales on federal trust land. All permits and processes must comply with NEPA process as administered by Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Distinguishing Qualifications
• Multi-aged silviculture
implementation
• Fish passage and road removal
• Founding Member
Forest Guild
• Forest Management Planning
• CEQA/NEPA
• Timber valuations
Years of Experience: 40
Professional Registrations/
Certifications
CaliforniaRegistered
Professional Forester #2391
Member CA Board of Forestry
2010-2019
Education
B.S Natural Resources
Planning Humboldt State
University (2019 HSU
Distinguished Alumni)
Certificates
CALFIRE Archaeological Survey
Training.
CA Water Distribution Lic. D-1
Forest Stewardship Council
certified resource manager
Mark Andre
Registered Professional Forester #2391
Mark Andre is a partner in BBW & Associates. He has been practicing forestry, habitat restoration and watershed management for 40 years. He specializes nonindustrial timber management plans, watershed restoration, post-fire recovery and reforestation, silvicultural planning, CEQA and NEPA and conservation fee and easement transactions. Mr. Andre specializes in community and multi-aged forestry and the restoration of complex stand structures. He has prepared many Forest Management and Stewardship plans, CALFIRE harvest permits, timber value assessments and hazard tree assessments. He has published several articles and book chapters pertaining to Community Based Forestry.
ProfessionalHighlights
Northcoast Resource Partnership (NCRP) Technical Assistance. Provided technical assistance including environmental compliance to the Northcoast Resource Partnership (NCRP) on forest management plan development, prescribed fire CEQA, technical support for mountain meadow restoration and post-wildfire reforestation and restoration. NGOs and local governments assisted include Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, Shasta Valley RCD, Scott River Watershed Council, Karuk Tribe, Yurok Tribe, City of Arcata, County of Humboldt and McKinleyville Community Services District. Assisted with the NCRP Regional Priority Plan (RPP) development that outlines a region wide strategy for fuel load reduction and forest health, including a list of priority forest health and fire resiliency projects, strategies, and tools.
Environmental Services Director City of Arcata. Responsible for forest management, open space protection, environmental planning, recycling, creeks/wetlands/ storm water management, water-wastewater utilities, recreation, energy and fish and wildlife habitat improvement projects. Served as the City forester for Arcata's Community Forest from 1986-2020. Authored the City Forest Management plan and NTMP. Frequently worked with regulatory, resource agencies, advisory committees, university staff/students and staff, biological and hydrologic consultants on project permitting, CEQA/NEPA, funding, implementation and research and monitoring. Mark has worked with many partners and agencies to leverage more than $30M for upland forest and open space land acquisitions and habitat restoration projects. Mark has also developed and still manages (3) Climate Reserve forest carbon projects for the City of Arcata.
Arcata Wastewater Treatment and McDaniel Slough Wetland Enhancement Project.
Served as project manager and CEQA lead for a complex multi-stakeholder 300 acre coastal estuary and salt marsh project. SCH Number 2003022091. Also served as CEQA lead for the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrades Project SCH Number 2020100483 MND Lead Agency City of
Years of Experience: 30
Professional Registrations/
Certifications
CaliforniaRegistered
Professional Forester #2672
Certified as an expert technical
witnessin federal court
Education
M.S. Wildland Resource Science,
UC Berkeley, 1992
B.A. Anthropology, Duke
University, North Carolina, 1989
Paul D. Harper
Registered Professional Forester #2672
Paul Harper has been practicing forestry since 1992 and is a principal partner in BBW & Associates. He has been engaged in forest management planning, research, writing, and analysis, in northwest California and a brief stint in Vermont. His areas of expertise include inventory sampling design, data analysis, growth & yield modeling, long-term harvest scheduling/optimization and carbon stock quantification. He is responsible for managing all technical aspects of the BBWA carbon projects. As of 2018, BBWA has been the primary technical consultant on 12 ARB compliant carbon projects. He has also installed and checked hundreds of permanent forest carbon plots.
ProfessionalHighlights
Carbon Offset Project development spanning 4 north coast counties. Primary RPF for 6 separate projects which have completed ARB review and been issued credits. Responsible for forest management design, inventory processing, baseline modeling and carbon calculations.
Redwood NTMP management. Implement ongoing management of 2,200 acre redwood property with conservation easement and carbon project.
Responsibilities include annual harvest planning, timber marking, inventory updates and carbon project maintenance and reporting. One to 1.5 million BF harvested annually.
Mattole Restoration Council Program Timber Environmental Impact Report, Mattole Watershed, CA. Worked with MRC staff to prepare an EIR for light touch forestry across the 200,000 acre Mattole River Watershed. Solicited public input at 4 public workshops held across Mattole watershed and modified scope of PTEIR to address concerns. Consolidated available inventory data from numerous small private parcels and created linkages with watershed wide vegetation classes. Performed silvicultural modeling to develop prescriptions in concert with CALFIRE forming the basis of the PTEIR harvest permits.
Pacific Lumber Company valuation and analysis. As of bankruptcy proceedings conducted in-depth analysis & valuation of long-term forest management potential of Pacific Lumber Co. lands using the PALCO SYP in concert with other available data – 2008. This led to being hired as a technical expert witness for the federal lawsuit Richard Wilson vs. Hurwitz/Maxxam. The expert report examined fraud in the development of PALCO Sustained Yield Plan and Headwaters Deal, and in person trial testimony led to case being settled - 2009.
Permanent Inventory installation for tribes. Remeasured & installed over 300 continuousforest inventory plots on CA Indian reservations including Round Valley, Hoopa and Yurok – 2005-2009.
E. April Sahara RPF #3267
R
BBW & Associates, Inc.
Forestry Consultants
494 H Street, Arcata, CA 95521
Mail: PO Box 702, Arcata, CA 95518
Mobile: 707-499-3857
Office: 707-825-0730
Email: asahara@ bbwassociates. com
EDUCATIO N
2012 M.Sci. Biology, Humboldt State University
Thesis title: Assessment and prediction of tree encroachment into a serpentine Jeffrey pine savanna. 2001 B.Sci. Environmental Biology, Botany minor, Humboldt State University, summa cum laude
EMPLOYMENT HIS TORY
2013 – present BBW & Associates, GIS Coordinator, Forestry Professional, Botanist Primary work duties include: Analysis of governmental regulatory requirements and voluntary constraints (including endangered species acts, forest practice rules, habitat conservation plans, & conservation easements), as they relate to forest carbon offset projects and forest management plans. Conduct field assessments and report on botanical resources. Quantitative analysis of various datasets for baseline and predictive modelling. Project management implementation, database development, maintenance & updates, IT support, technical & project management support and expertise, GIS activities & projects coordination, botanical surveys, report writing.
2012- 2014 Research Associate, Whitebark Pine Inventory and Monitoring Establishment of long-term monitoring plots, inventory of trees and infectious tree diseases in Lassen National Park. Creating a tree-ring chronology for whitebark pine in Crater Lake National Park. Duties also included crew supervision, database management, and report writing. 2012- 2014 Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Environmental Science & Management. Humboldt State University
2009- 2012 Graduate Research Assistant, Ecology of the Little Bald Hills Design and implementation of a research project focused on applied ecological techniques to evaluate tree encroachment into a serpentine woodland inRedwood National Park.Duties included field crew and in-lab supervision of employees. Research methods included model selectionand assessment, vegetationsampling,dendrochronology,GIS, andremotesensing techniques.
2011–2012 Graduate Research Assistant, Rich Fire Research & Monitoring Data entry, data analysis, and written reports for the US Forest Service on a project investigating the effects of wildfire on serpentine and non-serpentine vegetation. 2010 - 2011 Instructional Student Assistant, Physical Geography
2002 - 2003 Research Assistant, Redwood Community Forest Fungal Survey, City of Arcata 2002 - 2003 Teaching Associate, Humboldt State University 2001 - 2002 Research Assistant, Headwaters Fungal Species Survey Project 2000 - 2001 Supplemental Course Instructor, General Botany 2001 General Research, Genetic Sequencing of Entolomatoid Fungi 2001 Research Assistant, AFLP Genetic Analysis of Kneeland Prairie Pennycress 2000 Student Research Assistant, Port-Orford Cedar Root Disease E. April Sahara RPF #3267
R
PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS
Jules,E.S., J.I. Jackson,P.J. vanMantgem, J.S.Beck,M.P.Murray, and E.A. Sahara. 2016. The relative contributions of disease and insects in the decline of a long-lived tree: a stochastic demographic modelofwhitebarkpine(Pinusalbicaulis).ForestEcologyandManagement381:144-156.
Sahara, E. April, D. Sarr, R. Van Kirk, and Erik S. Jules. 2015. Quantifying habitat loss: Assessing tree encroachment into a serpentine savanna using dendroecology and remote sensing. Forest Ecology and Management 340: 9-21.
Jules, E.S., E.A. Sahara, et al. 2012. Whitebark Pine Monitoring at Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic National Parks, Fiscal Year 2012 Annual ProjectReport.
Sahara, E. April, Hugh Safford, and Erik S. Jules. 2012. Inventory and monitoring of postfire forest succession on serpentine and non- serpentine soils of the Rich Fire, Plumas National Forest, Part II:
common stand exams. Annual Progress Report for the United States Forest Service.
Varner, J. Morgan, Erik S. Jules, Eamon A. Engber, E. April Sahara, and Caroline Sullivan. 2012. Ecology of the Bald Hills and Little Bald Hills of Redwood National Park: An assessment of vegetation change.
Final report for National Park Service Klamath Inventory & Analysis Program, Ashland, OR.
Sahara, E. April and Erik S. Jules. 2012. Little Bald Hills: a disappearing gem? Kaleidoscope Winter/Spring Issue 6-7.
Sahara, E. April, Hugh Safford, and Erik S. Jules. 2011. Inventory and monitoring of post-fire forest succession on serpentine and non- serpentine soils of the Rich Fire, Plumas National Forest, Part I:
natural tree regeneration. Annual Progress Report for the United States Forest Service.
SKIL LS & TECH NICAL PROFICIENCIES
quantitativeandstatisticalanalysis,writtenandoral communication,fieldsamplingmethodologyand implementation,geographicinformationscience(GIS),remotesensing,dendrochronologyand dendroecology,Rprogramfor statisticalcomputing,ESRIArcGIS,Erdas Imagine,QGIS,Python programming, Open Office, Libre Office, MS Office including MS Access, various other databases, ForestVegetationSimulator(FVS),FORSEE,detail-orientedandefficient
CERTI FICATES &
TRAININGS
2019 CEQA for Biologists
2018 Bits & Bytes of Computer Networking
2018 IT Support Fundamentals
2017 Carex Identification
2017 Grass Identification
2016 Python for Informatics
2015 Rare Plant Survey Workshop
HONORS & AWARDS
2012 Gregory Mark Jennings Botany Award
2011 American Association of University Women
Scholarship
2010 Presidential Scholar Travel Award
2000 - 2001 HSU Associated Students Campus
and Community Service Scholarship
1998 - 2000 HSU Presidential Scholar
COMMUNIT Y INVOLV EMENT
2013 –2019 Mad River Youth Soccer League Board of Directors 2011 - 2013 President, Fuente Nueva Charter School Parent-Teacher Organization 2011 - 2012 Treasurer, Biology Graduate Student Association 2010 - 2011 Secretary, Fuente Nueva Charter School Parent-Teacher Organization 1999 - 2001 Campus Recycling Club member and recycling collector 1999 - 2000 HSU Greenhouse volunteer
Distinguishing Qualifications
• Professional Botanist &
Wildlife Biologist
• Wildlife and rare plantsurvey
design
• Rope Access Technician
Years of Experience: 26
Professional Registrations/
Certifications
ISA Certified Arborist
Certification #: WE-7295A
Education
B.S. Botany
Humboldt State University, 2000
Workshops & Trainings
Northern Spotted Owl
Attachments A/B &
Programmatic Safe Harbor
Agreement Workshop,USFW
2/20/2020
GrassIdentification Workshop,
UC ANR Hopland Research &
Extension Center, 6/2/2017
CNPS Carex Workshop
Humboldt State University
3/4/2017
Introduction to Plant Surveys, by
Teresa Sholars, 1/15/2015
CNDDB, Rarefind 5 and BIOS
Workshop, 11/18/2014
Giacomo Renzullo
Biologist
Giacomo Renzullo has worked for BBW since 2006. As a practicing biologist/botanist since 1999, he has an expert understanding of biological systems including wildlife & rare plant survey design. He designs and conducts surveys for rare plants, northern spotted owls, Pacific fishers, mollusks, aquatic species, and more. He prepared the biological sections for many timber harvest & forest management permits including THPs, NTMPs, Environmental Assessments, Exemptions, Categorical Exclusions and IRMP/FMPs. In addition to his biological duties, Mr. Renzullo has extensive experience installing forest inventory plots, conducting timber sale marking & layout, administering reforestation projects and supervising/training forest technicians.
Other Biological Experience
Forest Canopy Ecologist, Humboldt State University and Eco-Ascension Research & Consulting, 1999-2013. Climbed more than 1,500 trees for research, primarily in State and National Parks, using only ‘low impact’ climbing techniques. Rigged, mapped and climbed 100s of old-growth coast redwoods and giant sequoias, and assembled terrestrial floras for Save the Redwoods and National Science Foundation projects. Nest entry and expert handler of bald eagles, golden eagles, and other raptors for projects located in the Channel Islands, Minnesota/Wisconsin, Northern Sierras and Humboldt County. Conducted canopy surveys for red tree voles, marbled murrelets and epiphytes in California and Oregon. Branch mapped multiple tree species in Olympic National Park, WA, for a biomassstudy of the Queets River watershed. Rigged and climbed mountain ash snags in Kingslake National Park, New South Wales, Australia for a Northern Arizona University tree physiology study. Assistant climbing instructor for HSU Silviculture course and Big Sur condor researchers. Assistant field instructor for HSU Mensuration course.
Rigger and Camera Dolly Operator, Natural History Film & Television, 2004-2012.
Rigged access lines, escorted cameramen and installed/operated camera dolly equipment for:
• National Geographic Magazine cover stories for October 2009 issue ‘The Tallest Trees’ and December 2012 issue ‘The World’s Largest Trees’. • National Geographic Television ‘Secret Yosemite’ (Yosemite, CA). • Ammonite Films/National Geographic production ‘Night Stalker’ (Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica).
• BBC Natural History Unit ‘Planet Earth’ (Humboldt County, CA), ‘Migrations’ (Borneo, Malaysia), ‘Life’ (Mountain Home Grove, CA) and ‘The Great Salmon Run’ (BC, Canada).
• Pioneer Productions/Travel Channel ‘Jeff Corwin’s Into America’s West – Yosemite’ (Mountain Home Grove, CA).
Distinguishing Qualifications
• Timberland assessment
• Timber Harvest Plan Prep
• Road and Watercourse
Crossing Assessment
• Harvest Layout and Marking
• Timber Sale Administration
• Watershed Restoration
Years of Experience: 22
Professional Registrations/
Certifications
Registered Professional
Forester #3141
CALFIRE Archaeological Survey
Training
Education
B.S. Forestry, Hydrology
Emphasis, Humboldt State
University, 2014
Clifford Hunsinger
Registered Professional Forester #3141
Cliff is a staff forester in charge of forestland assessment, THP preparation, silvicultural planning, timber sale administration, harvest layout/marking, road and stream crossing assessment/planning, and related permit processes. He works closely with landowners, tribes, consultants, agency staff, and contractors to develop and implement projects to smoothly meet specified goals and quality targets. In his early career, Cliff worked as an arborist and spent his summers harvesting timber and restoring salmon habitat throughout the North Coast Region. Professional interests include multi-aged silviculture, watershed level planning/management, and maintaining working timberlands as timberland.
Professional Highlights
Timberland Assessment – Assesses timberland to determine feasibility relative to landowner/stakeholder objectives.
Timber Harvest Plans – Develops Cal Fire approved harvest plans including THPs, NTMPs, Exemptions, and Emergency Notices to meet a variety of landowner objectives.
Completing all steps from inception to approval. This includes determining silvicultural prescriptions, operational feasibility and yarding methods, road and crossing assessment, stream classification, archaeological surveys, GIS mapping, coordinating with biology staff/consultants, managing layout and marking crew, and agency correspondence. Plans prepared for clients ranging from small family timberlands, conservation focused ownerships, and large industrial timberlands.
Timber Project Administration – Provides complete administration of timber projects including hiring timber operators, marketing and selling timber, supervising harvest operations, log sale accounting, agency reporting, and yield tax preparation and filing.
Also completes requisite permits and notifications such as Erosion Control Plans, Waterboard Enrolment, and Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements. Works closely with timber operators and contractors to ensure that landowner objectives are met while considering environmental, legal, social, logistical, and economic factors.
Timber Inventory and Growth/Yield Analysis – Plans and implements statistically valid timber inventories and growth/yield analysis for planning and permitting purposes.
This includes due diligence for potential land acquisitions, growth and yield for NTMPs, and for general forest management planning. Experience with FORSEE and FVS growth and yield programs.
Watershed Restoration – With Humboldt Fish Action Council, Cliff helped plan and implement numerous watershed restoration projects including watercourse crossing upgrades, road improvements, habitat structure installations, and vegetation management projects. Specific projects include replacing culverts with engineered bridges on Dunn Creek in Mendocino County and South Fork Janes Creek in Arcata, installing log and root-wad habitat structures on Salmon Creek in the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and on Ryan Creek in the McKay Tract near Eureka.