Ascent assisted SMUD in working with three local tribes to develop measures to either avoid or mitigate for potential impacts to archaeological sites and tribal cultural resources located in portions of Hagan Community Park, the American River Parkway, and two schools that were once part of a large and heavily populated indigenous setting.
Under an on-call contract with UC Davis, Ascent’s cultural resources team has been responsible for the documentation and evaluation of multiple buildings and structures throughout the UC Davis campus. Our work includes the establishment of historic contexts for each functional area, field survey, archival review, and evaluation of educational and residential buildings, agricultural and veterinary facilities, and airport structures for National Register and California Register eligibility. Ascent’s architectural historians have also prepared multiple memos to document how building modifications and seismic upgrades to existing historical resources would be made in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards to support CEQA exemptions.
The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s Leavesley/Dexter Mountain Ranch property was recommended eligible for the National Register of Historic Places as an individual resource. During archival review, it was determined that a thorough historic context, related to early cattle ranches of southern Santa Clara County, needed to be developed. Ascent conducted additional survey and evaluation of the property’s structures and features to help inform the design of the proposed bridge replacement and public parking lot and trailhead in the preserve.
SE Group prepared the 2020 Master Development Plan (MDP) for the Big Bear Mountain Resort, which includes both the Bear Mountain and Snow Summit ski areas. A key component of the MDP is expansion of the US Forest Service Special Use Permit boundary by approximately 300 acres to connect the Bear Mountain Ski Area and Snow Summit Ski Area locations. In addition, construction of seven new lifts (two new lifts at Bear Mountain, two new interconnect lifts, three new lifts at Snow Summit) and removal of eight existing lifts (two lifts from Bear Mountain, six lifts from Snow Summit) have been identified as part of the MDP.
The 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire burned extensive portions of the Santa Cruz Mountains, leaving behind large amounts of dead and dying vegetation. The Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County proposed to implement two vegetation treatment projects to remove dead and dying vegetation and improve habitat conditions and ecological resilience. The Resource Conservation District retained Ascent to complete an archaeological survey report with impact assessment and treatment requirements for the Last Chance Road and the Skylark Ranch Girl Scout Camp forest health project, for a total of 120 acres.
Ascent prepared an architectural resource survey and evaluation for San Quentin State Prison in compliance with Public Resources Code Section 5024.5. Our architectural historian evaluated the prison at a district level, which included an inventory of 202 historic-era buildings and structures, using both National Register and California Historical Landmark criteria. The evaluation concluded that the prison appears eligible for listing on the National Register and as a California Historical Landmark, consisting of 22 contributing buildings and structures, including 11 individually eligible buildings.
Ascent is assisting SANDAG with the Housing Acceleration Program (HAP) Technical Assistance Program, providing staffing support and assistance to local jurisdictions on housing policy and legislation, housing element implementation, and CEQA streamlining to assist SANDAG’s 19 member agencies. The program supports implementation of SANDAG’s 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment Plan, 2021 Regional Plan, and Sustainable Communities Strategy.
Ascent led the preparation of the City's sixth cycle Housing Element. El Cerrito is located in Contra Costa County, south of the city of Richmond and north of Albany and Berkeley. Similar to other East Bay cities, the flatlands along the Bay contain much of the commercial and higher-density housing, while the neighborhoods in the hills comprise mostly single-family homes on steep lots on narrow winding roads.
The Plumas Community Protection Project is proposed to provide long-term protection from wildfire to communities in unburned or partially burned areas. The project is in the Plumas National Forest (PNF) and encompasses approximately 168,000 acres of National Forest System lands. The planning area overlaps with unburned forested areas near communities within the Plumas National Forest administrative boundary.
Regional San is rehabilitating the Arden Pump Station Wet Well. The project includes replacement of equipment associated with the existing flushing station on Chicken Ranch Slough, construction of a temporary concrete pad to support a temporary bypass pump for wastewater, and other temporary impacts in an adjacent stormwater basin. The slough and the stormwater basin have a direct hydrologic connection with the Lower American River. Ascent conducted an aquatic resources delineation and prepared the delineation report for submittal to USACE.
It was anticipated that the 2018 UC Davis Long Range Development Plan could result in potential impacts to special-status wildlife, including nesting birds and roosting bats. The LRDP included two mitigation measures (3.5-4a and 3.5-6) applying to birds that may nest in trees or on buildings and one mitigation measure (3.5-8b) applying to roosting bats. Swainson’s hawk and tricolored blackbird are species of special concern that are discussed in the mitigation measures. Ascent biologists prepared the Nesting Bird and Roosting Bat Guidance Document to outline procedures for dealing with nesting birds and bat roosts prior to and during building demolition activities under the LRDP.
NV Energy’s electrical service area includes the community of Mt. Charleston in Kyle Canyon, approximately 35 miles west-northwest of Las Vegas on National Forest System land managed by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. Some special use permits on lands managed by the US Forest Service had expired and needed to be renewed as part of the consolidated master special use permit. Ascent’s biological resources team conducted field surveys for golden eagle, northern goshawk, flammulated owl, and other raptors; bat roosting habitat and acoustical surveys; sensitive butterfly larval host and nectar plant surveys and mapping; snag mapping; TES plant surveys; and invasive and nonnative plant species surveys.
