Biology

Biology

From fisheries assessments to wildlife, habitat, vegetation management strategies, our expertise ensures responsible and efficient project support.

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Our Biology Expertise

In northeastern British Columbia, Blackbird’s dedicated team specializes in tailored biology services crafted for the unique ecosystems of the region. We offer a comprehensive suite of specialized solutions, ranging from aquatic environments to fisheries, wildlife, and vegetation management.

Our fisheries services encompass stream surveys, fisheries assessments, environmental flow needs, and aquatic impact assessments. With an intimate understanding of local streams and fish populations, we ensure efficient support for in-stream projects.

In the realm of wildlife, our experts proactively identify and address potential concerns at the project’s onset, adhering to the highest standards to guarantee reliable data collection for informed decision-making.

In vegetation, we excel in providing plant species inventories, re-vegetation strategies, and mitigation plans, contributing significantly to responsible land management.

Explore our expertise in Fisheries and Fish Habitat, Wildlife & Wildlife Habitat, and Vegetation & Ecosystems.

Fish & Hydrology

Northeastern British Columbia boasts diverse fish populations and habitats, demanding a reliable partner for successful operations near streams and rivers in the Peace Region. Blackbird, with experienced biologists, offers streamlined stream surveys, fisheries assessments, environmental flow evaluations, and effective in-stream project support. We navigate the intricacies of local streams, fish populations, and associated challenges, bringing your project to completion through meticulous planning, permitting support, in-stream work supervision, and environmental monitoring.

Fish thrive in a wide range of habitats in the BC Peace, and we’ve worked in most of them. Whether you’re planning to cross a small stream full of beaver impoundments and minnows or are looking to bore under the mighty Peace River, we’ve done it before. We can draw on those experiences to help plan, permit, and execute your project.

Clean, abundant water is one of the hallmarks of healthy aquatic ecosystems, and our biologists are happy to help you protect it through hydrometric surveys, water quality sampling, and environmental flow needs assessments.

We dig wetlands. Firstly, because they’re awesome habitats and crucial carbon sinks, but also because a complete wetland assessment includes a soil pit. We have classified, protected, restored, and created wetlands for over ten years, and we would be excited to foster your excitement to do the same.

Things can get hectic once yellow steel hits the ground, and we know how to make sure that fish habitat and riparian areas get the attention they need during that time. Our Registered Professional Biologists (RPBio) and Registered Biology Technicians (RBTech) lead fish salvage efforts, monitor stream turbidity, supervise instream work, and prescribe riparian habitat restoration methods during and after projects near or within water.

Wildlife & Habitat

Blackbird’s Wildlife and Habitat services encompass a range of wildlife species, with our experienced team proactively managing potential concerns through fieldwork and implementing effective mitigation solutions. With a track record of accurate wildlife population estimates, our experience includes aerial ungulate inventories, terrestrial snow track surveys, and wildlife habitat feature assessments. Our company ensures reliable, scientifically sound data collection for informed decision-making, aligning with regulatory requirements and conservation goals.

We’re good at counting wildlife. Like, really good. From the air and from the ground. Accurate, dependable population estimates are crucial for informed government and industry decisions, and we have over a decade of experience completing aerial ungulate inventories, terrestrial snow track surveys, and wildlife habitat feature assessments (think bear dens and mineral licks). Plus, we maintain and analyze one of the largest networks of camera traps in northern BC.

Decades of industrial activity have left a mark on the ecosystems of northern BC, and we’ve been hard at work to help reduce that mark. Our habitat restoration experience ranges from restoring the riparian areas surrounding a small stream crossing to managing a multi-year, multi-million-dollar legacy site restoration program. We know restoration.

Blackbird is named after a bird species for a reason. We really like birds, and our biologists can identify well over a hundred of them by their songs and calls alone. We can tell a pileated woodpecker nesting cavity from one chipped out by a hairy woodpecker and routinely help protect birds and their nests through bird nesting risk assessments.

Our resident frogs, toads, salamanders, and scaly danger noodles (i.e., garter snakes) deserve more attention, and we’re happy to give them just that. We help our clients protect herptile species during all phases of their projects, be it through baseline surveys, habitat feature assessments (e.g., snake hibernacula), amphibian and reptile management plans, and the active protection of herptiles during construction (sometimes through properly planned out amphibian salvage).

Vegetation & Ecosystems

At Blackbird Environmental, our experts specialize in vegetation & ecosystems, offering accurate information based on provincial standards. We excel in rare plant assessments, invasive species management, and comprehensive re-vegetation strategies tailored to each site’s unique needs, ensuring sustainable and responsible project outcomes. Our commitment is to harmonize projects with nature, promoting ecological resilience at every scale.

You cannot protect what you don’t know is there. We know what’s there most of the time, and if we don’t, we know how to find out. Our team of experienced biologists provide accurate vegetation and ecosystem information based on provincial standards when and where it matters most.

Ever run into a mapped polygon for a 1964 record of a Nutall’s sunflower (Helianthus nuttallii ssp. rydbergii) and wondering if that might be an issue for your project? We can help! We have biologists on staff who are passionate about looking down at less exciting, non-moving things rather than up at tiny, feathered rockets that just won’t sit still, and they’re excited to complete your rare plant risk assessments, targeted vegetation surveys, and rare plant relocation projects for you.

Knowing invasive species are present is half the battle, properly managing the ones that are there is the other half. We can help with both accurate and complete baseline surveys, practical pest management plans, and timely post-construction monitoring that makes sure invasives are kept in check.

Restoring an industrial site back to a self-sustaining ecosystem on a successional trajectory to resemble the pre-existing ecosystem is a tricky enterprise with lots of moving parts. Good thing we’re great at Tetris (might have aged ourselves a bit here). We’ve been involved in restoration projects in northern BC for well over a decade and routinely help our clients restore the ecological function of ecosystems at all scales.

Featured Projects

MOF | Winter Moose Inventory Surveys

Confident moose population management requires accurate data. Collaborating with government and First Nation biologists, we've designed and conducted extensive aerial moose inventories in northern BC.

Featured Projects

FWCP | Waterfowl Nesting Structure Enhancement

Supported by FWCP, we construct and maintain duck nest boxes and floating islands in the Peace region, improving nesting opportunities for various waterfowl. Monitoring shows significant positive impact.

Other
Services

Construction & Reclamation

Blackbird excels in construction and reclamation support, providing practical plans, surveys, and monitoring, ensuring smooth processes and positive outcomes for your projects.

Agrology

Blackbird’s Agrology services leverage a deep understanding of the BC Peace Region's agricultural landscape while providing support for natural resource development projects.