SummitWest has supported several large-scale USFS projects, mainly focusing on botanical and cultural surveys, such as post-fire assessments, invasive species mapping, rare plant surveys, endangered species surveys, and cultural resources surveys. We have also provided services to BLM projects in California and Idaho.

2025. Cleveland National Forest, San Diego County, California

SummitWest was contract by GeomorphIS in 2024 to conduct focused surveys for Quino checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino) during the spring flight season of 2025 for the Cleveland National Forest San Vicente Fuel Break (Project), located in Ramona, San Diego County, California. Surveys took place in spring of 2025 and the final report was submitted in July.

2025. Southwest Idaho

Summit West Environmental Inc. supported Ironwood Consulting in conducting rare plant surveys and invasive/noxious weed mapping on 33,000 acres of BLM managed lands in the BLM Boise District Office for the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat (BOSH) Project. Deliverables included spatial data mapping of new occurrences and survey track recording. The BOSH project is partnership of state and federal agencies, wildlife advocacy groups and private landowners seek to halt juniper encroachment and restore the native upland landscapes to a more natural condition which benefits sage grouse, songbirds, antelope, spotted frogs and other wildlife.

2024, 2025. Stanislaus NF, California

SummitWest was contracted by BurnBot, through the United States Department of Agriculture – Forest Service, Procurement & Property Services to perform in-field invasive species and rare plant surveys across three treatment areas. Staff surveyed for all species on the Noxious Weed List, documented new nonnative plants with a moderate to high rating of invasive rating by the California Invasive Plant Inventory (Cal-IPC). The project is located on the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County above Beardsley Reservoir.

2025. Stanislaus NF, California

SummitWest was contracted by BurnBot and Chronicle Heritage, through the United States Department of Agriculture – Forest Service, Procurement & Property Services to provide Archaeological Resource Recording. SummitWest will provide two archaeological technicians for field work in 2025.

2025. Plumas National Forest, California

SummitWest, contracted by GeomorphIS, supported the fire prevention and management goals of the Plumas National Forest (PNF) with botanical surveys for rare and invasive plants across 21,000 acres. SummitWest’s surveys directly support the implementation of fuels management and restoration treatments across the Plumas NF, helping the Forest Service meet NEPA and project-level analysis requirements. The detailed occurrence records, special habitat delineations, and invasive species data contribute to reducing impacts on sensitive resources and aid long-term land management strategies to increase the forest’s resilience to wildfire and climate stress.

READ MORE HERE.

2022. Tulelake, California

SummitWest was contracted by GeomorphIS to conduct an inventory of lichen species inside forty-two caves in Lava Beds National Monument in northeastern California. SummitWest lichen experts surveyed forty-two caves, compiling an inventory of lichen species for each cave and recording additional data for each site such as zone, substrate, associated plant species, and percent burned.

READ MORE HERE.

2023-2024, Los Padres National Forest, CA

SummitWest, contracted by GeomorphIS, conducted botanical surveys in the Mt. Pinos Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) in support of the Ecological Restoration Project (ERP). The ERP is designed to restore fire-adapted ecosystems, reduce fuels, and reintroduce fire on the landscape by prescribed burning, thereby enhancing protection for wildland urban interface communities and infrastructure, and improving fire and drought resilience of forested landscapes. SummitWest botanists surveyed approximately 15,000 acres during the 2024 field season, mapping the federally listed threatened and endangered species, non-listed sensitive plant species including regional forester sensitive species, and invasive/noxious weeds that were observed. SummitWest then provided a comprehensive final report that described all survey findings, and provided recommendations to preserve special status species and communities, treat invasive plant infestations, and prevent new infestations while the project work takes place. A detailed geodatabase was also created during the botanical surveys, the final version of which will aid land managers in fire resilience efforts within LPNF.

2021. Mendocino National Forest, CA

SummitWest was subcontracted by GeomorphIS to conduct invasive plant surveys and treatment in the Mendocino National Forest in the burn area footprint of the 2020 August Fire. The goal of this project was to map new invasive plant infestations resulting from the fire and related fire suppression activities, which will assist land managers in reducing the spread of invasive plants into native plant communities within and adjacent to the Mosquito Fire area. Experienced SummitWest botanists surveyed for a target list of 50 species over 1,100+ acres of National Forest land while manually treating small and outlying infestations. Botanists used manual treatment methods to remove small infestations of invasive plants, and flagged larger infestations for future removal.

2024. Westmorland, California

SummitWest Environmental, Inc. was contracted by ERM to conduct rare plant surveys and mapping for the Salton Sea Solar Project on BLM land. Four target species had the potential to occur on-site and Creosote Bush Rings, Cryptogamic Crust, and Western Honey Mesquite were also recorded when encountered.

2022-2023. Angeles National Forest, California

SummitWest partnered with the USDA Forest Service to conduct botanical surveys crucial for the protection of sensitive botanical resources and the prevention of invasive plant infestations during the Forest Service’s implementation of multiple fuels reduction, forest health, and reforestation projects within the Angeles National Forest (ANF). The ANF projects aim to reduce fuels across the forest, maintain fuel breaks around threatened communities, remove invasive weeds, and reforest areas that burned too severely to naturally regenerate. Expert SummitWest botanists surveyed for rare plants, invasive plants and sensitive vegetation communities in the ANF, and completed a floristic inventory of the areas surveyed. SummitWest’s final report encapsulated the survey findings, providing recommendations to preserve special status species and communities, treat invasive plant infestations, and prevent new infestations while the project work takes place.

2023. Tahoe National Forest and Eldorado National Forest, Placer and Eldorado Counties, CA

SummitWest was subcontracted by GeomorphIS to conduct invasive plant surveys and treatment in the Eldorado and Tahoe National Forests in support of the federal Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDDR) program. We conducted work in the burn area footprint of the 2022 Mosquito Fire. The goal of this project was to map new invasive plant infestations resulting from the fire and related fire suppression activities, which will assist land managers in reducing the spread of invasive plants into native plant communities within and adjacent to the Mosquito Fire area. Experienced SummitWest botanists surveyed for a target list of 70+ species over 2,500+ acres of National Forest land while manually treating small and outlying infestations. SummitWest delivered a report summarizing the project results and providing targeted treatment recommendations, as well as a geodatabase containing detailed mapping results of invasive species infestations.