SummitWest excels in providing construction support and has been doing so since 2010. We offer construction compliance, construction monitoring, Worker Environmental Awareness Protection (WEAP) training, . We are Avetta and ISN certified (ranking A) and have had zero reportable OSHA events since our founding over 15 years ago. Our team has experience monitoring everything from road grading to micropile drilling, K-MAX helicopter drops, 500-KV installation, trenching, pipeline replacement, UXO awareness, and has thousands of hours riding in helicopters for construction projects.

2023-2024, Haiwee Dam, CA

SummitWest’s California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Designated Biologists monitored demolition, realignment, and construction on a number of projects for The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), including the North Haiwee Dam Project for SWCA Consultants. Our Designated Biologists performed the construction monitoring, including sweeps, Workers Environmental Awareness Program training, and a variety of special status species-specific monitoring activities. Of note, our monitors have provided support for potential desert tortoise, Mohave ground squirrel , and western Joshua tree, kit fox, American badger, burrowing owl, Mojave fringe-toed lizard, and rare plants. Our monitors produced final reports and liaisoned with construction.

2023, Los Gatos, CA

SummitWest was commissioned by Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) to perform biological monitoring over the course of six weeks in support of tree removal work at the Bear Creek Redwoods Tree Farm Restoration project site. SummitWest experienced wildlife biologists monitored for six special status wildlife species: San Francisco dusky-footed woodrat, western pond turtle, California red-legged frog, California giant salamander, Santa Cruz black salamander, and Townsend’s big-eared bat. The biologists oversaw the work crews, training all crew members in Midpen’s Resources Management Policies and Best Management Practices, and ensuring the work was conducted in accordance with these practices, including phytosanitization protocols to prevent the spread of Phytophthora pathogens.

2014, Catalina Island, CA

SummitWest provided full time biological monitors for SCE emergency drilling of a new well on Catalina Island, west of Howland’s Camp, due to salt-water intrusion of the current, single-source fresh water well. SummitWest monitored drilling, water discharge, appropriate covering of holes and water basins, water runoff or slope erosion, and wrote daily reports. The well drilling site contained several endemic plant species, the potential for the endangered Santa Catalina Island fox and a drainage.

2019, Angeles National Forest, CA

SummitWest provided biological services and program coordination for the SkyWrap Vincent-Monrovia Project, a multi-month fiberoptic telecom installation project by Southern California Edison (SCE) within the Angeles National Forest spanning 114 transmission towers. SummitWest’s team of coordinators and biologists worked in tandem to support the project with scheduling, contractor coordination, and environmental support such as biological surveys and resource monitoring for nesting birds and sensitive species.

2019, Otay, CA

Summit West provided a BLM-authorized biological monitor for Bio-Studies (San Diego) to be onsite at all times during road maintenance in Otay, CA, to ensure vegetation and wildlife are avoided for the Otay Truck Trail West Project. Monitoring responsibilities included identifying and protecting, within the work limits, active bird nests that may be affected by the proposed work. Observations of birds, bird breeding/nesting behavior and bird nests, including burrowing owls, were documented and recorded. Active nests were flagged for avoidance with a suitable buffer zone. In addition, listed plant species, suitable habitat for arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus), San Diego fairy shrimp (Branchinecta sandiegonensis), and Quino checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino), if found, were flagged for avoidance.

2019-2025, SCE’s Service Region, CA

SummitWest’s Environmental Construction Support (ECS) team has provided environmental document review, Point of Contact (POC) and scheduling support, data management and tracking, as well as conducted threatened and endangered species surveys and monitoring across large scale SCE CCPs for fire risk reduction. SummitWest communicates with construction crews, checks environmental site constraints, schedules biologists, recommends mitigation to reduce impacts, and writes reports summarizing all environmental efforts and results. In addition to desktop support, SummitWest has staffed 10,000+ hours of construction monitoring in support of the CCPs across SCE’s service territory.

2010-2014, Los Angeles County, CA

From 2010 to 2014, SummitWest founders worked as ICF employees supporting Southern California Edison’s 173-mile Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP). Their responsibilities included rare plant surveys, invasive species mapping, tree inventories, construction monitoring, and nesting bird surveys, including for sensitive species like the California gnatcatcher and burrowing owl. Work was conducted across segments in the Angeles National Forest and multiple Southern California communities. One founder served as assistant lead for the Angeles National Forest segments, managing daily schedules for up to 20 biologists, ensuring data quality, and maintaining field safety in remote areas with limited communication. The project involved complex coordination amidst challenging terrain, weather, and evolving construction timelines.

2012, Mojave Desert, CA

SummitWest staff were retained by EnviroPlus Consulting, on behalf of CH2M HILL, to provide biological monitoring support for Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Devers-Palo Verde No. 2 Transmission Line Project (DPV2) installation in 2012. To support this effort, biological surveys, documentation, and monitoring were required. The DVP2 project consisted of the installation of a new 500 kV transmission line paralleling the Devers-Palo Verde 1 transmission line, located from the proposed Colorado River Substation near Blythe, California to the existing Valley substation near Hemet, California. The project includes installation of the transmission line and associated equipment, new substations, upgrades of existing substations, construction yards, and telecommunication monitoring equipment. The DPV2 project is being installed to add capacity for renewable energy projects that are being constructed or are planned in the eastern Mojave Desert.

2018-current, Orange & Los Angeles Counties, CA

SummitWest coordinated, scheduled, and provided qualified wildlife and permitted biologists to perform non-protocol California gnatcatcher and least Bell’s vireo nesting surveys along SCE’s Transmission Right-of-Way (TROW) vegetation clearing and road grading work in Orange County, CA. Nesting surveys were conducted ahead of work crews and areas were either cleared for vegetation and road grading work or, when resources were found, various visual buffers were installed and biological monitors were provided. The SummitWest monitors were present on site while crews worked inside the buffers. Numerous California gnatcatcher nests were observed, as well as least Bell’s vireo and western spadefoot toad. SummitWest also reported several waters BMP violations. Field staff provided a daily Survey123 report as well as Collector maps of all sensitive resources. SummitWest also provided QC of the Survey123 reports. SummitWest continues to provide monitoring and support for TROW.

2008-2012, San Diego & Imperial Counties, CA

SummitWest provided comprehensive biological support services for the Sunrise Powerlink project in San Diego and Imperial Counties, spanning from 2008 through 2012. The Project was the installation of a new 500KV transmission line over 150 miles, including national forests, deserts and coastal mountain ranges. The SummitWest team conducted vegetation assessments, habitat evaluations, and wildlife surveys along the transmission line corridor, including desert, mountain, and national forest environments. Work included extensive field surveys to document plant communities, map dominant vegetation, and compile flora and fauna species lists. Sensitive species monitoring was a key focus, with protocol-level surveys conducted for federally listed species such as the Quino checkerspot butterfly and California gnatcatcher. Nesting bird surveys were performed throughout multiple breeding seasons, targeting raptors and passerines including golden eagle and least Bell’s vireo.

During the construction phase, SummitWest biologists served as on-the-ground monitors ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. Responsibilities included pre-construction sweeps, exclusion fencing checks, and active monitoring of construction activities such as drilling, grading, vegetation clearing, BMP installation, and helicopter operations. Our team enforced buffer zones, monitored for arroyo toads and other sensitive species, and provided real-time environmental guidance to contractors in challenging and remote terrain. Throughout the project, SummitWest maintained detailed daily reporting and contributed to the protection of ecological resources across a broad and diverse project area.