WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

• Watershed plans

• Hydrologic analysis

• Habitat evaluations

• Community outreach and engagement

• Conservation planning

• ACPF modeling and field verification

• Stream and wetland restoration

• Grant preparation (Section 319, Clean Ohio, H2Ohio)

Land Protection Services

• Grant applications for agricultural/conservation easements (ODA - Clean Ohio Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, USDA-NRCS Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, NRCS Wetlands Reserve Program, Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program)

• Easement acquisition assessment - planning and coordination

• Due Diligence (site assessment, title review, property boundaries and legal description review, appraisal review)

• Addressing title encumbrances 

• Property baseline documentation

• Drafting conservation easements

• Coordination of the easement closing

• Easement monitoring  

  
  
  
  

STREAM and wetland RESTORATION

Environmental Solutions AQ has been a key player in public-private partnerships to restore local surface waters for more than a decade. Degraded streams and disconnected wetlands are common sources of impaired waters. ENSOAQ engages with local partners to secure resources to restore streams and wetlands. Funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the H2Ohio Fund of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources have or will result in over 1,000 feet of streambank restoration and will also prevent approximately 3,000 pounds of nutrients and 150 tons of sediment from reaching downstream waterways. Capabilities involved in the projects include: restoration design, habitat evaluations (QHEI), water quality monitoring (pH, conductivity, nitrate, phosphate, bacteria), and hydrological and hydraulic modeling (HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS). Partners have included Miami Conservancy District, Soil and Water Conservation District offices from at least five counties in southwest Ohio, Preble County Historical Society, Three Valley Conservation Trust, APEX Companies, Davey Resource Group, Civil and Environmental Consultants, Miami University's Institute for the Environment and Sustainability, and private landowners.

NINE-ELEMENT Nonpoint source IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIes (NPS-IS)

In 2021, Environmental Solutions AQ developed the first Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategies (NPS-IS) to be approved by Ohio EPA in the Great Miami River Watershed. The plans, created for Aukerman Creek and Beals Run-Indian Creek watersheds in southwest Ohio, utilized Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) – a GIS tool that incorporates geo-spatial data about natural resources and crop history to recommend and prioritize best management practice implementation. This method helps decision-makers and landowners be confident that plans will be effective in improving water quality nearby and downstream. Since stakeholder engagement is key to developing the plan, Environmental Solutions AQ facilitated public input processes involving numerous agencies and local landowners. The Preble Soil and Water Conservation District and Three Valley Conservation Trust contracted with Environmental Solutions AQ to develop these plans. Approved NPS-IS plans allow qualified local organizations to apply for available state and federal funding to implement projects included in the plan. In 2022 and 2023, NPS-IS plans for Price’s Creek, Howard Creek-Dry Fork, Paddys Run, Headwaters Twin Creek, Millers Fork, and Swamp Creek were finalized. Two additional NPS-IS plans are on-track for approval in 2024.

agricultural conservation Planning framework (ACPF)

Environmental Solutions AQ is committed to the value of the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) concept, which is an agricultural watershed management tool supported by high-resolution data and ArcGIS. ENSOAQ has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to perform ACPF, assisting local stakeholders in selecting effective conservation practices for specific locations. ENSOAQ completed 38 ACPF models for The Nature Conservancy in the Western Lake Erie Basin of Ohio, and this partnership has also completed several ACPF in Indiana and Illinois. ENSOAQ has also performed ACPF to benefit the planning and public input process of all the Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategies (NPS-IS) ENSOAQ has undertaken for agricultural watersheds. The Miami Conservancy District has helped to fund ENSOAQ to perform several ACPFs for NPS-IS plans in the Great Miami River watershed of southwest Ohio.