Resource Assessment Projects

Caltrans Interstate 94 Express Lanes PIR/PER/PMP | San Diego County

This combined Paleontological Investigation Report/Paleontological Evaluation Report and Paleontological mitigation plan was completed to determine potential impacts to paleontological resources for a future project in southwestern San Diego County, and provide recommendations to mitigate these impacts. The report included a paleontological records search and field survey, and analyzed potential impacts from two proposed alternatives. The mitigation plan included specific mitigation measures recommended to be implemented during project construction, and provided general guidance for the implementation of the mitigation program.

Belgian Anticline Oil Field Master Development Plan | Kern County

This work involved completion of a paleontological resource assessment and paleontological mitigation plan for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) portions of the Belgian Anticline Oil Field near McKittrick, California. The resource assessment included the results of a paleontological records search and a field survey, identified paleontologically sensitive areas within the oil field, and provided criteria for types of earthwork and location of earthwork to indicate whether future work within the oil field will require paleontological monitoring. The mitigation plan provided measures and an expanded, step-by-step guide for how to implement the plan.

Bureau of Land Management El Centro Field Office Background Study | San Diego and Imperial Counties

This project included a comprehensive desktop background study of the geology and paleontology of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) El Centro Field Office. This background study was conducted to aid BLM staff with making informed decisions about paleontological resource management within their field office area. The study included compilation of a GIS geodatabase containing layers for geology, paleontological potential (following the BLM’s potential fossil yield classification system), and known fossil localities. Compilation of the geodatabase included compiling or hand digitizing existing geologic mapping, and compiling or plotting fossil localities from institutional record searches and literature reviews. An extensive report summarizing the geologic history of the field office, and detailed discussions of the geology and paleontology of each geologic rock unit within the field office was written to accompany the geodatabase.

Sunrise Powerlink | San Diego and Imperial Counties

PaleoServices completed a resource assessment report and paleontological monitoring and treatment plan for this major utility infrastructure project, which includes a new 117-mile long 230/500kV power link extending from the SDG&E Sycamore Canyon Substation in San Diego, to the SDG&E Imperial Valley Substation near El Centro, California. PaleoServices was also brought on board during the construction phase of the Sunrise Powerlink project to monitor excavation activities along the alignment. This work resulted in the recovery of significant paleontological resources from a number of sites near Plaster City in Imperial County, as well as one Scripps Ranch site in San Diego County.