In addition to providing biological services, including surveys for wildlife and vegetation, construction monitoring, and restoration monitoring, ECORP provides assistance with conservation certification programs for clients who have an interest in voluntarily implementing broad-based biodiversity enhancement and conservation education activities on their landholdings.
Since 2008, ECORP has provided application preparation assistance and long-term planning for the certification of Vulcan Materials Company’s Azusa Rock Quarry through the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. WHC certification gives recognition to efforts aimed at conserving native habitat and biodiversity that exceed mitigation measures and regulatory requirements. WHC’s stated mission is “The Wildlife Habitat Council promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education.” ECORP identified several opportunities for conservation projects at the Azusa Rock Quarry involving their restoration work and helped Vulcan perform the projects that earned the Azusa Rock Quarry WHC’s certification.
In 2016, the WHC redefined their certification programs, originally called “Wildlife at Work” and “Corporate Lands for Learning” and switched to their “Conservation Certification” program. WHC explains “Conservation Certification is more than just a certification. It’s a continual process by which activities are maintained to offer ongoing benefit to biodiversity and people.”
Under the Conservation Certification, ECORP adapted Azusa Rock’s program to fit the new system’s criteria, and the program has been Certified Silver since 2016. WHC’s certification tiers include certified, certified silver, and certified gold, with gold being the highest-ranking tier. In 2019, with ECORP’s involvement one of the Azusa Rock projects, the East Side Reclamation, was awarded the “Other Habitats” Award and was also featured in the WHC’s white paper for 2019.
ECORP continues to offer consulting and long-term planning services for the Azusa Rock Quarry to ensure the projects are on track to meet the WHC’s criteria each certification term and to ensure the quarry maintains its commitment to biological diversity and native habitat conservation as well as its conservation certification status.
A link to the white paper in which Azusa Rock was featured is here:
https://www.wildlifehc.org/knowledge-resource/conservation-and-community-through-site-specific-reclamation/
Learn about WHC certification here:
https://www.wildlifehc.org/certification/about-conservation-certification/
For information on WHC’s mission and vision visit:
https://www.wildlifehc.org/about-us/vision-and-values/
If you would like to discuss consultation and long-term planning for conservation certification for your site, please contact Mari Quillman or Taylor Dee at (714) 648-0630.
