Representative Projects

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This project involved the restoration of tidal marsh, seasonal wetlands, and transitional habitats on a 6 acres of filled former tidal marsh within the Corte Madera Ecological Reserve on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Dan Gillenwater of Gillenwater Consulting was a member of the project planning and design team and performed baseline site condition assessments, developed the preliminary project design drawings, prepared all maps and preliminary construction quantities for the permit applications, and worked directly with the project engineer and CAD technician to translate the preliminary project design into final construction plans and specifications. The project was successfully constructed in the fall of 2017.

This project involves the restoration of ephemeral creek, seasonal wetland, floodplain, and tidal marsh habitat along two drainages entering Suisun Marsh on the Rush Ranch Open Space Preserve in Solano County, CA. Dan Gillenwater of Gillenwater Consulting was a member of the project design team and assisted in developing the habitat restoration design and monitoring/management program for this project. Mr. Gillenwater prepared all preliminary project design maps and construction quantities, was the lead author of the restoration design report and all project permits, and worked directly with the project engineer and CAD technician to translate the preliminary project design into final construction plans and specifications. Project construction is scheduled for fall 2019.

This project involves creating hydrologic enhancements within 300 acres of tidal marsh in the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge to improve habitat conditions for special status species and reduce mosquito production. Dan Gillenwater (while employed at Wetlands and Water Resources, Inc.) was the project manager for the initial planning phase of the project (2007 – 2014) and was responsible for background data collection and analysis, enhancement design, regulatory compliance process coordination, and CEQA/NEPA and permit document preparation. Gillenwater Consulting was hired in 2015 to assist with construction oversight for project Phase 1 implementation and to perform post-construction hydrology and geomorphology monitoring at the site. In 2018, Gillenwater Consulting was hired to lead the project Phase 2 planning process, which involved reviewing project monitoring data and current site conditions and adjusting the Phase 2 design to account for changes at the site since Phase 1 implementation. Some Phase 2 design elements were implemented in fall 2018, while the remainder of Phase 2 construction is planned for fall 2019.

This project is a long-term collaboration among various government agencies, universities, and private landowners to evaluate the nature of effluent from wetlands managed for duck hunting in Suisun Marsh and to develop and test best management practices (BMPs) for reducing negative impacts to receiving waters. Dan Gillenwater of Gillenwater Consulting is the Principal Investigator in charge of the field data collection program and managing all data generated by the project. Data collection activities include continuous surface water hydrology and water quality monitoring, discrete water quality sampling, and topographic surveying. Mr. Gillenwater is also the principal author of the Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) and the Final Data Collection Report. The BMPs developed in this effort are undergoing pilot-scale implementation within Suisun Marsh and have resulted in notable water quality improvements.

The Bahia Wetland Restoration Project involved the restoration of 375 acres of tidal marsh, seasonal wetlands, and transitional habitats along the Petaluma River in Marin County, CA. Gillenwater Consulting was hired to carry out the year-5 post-construction hydrology, geomorphology, and vegetation monitoring to assess project progress toward meeting stated restoration goals.  Gillenwater Consulting and our subcontractors performed topographic and bathymetric surveys, monitored surface water tidal hydrology, and assessed changes in vegetation cover by remote-sensing methods. The monitoring results indicated that all performance criteria for hydrology, geomorphology, and vegetation cover were being met by 2015. 

Gillenwater Consulting was hired to design and implement a study testing the efficacy of drone-based photogrammetry for mapping shoreline topography and evaluating landform change at an estuarine beach restoration site in Marin County, CA. Gillenwater Consulting worked with a drone-based imagery provider to perform three photogrammetry surveys at the site over a one-year period. Gillenwater Consulting then performed an accuracy assessment on the resulting data, mapped shoreline topography, and performed a landform change detection analysis using the photogrammetry data. The technology proved adequate for high-resolution topographic mapping on a variety of substrates/beach slopes and is proposed for use in monitoring efforts at similar sites around Marin County.

This project involves the restoration of ephemeral creek, seasonal wetland, floodplain, and tidal marsh habitat along two drainages entering Suisun Marsh on the Rush Ranch Open Space Preserve in Solano County, CA. In addition to being a member of the project design team (see discussion in the Habitat Restoration Planning and Design section, above), Dan Gillenwater of Gillenwater Consulting was a co-author of the project CEQA compliance document and prepared all environemtal permit applications and associated supporting documents for the project. These permits included federal Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 404 and Section 401 permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and State Water Resources Control Board (respectively), a Suisun Marsh Development Permit from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, and a Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement from the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. In addition, Mr. Gillenwater prepared the federal Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation materials for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, required as part of the CWA Section 404 permitting process. As of October 2018, all permits have either been received, or are in the final approval process. Construction is planned for fall 2019.

Gillenwater Consulting was hired to develop a regulatory compliance strategy for the proposed construction of a commercial bakery facility and associated warehouse on a 30-ac property in Richmond, CA to facilitate the sale of that property to a prospective buyer. Gillenwater Consulting reviewed project design plans and existing site conditions documents prepared by other consultants and worked closely with the client and regulatory agencies to develop a comprehensive regulatory compliance strategy addressing all potential environmental permitting requirements for development on the property. The property transfer was finalized in summer, 2017.

Gillenwater Consulting was hired as the principal environmental consultant on a proposed recreation facility and community park development project on the former Hamilton Army Airfield in Novato, CA. Gillenwater Consulting conducted a jurisdictional wetland delineation on the property, developed a mitigation plan for potential impacts to wetland resources, prepared a comprehensive regulatory compliance strategy for the project, and provided review of all in-progress project designs to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and requirements. The project is currently on hold, pending approval by the Novato City Council. 

Gillenwater Consulting was hired to provide GIS and cartographic services to the Delta Stewardship Council to support the 2018 updates to the Delta Plan. The bulk of this effort is focused on identifying habitat restoration opportunity areas in Suisun Marsh and the Delta. Gillenwater Consulting developed GIS-based tools and maps that integrate LiDAR topographic data, tidal datum modeling results, and infrastructure/land use data to identify and prioritize these restoration opportunity areas. The work products from this project are currently being used to support landscape-scale conservation planning efforts.

Gillenwater Consulting has a long-term contract with Foth Engineering's surveying division in Novato, CA to provide as-needed GIS support. The GIS services provided through this contract have included raster and vector spatial analysis, LiDAR data processing and analysis, aerial photograph processing and analysis, custom GIS application development, and cartography. 

Gillenwater Consulting was hired by Siegel Environmental to provide GIS services for an assessment of the vulnerability of the City of San Rafael shoreline to sea level rise. This work involve identifying the extent of levees at risk of overtopping and lands at risk of flooding under various scenarios, and preparing detailed maps for presentation to City staff.