Environmental Consulting
Providing The Tools And Expertise For Challenging Water Resource Projects
Ecological Instincts provides a full-suite of environmental consulting services with a focus on protecting and restoring Maine’s freshwater lakes and streams. Our services include natural resource assessments, watershed management planning and implementation, watershed surveys, lake and stream restoration, water quality monitoring, shoreline stabilization design, data analysis & reporting, GIS mapping, state and federal permitting, project management, group facilitation and public speaking, as well as environmental education for schools and communities groups.
These services are commonly needed by municipalities that are too busy or do not have the expertise to ensure that planning is completed based on state and federal environmental laws. Lake associations and land trusts rely on our technical guidance to help protect important natural resources that support their mission, the wishes of their membership and the local community.
Watershed & Natural Resource Planning
Ecological Instincts helps communities move from ideas to action. We partner with municipalities, watershed groups, and landowners to tackle complex environmental challenges through clear, practical planning that leads to real results. Our team specializes in developing Watershed-Based Management Plans (WBMPs) and Watershed-Based Protection Plans (WBPPs) for impaired and threatened lakes and streams, and supports clients with a full suite of planning services—from open-space and strategic planning to stormwater management plans, municipal ordinance reviews, and septic system risk analyses and permitting support.
Lake and Stream Restoration
Let’s work together toward a common restoration goal—from assessment and planning to on-the-ground restoration. Ecological Instincts works collaboratively with state and federal partners to help our clients secure funding, acquire necessary permits, and develop site-specific restoration plans that address all facets of lake and stream restoration, including shoreline stabilization, aluminum treatments, riparian buffer restoration, culvert upgrades, and more.
Water Quality Monitoring
The data tells the story. Ecological Instincts helps clients understand what’s happening on the ground by delivering a full suite of monitoring and assessment services. Our work includes lake and stream monitoring, stormwater outfall monitoring, bacteria source tracking, continuous data collection using monitoring loggers, geomorphic and stream habitat assessments, data analysis, and short- and long-term trend analyses that reveal meaningful, statistically significant results.
Natural Resource Assessments
With expertise in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, Ecological Instincts delivers a wide range of field-based assessment services, including natural resource mapping, terrestrial and aquatic invasive species surveys, culvert and fish passage assessments, natural resource inventories, watershed surveys, and rapid habitat and geomorphic assessments for freshwater streams.
Grant Writing
Ecological Instincts helps organizations turn great ideas into funded, on-the-ground environmental projects. We’ve successfully identified, written, and secured grants for initiatives like environmental education, advocacy, water quality monitoring, watershed restoration, shoreline stabilization, and aluminum treatment projects. Whether you’re launching a new project, supporting a nonprofit, or revitalizing an existing effort, we can help you secure the funding to make it happen.
Environmental Education
With hundreds of public presentations under our belt, Ecological Instincts helps organizations take action for the environment through engaging educational programs, hands-on science experiences in and out of the classroom, and volunteer projects such as native plant workshops, shoreline stabilization demonstrations, and citizen science training.
Project Management, Meeting Facilitation, Presentations & Outreach
Ecological Instincts provides expert project management, meeting facilitation, and strategic planning services to support successful conferences, seminars, public forums, board development, and other outreach efforts. We help clients plan, coordinate, and manage logistics to ensure events run smoothly and achieve their intended outcomes. We also develop clear, engaging outreach and marketing materials—including press releases, newsletters, brochures, and direct mailings. With extensive public speaking experience, Ecological Instincts can present on a wide range of environmental topics or work with clients to develop effective, audience-focused presentations.
GIS Mapping
Let us help you create visually engaging maps that make environmental data and project outcomes easy to understand. Using GPS and GIS technology, Ecological Instincts can turn complex information into clear, meaningful visuals. Our mapping services include water resource mapping, land cover analyses, septic vulnerability assessments, watershed and subwatershed delineation, pollutant loading analyses, nonpoint source watershed mapping, and more.