About Us
Environmental Assessment Services, LLC (EAS), located in Richland, Washington, provides high-quality environmental science and technology and field research methods to help clients meet the often-complex environmental laws and regulations. Established in 2005, EAS is now the prominent small business collecting the relevant biological data in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) environmental cleanup mission on the Hanford Site. EAS was honored in 2009 with an Entrepreneurial Award from the Richland Rotary "for demonstrating an exemplary spirit of entrepreneurial success."
We conduct ecological and cultural resource characterizations, clearance reviews, and field sampling of environmental media for clients nationwide. We provide a highly skilled and experienced technical team to perform a variety of environmental sampling and surveys tailored to our clients' specific requirements.
EAS professionals have wide range of experience designing and conducting onsite sampling and surveys, with areas of specialization that include:
- Aquatic and Field Media Sampling (biota, pore water, sediments)
- Ecological Compliance (Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Statements, Clearances)
- Mitigation Planning and Restoration
- Endangered Species Act Consultations
- Plants, Fish, Wildlife, and Macro-invertebrate Surveying and Monitoring
- Sample Collection and Preparation of Environmental Media
- Sample Accessioning and Data Management
- Federal and State Scientific Collecting Permits Holder (including Sections 7 and 10 Endangered Salmonid Take Authorizations)
- Boating Operations; U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Merchant Marine (25 ton) and Captain (100 ton) Certifications
- NAUI/PADI Certified SCUBA divers
- Section 106 Cultural Resource Clearances
Rounding out our team is a support staff that includes specialists in business administration, finance, contracts, safety, and communications, who help ensure our high standards are maintained.
Contact: Sue Gerkensmeyer, Controller, (509) 375-4212; sgerk@easbio.com
Technical Staff Summaries
Brett Tiller, CEO/Principal Scientist – more than 20 years of experience conducting environmental surveillance (developing and performing studies that characterize dispersion of contaminants in the environment); characterizing wildlife populations; and performing biological resource reviews on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems throughout the United States.
Robin Tiller, Chief Financial Officer – more than 20 years of experience in accounting and financial management, as well as contracts management and strategic planning. Responsible for all financial matters and planning and execution of all administrative functions.
Dennis Dauble, Senior Environmental Scientist - fisheries biologist with 38 years of experience involving Endangered Species issues, Columbia River fish passage and behavior, ecological risk assessment, and ecological monitoring.
Ken Gano, Senior Environmental Scientist – natural resource specialist with 37 years in ecological studies, environmental restoration, ecological resource reviews, mitigation planning, and environmental regulations.
Cole Lindsey, Senior Environmental Scientist - research and monitoring of wildlife populations (avian species, mammals, fish, amphibians, macroinvertebrates); surveying and documenting wildlife distributions, area-use patterns, and relative abundances, along with quantifying and monitoring biologically important metrics.
John Nugent, Senior Environmental Scientist – more than 25 years of experience in environmental sampling, research, and characterizations; GIS/GPS expert (geographical information systems/global positioning systems); Eighteen years of experience in terrestrial flora and faunal surveys, wetland delineations, hydrology, and fisheries.
Paul Wagner, Senior Environmental Scientist – more than 30 years of experience as a professional fish biologist conducting work throughout the Columbia Basin, as well as in other anadromous waterways within the state of Washington, and in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Canada.
William Rickard, Senior Environmental Scientist - more than 60 years in terrestrial ecology, botany, vegetation restoration and radioecological studies.
Matt Hoefer, Environmental Scientist - environmental surveillance and multi-media sampling, data summaries, client/ regulator/stakeholder interfacing, technical report preparation. Fifteen years of experience in vector ecology and integrated pest management strategies.
Zeke Simmons, Environmental Scientist – fish and wildlife surveys and monitoring, field sampling and data collection, preparing samples for submission to analytical laboratories.
Wendy West, Environmental Scientist - ecological resource reviews, mitigation planning, site walk-downs, revegetation monitoring and reporting, field sampling and data collection, and sample preparation for analysis.
Joni Yzaguirre, Environmental Scientist - field sampling and data collection; Natural Resource Damage Assessment and other QA/QC procedures for sample collection and handling, data quality assurance review/verification, and custody documentation; and uploading information to data bases.
Rhett Zufelt, Environmental Scientist – geographical information system (GIS) mapping and analysis, data management, and ecological sampling for various EAS projects with CERCLA/RCRA standards; spatial analysis of environmental data using ESRI (ARCGIS, ArcView, ARC-INFO) and ERDAS Imagine software on UNIX and Windows platforms.
Miranda Filan, Environmental Analyst - environmental data compilation and analysis; literature review of historical environmental surveillance reports and database integration; development of database repositories supporting Natural Resource Damage Assessments and management; and wildlife sampling and monitoring.
Scott Johnson, Environmental Analyst - ecological monitoring compliance and environmental surveillance; development and implementation of biological collection activities; and data entry and management of contaminated biota in accordance with Natural Resource Damage Assessment procedures.
Kevin Cranna, Sr. Environmental Technician – developing systematic approaches for rapid sample collection events; quality assurance/quality control methods for sampling events, field sampling and data collection, sample accessioning, reviewing chain of custody records, data QA reviews, inventory and procurement, training staff, safety reviews, and performing system-wide analyses for business and project functions.
Rob Curet, Sr. Environmental Technician – U.S. Coast Guard licensed Merchant Marine boat operator; environmental surveying and sampling.
Dan Kudreyko, Sr. Environmental Technician - field sampling and data collection, sample tracking, field logbook record keeping, instrument calibrations, and storing and shipping of samples for chemical analysis.
Neil Sullivan, Sr. Environmental Technician - Merchant Marines Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) License; environmental surveying and sampling.
Rylie Barron, Environmental Technician - field sampling and data collection, sample tracking, field logbook record keeping, instrument calibrations, and storing and shipping of samples for chemical analysis.
Shannan Johnson, Environmental Technician – field sampling and data collection, sample tracking, field logbook record keeping, quality assurance data reviews, hazardous chemical management, and storing and shipping of samples for chemical analysis.
Adam Predmore, Environmental Technician – field sampling and data collection, quality assurance reviews of the field data and electronic data records.
Brock Sadler, Environmental Technician - field sampling and data collection, sample accessioning, reviewing chain of custody records, data QA reviews, inventory and procurement.