SWALE Inc. is celebrating 10 years of:
- Working collaboratively with an array of government agencies to accomplish their goals
- Watershed approaches in planning projects
- Innovative Aquatic Models & Processes
- Strategic Plans that helped our clients achieve their goals
- Municipal Service Reviews that moved LAFCo’s process forward & helped special districts
- Successful group collaborations
We area a small environmental consulting firm focused on planning and ecology. SWALE’s office is located in Grass Valley, California, located about one hour north of Sacramento. We serve clients throughout the western U.S. We offer consulting services to local, state, and federal agencies, special districts, and non-profits. Formed in December 2007, initially as an LLC and converting to an S-corp the following year, we are getting ready to celebrate our 10 year corporate anniversary!! There are plenty of new changes planned for SWALE Inc. over the next two years so stay tuned!.
SWALE delivers cost-effective and innovative solutions to meet the needs of our clients. For watershed projects, we typically work with a preferred set of subcontractors with whom we have long-term experience with. This approach allows us to deploy a wide variety of skill sets for projects including ecological restoration design, watershed-wide assessments, fisheries habitat, conservation planning, renewable energy, and CEQA/NEPA. Our partnering history allows us to serve our clients by conducting nearly every aspect of natural resource management and restoration design.
We remain on the forefront of ecological sciences by continually investing in education to apply the latest knowledge and technology to best serve our projects and clients. We have successfully applied our skills and experience in settings ranging from isolated rangeland to highly urbanized systems. You are invited to review our website and SWALE’s blog to gain an appreciation for our commitment to excellence and an understanding of how SWALE Inc. can assist you.
SWALE Management Team
Kateri Harrison
SWALE Inc.’s founder is Kateri Harrison, with 20+ years of experience as a land-use planner, ecologist, and natural resource manager. Through her previous work as an employee of several county planning departments, state agencies, consulting firms, and non-profits Ms. Harrison has gained significant experience serving project proponents, government decision-makers, and the general public. Ms. Harrison’s educational background is equally important to her and she follows a life-long learning program by completing a variety of continuing education courses and by sharing the information she has learned with others. Most notably, Ms. Harrison completed her graduate studies at San Francisco State University with a M.A. degree in Ecology and Systematic Biology in 2003. Her thesis “Effects of Land Use and Dams on Stream Food Web Ecology in Santa Clara Valley, California” provided her with an opportunity to apply theories from community ecology to a practical case study in the Santa Clara Valley. Her undergraduate Senior Manuscript was entitled “History of Southern California Wetlands”. She earned a B.A. from U.C. Santa Barbara in 1986. Ms. Harrison has an extensive educational background in limnology (streams and wetlands), community ecology, food-web ecology, botany, data analysis, and land use law. Volunteering is the primary method Kateri uses to share her planning experience with others. Kateri formerly volunteered as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Grass Valley and as the Foothills Director for the Sacramento Valley Section of the American Planning Association. Click here to see Ms. Harrison’s resume.
Mak the Office Intern
Mak is SWALE’s Office Intern for 2017 – 2018. She is working towards her B.S. in Applied Mathematics and serves as our numbers guru with her bookkeeping, computer, and other skills. Mak also helped design this new SWALE website.
SWALE Vision Statement
Kateri needs to re-write this: We want everyone to have access to clean affordable water, clean air, and clean land with sustainable, well-designed places to live, work, and recreate. We see a green transportation system with electric bikes and high speed rail/hyperloop increasing in accessibility and popularity. We are also working towards a green energy infrastructure and we promote the use of solar, wind, and geothermal energy. An important part of our “clean air” vision is an atmosphere that contains only a minimal amount of carbon and other GHG’s. Our “clean land” vision is the long-term conservation of native habitats to support wild plants and wildlife. SWALE = Sustainable Water and Land Enterprise.
SWALE Mission Statement: Kateri needs to write something here.
SWALE Sustainability
SWALE Inc. practices sustainability by using recycled paper, consciously reducing driving by taking alternative transportation when possible, promoting the use of alternative energy, and by being efficient with resources and time. We hope that the plans, programs, and projects that we participate in help communities to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.