BonTerra Consulting: News

BonTerra Consulting Expands Staff

August 09, 2004

BonTerra Consulting announces the addition of six new staff members. The added professionals bring extensive experience in environmental planning, impact assessment, biological resources, and habitat restoration. With environmental issues and legislation becoming more complex, BonTerra has developed its professional staff into a premier full-service environmental consulting firm serving all of Southern California. The newly hired professionals include Pamela Castens, Pam DeVries, Cindy Krebs, Dr. Michael Robson, Melanie Doran Traxler, and Carol Watson.

Pamela Castens brings 20 years of experience as a physical geographer and environmental planner. She previously worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Los Angeles district for 21 years, where she held the positions of Program Manager for the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program at NOAA, and Chief, Ecosystem Planning Section at the Corps. Ms. Castens was the lead environmental planner and supervisor for the unit providing all environmental compliance of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area (LACDA) system; deep-draft navigation projects at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach; and the Santa Ana River project, among others. She also served on the Steering Committee for the restoration of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Ms. Castens is intimately familiar with all municipal, State, and Federal planning regulations and procedures. She joins BonTerra as a Senior Environmental Planner in the Costa Mesa office.

Pam De Vries is a botanist specializing in the identification and restoration of native plant communities in Southern California. Pam worked closely with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works for several years and was one of the primary authors of the Big Tujunga Wash Mitigation Bank Master Plan. In addition, she has an extensive background in developing and implementing restoration/mitigation projects, conducting reconnaissance-level botanical assessments, and conducting focused surveys for a wide range of clients, both private and public. Ms. De Vries is located in the Pasadena office.

Cindy Krebs, a bi-lingual English and Spanish speaking Senior Planner, has 18 years experience provided planning, programming, and policy development expertise directly to city, county, and regional decision-makers. She authored Orange County’s first long-range multimodal transportation plan, led regional consensus-building efforts on air quality, transportation, land-use, and wastewater issues, and managed numerous complex planning processes. With a background in community and government relations, Cindy adds a unique public outreach and consensus-building strength to the BonTerra staff. She is assigned to the Costa Mesa office.

Michael Robson, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist with 13 years of experience conducting biological research throughout the southwestern United States including Southern California. He has managed projects involving the development of conservation easements, conservation/mitigation banks, natural resource area preserves, and preserve management. Dr. Robson has taught at several colleges and universities and has authored and published research in professional journals. He has developed biological resources management plans, conducted surveys for Threatened, and Endangered species, and developed monitoring protocols. He is assigned to the Costa Mesa office.

Melanie Doran Traxler, AICP, is a Senior Project Manager with more than 20 years of experience, in both the public and private sectors, with the preparation and management of environmental compliance documents related to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). She has worked on projects throughout Northern and Southern California that involve a wide range of complexity, controversy, and public involvement. Ms. Traxler’s strength lies in the development of creative and practical mitigation solutions to unique project situations. She is assigned to the Pasadena office.

BonTerra Consulting, with offices in Costa Mesa and Pasadena, is a certified woman-owned, small consulting organization. With a staff of over forty, the company provides a full range of consulting services in the fields of environmental planning, natural resources management, habitat restoration, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and cultural resource management services. These services include environmental impact assessments, CEQA, NEPA, land-use and strategic policy planning, biological services, habitat restoration planning, cultural resources evaluation reports, and mitigation monitoring during construction.

An Environmental Planning/Resource Management Corporation