Mountains-to-Sea Ecological

Botanical & Wildlife Inventory Conservation + Development Impact Planning Management & Restoration

Independent ecological consulting for land trusts, desgin teams, agencies & municipalites, and landowners the Blue Ridge and eastern U.S since 1997

395 Projects. 650,000 acres. Three decades of fieldwork in the Blue Ridge. Partners include:

Land Trusts - Fed / State / Municipal Government - Landscape Architects - Land Planners - Environmental Engineers - Environmental Orgs

Private Landowners - Homeowners Associations - Green Builders - Land-Based Businesses

ECOLOGICAL INVENTORY SERVICES

US / State Threatened & Endangered Species Assessment and Inventory

USFWS Biological Assessment

Botanical and Wildlife Inventory

US 404 + State 401 Wetland Delineation

Natural Heritage Rare Species Assessment

Fish and Aquatic Invertebrates Inventory

Natural Community Classification & Assessment

Old Growth Forest Survey

Manmade - Historical - Cultural Resources Survey

CONSERVATION EASEMENT and MINIMUM IMPACT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Baseline Documentation Reports (BDRs) for Conservation Easements

Conservation Values Assessment

Conservation Easement Monitoring

Minimum Impact Planning for Homes, Road, and Infrastructure Development

Natural Assets & Amenities Protection Planning

GIS Mapping and Spatial Analysis

Erosion & Sedimentation Control Plans

RESTORATION and LAND MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Forest, Woodland, and Grassland Restoration

Stream and Wetland Restoration

Pollinator and Wildflower Meadow Development

Ecological / Minimum-Impact Forestry

Rare and Native Species Restoration

Non-Native Invasive Species (NNIS) Eradication

Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) Control

Trail Design: Mountain Bike - Hiking - UTV

Trail Installation + Maintenance

“MTS Ecological’s detailed ecological studies, reports, and findings on land under my ownership have played a key role in the recognition tens of thousands acres as Natural Heritage Areas and their successful conveyance to North Carolina State Parks, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, and The Conservation Fund, as well as the successful defense of a 7000-acre rare plant site against a transmission line condemnation. It has always been a pleasure to work with Kevin Caldwell and his associates.”

Tim Sweeney / CEO Epic Games & 130 of Chatham LLC
“The Nature Conservancy’s Tennessee Chapter hired MTS to conduct several Easement Documentation Reports on over 13,000 acres in Tennessee for botanical, wildlife, and other Conservation Values. MTS did a fantastic job researching and incorporating all relevant field and technical data sets, and Mr. Caldwell’s thorough and experienced field work allowed us to develop an impressive and legally defensible conservation easement document and relevant management plans."

Gabriel Lynch - The Nature Conservancy, Tennessee Chapter / Director of Protection
“Since the late 1990’s, Kevin and MTS have provided detailed biological inventories, Conservation Values, and Baseline Documentation Reports for CMLC’s conservation easements and other conservation initiatives. Their keen eye for rare species, rare natural communities, old growth forests, human impacts, and land-use history provides an invaluable service for Land Trusts throughout the Blue Ridge and the east.”

Kieran Roe, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy / Executive Director
“Thanks for your great work and natural resource inventory, Kevin — I’m impressed and delighted! Your inventory and report serve as the basis of the conservation easement, protection, and management of the land for years to come. Bob would have been delighted with your work.”

Dr. Ileana Grams-Moog – Bob Moog Foundation / Founding Member
"Mountains to Sea has helped us with our 450 acre NC property continuously since their original ecological survey in 2008. This year, they completed a Baseline Documentation Report (BDR) for our Conservation Easement. They are excellent, responsive, knowledgeable about botanical, wildlife, land management issues, and very reasonably priced. We continue to working with them on an ongoing basis for land management once the Conservation Easement has been approved. We recommend them highly."

Anne Lewis, President Fox Paw LLC “The Old Homeplace”, Saluda NC