Zia Teams to Conduct Paleo Monitoring and Biological Mitigation Survey for the East Mesa Public Recreation Complex Phase I and Sonoma Springs Avenue in Las Cruces, NM

The City of Las Cruces is planning to construct the East Mesa Public Recreation Complex (EMPRC) Phase I and extend Sonoma Springs Ave from Pagosa Hills Ave to the east to access the complex, on BLM land. To support this important project Zia will be conducting construction monitoring of potential paleontological resources as well as Biological Mitigation Surveys for the EMPRC Phase I and Sonoma Springs Ave. Roadway Extension. The biological mitigation surveys include migratory bird burrowing owl, as well as noxious weed identification and removal surveys.

Zia is teamed with Ms. Kate Zeigler, Ph.D., CPG, of Zeigler Geologic Consulting, a BLM-approved mitigation paleontologist, to provide these highly specialized monitoring services. Previous survey and monitoring efforts for paleontological resources for the EMPRC have resulted in the discoveries of several scientifically important fossil resources in the vicinity, including fossil material from Ice Age horses, camels, and invertebrates. These fossils are helping us understand more about what the ancestral Rio Grande valley looked like thousands of years ago.

Zia’s Leah Markiewitz, M.NR, will manage the Biological Mitigation efforts and surveys. Zia’s project manager and cultural resources specialist Victor Gibbs, RPA, is managing the construction monitoring for the overall project.