LESLIE M. WATSON

Leslie Watson has more than 23 years of natural resource management and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), environmental planning, and permitting experience. Ms. Watson’s experience includes conducting complex impact analysis, alternative development, and project management for Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Resource Management Plans (RMPs), and Amendments. Ms. Watson has been the project manager for environmental planning and permitting projects, and she assisted federal agencies with coordination of cooperating agencies, alternative development, and response to public comments. In addition to the project schedule and budget controls, she contributed as a lead author on the Executive Summary, livestock grazing resource sections, cumulative impacts analysis, and provided Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC). Other BLM and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) experience includes RMP projects in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, and Nevada.

Resolution Copper Geophysical and Hydrological Data Collection Environmental Assessment – Pinal County, Arizona, 2013-2015

Project manager and technical advisor for preparation of a third-party Environmental Assessment (EA) for the USFS Tonto National Forest. Resolution’s proposed project to gather hydrological and geotechnical data included improvements to National Forest System roads and previously disturbed areas to be used as temporary access roads. The project included visual resources, noise and light studies, and the use of ethnographic/ethnohistoric assessments prepared for other projects in the area. Assisted with preparing responses to scoping comments and comments on the Preliminary EA.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC – Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project, 2015-Present

Currently conducting analysis on the 643 Regional Forester Sensitive Species (RFSS) to meet the USFS George Washington and Monongahela National Forests requirements and leading the cumulative impact analysis for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The biological resource analysis for the USFS-managed lands focuses on the nine ecological systems crossed by the proposed project. The proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline evaluates the construction of approximately 550 miles of natural gas pipeline and facilities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Line 3 Replacement Project – Minnesota Public Utilities Commission – 2013-Present

Lead author environmental justice section for the project evaluating social and economic conditions within 12 Minnesota counties. Conducted a minority population, poverty, and low income analysis in order to identify any potentially vulnerable communities adjacent to the pipeline right-of-way, terminal facility, and construction right-of-way.

Kinder Morgan CO2 Company Environmental Impact Statement – Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, Roswell and Soccoro Field Offices– 2014

Merjent teamed with an other third-party contracting our combined NEPA services to the BLM New Mexico.  Assisted with the preparation of a third-party EIS for 214 miles of carbon dioxide (CO₂) pipeline, 40 miles of CO₂ loop pipeline, and associated facilities in Arizona and New Mexico.

Mohave County Wind Farm Project Environmental Impact Statement – Mohave County, Arizona – BP Wind Energy of North America – 2011-2013

Managed the preparation of the Final EIS under a third-party contract for the BLM for a proposed 500 MW wind farm in Arizona. The project was proposed on approximately 31,300 acres of BLM-administered public land and 9,000 acres of Bureau of Reclamation-administered land. BLM served as the lead agency with cooperating agencies including the Bureau of Reclamation, Western Area Power Administration, National Park Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, Arizona Game & Fish Department, the Hualapai Tribe, and Mohave County.

Confidential Jurisdictional Evaluation – Confidential Mining Client – Northwestern Arizona – 2012

Project manager for the desktop review of Waters of the United States (Waters) associated with the mine. The purpose of the desktop review was to provide an evaluation of drainage in the study area that may be defined as Waters. Results of the desktop evaluation supplied supporting documentation to initiate coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, help inform decisions on the type of Jurisdiction Delineation appropriate for the project (Approved or Preliminary), and provide an initial indication of the extent of impacts on Waters that may occur as a result of the project and potential permit solutions to address impacts (Individual or Nationwide).

Confidential Process Water Piping Project – Confidential Mining Client – Northwestern Arizona – 2010-2011

Responsible for permitting evaluation and assisted with route selection for a new process water system for an existing mine. The project included 44 miles of up to 30-inch-diameter pipe (either steel or HDPE) that will deliver water from a proposed well field to the facility. Project issues included the evaluation of several hydraulic options (with pressures up to 800 psi), locating the proposed pump stations and pressure reducing valves, identifying and evaluating the required power sources, developing detailed cost estimates, identifying the potential required permits, and evaluating the environmental impacts.

Kayenta Mine Permit Renewal Environmental Assessment – Arizona – Peabody Western Coal Company – 2010-2012

Project manager for the preparation of an EA, a draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), a Supplemental Biological Assessment (BA), and a Biological Evaluation (BE) of the Kayenta for Peabody Western Coal Company (a subsidiary of Peabody Energy), the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) Western Region Office, and the Navajo Nation Department of Fish & Wildlife. This project included technical analysis for hydrology and air quality provided by PWCC, is evaluating the potential environmental effects of renewing the Kayenta Mine surface coal mine permit for up to 5 years. The Supplemental BA and the BE evaluated the potential effects on federally listed species and Navajo Nation species. The EA and unsigned FONSI have been circulated for public review, and assisted the OSM with responses to comments received from the Navajo and Hopi Tribes and the public.

Gateway West Transmission Project Environmental Impact Statement – Wyoming/Idaho – Rocky Mountain Power/Idaho Power – 2008-2012

Assisted with the review of visual resource analysis for the project including BLM evaluations of potential impacts from the alternatives. Provided documentation and support for the preparation of a Draft EIS for a 500kV/230kV transmission line connecting the Windstar Substation in Glenrock, Wyoming to the Hemingway Substation, south of Boise, Idaho.

Project Manager, TriCounty Resource Management Plans and Environmental Impact Statement, Las Cruces District Office, New Mexico, BLM, 2006-2009

Served as a the project manager and as a resource specialist for special management area designations, assisting BLM in the revision of the Mimbres RMP and an amendment for the White Sands RMP including the Otero Mesa Fluid Minerals Amendment. These two RMPs are combined into one set of alternatives development for the BLM planning area in New Mexico. Ms. Watson is responsible for allocating the project budget, scheduling deliverables, conducting technical review of various document deliverables, and facilitating BLM workshops and public open houses and to gather community input.

Lead Biologist – Alabama/Mississippi RMP/EIS and Biological Assessment – BLM Eastern States Field Office – 2005-2006

Task lead programmatic Biological Assessment for the RMP for management of federally managed public lands located within the states of Mississippi and Alabama. The Alabama-Mississippi RMP provides future direction for managing several small tracts of BLM-administered surface land and more than 800,000 acres of BLM-administered mineral estate throughout Alabama and Mississippi. The RMP established goals and objectives for resource management; identified lands that are open or available for certain uses, including any restrictions, and lands that are closed to certain uses; provided comprehensive management direction for all resources and uses; and made broad scale decisions guiding future site-specific implementation decisions. The RMP established the guidance, objectives, policies, and management actions for lands and BLM-administered minerals (oil, gas and coal).

Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA) RMP/EIS – BLM, Las Vegas, Nevada, 2004-2005

As resource specialist, assisted in the development of vegetation inventory protocols including special status species and noxious weeds for the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area. Combined remote sensing information with gradsect transect data to develop a vegetation community map for the NCA. This vegetation community map was used to develop appropriate vegetation management thresholds and decisions for the NCA. Also was the primary author of the Sloan Canyon NCA North McCullough Wilderness Management Plan.

Environmental Assessment (EA) for a Proposal to Close Abandoned Mine Lands within Coronado National Memorial, Grand Canyon National Park, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and Saguaro National Park. National Park Service 2009-2010.

Assisted in conducting independent technical review of Biological Assessment for a Programmatic BA. The proposal required evaluating potential effects on listed species from temporary and permanent closure of abandoned mines.  Preserve for the purposes of eliminating public health and safety and environmental concerns under funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act NPS Intermountain Region Abandoned Mine Lands project.  Responsible for coordination with the Louis Berger and for the analysis, and coordinating preparation of the BA for internal and external review.

B.S., Zoology, University of Montana (2004)

GIS certification, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania (2005)