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Surveying, Supplemented 

Edmonton, Alta (March 20, 2023) – Industry. Timber. When those two meet, the Forestry and Environmental team at GeoVerra is there to help. Each project has its own set of challenges, and that’s why we’ve built a group of professionals as dynamic as the energy and forestry clients we serve. 

“We work anywhere industry and timber intersect,” says Adrienne Maskalyk, vice president of Forestry and Environmental at GeoVerra. “We can work for the forestry company, Indigenous groups, energy companies, government. Whenever timber—which includes its ecosystems—touches any kind of industry, we can get involved and make the project process so much easier.” 

Maskalyk has been with the company since day one, and with its legacy firms before that. Thousands of timber, environmental, and land management projects later, she has steadily built a strong, agile team of experts always ready to handle a wide range of industries and project scopes. 

Why Choose When You Can Have Both? 

Maskalyk’s team speaks a language of their own. Fluent in regulatory requirements, stakeholder needs, and key operational criteria, they are also able to translate these complexities for clients, so everyone understands the pace and the plan—ensuring project success.  

Geomatics firms don’t typically offer a forestry and environmental division in addition to their survey offering.  

“This is a big deal because it means one company can understand the client’s needs, rather than having to communicate it to multiple service providers,” says Maskalyk.  

Deliverables become more consistent, processes follow the same predictable structure to maximize efficiency, and less running around between companies and people can mean significant cost savings and fewer roadblocks. 

“It’s hard to quantify how much a client saves as every site and circumstance is different,” says Maskalyk. “But what I can say is that having both survey and environment under one roof helps save time and build overall efficiencies. There’s not as much back and forth between multiple providers with different priorities.” 

A typical scenario looks like this: GeoVerra’s client or partner kicks off a site, our survey and environment team both review from the desktop, vet for major roadblocks, and plan the field assessment.  Data is shared and regulatory and environmental parameters are incorporated into the initial preliminary plan from the start – before it is returned to the client for review.   

GeoVerra eliminates a big extra step for the client.  

“Clients like that they don’t have to send it to a separate environmental firm or spend additional time and multiple emails going through that process,” explains Maskalyk. “We give them a final product that’s been vetted by environmental, meaning they’re that much closer to stamped approval.” 

GeoVerra can also start regulatory work before anyone else. “Working with the survey team, we already know where the project is going to be, and we can look at that target area before the survey crew mobilizes, helping advise on placement to meet best practices and regulations,” says Maskalyk. In these fast-paced industries, it’s a game changer. 

Team Ready-for-Anything 

The Forestry and Environmental team at GeoVerra is a mix of forestry professionals, and professional agrologists and biologists with decades of project management experience. Niche expertise, yet with a broad skill set, has the team delivering a full-service bundle of land, environmental, and timber solutions throughout the project lifecycle.  

“Our team can provide a very wide-ranging scope of service,” says Maskalyk. “We are a small, dedicated group that is incredibly dynamic. Cross-training people and making them as agile as possible allows us to make projects successful and efficient.”  

Unlike some forestry or environmental work, GeoVerra retains its people year-round and exposes them to all aspects of multiple project types. “We train our team in every scenario we have on the go, which means maximum availability and increased responsiveness for our clients.” 

Look at it this way: in pure surveying, a drafter is a drafter. They don’t go to the field. A crew chief is a crew chief. They don’t go back to the office to draft a survey plan. 

“With our people, we do all those things,” says Maskalyk. “We have our team practice a broad range of skills both in the field and the office, to meet clients’ needs, and to keep things interesting! We’re used to expanding and contracting and simply being available, efficient, and agile—whatever it takes.” 

You’re as Smart as Your Systems 

Another aspect of client peace of mind is ensuring systems are as pain-free as possible. GeoVerra revamped its Timber Management System (TMS) software and Road Management Services (RMS) to create more efficient and enhanced user experiences. 

From forestry tenure to road usage, the team has built and maintained systems that navigate the complexities of projects for more visibility and understanding of all parties involved. “For instance, our RMS manages the legal aspect of maintaining our clients’ industrial road assets. RMS is an efficient way for us to receive applications from a third-party user, cover due diligence on the clients’ worksite, and recover capital and maintenance costs for the asset holder. There was a need from our clients with some unique assets, so we built the system,” says Maskalyk. 

Whether it’s a system, a conversation, or a totally new way of solving a never-seen-before challenge, the Forestry and Environmental team at GeoVerra is game. “It’s rare we do the same thing more than once. We look for certain skill sets in our professionals, but in particular we value dynamic problem solvers who can apply those skills to unique and ever-changing challenges,” says Maskalyk. “Each project has a new set of hurdles, and we’re there to solve the puzzle as efficiently as possible for the client.” 

Do you have a project in need of a new level of efficiency? Let GeoVerra’s Forestry and Environmental team do what they do best. https://www.geoverra.com/our-servics/forestry-environmental  

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