ABOUT US
Peak Ecological Services LLC (Peak Eco) is a small, woman-owned environmental consulting firm located in Nederland, Colorado. Founded in 2017 by Rea Orthner, an experienced professional with over twenty-five years of botanical and ecological expertise, we offer a wide range of environmental services. These include consulting for compliance with various federal, state, and local regulations, such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Our services also encompass wetland delineations and Clean Water Act (CWA) permitting, rare plant surveys, vegetation mapping, quantitative vegetation monitoring, floristic inventories, noxious weed mapping, integrated weed management plans, and ecological restoration. We also deliver Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping services.
STAFF
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Rea Orthner, MS & PWS
Principal Botanist/Ecologist
MS - University of Colorado Boulder 1999
PWS - Professional Wetland Scientist # 3247
Over the past twenty-five years, Rea has conducted hundreds of botanical and ecological studies covering plant ecology, wetland ecology, floristics, and rare plants. In fall 2017, Rea founded Peak Ecological Services LLC in Nederland, Colorado, following a 17-year career at Western Ecological Resource, Inc., in Boulder, Colorado. Recently, Rea has focused on completing large-scale (over 1,000 acres) wetland mapping and rare plant surveys for Colorado ski areas, along with preparing related documentation for the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act. Rea also acts as the project manager for Pitkin County’s On-Call Ecological Services Team, overseeing three subcontractors and managing numerous task orders with set budgets. Rea frequently uses ESRI software (ArcGIS), Trimble, and Garmin GPS units, and is well-versed in Colorado’s flora. She actively contributes to iNaturalist and submits unique voucher specimens to local herbaria. Additionally, Rea participates actively in the Colorado Native Plant Society, the Society of Wetland Scientists, the Gilpin County Planning Commission, and the local noxious weed advisory board. She is also a registered Professional Wetland Scientist.
Reba Mitchell, BS
Ecology Field Technician
Reba Mitchell has been the Ecology Field Technician at Peak Ecological Services since 2018. Before returning to ecological research, Reba worked as the Environmental Educator and Coordinator at Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center in Nederland, CO, for eight years. She also spent six years working on resource conservation efforts with the Schools Program at Ecocycle. As the Ecology Field Technician for PeakEco, Reba assists with wetland mapping and delineation, rare plant and noxious weed surveys, vegetation mapping, monitoring, floristics, and ecological restoration. Ms. Mitchell is trained in using Trimble and Garmin GPS units, as well as ArcGIS, Microsoft Office, and Google software. In 2020, Reba earned a Certificate in Wetland Delineation & Regional Supplemental Training from the Swamp School LLC, an accredited certification program.