Susan Schmerling

Zara Environmental LLC

Zara Environmental LLC (Zara) is a central Texas based woman-owned business founded in 2003 with the primary purpose of assisting clients to achieve environmental compliance for their projects. Zara's primary service areas are driven by requirements for compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulations, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We consult with landowners, governments, and developers to address multiple facets of environmental regulation including the development of Geologic Assessments, NEPA documentation, threatened and endangered species permitting under Section 7 and Section 10 of the ESA, Section 404 permitting, endangered species recovery plans, groundwater reports, and karst management and monitoring plans and evaluations. We perform field-based habitat assessments and species surveys, hydrogeological assessments, and novel ecological and groundwater studies. Our biological specialties include karst ecosystems, bat population studies, groundwater fauna, freshwater mussels, and Eurycea salamanders, and endangered songbirds. We work hard to cultivate trusted relationships with regulatory entities, demonstrated by their use of our research to provide scientific defensibility and guide policy development.