Our Services
Every step of the process, from identification through mitigation, we work as an integrated team to find the most efficient solutions to answer your project's needs.
Your Partner in the Field
Our team has an expansive breadth of knowledge and practical experience in these key cultural resources services. Explore our expertise and reach out with questions about our services.
Site Documentation
Archaeological Inventory / Survey
Historic Preservation
Planning and Feasibility Studies
CEQA, NEPA, and Section 106 Compliance
Incident, Disaster, and Emergency Response
Construction Compliance Monitoring
Archive Research
Resource Testing and Evaluation
Native American Outreach
Effects Mitigation Solutions
Architectural Evaluation
Prehistoric Archaeology
GPS Data Collection & GIS Data Delivery
Field Excavations
Archaeological Research Design and Treatment Plans
We utilize GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in project planning to help us understand archaeological sites and study their spatial patterns and relationships. Through GIS and this process, we create detailed maps for our clients and take the first step in spatial problem solving. This way, we provide our clients with the fundamental spatial information needed to make informed management decisions and streamline their project.
When addressing a project, our team includes experienced geoarchaeologists who are integrated into the planning stages. Geoarchaeologists use their understanding of landscape evolution to assess the potential for encountering buried archaeological sites within a project area. Early identification of buried archaeological sites helps our clients avoid costly delays resulting from unanticipated discoveries made later during construction.
Our team of historical archaeologists have years of experience providing accurate identification, documentation, evaluation and treatment of historic-period archaeological deposits. We meticulously research written records, historic maps, and oral histories to connect artifacts found at a site with specific individuals and time periods. In turn, we provide our clients with thoroughly researched and well-supported documents that resolve their cultural resource compliance needs.
ALTA’s architectural history division evaluates built environment resources for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. Our senior staff meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for Architectural History, and have experience with built environment resources from buildings to engineering cultural landscapes.
Our work could not be completed without our team of specialists in human osteology—the study of human bones. Human Osteology is a central and critical service in cultural resource management as accurate identification of human remains can greatly impact project progress and decision-making. Our human osteologists are equipped with strong technical expertise to accurately identify, analyze, and manage human remains in a variety of archaeological contexts. Along with ancestral groups and project managers, our team works to ensure all human remains are treated in a legal, ethical, respectful, and efficient manner.
We offer remote sensing services with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), a geophysical technology that can detect below surface features. This equipment generates radar waves that are transmitted into the ground which allows us to survey archaeological sites without having to break ground. We can then investigate the sub-surface, create soil profiles, map potential buried features and / or identify unmarked graves with less cost, less destruction and overall, greater efficiency compared to traditional archaeological approaches.
Lines of Business We Serve
Public Utilities
With over two decades of experience, our team is adept at providing services for public utility projects such as:
• hydroelectric power generation
• natural gas transmission pipelines
• broadband internet
• cell tower siting
We have surveyed hundreds of miles of electrical transmission lines in support of FERC/CPUC relicensing efforts throughout California.
Land Development
The ALTA team works closely with planners, developers, and landowners to provide support on a variety of projects in Land Development. We rely on our intimate knowledge of environmental regulations and proven proficiency, particularly in large-scale cultural resource constraints analysis. Our team works to answer our clients’ needs, while managing the demands of complex state and federal heritage regulations. Throughout the duration of a project, our main priority is to provide solutions that satisfy legal obligations and meet our clients’ deadlines.
Local Government
The ALTA team provides cultural resource consulting services to local governments situated throughout California. Our team is intimately familiar with all phases of cultural resource management from:
• desktop review and records search
• field survey and site recording
• design and implementation of data recovery work plans.
We are committed to delivering our services on-time and on-budget, while meeting all regulatory mandates.
Roads and Highways
Our extensive experience has allowed us the opportunity to work on a wide range of transportation projects in northern California including:
• bridge construction and replacement
• road improvement
• pedestrian sidewalk corridors
• roadway infrastructure
• storm damage repair
• broadband installation
• airport enhancements
We maintain lasting relationships with our on-call clients and provide cultural resource services on an as-needed basis.
Mining
ALTA works with the mining industry involved in the extraction, management, and processing of naturally occurring materials. We provide large-scale pedestrian archaeological surveys in support of proposed mining operations, expansion and improvement projects.
Forestry
We have built a solid record of experience working on forestry projects for CalFire and the United State Forest Service. Our services go on to support timber harvest plans, vegetation management projects, and forest health programs. When working in forestry, we remain conscious of the need to balance environmental health with historic preservation.
Agriculture
ALTA works closely with the agricultural industry to ensure compliance with historic preservation laws. We understand agricultural issues and design cost effective work plans that guide projects through regulatory challenges and deliver work products that facilitate projects.
Parks
Our team routinely assists park agencies with preservation and management of cultural resources. We work diligently to provide high-quality archaeological products to protect and preserve California’s diverse heritage. Our work on Angel Island State Park was selected for publication by California State Parks through their Cultural Heritage Publications series.
Military
ALTA is dedicated to researching, recovering, and repatriating American service members back to the United States of America. We work closely with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) to provide the fullest accounting of missing service members who were killed in action. The goal is to recover the remains and personal items of the fallen in a scientifically defensible way, using the practices of forensic archaeology. Our international team of American and host nation archaeologists has directed numerous successful recovery missions at WWII aircraft crash sites in Europe.
Disaster Response
ALTA understands the unique challenges of conducting fieldwork within areas affected by wildfire disaster. The 2020 Slater Fire burned an estimated 156,800 acres of land in northern California and southern Oregon. The emergency response focused on the felling of hazardous trees, vegetation debris removal, road maintenance, and reconstruction of the electrical grid. ALTA completed a cultural resources inventory of over 57 miles of transmission and distribution lines and delivered a high-quality technical report within a compressed timeline.
Environmental Restoration
ALTA is proud to work with conservation groups, land trusts and government agencies working to restore ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed. Projects that we have supported include:
• salmonid habitat enhancement
• forest health restoration
• vegetation management
• removal of invasive species
• construction of wetlands and marshes
