We Are Dedicated Naturalists and Field Professionals

Lonesome Desert, LLC is an environmental consulting company specializing in the Desert Southwest, Colorado Plateau and Intermountain West ecosystems. Based in Moab, UT we provide field leadership, staffing and reporting for biological surveys, habitat assessments and biological compliance monitoring on public and private lands, military installations and large-scale utility developments. Our founding members and principal biologists Mike Bassett and Kristen Hayes each have over 20 years of direct field experience in these ecosystems. We are dedicated naturalists and field professionals, and we maintain a large network of fellow subcontractors who are experienced, equipped and qualified career field biologists. Both we and our collaborators have been authorized by agencies to work with a variety of listed sensitive species. Deep local knowledge and experience allow us to deliver high quality data with efficiency and safety, while adhering to client needs, protocols and low impact field travel. We are proactive with risk management and communicative with the client regarding any questions or issues. We have extensive experience working with federal agencies such as USFWS, BLM, USFS, NPS and DOD as well as state, county and corporate entities. In addition to project management, our field experience includes a wide variety of survey protocols and work with listed and sensitive species.

  • We provide field leadership, training and management prioritizing safety, efficiency and flexibility.

  • We maintain attention to detail and stand behind the scientific process and integrity of our data.

  • We have been authorized under project permits for work with sensitive and listed species.

  • We can quickly mobilize a large network of qualified biologists.

  • We are dedicated to proactive communication and problem solving in the field.

  • We maintain long-term project and client relationships.

Our Team

Kristen Hayes
Principal Biologist and Founder

Mike Bassett
Lead Biologist and Founder

SKILLSET AND EXPERIENCE

  • Pre-construction surveys and species inventories of plants, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians

  • Desert Tortoise range-wide monitoring and mark-recapture demographic plots

  • Presence-absence, clearance, and translocation of Desert Tortoise

  • Radio telemetry including transmitter attachment and maintenance

  • Avian point counts, mortality surveys, mist netting, shorebird surveys, and nesting songbird and raptor surveys

  • Bat Surveys

  • Rare plant and fungus surveys

  • Marine mammal and white shark surveys

  • Snowshoe Hare pellet counts and vegetation plots in primary Lynx habitat

  • Camera trapping, hazing and excavating Desert Kit Fox burrows

  • Construction monitoring and environmental compliance

  • GIS, data collection and management

  • Endangered and sensitive fisheries biology and habitat surveying, including operation of watercraft in whitewater environments

  • Fluvial geomorphology surveying

  • Technical backcountry travel to access remote field sites including off-trail backpacking, motorized and non-motorized freshwater boating, rock climbing and rappelling

  • Many years of backcountry guiding and outdoor education throughout the Western US and Alaska.

Certifications, Memberships and Volunteer Positions

  • Certified Small Business with active registration on SAM.gov

  • Cage Code: 9FM86 UEI: XUNVZWU5L3

  • NAICS: 541620 Environmental Consulting Services

  • Current Wilderness First Responder and CPR Certification

  • RINS- Raptor Inventory and Nest Survey, Utah

  • Fall Migration Research Assistant, Southeast Farallon Island, USFWS/ Point Blue Conservation Science

  • Bird Banding Assistant Volunteer at Rio Mesa Field Station, University of Utah

  • Small owl broadcast and mist netting, Colorado Avian Research and Rehabilitation Institute

  • National Audubon Society Member- Climate Watch Point Count Surveys and Christmas Bird Count

  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology Member

  • Desert Tortoise Council Member

  • Utah Native Plant Society Member

  • Swiftwater Rescue Technician