About EcoAnalysts

Our History

EcoAnalysts began in 1992 when the three founders were students at the University of Idaho. A shared passion for fishing and outdoor recreation fueled our desire to work in the fisheries field and during our education, we learned the importance of food webs, water quality, physical habitat and how these influence fish populations. Our research into the effects of land use activities on aquatic communities, such as algae, benthic invertebrates and fish, prepared us for a unique opportunity to open an environmental consulting company while we were still students. 

We learned that this “bioassessment” market was rapidly growing and we were uniquely qualified to provide aquatic ecology laboratory and consulting services. The time was right, so we stepped out in faith, acquired a $30,000 Small Business Administration guaranteed loan from our bank, collateralized everything we owned (including our trucks, furniture, fishing poles, shotguns, vehicles, chainsaw, tools, etc.) and in January 1995 EcoAnalysts, Inc. was formed as an Idaho Corporation. We hadn’t done anything like this before, but we didn’t let that fact get in our way, which reminds of a quote by Ryan Blair:

“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” 

Operating out of my 225 square foot basement apartment, we set up our office and taxonomy laboratory. With very little room to spare, I removed my bed so we could set up the lab benches, and for several months I slept on the concrete floor each night until the early shift of technicians would arrive in the morning. I would get up, eat breakfast, work for 14-hour days at the microscope, then dinner, sleep on the floor, repeat. In short order we had 6 or 7 staff, the UPS trucks brought us a daily delivery of benthic samples, and with all that activity the landlord asked that we get a separate space for our business. We moved out of my apartment and into a commercial space, I thankfully got to sleep in my bed again, and over the next several years with the help of some truly talented and hard-working team members, EcoAnalysts grew into North America’s leading provider of taxonomy services.

Since that time, we have strategically diversified into closely related services to build a larger, healthier, more financially stable organization that is still focused on our passion for ecological sciences and our environment. For example, in 2016 we acquired Ecological Specialists in O’Fallon, Missouri. This team of mussel biologists and divers has diversified our ecological services niche, expanded our geographic presence into the Midwest, and broadened our client base. In 2017 we hired the folks in Port Gamble, WA which further diversified our laboratory, ecological sampling and consulting service offerings.  

As a result of these additions, over a 3-year period EcoAnalysts has almost doubled in size.  

OUR MISSION

Providing unbiased data and analysis to support environmentally responsible solutions.

Over the last 25 years we have assembled a team of technical and scientific experts to help our clients solve their various environmental problems. For example, there might be endangered mussels present at a project site that we need to move so they can survive, and the project can be built. There may be a problem with contaminated groundwater coming into a creek and we need to figure out if there are any toxic effects on the algae, invertebrates or fish. A wastewater treatment plant needs to test their effluent to see if is toxic to aquatic life - our Port Gamble lab answers that question for them. Some of our state or federal clients want to know what the water quality is across their rivers or streams, so our taxonomy lab measures biological communities to help them answer their water quality questions. These are just a few examples where EcoAnalysts helps our clients make highly informed decisions.  

OUR CORE VALUES

Values are defined as principles and behaviors that we hold as dearly important; our collective judgement of what is important to us as a company. When we started EcoAnalysts back in 1992, even though I wasn’t fully aware at the time, I had a personal set of values that permeated the company we were building. Over time those values changed, mainly as I changed and grew as a person. They became less self-centered and more service oriented. At some point along the journey I became aware that the values were there, and we started paying attention to them, fostering them and honing them. 

In 2017 our leadership team spent a great deal of time defining our core values. This was a thought-provoking process whereby our facilitator asked us to nominate people in EcoAnalysts whom we felt we wanted to clone and replicate throughout the company. Several names were put on the board and then our facilitator asked us to explain why each name was nominated. We discussed the characteristics and behaviors of each person and were eventually able to boil everything down to five core values we view as highly important. We want everyone in our company to pay attention to, to personally own, and to live out these values daily.

At EcoAnalysts, our five core values are: 

Stewardship — Taking Care of What We Are Entrusted With
We are blessed with an abundance of natural resources. These resources are a gift to us, and we must exercise care, wisdom, discipline, and restraint when managing and maintaining them for future generations. Likewise, we care deeply about, and strive to be good stewards of our relationships with our clients, our vendors, and our coworkers.

Teamwork — It’s Not About ME, It’s About WE
EcoAnalysts did not get to where we are due to any one person. From the very beginning it was a team effort and as our team grew, so did our accomplishments. We view our relationship with a client as a teaming arrangement, whereby we work together to secure successful outcomes. When our clients are successful, we are successful.

Productivity — Making the Most of Our Time
We place high value on a strong work ethic. When a client hires us, they can trust that we produce a high value for the time we spend to do the work.

Commitment — Do What It Takes
We are all committed to the success of our clients, our coworkers, and our company. Our commitment has been tested time and again as we have dealt with circumstances beyond our control, and we are very proud of how our people have stepped up and delivered during difficult times.

Learning — Always Be Learning
As a company of scientists, owned and operated by scientists, we have developed a strong culture of learning at EcoAnalysts. Keeping up with evolving science is a priority to us and provides strong technical value to our clients.