Passarella & Associates

What Passarella & Associates does

Passarella & Associates, Inc. is a privately held, full-service ecological and environmental consulting firm founded in 1996 by Kenneth C. Passarella in Fort Myers, Florida. The firm operates two service divisions: Ecology Services (environmental assessments, environmental permitting under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and equivalent state regimes, listed species surveys and relocation, protected species permitting, wetland mitigation design and monitoring, FAA-compliant airport wildlife hazard consulting, and South Carolina DHEC-certified benthic macroinvertebrate lab services) and GIS Services (asset management platforms for golf courses, CDDs/HOAs, and data collection/custom mapping). Underlying technology is built on ESRI GIS platforms and open-source mapping software, with specialized methodologies for wetland delineation (USACE 1987 Manual and regional supplements), habitat analysis, and taxonomic identification.

The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services fees (quote-based, not publicly disclosed) and serves four primary customer segments: private landowners and developers, engineering and planning firms, government agencies, and conservation organizations. Anchor clients include Collier Enterprises, Agnoli Barber & Brundage, REALVIZORY, Florida Panther Conservation LLC (the first USFWS-approved Florida panther habitat conservation bank, for which Passarella served as lead consultant), Lee County Port Authority, Collier County Public Schools, and WildBlue Development. GTM is enterprise field sales — direct consulting delivered through four regional offices in Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Lakeland (Florida), and Mt. Pleasant/Charleston (South Carolina), with business development driven by professional reputation, referrals, and established regulatory relationships rather than digital marketing.

The company is founder-controlled, with Kenneth C. Passarella as President and Principal Ecologist. In June 2025, Vice Presidents Shane Johnson and Bethany Brosious were welcomed as new shareholders, formalizing a leadership transition. With 30 years of continuous operation, multiple specialized regulatory certifications (the only SC DHEC-certified benthic macroinvertebrate lab in the Lowcountry, Authorized Gopher Tortoise and Burrowing Owl Agents), and tenure as one of the largest ecological consulting firms in the Southeast U.S., Passarella & Associates operates as a mature, relationship-driven professional services business with a defensible regulatory and reputational position.

Name

Passarella & Associates

Legal name

Passarella & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://passarella.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Passarella & Associates is a Florida-based ecological and environmental consulting firm serving developers, engineering firms, and government agencies across the Southeast U.S. with wetland permitting, protected species surveys, mitigation design, airport wildlife hazard consulting, and GIS asset management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

Wetlands & Waters of the U.S. Delineation / Riparian Assessments (EUAHAHAC)

Keywords

• Environmental consulting services
• Wetland delineation
• Protected species surveys
• GIS asset management
• Wildlife hazard consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Myers

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ecological Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for environmental assessments, permitting, species surveys, wetland mitigation, and airport wildlife hazard consulting. Project-based fees for private and public development clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Passarella & Associates is a full-service ecological and environmental consulting firm that delivers environmental assessments, federal and state permitting, listed species surveys and relocation, wetland mitigation design and monitoring, FAA-compliant airport wildlife hazard consulting, and DHEC-certified benthic macroinvertebrate lab analysis, complemented by GIS-based asset management solutions for golf courses, CDDs/HOAs, and other clients. The firm serves private landowners, developers, engineering and planning firms, government agencies, and conservation organizations across the Southeast United States through four offices in Florida and South Carolina.

Product overview

Passarella & Associates is a full-service ecological and environmental consulting firm providing a comprehensive portfolio of services organized into two main divisions: Ecology Services and GIS Services. The Ecology Services division offers environmental assessments, permitting, listed species surveys, species relocation, protected species permitting, wetland mitigation design and monitoring, airport wildlife hazard consulting, and certified lab services. The GIS Services division provides asset management solutions for golf courses, community development districts (CDD), and HOAs, along with data collection, custom mapping, site selection, and real estate market analysis. The company was founded in 1996 and operates four offices in Florida (Fort Myers, Sarasota, Lakeland) and South Carolina (Charleston).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Environmental Assessments Environmental assessments determining the presence, location, and physical limits of wetlands and surface waters according to federal and state definitions, including wetland mapping, wetland flagging, and jurisdictional determinations.
• Environmental Permitting Guidance for clients through federal and state wetland permitting processes, including Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, Florida Environmental Resource Permits, and state permits in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina.
• Listed Species Surveys Protected species assessments and surveys required by regulatory agencies to determine presence of plant and animal species protected by federal, state, and local laws, including habitat mapping, protected species surveying, and habitat analysis.
• Listed Species Relocation Relocation of protected plant and wildlife species, including gopher tortoise relocation by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permitted Authorized Agents, plus protected species monitoring and habitat management plans.
• Protected Species Permitting Navigation of complex federal, state, and local regulations governing protection and management of endangered and threatened species and their habitats, including Endangered Species Act permits.
• Wetland Mitigation Design, Permitting, & Monitoring Comprehensive wetland mitigation services including design, construction coordination, assessments, and long-term monitoring, plus wetland mitigation banking services.
• Airport Wildlife Hazard Consulting FAA-compliant wildlife hazard consulting services including Wildlife Hazard Assessments, Wildlife Hazard Management Plans, and Wildlife Hazard Management Training and Education for airports.
• Certified Lab Services (Benthic Macroinvertebrate Lab) South Carolina DHEC-certified lab providing freshwater benthic macroinvertebrate sampling, taxonomic identification, and physicochemical monitoring services; the only certified lab in the Lowcountry offering these services.
• Golf Course Asset Management (GIS) GIS-based golf course asset management system providing mobile-ready platforms for monitoring and managing course assets, improving workflow and communication with teams.
• CDD/HOA Asset Management (GIS) GIS database solutions for community management containing utilities, irrigation, drainage structures, easements, preserve areas, lakes, rights-of-way, construction documents, and PLATs with 24/7 access.
• Other GIS Management Additional GIS services including data collection, custom mapping, site selection analysis, real estate market analysis, and pre/post construction management.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Audubon of the Western EvergladesminorOthersCollaborated with Audubon of the Western Everglades on burrowing owl relocation project at Gulfview Middle School, where starter burrows were installed on the project site.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServicecoreOthersOngoing regulatory coordination and consultation with USFWS for protected species permits, habitat assessments, and conservation bank approvals including the first approved Florida panther conservation bank.
• U.S. Army Corps of EngineerscoreOthersRegular coordination for Section 404 permits, wetland jurisdictional determinations, and nationwide permit applications across Florida, South Carolina, and other Southeast states.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissioncoreOthersStaff includes Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agents and Authorized Burrowing Owl Agents. Ongoing permitting and species relocation coordination with the commission.
• Lee County Port AuthoritycoreOthersLong-term General Planning and Environmental Consulting contracts from 2011-2020 for Southwest Florida International Airport, including wildlife hazard management and environmental permitting.
• School Board of Collier CountycoreOthersOver 20-year relationship providing environmental consulting, preserve monitoring, and species management services for 14+ school sites including new school development and redevelopment projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Brown and Caldwell: Environmental engineering and consulting firm with ecological and water-resource permitting expertise, particularly strong in regulated wetlands and endangered species work. Comparable capabilities to Passarella but at national scale.
• Tetra Tech: Global environmental, engineering, and consulting firm with a substantial ecological and water-resources practice. Overlaps with Passarella on wetland delineation, permitting, and species work but operates at much broader scale and geographic reach.
• Stantec: Global engineering, environmental, and design consulting firm with significant ecological and permitting practices across North America. Competes with Passarella on Southeast US environmental permitting and species work, but as part of a much broader portfolio.
• Geosyntec Consultants: Specialty environmental and geoscience consulting firm with ecological and permitting practices serving development and infrastructure clients. Comparable in technical depth on complex permitting and mitigation work, but national in scope.
• HDR: Large engineering and environmental consulting firm with ecological, water, and permitting capabilities across the US. Comparable in scope of environmental services but significantly larger and more diversified than Passarella.

Direct peers

• Environmental Consulting & Technology (ECT): Florida-headquartered environmental consulting firm delivering ecological assessments, permitting, and remediation services. Directly comparable to Passarella on environmental assessments and wetland/species permitting for private developers.
• Jones Edmunds & Associates: Gainesville, Florida-based environmental engineering and consulting firm with comparable practice in wetland assessments, permitting, and ecological services for public and private clients across Florida and the Southeast. Directly overlaps with Passarella on environmental permitting and species work.
• Taylor Engineering: Jacksonville, Florida-headquartered water resources and environmental engineering firm providing ecological and permitting services across Florida and the Southeast. Comparable on wetland and water-resource consulting for development and infrastructure projects.
• Ardurra Group (a Verdantas company): Florida-based multidisciplinary engineering and environmental consulting firm with permitting, ecological, and water-resource practices. Comparable regional mid-market peer with overlapping developer and municipal client base in the Southeast.

Emerging players

• Wetland Studies and Solutions (WSSI): Mid-Atlantic focused ecological consulting firm specializing in wetland delineation, permitting, and mitigation. Comparable niche specialist to Passarella, though operating primarily in Virginia/Mid-Atlantic rather than the Southeast.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/110212005709243

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Passarella & Associates