Black Mountain Consulting LLC opened in April last year in Sherwood, OR. A second office has opened in Portland, OR. It’s already growing its regulatory compliance and environmental and engineering services to support the construction of new telecommunications towers, the installation of new antennas, the modification of existing towers, collocation installations and more.

John Estrem, principal and registered geologist, who has 15 years experience with the telecommunication industry, was looking for something different, and various people he knew in the industry suggested he open his own company. Thanks to his years in the industry, he was able to put together an experienced team that is now working with clients in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

“We’re a new small entity getting into the market, but we are growing and moving forward each month,” Estrem said. “We’re proud of how we’re starting out.”

Black Mountain’s primary focus is on geotechnical services. It does a lot of NEFA work, especially with the State Historic Preservation Office. Estrem’s expertise is in the historical work, and it’s something he enjoys doing. He also teaches, free of charge, Black Mountain’s telecommunications clients and turn-key vendors to help them better understand the issues that lead to delays and budget overruns. He has also started to teach commercial loan officers at local Oregon financial institutions about liability.

In addition to the NEPA and SHPO site assessments, Black Mountain also does Phase I environmental assessments and various mitigations.

Estrem said potential sites are getting more complicated. They have wetlands or are in historic districts or there are endangered species. To help their clients, Black Mountain is working on getting into the initial design as early as possible, so they can tell if it is a site that will move forward or if it would be better to select another site. To learn more about Black Mountain, go to: blkmountain.com