River Design Group joins nationwide firm SWCA

River Design Group, a leader in water resources engineering and restoration based in Whitefish, has officially joined SWCA Environmental Consultants, a leading environmental consulting firm in the U.S. with a growing global presence.

“This is an opportunity to grow River Design Group’s legacy of providing high-quality, specialized river restoration services to our clients,” said Matt Daniels, principal engineer and owner at River Design Group. “The supporting infrastructure and expertise of the established SWCA team will allow us to continue to focus on what we do best — designing and building projects that benefit the ecosystem.” 

SWCA is eager to bring the water resources engineering and ecological restoration expertise of River Design Group to the rest of the nation with the opportunity to work on projects globally. 

“By joining SWCA, we’ll be able to expand what we can offer our clients while creating greater opportunities for our people and giving back to our local communities,” said Scott Wright, owner at River Design Group.

With a focus on ecological restoration and reconnecting stream corridors to benefit fish and wildlife communities, RDG’s portfolio includes monumental dam removal and river restoration projects in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest region. 

One of RDG’s projects is working in the Rogue River Basin in Oregon designing and implementing several dam removal projects to assist in recovery of the Southern Oregon Northern California Coast Coho salmon, which is listed as a protected species on the Endangered Species Act.

Other notable projects include recently completing 19 phases of restoration in the O’Dell Spring Creek headwaters wetlands area in the greater Madison River valley near Ennis, assisting fish passage planning efforts in the Warner Basin in Oregon, and supporting the Kootenai Tribe with an ecosystem-based restoration effort spanning 55 miles of the Kootenai River in northern Idaho.