The RDG Team
RDG's staff members demonstrate experience and competency within their individual disciplines. Equally important, as a team, we have established a track record of successful collaboration on multi-disciplinary projects. RDG project managers recognize the need to be responsive to client requests, and our employees understand that restoration projects require a careful balance of flexibility and leadership.
RDG maintains two primary offices in Whitefish, Montana and Corvallis, Oregon, in addition to a satellite office in Hood River, Oregon. While our staff focuses on projects serviced by their home office, we also promote inter-office collaboration to share ideas and techniques. Our Whitefish office assists clients in Montana and Idaho, while our Corvallis staff works with clients primarily in Oregon.
John Muhlfeld
Hydrologist, Principal
John manages RDG's hydrology services and is RDG's president. In over 15 years of professional experience, John has managed over 70 watershed related projects throughout western Montana and other regional systems in the Pacific Northwest. His technical area of expertise is geomorphology and applying geomorphic and hydrologic principles to the planning and design of channel and floodplain restoration projects. John is involved with all project phases including field assessments, conceptual and final restoration design engineering, master plan development, regulatory permitting, and construction management.
Recent projects managed by John include 1) restoration of the O'Dell Creek headwaters near Ennis, Montana, which has culminated in over nine miles of spring creek habitat restoration and the creation and enhancement of approximately 500 acres of riparian wetlands; 2) co-managing implementation of channel and floodplain restoration designs on the Clark Fork River following removal of Milltown Dam; 3) designing and implementing channel and floodplain restoration designs on Crow Creek to improve bull trout habitat in the Lower Clark Fork River valley of Montana; and 4) restoration of approximately 68 acres of prior converted wetlands and two miles of channel on Therriault Creek in northwestern Montana.
John is a member of the American Water Resources Association, American Fisheries Society (Montana chapter), and has completed the suite of stream restoration classes offered by Wildland Hydrology, Inc. John has also completed the 40 hour Hazwoper certification and maintains his certification through the annual 8 hour refresher course. He routinely presents at regional conferences and speaking at restoration project field tours.
Matt Daniels, PE
Hydraulic Engineer, Principal
Matt is a principal and founding shareholder of River Design Group, Inc. In over 17 years of professional experience, he has participated in the planning, design and implementation of over 30 river restoration projects in Montana, Idaho and Oregon. His primary role at RDG includes project management and technical support for large-scale, inter-disciplinary restoration projects. Matt's technical expertise includes hydraulics, sediment transport, fish passage/screening, in-stream structures, grading plan design and construction management. Matt frequently presents at regional restoration conferences and symposiums.
Matt has established an engineering record with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, California, Utah and Nevada. Currently, Matt is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Andy Belski, PLS
Professional Land Surveyor, Principal
Andy has 17 years of experience in applied surveying and computer aided design. Andy is RDG's vice president and is an integral member of the RDG restoration team. Andy's expertise in Land Surveying, Geodesy, LiDAR, 3D Terrain Modeling and AutoCAD contribute to the assessment, design, stakeout, compliance and monitoring processes. He directs RDG's topographic and hydrographic surveys, performs data calculations, and takes part in design tasks for RDG's restoration planning. Andy is licensed to practice land surveying in Montana and Idaho, and is a current member of the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping (ASCM).
Troy Brandt
Fisheries Biologist, Principal
Troy manages restoration projects in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Troy will assist in field data collection, restoration design, and reporting for the Cusick Creek Project. Over the past seven years, Troy has managed projects in the Upper Deschutes River watershed, Upper Klamath Basin, the Goose Lake Basin, and in the Willamette Valley. Troy incorporates his fisheries expertise and understanding of native species' habitat needs into RDG's restoration designs. Example projects have addressed fish passage, spawning and rearing habitat, and off-channel refugia habitat designs for anadromous and resident fishes in the Pacific Northwest. Recent efforts have included a roughened channel fishway bypass channel in the Upper Klamath Basin, river reconstruction on the Sprague River, and fish habitat enhancement/bank stabilization designs for Thomas Creek in the Goose Lake Basin. These projects typically require a collaborative effort between Troy and RDG's engineering staff to ensure that restoration projects not only achieve channel stability goals, but also enhance fish habitat.
Scott Wright, PE
Senior Water Resources Engineer, Principal
Scott Wright, P.E. has over 17 years of private and public sector water resources experience and has been the engineer of record and project manager for numerous stream, river, and wetland restoration projects. Scott's skills include field assessment, hydraulic modeling, restoration design, design-build management, and comprehensive project management. His focus areas are dam removal, fish passage, fish passage barrier assessments, large-scale in-stream structures, and river structures. Scott has been the project manager for multiple design-build dam removal projects including the Gold Ray and Gold Hill Dam removal projects on the Rogue River, Oregon. Scott is also part of the consultant team writing the Environmental Impact Statement/Report for the Klamath River Dams. Scott's comprehensive knowledge of construction techniques, permitting, and water resources design provide exceptional solutions to complex water resources projects. Scott is a licensed Professional Engineer in Oregon and California.
Jonathan Ferree
Fluvial Geomorphologist
Jonathan Ferree, is in charge of RDG's project monitoring and helps direct RDG's field data collection. Jonathan's experience in hydrologic analysis, channel surveys, and data analysis and modeling are instrumental in completing data collection efforts. Jonathan's familiarity with USGS stream gaging techniques, discharge analysis, and water quality sampling protocols are key components to RDG's field data collection techniques. In addition to his field skills, Jonathan assists in remote sensing analysis. Following completion of his Masters degree in Fluvial Geomorphology from the University of Wyoming, Jonathan was employed by the US Forest Service prior to being a private contractor and then joining RDG. Jonathan has completed the full suite of classes offered by Wildland Hydrology, Inc.
Mitch Price, PE
Water Resources Engineer
Mitch Price, PE, CFM is a Senior Project Engineer with RDG professionally licensed in Montana. Mitch has over 16 years of experience in hydraulic and water resources engineering for private and public sector clients. Mitch’s expertise includes site assessment, hydraulic modeling, sediment transport and structure design experience. As a Senior Project Engineer at RDG, Mitch participates in all facets of river restoration design and also contributes to fish passage, erosion control, and bioengineering design. Mitch is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the organization Engineers Without Borders, where he was a technical mentor for projects in Kenya.
Ted Belcer, LSI
Survey Technician
Ted Belcer, LSIT is one of RDG's survey party chiefs assigned to direct ground surveys in the field. Ted's s duties include data collection for restoration planning and field data processing. Ted operates RDG's suite of survey equipment including survey grade GPS and conventional Total Stations. Ted completed his bachelor's degree at the State University of New York and his Associates in Applied Science: Land Surveying degree at Flathead Valley Community College. Ted is a licensed LSI in Montana.
Josh Lenderman, LSI
Survey Technician
Josh Lenderman, LSI is one of RDG's survey party chiefs assigned to direct ground surveys in the field. Josh's duties include data collection for restoration planning and field data processing. Josh operates RDG's suite of survey equipment including Trimble RTK GPS and Topcon Total Stations. Josh completed his Associates in Applied Science: Land Surveying degree at Flathead Valley Community College. Josh is a licensed LSI in Montana.
Nate Wyatt
Engineering Technician
Nate Wyatt is a key member of RDG's engineering staff. Nate provides engineering support for data processing, project design, plan set development and hydraulic modeling efforts. Nate's skills in AutoDesk Land Development Desktop and Civil 3D are instrumental for drafting restoration project design plan sets. Nate also collaborates on storm water plan designs, imagery rectification projects, site surveys, planning and construction oversight. Prior to joining RDG, Nate was a project engineer with civil engineering consulting firms in Florida. Nate completed his education at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida.
Russell Bartlett, PE, LSIT
Water Resources Engineer
Russell graduated from Oregon State University in 2007, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Engineering. Since joining RDG, Russell has been an instrumental team member assisting in field data collection, data processing, river restoration design, dam removal, and fish passage projects. Russell is competent using a suite of resources including AutoCAD Civil 3D and RiverCAD to develop hydraulic models and restoration plan sets. He has also performed construction oversight on several significant projects including Gold Hill dam and Gold Ray dam removals on the Rogue River and channel restoration on Little Butte Creek in southern Oregon. Russell is a Professional Engineer in Oregon and is also working towards a Professional Land Surveyor licensure.
Pete Gruendike
Fisheries Biologist
Peter Gruendike recently joined RDG from his previous position with the Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program (AREMP), a multi federal agency program aimed at assessing the status and trend of watershed condition on over 24 million acres of federal land. Working with a variety of federal and state agencies, Peter's experience has included protocol development, state and federal permitting (including threatened and endangered species), technical reporting, project design, technology research and implementation, and data collection. At RDG, Peter is responsible for field data collection for river, stream, and wetland restoration projects, creating cartographic and visual data displays in ArcGIS, data analysis, and technical report writing. Peter completed his B.S. in Environmental Sciences at the Plattsburgh State University in New York.
Chris Long
Controller
Chris Long is RDG's full time controller and contracts officer. Chris brings specialized expertise in maintaining financial records, overseeing RDG's human resources' responsibilities, and analyzing RDG's business operations. With over 10 years of experience in financial planning, analysis and accounting principles, Chris has a proven capacity to improve and maximize overall business and finance function integration through effective communication and experience. In addition to her accounting expertise, RDG also relies on Chris for coordinating and reviewing government contracts.
Jessica Barta
Administrative Assistant
Jessica Barta joined RDG in 2009 and serves as the company's full-time administrative assistant. With over 13 years of experience in the natural resources and retail industries, Jessica's responsibilities include assisting with monthly billing, final project reporting, and providing RDG staff with administrative support. Jessica also manages RDG's marketing program and the new RDG website.
Selita Ammondt
GIS Analyst, Restoration Ecologist
Selita is a GIS Analyst as well as a Restoration Ecologist. She utilizes her expertise in vegetation restoration and community succession, wetland ecology and management, geospatial analysis, and geodatabase management to develop restoration plans for riparian and wetland ecosystems, perform remote sensing analyses, and manage geographic databases. Ms. Ammondt is also a wetland delineator, and has completed training by Wetland Training Institute, Inc. to comply with the U.S .Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual. Recent work for RDG includes assisting with the Kootenai River Habitat Master Plan in Idaho by analyzing aquatic habitat using ArcGIS, and completing wetland delineations for multiple phases in the O’Dell Creek drainage in Southwest Montana.
Selita joined the RDG team after completing her B.S. in Earth Sciences- Geography from Montana State University, where she specialized in Geographic Information Systems. She completed her Master of Science degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Management at University of Hawaii at Mānoa, where she designed and implemented an ecological restoration project focused on re-establishing native plant communities to an invasive grass-dominated landscape. Ms. Ammondt has presented research in professional conferences across the U.S., is published in Restoration Ecology and Applied Vegetation Science, and is a member of the Society of Wetland Scientists and the Montana Association of Geographic Information Professionals.
Ryan Beathe, PE,CFM
Water Resources Engineer
Ryan Beathe has 8 years of private and public sector water resources engineering experience in Oregon. Ryan’s work has focused on hydrologic, hydraulic, and scour analysis for bridge and culvert projects, stormwater analysis, erosion control, fish passage design, floodplain management and planning, Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance, and Wetland/Waters permitting. Ryan is a licensed Professional Engineer in Oregon and an ASFPM Certified Floodplain Manager.
Chris Nelson, PE, Senior Water Resources Engineer
PE, Senior Water Resources Engineer
Since graduating from Montana State University’s Bio-Resources Engineering program in 2001, Chris has been working as a water resources engineer and project manager applying his knowledge of river dynamics to fish habitat restoration and flood hazard mitigation projects. Chris enjoys all aspects of the design process, from project scoping and initial field surveys to final design and construction oversight. He has developed a wide range of skills including: topographic and hydrographic surveying and mapping; hydrologic analysis and hydraulic modeling; computer aided design using AutoCAD Civil 3D; and geospatial analysis using ESRI’s ArcGIS software suite. As a project manager he has lead teams of hydrologists, biologists, surveyors and engineers in the implementation of habitat improvement projects for threatened and endangered fish species in the Pacific Northwest. As the lead for Snohomish County’s river and stream gauging program I have improved the reliability of the County's Flood Warning System and completed numerous updates to the County's flood maps. Chris is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington with experience working on private and public sector projects in Montana, Idaho, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon.
