Many days of Scott Wright’s childhood were spent thinking about where the fish were, watching and learning the water.
For a boy growing up in an angling family and in close proximity to world class rivers, like the Rogue, Illinois and Applegate, that’s not so unique.
But few get to say that at 49, they now get paid to do it.
Wright is a principal engineer with River Design Group (RDG), one of the leading river restoration consulting firms in the West, with offices in Montana and Oregon. For two decades, The Freshwater Trust (TFT) has partnered with RDG on the planning and design of multiple restoration projects throughout the state, ensuring that every action taken yields the greatest and longest-term impacts for native fish and water quality.
“Planning these projects is not dissimilar to planning the construction of anything else,” said Mark McCollister, TFT’s habitat restoration director. “You won’t find a strong, lasting house being built without blueprints, and RDG is often called on to help us draw up ours.”
RDG staff have more than 350 years of combined restoration experience on more than 500 restoration design projects. The business offers restoration, assessment, remote sensing, fish passage and dam removal services.
Growing up, Scott watched multiple dams be built in and around his favorite fishing areas of Southern Oregon.
Over the last decade, he’s removed many of the legacy structures he fished around as a child.
“As a kid, I watched dams being built in Southern Oregon, now I’m helping to take dams out and provide a lasting legacy of sound river stewardship,” he said. “In many of these cases, these obstructions had become obsolete, not really serving a purpose or anyone anymore, and hindering the ability of the river and environment to function as they should.”
