Melanie Klym, PE, RG/LG, ENV SP

Melanie grew up in the woods and wetlands of eastern Massachusetts and spent most of her childhood playing in the forest behind her house and climbing glacial erratics. During hours of exploration and observation, she became fascinated with the movement of water throughout the landscape and how wildlife (especially beavers, birds, fish, snakes, and salamanders) used these different habitats. Her mother always made sure that Melanie emptied her hands (and pockets) before she was allowed back into the house lest another snake decide that the house provided better shelter than the debris pile it formerly occupied.

Melanie realized that she could pursue her interests in geological sciences and environmental studies as major areas of study while at Tufts University. Her environmental studies focused on the intersection of science with policy and economics especially regarding water resources. She has always been fascinated by the effects of dams and impoundments on the geomorphic processes in the watershed, the ecological impacts, and the social effects upstream and downstream.

She moved to Portland, Oregon in 2008 to serve as an AmeriCorps member for the City of Gresham’s Natural Resources Program restoring urban watershed health. She obtained the River Restoration Professional Certificate while serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer and decided that engineering sounded quite fun, especially in the context of removing constraints on rivers previously imposed by civil engineers of the past. She completed a masters of science degree in civil and environmental engineering at Portland State University and her research focused on groundwater-surface water interactions in former quarry ponds. She regularly volunteers with the Johnson Creek Watershed Council, River Restoration Northwest, and the Geologic Society of the Oregon Country.

At River Design Group, Melanie brings her interdisciplinary background and experiences to develop river restoration designs that are sustainable in the watershed context and encourage change over time to sustain healthy ecosystems. She particularly enjoys the intersection of geology and geomorphology with restoration design and setting expectations for how systems are likely to continue to change in years to come. She has experience applying river restoration principles including hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, sediment dynamics and geomorphic evaluation, large woody material design, and riparian revegetation for public agencies and watershed councils. She is an experienced project manager and has worked with diverse teams to prepare scopes, budgets and schedules; perform QA/QC for design; prepare design drawings and PS&E packages; and manage subcontractors. Melanie is a registered/licensed geologist in Oregon and Washington and a professional engineer licensed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.