Braiding nature-based solutions with community partnerships in the Columbia River Basin and Pacific Coast.
A natural resources consulting firm with expertise in watershed science, strategic planning, environmental compliance, and floodplain management, River Fluent navigates the complexities of natural and social systems to help communities understand and speak the languages of ecological restoration.
"A river, though, has so many things to say that it is hard to know what it says to each of us." - Norman Maclean
They provide grounds for healing and spirituality, habitat for fish and wildlife, desirable locations for economic development, fertile soil for agriculture, conveyance of runoff and wastewater, sources for drinking water, food for harvest, recreation opportunities, and wildfire resilience.
Instead of competing against one another for limited resources, River Fluent helps diverse interest groups within a watershed move closer to achieving their shared goals.
Rivers and their floodplains are meandering corridors where our community values are frequently colliding.
Providing rigorous data collection, site assessments, and data analysis for baseline conditions, habitat functions and values, aquatic organism passage, risks and hazards, and project feasibility.
Photo: IMESD
Specialized in watershed and strategic action planning, facilitation, science communication, grant writing, strategic funding plans, and pay for performance contracting.
Figure: City of Pendleton
Leading habitat restoration project management, environmental compliance, construction observation, effectiveness monitoring, and public engagement.
Photo: Siuslaw Watershed Council
Clarity Backed by Expertise
Strategic Funding Plans and Grant Applications
Identifying and matching project funding sources with project funding needs, including grant applications, grant administration, and budget tracking for federal, state, philanthropy, and private equity funding.
Leading FEMA habitat assessments, wetland and waters delineations, critical areas reports, functional assessments (ORWAP, SFAM, Washington Wetland Ratings, Puget Sound Conservation Calculator), fish passage assessments, and numerous stream habitat assessment protocols.
Site Assessments
Permit Strategy & Environmental Compliance
Frequently working with agencies and Federal Lead(s) to determine most relevant and efficient pathways to environmental compliance, including programmatic permits and interagency coordination. Specific permitting services include: Joint Permit Application, Hydraulic Project Approvals, 401 Water Quality Monitoring Plans, Biological Assessment, Environmental Assessment, Categorical Exclusion
On the ground project management and construction compliance support in the following roles: fish salvage, erosion and sediment control inspection, and construction stormwater monitoring.
Construction Support
Serving as a contract or “fractional” program manager staff for government and nonprofit partners to manage day-to-day operations of natural resources programs related to parks and trails, integrated floodplain management, fish and wildlife habitat, and green infrastructure.
Program Management
Meet Luke
Luke Johnson has been a natural resources consultant and watershed ecologist for 15 years. He cut his teeth with stream habitat surveys for the U.S. Forest Service and has widened his focus to ecological functions and values of Pacific Northwest watersheds. Luke excels at connecting people and building partnerships. He participates in all stages of a restoration project’s life cycle. In recent years, he has garnered Federal and State grant funding, led environmental compliance for habitat restoration projects, authored watershed management plans, and developed mitigation banking instruments. Luke is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP).
At home, he enjoys exploring local playgrounds with his daughters and hitting the trails by foot or bike, sometimes with a fishing rod in hand, just in case.
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