When you’re tasked with restoring or protecting fish populations, success hinges on more than just good intentions—it requires science, strategy, and smart investment. That’s where we come in.

Our team of biologists, engineers, and regulatory experts specializes in designing fish passage solutions that work for the species and you. We guide you through a streamlined, collaborative planning process rooted in sound science, helping you meet regulatory requirements while identifying cost-effective strategies tailored to your project goals.

Species Restoration and Restoration Planning Services Include:

• Biological Assessments
• Regulatory Strategic Planning
• Stakeholder Identification & Facilitation
• Agency Consultation
• Environmental Permitting & Compliance

Our experienced fish passage team has completed feasibility studies for over 140 projects across North America. We start by listening to you—your goals, constraints, and the critical elements of your operations. From there, we develop practical, conceptual solutions prioritizing safety, compliance, revenue protection, and long-term maintenance.

Each study is backed by rigorous science, including biological assessments of fish species, population dynamics, and distribution within your project area. We also evaluate potential entrainment and impingement impacts and provide clear conceptual designs and cost estimates for each alternative, giving you the insights you need to make confident, informed decisions.

Feasibility Studies and Alternative Analysis Services Include:

• Evaluation of Environmental Engineering & Policy Requirements
• Biological Assessments
• Entrainment / Impingement Analysis
• Evaluation of Existing Site Constraints
• Hydraulic & Hydrologic Modeling
• Structural Analysis
• Detailed Opinions of Probable Cost
• Habitat Benefits Assessment
• Mathematical Modeling

Securing agency buy-in early is critical—it ensures you’re investing in a design concept that meets expectations and avoids costly revisions down the road.

At Kleinschmidt, we act as your advocate throughout the process, facilitating clear, efficient communication with regulatory agencies, NGOs, and stakeholders. Our deep understanding of agency requirements and practical design constraints allows us to find common ground, reduce costs, accelerate approvals, and ensure your fish passage solution is both effective and buildable.

Agency Consultation and Conceptual Layout Services Include:

• Evaluation of Environmental Engineering & Policy Requirements
• Biological Assessments
• Detailed Opinions of Probable Cost
• Conceptual Drawings
• Regulatory Strategic Planning
• Agency Consultation & Negotiation

With three decades of experience designing fish and eel passage systems, we’ve built an extensive library of proven design components—ready to be tailored to your site. This approach helps reduce design time and costs while delivering solutions that meet your unique operational and ecological needs.

We’ve done everything from eel passages and fish lifts to Denil ladders, Alaskan Steeppass, vertical slot, pool-and-weir, nature-like systems, sorting facilities, and downstream passage. Our portfolio includes over a dozen fish lifts and the largest nature-like fish passage project in the Eastern U.S., giving you confidence that your project is backed by expertise, innovation, and results.

Engineering Design Services Include:

• Conceptual & Final Designs
• Barrier Systems Design
• Nature-like Fishways
• Fish Screen Design
• Culvert Fish Passage
• Fish Hatchery Design
• Fish Protection Plans
• 1D-2D Hydraulic Modeling
• Permitting
• Construction Monitoring

Demonstrating that your fishway works as intended is essential, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or costly.

We’ve completed over 45 effectiveness studies by working closely with clients to select testing methods that are practical, efficient, and tailored to project goals. Once fieldwork is complete, we ensure data integrity through rigorous quality control and streamlined analysis.

Our proprietary statistical techniques automate fish tracking data processing, reducing turnaround time, lowering costs, and increasing confidence in the results. Because our assessments consistently meet agency standards, they’re often accepted without additional studies, saving time and money.

Effectiveness Studies Services Include:

• Study Scoping & Plan Development
• Agency Consultation
• Permitting
• Field Studies
• Data Analysis & Evaluation
• Fishway Modifications

Whether enhancing wild stocks or supporting species recovery, you need a hatchery designed for performance, efficiency, and long-term sustainability.

We bring expertise in hatchery planning, fisheries biology, fish passage, water resources, and hydraulic engineering to deliver end-to-end solutions. Our team has supported a wide range of projects focused on preserving and restoring species like salmon, trout, and other native fish across North America.

We design every hatchery component with precision and purpose—from bio-programming and fish ladders to adult holding, spawning, rearing, water intake, treatment systems, and facility buildings. Our integrated approach ensures your hatchery meets biological goals, operational needs, and regulatory requirements, without compromising cost-effectiveness or functionality.

Fish Hatcheries Services Include:

• Fish Hatchery Design
• Water Supply Infrastructure
• Holding/Rearing Pond Design
• Research
• Monitoring & Evaluation
• Genetic Management Plans
• Hatchery Management Plans