Michael Love & Associates, Inc. (MLA) specializes in engineering analysis and design to support watershed restoration and aquatic species management. Our staff multidisciplinary backgrounds are in civil and environmental engineering, hydrology, river hydraulics, fluvial geomorphology, sediment transport, and fisheries biology. MLA is experienced with taking projects from concept to completion. Our services include topographic and geomorphic mapping, developing complete engineering design plans and specifications, and providing construction management and inspection.
MLA led the development of the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Federal Highways funded FishXing software and associated online resources, and authored fish passage and stream restoration design guidance documents for the US Forest Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
We work extensively with both for-profit and non-profit organizations, and with numerous Federal, state and local agencies. MLA’s staff is highly experienced working with project proponents in securing grant funding for fish passage and aquatic habitat restoration and enhancement efforts.
Principal Engineer
707.822.2411 x1 |mlove @ h2odesigns.com | resume
Michael is a California licensed Civil Engineer and has been the owner and manager of Michael Love & Associates, Inc. since 1999. Having led dozens of projects from concept to completion, Michael has gained extensive interdisciplinary experience in fisheries and fluvial geomorphology, channel hydraulics, watershed hydrology, and fish passage engineering. His approach to projects emphasizes applying geomorphic-based solutions to restoring riverine, wetland, and estuarine systems. He has also authored state and Federal publications on fish passage design and assessment and reducing the impacts of roads on the aquatic environment. Michael is a regular instructor for fish passage and stream restoration courses and has served as a co-principal investigator through Cal Poly Humboldt on numerous research projects. Between projects, Michael enjoys sailing and exploring the waterways of the California’s North Coast.
Project Engineer
707.822.2411 x2 |llanos @ h2odesigns.com | resume
Antonio has been with MLA since 2004 and is a California Licensed Civil Engineer and graduate of the Humboldt State University Environmental Resources Engineering program. He works on managing aquatic habitat improvement and fish passage projects, utilizing his wide range of skills and experience in hydrology, water supply and distribution, hydraulic modeling and design. He possesses advanced Civil 3D and GIS skills and has worked extensively on preparation of plans for construction. Antonio has years of experience providing construction oversight and guidance to oversee the implementation of his stream restoration and fish passage designs.
He has been an officer with the local chapters of ASCE and Engineers Without Borders and is currently a Board Member of the Westhaven Community Services District.
Engineering Geomorphologist
707.822.2411 x3 | shea @ h2odesigns.com | resume
Rachel is a California and Oregon licensed Civil Engineer and formally trained fluvial geomorphologist. Rachel has been with MLA since 2007 and has worked in private consulting for over 30 years focusing on riverine and estuarine restoration, fish passage, and bioengineering projects. She has a wide range of experience in geomorphic interpretation, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and scour and sediment transport analyses. She has prepared construction documents and supervised construction for numerous projects. When not working she is usually eating, traveling or gardening.
Associate Engineer
707.822.2411 x4 | fabbri @ h2odesigns.com | resume
Christopher is a California Certified Engineer in Training and a graduate of Humboldt State University with a degree in Environmental Resources Engineering. He has been with MLA since 2021. Growing up in coastal California has instilled a passion and appreciation for the natural environment, which has led to a wide-ranging interdisciplinary skill set in pursuit of restoration endeavors. Christopher has worked on a variety of wetland, riverine, and fish passage restoration projects. He enjoys learning new technology and contributing to all aspects of a project including initial planning, monitoring data collection and analysis, RTK/Total Station survey, LiDAR scanning/processing, drone imagery and photogrammetry, DEM/DTM creation, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, GIS mapping/analysis, Civil3D drafting/design and preparation of plans for project permitting and construction, and construction oversight. When not focused on restoration, Christopher enjoys tinkering with electronics, flying drones, delving into nerdy fantasy worlds, exploring the great outdoors, or getting lost in a new hobby.
Associate Engineer
707.822.2411 x5 | silva @ h2odesigns.com |
Ernesto is a California Certified Engineer in Training and Cal Poly Humboldt graduate. He completed a Masters degree in Environmental Systems with an emphasis in Environmental Resources Engineering from Cal Poly Humboldt with a focus of his research on Pacific Lamprey passage. Since joining MLA in 2022, Ernesto has worked on a variety of riverine and wetland restoration and fish passage projects from preliminary site characterization to implementation and construction oversight. He has a range of experience in topographic and bathymetric survey, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, monitoring data collection and analysis, geospatial mapping, and Civil3D drafting. During his free time Ernesto enjoys spending time with his friends and family preferably with some bbq involved.