Steve Clayton

Steve Clayton has more than 30 years of collaborative project experience developing, designing and implementing successful watershed management, river restoration, habitat improvement and environmental education projects on public and private lands. 

Today, he leads field investigations and hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment and geomorphologic analyses, guiding projects through restoration design, risk identification and management, and technical reporting. Steve focuses on developing robust, transparent and defensible documents that support practical, sustainable solutions, bringing lessons learned from on-site construction observation of river restoration and dam removal projects back to delivery teams to continually improve project quality. 

Steve has co-authored seven peer-reviewed publications, including articles on a synthesis of U.S. river restoration efforts and on standards for ecologically successful river restoration, as well as a book chapter titled, “Stream and watershed restoration: a guide to restoring riverine processes and habitats.” His most recent publication documents physical responses to a stream restoration project 15 years after construction. 

Steve’s experiences growing up on a cattle ranch and tree farm along the Boise River in southwest Idaho led to academic degrees in human biology, riparian ecology and biological and agricultural engineering. With rivers connecting his professional and personal interests, Steve’s free time includes packrafting, bikepacking, backpacking and flyfishing throughout the Interior Columbia River Basin.