WHO WE ARE

We are a design and build firm located in Bozeman, MT, Urbani Fisheries, LLC specializes in the creation and restoration of stream/river, wetland and lake ecosystems.  Involved in fisheries enhancement for over 35 years our lead, Joe Urbani, is a pioneer in bringing recreational fisheries and resource property management to the private and public sectors.  He has successfully integrated experienced professionals who combine their diverse expertise and knowledge into a results-oriented team.  Urbani Fisheries, LLC is a recognized provider of habitat enhancement and reconstruction of stream/river, wetland and lake ecosystems that have been degraded by past land management practices, human development and or point source erosion.  Our team maintains an efficient, cost-effective and common sense approach throughout the life of a project while embracing a strong commitment to the environment.
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Urbani Fisheries, LLC has successfully completed numerous projects in 14 states and have many active restoration and management projects ranging from small spring creeks to major lakes. Our projects range in scope from the creation, restoration and enhancement of warm and cold water fisheries to implementation of waterfowl, wildlife, and fisheries habitat.  We are a design – build company that is involved from the initial design phase through the instream construction phase.  Inclusive of these projects, we are involved with permit acquisition, design and construction management and supervision of river and stream relocation, streambed manipulation, pond and lake construction/reclamation, creation of shallow water wetlands, and in-stream habitat enhancement. ​

MEET OUR TEAM 

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​Joseph D. Urbani
President
Fisheries Biologist

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B.Sc in Fisheries Biology from Colorado State University  
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Joseph Urbani is a professional fisheries biologist with over 35 years of experience designing and implementing fish habitat improvement and water resource restoration projects in the public and private sectors. He has been heavily involved in spring creek and freestone stream construction and restoration projects since 1983. Joe specializes in the successful enhancement of streams and rivers, incorporating bed manipulation techniques that consistently yield high quality fisheries.

​Over the past 34 years, Joe has been involved in the construction and restoration of lakes and ponds, creating his own standards for construction based on the objective of creating biologically productive aquatic habitat systems.

His extensive experience includes work with other fishery consultants and positions with the U.S. Forest Service and state fish and wildlife agencies in New Jersey, Colorado, Washington, Montana, and Alaska. Although skilled in fishery evaluations, his current focus concerns property management for optimal fish and wildlife habitat, and coordinating habitat improvement efforts among state and federal agencies, and professional and community groups. Joe has given presentations at numerous professional workshops and symposiums (i.e. the 13th International Salmonid Habitat Enhancement Workshop). He is also a member of the American Fisheries Society and Trout Unlimited.

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Daniel L. McGuire
Aquatic Ecologist

B.Sc. in Biology from Colorado State University and  M.Sc. in Biological Sciences from Montana State University (Year).

Dan has 18 years experience as an aquatic entomologist and fisheries biologist. He specializes in the use of macroinvertebrates to diagnose environmental condition and factors limiting fisheries. He has conducted fishery, water quality, and stream/riparian habitat investigations throughout the Rocky Mountain region. For the past 10 years, he has worked extensively in the restoration and management of ponds and riparian zones. Previously he was a biologist for Northern States Power Company and several consulting firms.

Wes Orr
Fisheries Biologist & Aquaculturist

B.Sc. in Fisheries Science, Colorado State University ( 1962).

During this time, Wes worked three summers for the Mcnenny and Spearfish National Fish Hatcheries; one season committed to conducting intermittent creel census for the South Dakota Fish and Game Department, and one summer conducting salmon investigation work for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. After graduation Wes was appointed a permanent position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from which he retired after 39 years of productive employment.

​His experience of raising warm water, cool water, cold water, and anadromous fish species at 8 national fish hatcheries further hones his expertise. Wes has extensive field experience in spawning numerous species of fish including striped bass in North and South Carolina, splake and kokanee in Colorado, walleye and northern pike in Nebraska, and lake trout and cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Park. His qualifications also extend into planning, supervision, hatchery operations, and hatchery disinfectant procedures.

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David M. Schmidt
Geohydrologist

BA Geography / Geology (water resources emphasis) , University of Montana 

Mr. Schmidt has thirty one years of experience in the field of water law and water rights analysis, fifteen years in Montana with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), five years working as a regional water rights specialist in eight states with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and twelve years as an independent consultant with WRSI. During his tenure with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

​Mr. Schmidt was involved with water rights issues related to wetlands in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming. Mr. Schmidt has successfully completed or is currently managing water-right projects for over three hundred clients. Mr. Schmidt founded Water Right Solutions, Inc., a successful consulting practice, focusing on defense of historic water rights, water right maintenance, valuation, water rights permitting hydrology and geohydrology. Dave Schmidt provides the following water-rights services:

• Legal support, including the preparation of all documents such as affidavits, interrogatories, requests for and responses to discovery and stipulations, litigation support, and expert witness services.
• Mediation and facilitation services.
• Assistance in new water right permits, change applications, and water-right transfers.
• Historical research for reserved water rights negotiations.
• Conversion of irrigation rights to instream flow for wildlife\habitat enhancement and water leasing.
• Market valuation of instream flow and appropriative water rights.
• Due Diligence evaluation of water rights for ranch real estate transactions.
• Field verifications and preparation of field-verification abstracts.
• Water management plans and water measurement surveys.

Colter Urbani 
Senior Biologist / Habitat Specialist

BS Cell Biology & Neuroscience, Montana State University
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Colter brings a strong academic focus in greater ecosystem dynamics to our projects. His interest in biology, and his upbringing as a Montana fly fisherman, informs his passion for conservation and rehabilitation of unique ecosystems around the country.

Colter has acquired over 9 years’ experience in project management and oversight while implementing projects throughout the intermountain west and along the east coast. His areas of expertise center on aquatic habitat/fisheries enhancement, hydraulic engineering and modeling, natural channel design, topographical surveying,  surface and groundwater modeling, stability analysis of in-stream structures, and aquatic/wetland ecology, ,

​His professional experience includes hydrologic and geomorphic assessments for stream and river restoration, incipient motion, depth of scour, shear stress, sediment transport analyses. and:bio-stabilization methods. Additionally, Colter has designed and directed in stream construction projects utilizing bed stabilization techniques in several states. 

Successfully completed tasks include complex boulder structures in rivers with highly fluctuating flows, incorporating natural fish ladders at historic pond systems and dams to allow passage and access to spawning reaches, as well as complete channel relocation, He has launched numerous floating treatment wetlands to control high phosphorous levels and has designed, constructed, and enhanced several dozen pond, lake, and conveyance stream systems from coast to coast. 

Colter has worked to maintain regulations and follow protocols for construction scheduling, permit compliance, and implementation associated with endangered species. He has experience with species such as the wood turtle, freshwater muscles, and blue spotted sunfish habitat design near Lake Hopatcong, Andover, New Jersey.

Colter sees nature to be the greatest inventor and creator of stable structures observed in aquatic environments and is an active scholar and practitioner in natural design. Colter will pursue his MS  in the field of Biomimicry to further advance the companies goals of using, "Nature as Model." When not knee deep in wetlands, streams and ponds, Colter is usually tinkering with his small scale terrarium models, fly fishing, or spending time with his two daughters in Bozeman, Montana.  
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​Martin J. McHugh, J.D.
Environmental Consultant

​Martin McHugh has over thirty years experience in all aspects of environmental protection and natural resource policy at the state and national level.  Following 25 years of public service working with a variety of agencies,
non-profits and industries, Mr. McHugh founded McHugh Environmental Associates LLC (MEA) - a consulting firm focused on pragmatic solutions for conservation, commerce and sustainability. MEA works with a range of partners on restoration, mitigation, land acquisition, climate resilience and sustainability projects. In 2012, Mr. McHugh assisted the State of Louisiana with the Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the Deepwater Horizon spill. He then went on to represent The Conservation Fund - a national non-profit chartered under the dual mission of protecting our nation's land and water resources while promoting sustainable economic development. Recently, Mr. McHugh administered The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Grant Program – a $100 million fund focused on reducing community vulnerability to climate change by restoring fish and wildlife habitats.
 
 Mr. McHugh’s environmental career began in New Jersey as in-house counsel to the Department of Environmental Protection, where he handled air, water and land use enforcement matters and represented parks and wildlife programs. As a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General, he litigated and conducted complex negotiations for major oil spills, contaminated site cleanups and multi-million dollar penalty actions. Following the 1990 Exxon oil spill in the NY/NJ Harbor, Mr. McHugh established the Office of Natural Resource Damages, one of the first state programs in the country to restore wildlife, habitat and other public resources injured by spills and contaminated sites. Mr. McHugh went on to serve as New Jersey’s Director of Fish & Wildlife and was responsible for the state fisheries, wildlife and habitat conservation programs, as well as the management of over 350,000 acres of public land.
 
Mr. McHugh received his B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies from Rutgers University and his J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law. For ten years he taught as an adjunct with Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and was a full-time professor with Kean University’s Center for Sustainability Studies. He has presented courses on environmental law, natural resource policy and sustainability and has lectured extensively on related topics at conferences and symposia. Mr. McHugh also served on the Board of Trustees for both the Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. 

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Joey Urbani

Chief Financial Officer and Business Manager

B.Sc, double major (bachelors degree) in Economics and Spanish with minor in international business.

Dylan Urbani
​Aquatic Biologist