Tess Hanson, PE, CERP

Senior Engineer

While Tess is a licensed engineer in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, ‘engineer’ is too narrow a discipline to describe her work. “I try to design holistically,” says Tess. With a BS in ecological engineering and a master’s in civil engineering focused on hydraulics and stream restoration, Tess’s slightly non-traditional background provides a foundation for viewing potential projects through a lens that includes sediment transport, vegetation dynamics, morphodynamics, and stream ecology.

Tess grew up in La Grande, Oregon – nearby her grandparent’s home on the Wallowa River. “They were self-taught naturalists who were proud of having wood in the stream next to their house…and spawning salmon,” Tess says. The land ethic they passed on inspired Tess to chase a career in fixing rivers. Today, she’s still drawn to work on rivers in Eastern Oregon and Washington, and Idaho, especially placer mining restoration projects.

Tess joined Inter-Fluve in 2025 after working with NV5, River Design Group, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and ICF. She specializes in ecohydraulics and fluvial geomorphology within the context of stream and wetland restoration and loves managing large, complex projects. Tess’s idea of fun includes Type 2+ to Type 3 adventures that often revolve around running long distances, climbing, or combining both activities.