5SSR Canada

5 Smooth Stones Restoration Inc. (Canada) (5SSR) is a partnership between Brad Fairley and Lucas Warner who have built a successful working relationship over the past nine years. 5SSR Canada was established in 2018 by Brad Fairley and Lucas Warner joined 5SSR Canada in 2021. The company builds on a 15-year working relationship between Brad Fairley and David Bidelspach. David started 5 Smooth Stones Restoration in the US in 2014. With similar views and objectives, Brad created a parallel company in Canada. In alignment with Brad and David, Lucas enhances 5SSR’s presence in western Canada. 5 Smooth Stones Restoration (Canada) is focused on protecting, enhancing, and restoring habitat and advancing the science of stream restoration in Canada.

Brad Fairley, B.Sc., MES

Brad Fairley has more than 40 years of professional experience involving both the public and private sector. With a strong background in water resources management, including water quality and watershed planning, Brad has focused on habitat restoration for the last 20 years of career. During that time, he has managed more than 100 fluvial geomorphology and stream restoration projects throughout North America. All these projects have been developed to improve streams, stream corridors and the habitat they provide. Mr. Fairley has established several habitat banks and provides advice to public and private agencies regarding the development of habitat banks. Mr. Fairley has authored numerous reports, presented at conferences across North America and hosted workshops aimed improving the quality of habitat restoration projects. He has also provided expert testimony in court. Brad is dedicated to improving the quality of habitat restoration projects. To that end, he and his wife have funded a Research Chair in Fluvial Geomorphology at McMaster University.

Contact: 

mobile: (519) 591-4200

email: brad.fairley@fivessr.com

Lucas Warner, M.Sc., P. Biol.

Lucas Warner has more than 18 years of experience in aquatic habitat assessment, impact assessment, and environmental regulatory compliance for projects in and around water. With a strong academic and regulatory background, Lucas has focused on impact assessment and regulatory compliance over the last 11 years of his career. Lucas’ aquatic biology experience includes habitat and impact assessment, avoidance and mitigation strategies, restoration and offsetting plans, monitoring programs, and working with federal and provincial regulatory agencies, as well as indigenous communities, to obtain permits and approvals. Lucas has developed federal and provincial guidance documents to assess compliance with the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act for work in and around water in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; he also developed a national impact and regulatory compliance framework for pipeline and associated temporary access roads. Recently, Lucas worked for DFO to develop a standardized framework for impact assessment using DFO’s Pathways of Effects and was invited to participate in DFO’s Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) review of the Pathways of Effects as a technical expert. He also works with Aquatic Habitat Canada to review existing Canadian regulations governing aquatic habitat restoration projects and develop recommendations to improve and facilitate aquatic habitat restoration work in Canada.

Contact: 

mobile: (587) 971-4455

email: lucas.warner@fivessr.com

Dave Bidelspach, BS, MS, MEng, PE

Mr. Bidelspach is a nationally recognized river restoration specialist with more than 20 years’ experience. Mr. Bidelspach’s academic and research background includes five years with the Stream Restoration Program at North Carolina State University where he provided assessment, design and construction oversight services on a large number of restoration projects and taught courses related to river assessment, restoration design and construction administration.  Mr. Bidelspach was mentored at NCSU by Dr. Greg Jennings and at Wildland Hydrology by Dave Rosgen. Mr. Bidelspach has completed more than 200 river restoration/stabilization projects in 29 states, 6 Canadian Provinces/Territories and Costa Rica. Mr. Bidelspach is an innovator that is dedicated to improving the quality of river restoration through natural channel design while lowering the cost of projects.  He has been recognized by some as being an industry leader in developing a 3-D design process which allows designers to rapidly go through numerous iterations to optimize the design. Mr. Bidelspach is a designer that has operated equipment and constructed restoration projects.  This broad range of experience has refined his ability to produce accurate engineer’s estimates and constructible designs.

Contact:

mobile: (919) 218-0864

email: david.bidelspach@fivessr.com