Blake Graffe
EIT
Staff River Engineer
Over the years I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. When it comes to overcoming an obstacle, flexibility and persistence end up being the best tools.
Hired
- 2022
Location
- Tacoma, WA
As a river engineer, Blake often works on complex and interdisciplinary projects. When our clients need to redesign river crossings to be fish friendly or restore historical floodplains, Blake has the broad expertise in hydraulic modeling, water resource management and construction that is necessary.
Rivers have always been important to Blake. As a lifelong fisherman, he understands the critical importance of our rivers and watersheds—not only for the health of fish and wildlife, but our own. Blake remembers watching the Chinook salmon run in Issaquah, Washington, years ago, and realizing that he had to become more involved.
“While watching these fish, I had a singular thought, ‘I need to be a part of this.’ The dream was born, and I’ve pursued it ever since,” Blake says. “With my passion for fishing came a personal responsibility for preserving fish habitats for future generations.”
Blake spent his early career working on marine development projects like the Colman Dock Ferry Terminal along the Seattle waterfront. Although this gave him valuable CAD, project management, marine construction and logistics experience, Blake never lost his passion for working with rivers. When he finally found GeoEngineers’ river and stream team, he knew he was in the right place.
“This is a position I’ve worked towards for over 14 years,” Blake says. “I’ve always wanted to be an engineer working for the betterment of fish habitats and when this opportunity came to my attention, you can bet that I took it by the horns. Simply put, this is what I wanted to do.”
In his free time, Blake is often outside enjoying the rivers he helps to protect.
“Whether it be spinning tackle, trolling, or on the fly, I do them all,” Blake says. “I also have my own fishing kayak and even built my own fly rod.”
In those rare moments when he’s not on or in a river, Blake enjoys playing music (guitar and violin), and living out his racing fantasy through a driving simulator.
“Honestly, it depends on the year as I can get into new hobbies just for the heck of it,” Blake explains. “Most recently I’ve been rolling around town in my e-bike with plans to eventually take it to the mountains. Next year, who knows, maybe I will get into welding tension tables. Only time will tell…”
