Restoration Resources was founded in 1979 as Sierra View Landscape, Inc., by current president and owner, Riley Swift. The company’s evolution into habitat management and restoration is the fulfillment of Riley’s personal values and vision.

Prior to 1979, Riley was employed at various times by the California Department of Fish and Game; the University of California, Berkeley; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Riley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State University and a Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences from California State University, Chico.

Restoration Resources

Ralph Vigil has been with Restoration Resources for 17 years and has proven to be invaluable to the company. Ralph began his career with RR as a field supervisor and shortly thereafter established and has successfully run the Habitat Management Department for Restoration Resources.

As Director of Habitat Management, Ralph utilizes his years of field experience and natural leadership to guide the department. His primary responsibilities are organizing budgets by project as well as on a department scale, job costing, overall department project scheduling, project revenue accountability, and general quality control of department operations.

Chad’s primary responsibility is oversight of the company’s habitat management monitoring projects. His knowledge of habitat and community structure ensures that job sites are ecologically stable at the end of the maintenance phase. Chad’s secondary responsibility is to ensure that monitoring is done objectively, accurately, and in a timely manner. Mr. Aakre works with RR’s Design & Consulting department on monitoring protocols, data collection, and technical report writing.

Chad Aakre’s knowledge of ecology and restoration extends from his experiences in college and as a high school teacher. Chad participated in a variety of scientific endevors in college ranging from the use of stream macroinvertebrates for biological assessement to conducting avian point count for better understanding of forest fragmentation. Teaching high school afforded Mr. Aakre the opportunity to conduct tallgrass prairie restoration in Minnesota as a part of the high school ecology curriculum.
The restoration activities included collection and propogation of native tallgrass prairie species, monitoring progress with transect and plot sampling, and the use of various techniques to control non- native species.

Mr. Martin is a management professional with over 10 years experience in land development, site work, purchasing and commercial/residential construction. Excellent background in project management; specifically in estimating, bidding, scheduling and construction management. Proven track record at developing positive working relationships with governing agencies, trade contractors and consultants.  Extensive knowledge in cash management and budgeting.  Detail oriented, effective under pressure, decision maker, self-motivator and a team leader.  Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Mr. Piper has been a Landscape Habitat Designer and CADD Specialist at Restoration Resources since June 2007. His responsibilities include work not only in design concept development, drafting of plans, and detail drawings, but also post-construction monitoring data collection and report preparation. This diverse set of responsibilities has allowed Mr. Piper to gain an extraordinary amount of first hand experience in a remarkably short period of time.   

Previous work experience and schooling has given Mr. Piper a strong understanding of AutoCADD, ArcGIS, and GPS techniques, equipment, and programs. He utilizes his skills and training in site analysis, habitat design development, and landscape monitoring and maintenance on many of Restoration Resources’ habitat mitigation and monitoring projects.

With 20 years experience in the Landscape Construction Industry, a Landscape Contractor's License and an Undergraduates Degree in Environmental Horticulture, Victor brings his skills to Restoration Resources as a Construction Supervisor.  His duties include not only site construction supervision but also estimating, monitoring and habitat management.             

Kathy Burke is a Project Manager for the Habitat Management Department and oversees weed management activities for all Restoration Resources projects. She began working for Restoration Resources in 1997 as a Restoration Technician and has advanced to Project Manager where she supervises the maintenance activities of 15 projects a year. She currently shares the responsibility for scheduling and coordinating numerous concurrent maintenance and monitoring projects with other project managers. She prepares daily log entries of maintenance activities and assists with plant health monitoring and annual report preparation.

As the Weed Management Supervisor, Mrs. Burke holds a Qualified Applicator’s License in Pest Control (QAL #50951 Landscape Maintenance, Right-of-Way and Aquatic Categories).

She coordinates and conducts annual pesticide training for English and Spanish speakers to guarantee worker compliance with state and federal laws. Kathy has extensive practical experience in California wildlife habitat restoration and maintenance, erosion control, weed management, and working with sensitive habitats and animals. During her tenure with Restoration Resources, Kathy has planted native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants; seeded by hand, broadcast, drill and hydro methods; controlled wildlife damage, controlled erosion with use of numerous bio-technical solutions; controlled weeds by manual, mechanical and chemical methods; monitored project success; estimated costs and supervised implementation. Kathy has experience working around and caring for elderberry (host plant for the Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle), habitat for giant garter snake, and waterways.